The problem with homeopathic and natural remedies

The end of The Plague, or whatever sickness I've had for the last month, is in sight. Why? Because I broke down and finally took the antibiotics the urgent care doctor prescribed. I went to urgent care 2 weeks ago because of the nausea and fever. She did some blood tests and flu tests and couldn't find anything, so she diagnosed me with an upper respiratory infection. Even though I had no breathing issues or coughing or sore throat. Just the nausea. What? I thought she was antibiotics-crazy, so I didn't fill the prescription. The fever went away and, after taking probiotics, so did the stomache issues. I was like, "ahahaha, I don't need antibiotics!". Until about 5 days later when the sore throat started.

The truth is, I might have been able to fight it back with essential oils and homepathic/homemade remedies. But because I "thought" I was getting better, I ignored the symptoms. Even when the illness got severe enough to warrant my attention, I treated it only sporadically.

Why did the natural remedies, essential oils, and homeopathic solutions fail and I resorted to antibiotics? I have to say that it's pretty much my own fault. Here is the thing about homeopathic and natural remedies:

1) Treatment has to be proactive.  from the minute the symptoms start. Meaning you need to be in touch with your body enough to recognize when something is "off".

2) You have to be consistent. If you go 12 hours without doing a treatment of some kind, that's probably too long and can give the bacteria or virus a foothold in your system.

3) No quick fixes. Unlike taking a pill, which offers instant relief, sometimes you might have to experiment for a while to find what remedy works to stop your symptoms and start the healing.

If either of my kids had exhibited any of the symptoms, I would have started right away with regular doses of elderberry syrup, honey with cinnamon and/or Lavender, Thieves' Oil and sleeping with a humidifier. All of those things are great for preventing the start of illness in kids. (by the way, neither of my kids has gotten sick so far - all winter long, really!)

For adults, swallowing raw garlic followed by a chaser of lemon juice in water several times a day is also helpful both to prevent the onset and to shorten the length of a common cold. I did not do ANY of these things. I did apply Thieves' Oil sporadically, and gargle with salt water...once or twice. I put some R.C. essential oil on my chest nightly, only to find that it also has an awakening effect. It kept me up 3 nights in a row, which was super fun since I also had a fever. Just a little caution if you're thinking of using R.C. during the day. Losing sleep is not conducive to preventing anything.

Moral of the story: next time, treat myself as well as I would have treated my kids in the same situation!

Have a great weekend!