Cold season has arrived and is coming with a vengeance, many families around us have come down with severe colds, some even turning into RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). RSV is a respiratory virus that in turn causes a ton of congestion in the upper sinuses and airways. Though our family came down with mild colds, they never turned into cases of RSV. I believe wholeheartedly this is due to us catching it early, and implementing interventions, along with the regiment of vitamins and nutrients we consume daily. Below I am sharing with you what I did to not only fight off these colds, but also to continue keeping our bodies prepared for this cold season. So, the next time your family comes down with a cold or anyone of the wonderful (very sarcastic here) viral diseases that winter does bring, you are prepared to fight it off.

*Please note this is not medical advice, but what we as a family personally did and what worked for us. We also worked very closely with our daughter’s pediatrician; she practices a more holistic style of medicine than traditional westerns, which is what our family prefers.

The very first thing I did was increase our vitamins, specifically vitamin D, Zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6/B12, and then probiotics (fighting off illnesses I believe can be done easier when your gut health is at its peak). Below is the collection of vitamins we took. Our 11-month-old daughter also was given an immunity tincture from her pediatrician that primarily contained Elderberry, we use this tincture whenever she is feeling slightly under the weather.

Our diet including our baby consisted of mainly whole foods, with a keen focused on anti-inflammatory foods such as garlic, onion, turmeric, ginger, leafy greens (steam them or boil the greens so that they maintain the most nutritional value), and berries (berries a rich source of antioxidant which is very helpful with increasing immunity strength). It is important to note that when sick you should continue eating as many whole foods as possible, this needs to include good sources of protein (i.e., chicken, liver, eggs), so your body can maintain its strength. Another good source of protein and nutrients is bone broth. I drank a cup each morning (I make homemade bone broth).

One thing we added immediately was Ningxia juice, now even when I am not sick Ningxia is a part of my daily routine. I usually drink about 2 oz daily, though when we became ill that 2oz increased to 4-6oz and all the rest of my family followed suit. Ningxia in a recent clinical trial has been proven to not only show that is supports a healthy immune system, but specifically shown to support respiratory function. Your respiratory function staying in tip top condition needs to be the highest priority to ensure that colds do not turn into worse cases such as RSV, Bronchiolitis, pneumonia just to name a few.

You can click on the picture below to grab yours.

Essential oils for us were a big contributor to our family’s success in fighting our colds. The moment we saw runny noses and heard a cough the diffusers throughout our home were turned on 24/7. My go to oils for respiratory support and over health are Thieves, Lemon, RC, Cedarwood, Lavender, Raven, and Sniffle ease (especially this one for the kiddos). I even placed some sniffleease and peace & calming II into my daughter’s humidifier. I found that a great combo for colds is placing a diffuser into the bathroom, running Thieves and Cedarwood through it as you take a nice hot shower or a nice warm bath with your babies like I did with mine to add that extra support to ours/their breathing. Oils such as Lavender and Thieves can be added to bath water as well to help relax and support your body. I did this every night with my youngest and while we were in the bath I would saline rinse her nose and then use a suction bulb to clear out the mucus. This routine allowed her to continuously breathe easy and aided in her getting a good night’s rest.

To make it easy I created a list for you to grab everything I used below.

Another thing we did was use an immunity roller on our daughters spines, and for our oldest her feet as well.

Below is the recipe for you to create your own Immunity roller

*Please note that will children diluting oils is very important.

Immunity roller:

8-10 drops of each oil listed below this is for a 10ML roller bottle, if using a 5 ML 2-4 drops of each oil would be better.

Cypress, Valor, Oregano, Thyme, Peppermint, Basil, Marjoram, Wintergreen, Aromaseiz

Once all oils have been added fill the rest of the way with a carrier oil, I prefer Organic Fractionated Coconut oil.

Roll on spine 1-2 rolls 3-4 x a day. (*older kids it is fine to roll on their feet but babies tend to try and put their feet into their mouth).

Below is a link to be able to grab everything you need to make this roller. The fractionated Coconut oil I buy off amazon.

This cold season may seem daunting, so I hope you find in this post some helpful new tidbits that may aide your family.

With all my love,

Allie