My oldest daughter, Merrin, began to get headaches about a year ago. They are not very frequent and we have been good detectives and have pretty much figured out the triggers.  Although, I thought I would write a little bit about headaches and kids and what we do as they can be pretty intense.

One of my very first child patients was a 7 year old girl. She  was spending a lot of time in the school nurse’s office because she was having  daily headaches. She was  missing  a great deal of school and her mom was concerned so they came to me for some help. There are 2 things that I initially ask with headaches…

1. eye sight ( straining etc)

2. diet

She had recently had an eye exam and her sight was fine so we dove into her diet. Her diet was pretty good except for the fact she drank a lot of juice so we decided to start there. I suggested that her mom switch the juice with herbal ice tea ( I believe I suggested the Tazo Sweet Orange) and she could add a little honey to it or just a splash of juice. I also encouraged her to give her daughter a water bottle for school.

The results were amazing! Almost immediately, she had no more headaches.

With Merrin, I am thinking her hormones are slowly emerging and she is growing. I encourage her to drink more water and to be aware of her body. If she feels a headache coming on, I have given her some ideas so she can be proactive with it right away. She carries a homeopathic remedy at school with her ( Belladonna 30c works well for her) and when she comes home she immediately does magic socks.

If your child is getting headaches, make sure their eyes are checked and then take a good look at their diet and lifestyle ( maybe they are a little stressed with friends or school work?). You never know, it could be a very simple solution!

Be well,

Last weekend I spent spent a lovely few hours with some colleagues. We talked about many things but one thing in particular…how we are going to strengthen our immunity for the upcoming cold/flu season?

I thought I would share with all my followers what I plan to do for myself and my family. I am keeping  my medicine cabinet fully stocked throughout the winter months and I have told the family that we will be upping our supplements intake for the next few months. Although they probably will not even notice since I usually throw everything into a blender ( I put in a whey/rice base or soy based protein powders - ProBasics or IsoProtein)!

Everything that I am suggesting can be purchased on my Emerson Ecologics custom form. You will need the access code which is 96743 and if you have yet to set up an account you will need to do that.

Cold/Flu Prevention Protocol

First of all, the most important things to do are…

1. wash your hands all the time with soap and water!

2. sleep well and for at least 7 to 8 hours ( more for kids)

3. eat a whole colourful foods - well balanced diet

4. keep the stress levels down and find ways to relief stress

Daily supplement guidance

1. probiotic (Seroyal/Genestra HMF)

2. cod liver oil - capsule or liquid ( Nordic Naturals)

3. a little bit of “Berry Well Immune Support” powder by Vital Nutrients for the kids

4. mushroom complex: Innate MaikeGold 404

5. liquid vitamin d3 ( pure encapsulations - Vitamin d3 is the active form of vitamin d)

• recommended dose: 1000IUs per 25 pounds

• for a preventative measure, I would do 1 drop for kids up to 75 pounds and over 75 pounds 2 to 3 drops

6. vitamin c: Carlson’s chewables or alacer corp emergency c or pure encapsulations

If you or someone gets sick…

1. Homeopathics

• Boiron Oscillococcinum - for children or adults
• or Heel Flu Plus
• Nux Vomica 30c

2. Wise Woman Herbal (WWH)

• Elderberry tincture: I make a “grape juice” for the kids when they are sick and they sip on it throughout the day
• Children’s glycerite: for kids
• Phytobiotic capsules: for adults
• * if your kids prefer chewables. then Integrative Therapeutics Echinacea vitamin C with Elderberry maybe the best*

3. Vitamin C

• up to bowel tolerance ( 5 to 10 grams a day)

Doasges and protocol: Take medicines as directed. I like to suggest to people to take something every 2 hours. For example:

• take one of the WWH
• vitamin c
• homeopathic
• and then start all over again

Do this for at least 5 days and at least 2 days after you feel better ( but you can cut back on the timing and/or dosages).

And of course some hydrotherapy (magic socks) during the day and night will be key.

Please email me with any questions!

Be well,

In the last few weeks I have been having some left foot pain. It’s in my arch and it’s not hindering my daily life but its’ present. I decided to google foot pain and came across this in the New York Times.

Well, I am not overweight but I probably do not wear the best of shoes. Hey, I live in Hawaii and half of the time I am barefoot. And loving it! After reading this article though, I think I may need to invest in some good shoes – for walking outside and inside.

I may need to get my kids some good shoes too…although my youngest never seems to wear them (which is so foreign to me – growing up in a city with cold snowy winters you just always wore shoes). Sometimes when we will finally make it to school on time she will announce that she forgot to put on shoes – UGG!

Any suggestions on good supportive footwear (with some style) would be appreciated. In the meantime though, I may go get a few more pedicures ( read that article!) and take care of my feet!

Be well,

PS Maybe some hydrotherapy and Magic Socks would help!

Hydrotherapy literally means “water therapy”.
Father Sebastian Kneipp, a 19th century monk, is said to be the father of hydrotherapy. He believed the healing properties of water optimize health by helping the body eliminate waste. There are many different types of hydrotherapy treatments but my favorite at-home is the application of hot and cold compresses. The body reacts profoundly. Hot water causes blood vessels to dilate or open and increases blood flow, allowing the body to remove waste from tissues. Cold application initially creates contraction or slight closure of the blood vessels, which pushes stagnant blood away, making room for renewal. Alternating hot and cold water improves elimination, decreases inflammation and stimulates circulation.

I thought this article was really interesting! And after I read it, I realized it made good sense. Nose blowing can be crazy loud and forceful!

Next time you feel the stuffiness come up and feel the urge to blow, do as the article suggest – one nostril at a time but instead of the decongestants do magic socks!

Be well,

www.drheathernd.com

I remember when I first learned about hydrotherapy in school. I was struck by the history behind it. To me, hydrotherapy makes sense. The idea of applying hot and cold water to create dilation and constriction in the blood vessels which in turn pushes the blood around more optimally in the body just makes sense. With this process, we have more blood circulation that allows the body to bring in new white blood cells, or deliver nutrients optimally to organs.

I was easily sold on the concept. Then the truth came. We were deep into the depths of Portland Oregon’s winter and our professor asked us to end our hot showers with cold showers for a week. Yikes! Well, I gave it a try and was amazed at how it made me feel – awake and invigorated but also calm! I felt much healthier as well.

We do a lot of hydrotherapy in our house. Magic socks tops the list. Watch the kid’s crazy video below to learn more.

MAGIC socks

Merrin and Pearl will now ask to do the procedure if they are not feeling very well. Sometimes if there is a chest cough we will do a magic t-shirt. The thought of it is much more painful than the actual doings. It is so powerful that sometimes just doing it once will clear up the cough.

One other note I need to mention is that hydrotherapy is very calming so it is a fantastic sleep aid. Kids and adults will generally fall asleep soon after doing the magic socks and t-shirts.

Be well,

www.drheathernd.com