I have spent weeks researching the side effects of acetaminophen and ibuprofen and their effects on the gut microbiome because I was going back and forth between medicating my kids’ cold symptoms and not medicating their cold symptoms. We are at the point where we have been sick for so long that if I were still medicating them, I would have probably caused liver damage by now.
This is the Sick Kids + Real Science series of blog posts in which I explore how different aspects of being sick are affected by and can affect gut health, and I give practical advice based on nothing more than my own meandering failures.
Whether you medicate yourself or your kids for minor fevers and all the other disgusting symptoms of a cold are between you, your kids, and your doctor. When used properly, acetaminophen and ibuprofen have minimal risks, but they affect the organs and the gut microbiome. The extent of those effects varies from person to person and you don’t know until you know.
We are on day 25 of back-to-back respiratory viruses and post-viral coughing. There have been days when I’ve medicated my kids and many more days when I’ve let their bodies do their thing and prayed the snot would subside. And after reading a million words about the effects of medication, I don’t think it’s worth weighing the benefits and drawbacks of medication because a good night of medication-induced sleep is likely more beneficial for their system than Tylenol is detrimental.
So instead of worrying about the medication, let yourself make your kid comfortable (under the supervision of a real and actual doctor), and focus your energy on more productive things like sage smudging your entire house and rubbing your family down in essential oils. Just kidding—sort of.
Here are the things I’ve focused on to keep myself from feeling completely powerless over my kids’ running snot faucets and germ rockets (read: coughs).
Yes, yes, hydration is the answer to weight loss; it’s the fountain of youth, it improves digestion, and helps maintain healthy joints. Hydration is key to virus recovery because a lot of virus symptoms—like coughing and fevers—cause dehydration. Since viruses often come with congestion that comes with loss of appetite, virus-ridden kids are at higher risk for dehydration. And dehydration can cause fevers which—when coupled with the virus from the actual fever—could theoretically land you in the emergency room.
Hydration also protects against nasal irritation when you’re coughing and sneezing and blowing your nose. AND staying hydrated thins your mucous, which can help prevent sinusitis. (Or if you’re chronically dehydrated like me and suffering from severe sinusitis, drinking a glass of water could save you the discomfort of gasping for air whenever you try to swallow.)
So all the adults agree that hydration is great, but can someone please send all the toddlers the same memo?
Getting a kid to drink when they are feeling crummy has taken my fluid-delivering creativity to new levels. Here are some ideas that have worked a little for us, and all the little bits ended up being enough hydration to sustain life.
Fruit
No matter how little of appetite kids have, they always have that second stomach for sweet stuff. Open an all-you-can eat melons, citrus, and berries buffet for the duration of their illness. Be sure to prepare yourself for the backlash when the buffet finally closes. There are a lot of things toddlers do not understand; why they cannot live on fruit alone is one of them.
Make Popsicles
Blend the aforementioned fruit with a little water or coconut water to make popsicles because if your kid is refusing fruit, they may be into popsicles. I like these mini popsicle molds because (a) who has the time to wait for a normal size popsicle to freeze and (b) my toddlers don’t have the attention span to finish an entire popsicle.
Iced herbal teas
I went through a phase during our three-week battle of the boogers where I brewed big batches of hibiscus and echinacea teas with fresh ginger and a few teaspoons of elderberry syrup (because even though the latest data says it doesn’t reduce cold and flu duration, it can’t make things worse). My kids don’t get to drink juice, so they were stoked for all of 53 seconds that mama was letting them have “juice,” and those 53 seconds were enough to get a solid ounce of liquid in them.
This is a seemingly impossible feat. Over the last three weeks, I have sent so many messages to my friend Nicole, a pediatric dietician, asking her at what point should I freak out about my kid’s hunger strike? Most people don’t want to eat when they barely have a sense of smell and their boogers are dripping onto their twice baked broccoli and kale potatoes. But the food supports gut health and protects their bodies (and ours) from the effects of the virus and the meds we use to treat it.
This biome broth has been a decent source of nutrition for us over the last few weeks because the girls love the novelty of drinking soup from a grown-up mug. I also had some success with these oatmeal breakfast cookies.
I am not a huge fan of disguising healthy foods as something else because I want my kids to love the vegetable or whole grain or legume they are eating in its actual form, but when you’re in the throes of a virus, something has got to give. So, I dress up nutrition in standard American clothing. It works sometimes. I make no promises.
Probiotic foods
Just like medication, probiotic supplements are not without risk. There are conditions under which probiotics supplements can actually be harmful, but naturally probiotic-rich foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, and miso come with lots of benefits and no risks (assuming your fermented foods were prepared properly). Even if your kids are on hunger strike, getting them to take a bite or two of these foods make for a happier belly.
If you’ve read all the way to the end of this, you either have sick kids, have had sick kids, or will have sick kids, so BLESS you, my friend. Wishing you the luck of a thousand lottery wins.
Comments are closed.