Great Cold Medicine Alternatives

By Marcie Barnes

It's been in the news a lot lately, some OTC children's cold medicines have been voluntarily recalled by their manufacturers. What to do? There are a lot of great natural remedies that can help your child (and you) when sick. I found a good article about it here, and here are some of my favorites:

Honey - excellent for treating a sore throat (try it!) or a cough. Also has natural antibiotic qualities, and is also excellent for wound healing. (Note: not recommended for infants, because it is not pasteurized. However, it is the raw honey that contains the most healing quality. Get some from a local beekeeper if you can for maximum quality.) There are so many sweet things about honey - including all the antioxidants - for more, check out the Honey Association.

Saline Drops - A safe, effective method of breaking up a stuffy nose. Widely available. Read more here.

Emergen-C - This powder poured into a glass of fresh water supplies more than a mega-dose of vitamin C, it also has lots of essential minerals - and I swear by it for curbing sickness in adults. I usually take at least two packets when I start to feel sick, and so far, my symptoms have never gotten worse. My dad told me about this, and it's available in lots of places including Target and WalMart. I found this kids formula here, but I usually just give my son a few swigs of mine...

More great tips are here, and don't forget preventative measures such as probiotics - try kefir as an inexpensive alternative to yogurt or pill-form probiotics.

I made "honey ice cream" for my son tonight by mixing unsweetened kefir with some fresh raw honey, freezing it for about 20 minutes - and then mixing it into a nice slush :).

Please post your favorite natural cold remedies as well!