‘Tis the season for the crummy C’s… Coughs, colds, congestion. We’ve had a nasty cough hit our house, along with the majority of other households across the Midwest US, from what I’m hearing.

My junior high daughter and her friends have affectionately named me “Crunchy Mom” because I’m very intentional about what we put in and on our bodies. When we’re sick and our body is in battle mode, this is particularly important.

While some medications do have their place, they are definitely not the first place to turn in a non-emergency situation. The first order of business should always be to assure that our body is getting what it needs for health and healing. When this is not cutting it and we must turn to medication, we need to read labels and be aware that much of the mainstream OTC medication lining store shelves is loaded with inflammatory ingredients like artificial dyes and high fructose corn syrup.

Here’s how I’m handling the raging cough that is disrupting life and sleep in our house:

✔️ Nutrition is always numero uno. Real foods, as close to their natural state as possible. Minimal packaged foods- always scan labels to avoid inflammatory ingredients- they are hiding everywhere. If you want deets, read my #liveyourbestlife blog about nutrition for overall health: https://apexdentaliowa.com/liveyourbestlife/nutrition-to-optimize-oral-and-overall-health-and-healing/

✔️ Maximize immune function and pathogen fighting ability with optimal daily doses (more than RDA) of Vitamin D3 and Liposomal Vitamin C (this form has better absorption). Always best to take D3 along with K2 to assure proper calcium distribution—there’s a blog on that, too, in the #liveyourbestlife section of our website.

✔️ Start with natural support… Beekeeper’s Naturals has a great line of products with honey (propolis) and micronutrients. Xlear and CofixRx both make great natural nasal sprays.

✔️ Nightly chest rub for cough suppression. I like Zarabees. Vicks is ok, but is petroleum based, so not my favorite.

✔️ Warm chest compress. The one in the picture is great- I just fill it with hot water, wrap it in a towel, and good to go.

✔️ I’ve had to turn to some medication for this one, as the need for good sleep is critical. Genexa makes a cough syrup with the same effective active ingredients as the mainstream syrups, but a much cleaner list of inactive ingredients without any artificial dyes or high fructose corn syrup. I get it on Amazon.

Being mindful of what we’re putting in and on our body is important for the whole system, including the system that I deal with day to day.What do I see in the mouth when the body is burdened with an increased inflammatory state? Systemic inflammation presents like this in the mouth:

• Aphthous Stomatitis: Canker sores and uncomfortable swollen gums- this is a common one that I see in kiddos after they’ve had an illness.
• Gingivitis and Periodontal Disease with gum tissue that continues to be swollen and to bleed even when the teeth are clean and hygiene is good. This is a common thing that I’ll see in adults either after a prolonged sickness, after an uncharacteristic increase in sugar consumption (this is a common way to put the body in an inflammatory state), or it can be chronic in some adults whose bodies are in a systemic inflammatory state that can come from a multitude of environmental factors.
• Increased decay rate. When the body is fighting chronic fires systemically, systems can start to break down. Tooth decay is a sign of imbalance of the body’s ability to repair the demineralization from daily food and drink exposure. I have a whole blog on this, if you want to know more about the balance of mineralization of the teeth.

What are some things that you can do to help with these oral effects of systemic inflammation?

• Assure a nutrient dense anti-inflammatory diet (this is at the core of everything)
• Salt water rinses are an affordable and effective antiseptic for inflamed gingival tissues. Take a 16 oz bottle of water, add 2 tsp salt (Redmond’s Real Salt is my favorite), mix it up and you have your “mouthwash”. Swish for 30 seconds three times a day.
• iClean makes a natural Molecular Iodine mouthrinse. You could instead swish with this a few times a day for a couple of weeks.
• In cases of aphthous stomatitis with discomfort, there are a number of home remedies you could try. One would be oil pulling with coconut oil and some therapeutic essential oils, like clove oil and/or tea tree oil. It is important to understand that these essential oils MUST be diluted. Melt the coconut oil, add 3 to 5 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil, shake it up and put it in the refrigerator to speed its return to solid form. Once a day, let a spoonful of this melt in your mouth and vigorously swish it around the mouth, “pulling” it in and out of the teeth, for 3 minutes. Don’t spit this down your drain because it will turn back to solid form and clog a drain- spit it into a paper towel and throw it in the trash.
• With more severe discomfort from canker sores, see your dentist and we can prescribe a compounded “Magic Mouthwash” that has some anesthetic to ease the pain.

✌️

(aka. “Crunchy Mom” by my favorite gang of junior high girls)