Preventing Sickness with Activated Charcoal
You know what I love?Vomit....Fine, you caught me. That was a complete lie. Vomit makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Vomit makes me want to burn down cities, tear my clothes, and hit my knees weaping. Vomit is, quite literally, one of my least favorite things in the entire world.So six weeks ago when our family fell victim to the stomach-flu that was spreading like wildfire throughout Stuart's school, I did many of those things. Sure, I didn't burn down cities, but pretty much everything else was spot on. When it passed, as it inevitably does, I gave thanks to the Lord that we would haven't have to go through that again. Well, at least for awhile.And then Wednesday hit.Wednesday, the day when my daughter was laying on her back, held her hands over her mouth, and vomited straight up into the air - her palms splattering it everywhere (TMI?). Wednesday, the day when I had to hold buckets and hair for over fifteen "episodes". Wednesday, the day when Stuart felt great one minute and thirty minutes later was hugging the toilet. Wednesday, the day when I had to wash more blankets, sheets, pajamas, and hands than I could count.Wednesday. The worst vomit day in the history of the Elliott clan.It took over 48 hours for said stomach flu to pass. Not the most fun 48 hours in human history, for sure. Though, undoubtedly, not the worst (sure, maybe for me, but that's not the point).By the grace of God, my pregnant-self and baby Owen were able to dodge the bullet - and I'm so thankful that we did. Not only because I loathe throwing up, but my services were in high demand for a sick toddler, sick husband, and energetic baby.All that to say, I did find myself a very helpful product in flu prevention. At moments, I could feel myself falling into the abyss, but thankfully a handful of home remedies did help to shake it before it could take hold.Well, a handful of home remedies and approximately 1,924,283 prayers that prayed. "Dear Lord, I know you have much more important matters, but please - please - pleeeeassseee- PLEEEEAASSSEEEE keep me from getting sick."
Here's the home remedies that I found super helpful:
1. Elderberry syrup: a teaspoon an hour for three days straight. You can read how to make it at home and some health benefits of elderberry syrup HERE.2. Colloidal silver: not only do we keep this on hand for ear infections but it's also useful taken internally! I took 3-5 drops in each dose of elderberry syrup.3. Digestive Supporting Essential Oils: Rubbing a few drops on my stomach really helped with the nausea. I love this stuff!4. Immune Supporting Essential Oils: Some of them are diffused in our humidifier, some of them are diluted with water and sprayed all over couches, pillows, doorknobs, and beds, some of them are rubbed on the bottom of feet, and some of them are rubbed on fingertips after a thorough washing with hot water and soap....and finally... for the newly discovered awesomeness...
Activated Charcoal.
I was a little skeptical at first, even though this home remedy came highly recommended on my Facebook page. Yet when I ran to the store for popsicles and our favorite post-sickness-cracker (love THESE for when I'm sick!), I found myself searching for it amongst the supplement aisle.I was at the point, after all, pretty desperate.So I grabbed a bottle and headed home - feeling hopeful.As soon as I got home and the sickies were settled, I began to do a bit more research on activated charcoal and it's use in our bodies. Basically, they all had the same points about charcoal: Charcoal is not digested or broken down by the body. Instead, it binds to a variety of impurities and passes them through the body via bowel movements. For this reason, it's used successfully in drawing out toxins, poisons, bad bacteria, etc.My experienceIt's nearly impossible to say if it was the charcoal that kept me from getting the stomach bug. After all, I was pairing it with lots of prayer and a variety of other treatments. However, I used many of these treatments the last time I came down with flu-induced-nausea and still lots the battle in the end. This go round, I added in the charcoal, and was able to keep it at bay. So take my experience for what it's worth.The resultActivated charcoal isn't something that needs to be taken on a regular basis but it is extremely to handy to have on hand for flu bugs, food poisoning, and even for topical use on bug bites and as a teeth whitener! I'm thankful to finally have a bottle on hand for use as we need it. Perhaps next time we hear of a stomach bug passing through all of the students at Stu's school, we'll start taking charcoal immediately to help prevent it from entering the home.Because no stomach bugs are welcome in our home.Ever.For the history of time.Thanks be to our Ultimate Healer who quickly recovered G-love and my homestud, faithfully protected Owen and I through it all, and provided us with all these wonderful natural, home-remedies in nature!I'm ever amazed at His goodness to us - even amongst the vomit.