In Case of Emergency CALL

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I was talking to my mom the other day and she mentioned going shopping by herself. All of a sudden, I had a vision of an accident that left her unconscious without information for a 1st responder that would assist in contacting my dad, my brother or myself. I know I may sound like an alarmist but the fact is my parents are octogenarians and having a challenging time navigating independently these days. Besides, they do not have to cause an accident, just become unconscious because of one. Accidents happen all the time.

Before I was married, I never really thought about accidents. However, after I was married and especially after I became a mother, I started to think about it. I remember mountain biking by myself and realizing I had no ID on my person, and, if I became unconscious, there was no information to assist anyone in locating my husband or identifying myself.  Therefore, I started carrying my husband’s business card in my wallet, in my car, and in the pouch on my bike. However, after thinking of my parents navigating the world on their own, I decided to make an emergency contact card.  It simply states In Case of Emergency CALL, listing the other’s spouse, my brother and myself. In fact, I also made one for my husband and myself. A friend suggested that I laminate them, which I did – great idea! I may be overreacting but really, it couldn’t hurt and it gives me a sense of comfort.

I know the next of kin are eventually contacted but I would rather facilitate the process. Have you thought about how people are contacted during emergency situations? What have you done to aid the process?

Cough syrup for Mathew

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mathew with coldWhen Mathew came down with his first common cold recently he let me try some new remedies on him. One recipe I concocted was an elecampane (Inula helenium) cough syrup. I normally put fresh elecampane root in honey as a cough remedy since elecampane is rather nasty tasting and honey makes it more palatable along with having its own medicinal properties. Elecampane is one of the best herbs to treat all chronic and acute upper respiratory infections, whether it is viral, bacterial or fungal (even TB). It also is a tonic for the respiratory tract. Honey is an antibiotic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, an expectorant, anti-allergenic, therefore, great for respiratory ailments. Elecampane and honey are a winning combination. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any fresh elecampane in the house. I did have dry elecampane root and honey though. I decided to make a decoction with the elecampane root and then add it to the honey. Decoctions are made from the tougher parts of the plants such as roots and bark. Their medicinal properties are tougher to extract and need a slow simmer. I simply put a handful of elecampane root in a quart of cold water and simmered uncovered for about an hour. When the liquid was reduced in half, I strained it. I combined 3 parts honey and 1 part elecampane decoction to make the syrup. I gently heated and blended the decoction with honey for 10 minutes. It is important not to heat the honey higher than 110°as it could lose some of its medicinal properties.

I asked Mathew to try it and he gave me the thumbs up. He had a rather bad cough, so I decided to give him a teaspoon 3 times a day. Before bed, I gave him a teaspoon of elecampane syrup as well as put garlic oil on his feet. He slept through the night and I only heard one cough throughout the night. This was a vast improvement. The majority of his cough was abated within three days, which gave way to a lot of mucus flowing from his nose. Which led to an earache, thank goodness we had garlic oil in the house. Please see my previous blog to see how we handled his earache.

What do you do to relieve symptoms for the common cold? Please share and I will continue to share.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.