I call this the Fast and Furious Cold because it comes on suddenly and furiously.

For the past week, both my girls have been down with the cold. The timing was especially bad as it was the girls’ first week of the new school term. Min is still in her old Montessori kindergarten whereas May is now in Year 1 in the big school. I was disappointed that May was too ill to go to school and missed a day in her very first week at that school. We worked so hard to battle Autism. To make sure May was able to catch up to her peers, to be cognitively, socially and developmentally on par to attend the mainstream school. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. We have to make sure she’s healthy enough to actually attend classes.

As usual, I’ve got an arsenal of naturopathic and homeopathic remedies to choose from. But how do I choose which remedy to use? For some reason, this time I decided to stick to only homeopathy and enchinacea. Do I use a single remedy or combination remedies? Usually, I would fire off a quick email to our homeopath. However, due to the time difference or if it’s the weekend, sometimes she’s not able to reply quickly. So in the meantime, I’ll try to look up the appropriate remedy using books such as Homeopathy: An A to Z Home Handbook or The Complete Homeopathy Handbook.

I also love iHomeopath for iPad and iPhone. It’s a nifty little app which helps to find remedies for common acute ailments. You can also try the free version iHomeopathy Lite.

If that doesn’t work, I also like the online remedy finder such as ABC Homeopathy Remedy Finder or the Ainsworth Remedy Finder. Between all these, I’m usually able to find the appropriate remedy for most common acute conditions. However, bear in mind that this doesn’t replace the guidance of a trained homeopath.

Sometimes, when I’m just too tired or busy to do the research (when are we not tired or busy?) I’ll just reach for one of the ultra convenient combination remedies. I do love the combination remedies or sometimes referred to as Complex Remedies from Homeopathy Plus!. They are currently on special offer, all the combination remedies are AU$10.95 each, usually they are AU$20.95. Needless to say, I took the opportunity to stock up on my favourite remedies. Each bottle provides 120 doses, so they last me for a long time. I’ve also purchased several different remedies from http://www.iHerb.com, please see here for some of the remedies I’ve tried and tested.

I quote a Mother Warrior mum who swears by her favourite combination remedy Alpha CF Cold and Flu “These are usually very good to use in the interim until you figure out what remedy to use”. Another Super Mum has a son with various allergies and suffers from allergic rhinitis. Previously, she had to rely heavily on antihistamines such as Zyrtec. Nowadays, she uses King Bio range of allergy relief remedies. They have specific remedies for food and environmental allergies, even according to regions of the United States. I wish there was one for haze-filled Kuala Lumpur…..

Even though we are armed to the teeth with all kinds of herbal preparations, homeopathic remedies and pharmaceutical medication and countless supplements for prevention and treatment of colds and flus, nursing a sick child is never easy. Physically or mentally for the parents. I get worried and anxious thinking of my little girls, even when all they have is the common cold. I can’t help it, I’m a Mother Worrier….

More often than not, I’ll usually catch their cold or flu too. So, I thought I was prepared this time. As an experiment, this time I gave different remedies to my hubby, the nanny and myself. Hopefully we can prevent or nip it in the bud, or at least we can treat the illness in case we get it without resorting to medication. I gave hubby Oscillococcinum, for the nanny I gave her Flu Stop and I took Enchinacea and Aconite.

For some reason, I only had liquid Enchinacea, but no capsules. My goodness, it tasted horrid and I couldn’t bear to take another dose. I have taken Aconite before at the start of a cold and it has always successfully prevented the further onset of the illness. Just one dose of aconite and I always managed to prevent a cold. But this time…..You guessed it. My hubby and the nanny felt very minor cold symptoms which went away fairly quickly.

And I got the full blown, howling in your face cold. Complete with runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes, sinus pain, headache and lethargy. I also sneezed non-stop every time there was a change in temperature such as moving from an air conditioned room to a warm room and vice versa. This is another clue as to which homeopathic remedy would be suitable, even seemingly unimportant facts whether your sore throat moved from the right side to the left, or if it’s only on the left side for example. I tried searching for the appropriate remedy for myself, with no success. After an uncomfortable night with very poor sleep, thank goodness I managed to do a quick Skype consult with my homeopath Michelle the next morning. She suggested Kali Bich for me and I feel heaps better though still having a cold. I may not have been able to nip it in the bud, but at least the symptoms are more manageable and hopefully it’ll blow over quicker.

Because I too fell sick, I had the utmost sympathy and compassion for both May and Min. I knew first hand how bad this cold virus is. I’ve had colds before but nothing that left me feeling this bad. You should have heard me whining on and on to my poor hubby. Thank goodness, the girls homeopath Angelica replied fairly quickly and suggested the appropriate remedy. May was treated with an acute remedy Phosphorus whereas Min was to increase her constitutional remedy. Within 3 days, the girls are back to their normal self, albeit a little bit tired and thin courtesy of their recent illness. Even though all 3 of us had the same cold virus and on the surface, our symptoms appeared similar, all of us required different remedies. It goes to show how personalised homeopathy is.

Because May fell ill first, I was too busy caring for her to realise that Min too had fallen ill. Even though it was bedtime, Min was still energetic and chirpy as ever, though slightly hyper with a touch of manic energy. She was jumping on the sofa, singing at the top of her voice and simultaneously trying to climb on her daddy who was sitting down. In case you were wondering, I was too worn out to tell her to behave. So I casually brushed her hair off her forehead and thought that she felt a little bit warm. Initially I thought it’s because of all the jumping up and down, Just 2 hours ago, I had checked her temperature just as a precaution and she was fine. But just in case, I checked her temperature again. She was 39.2 degrees celcius and climbing up fast and furious.

I immediately gave her Children’s Fever Complex. Usually within 10 minutes, her temperature would have dropped. I gave her another dose 20 minutes later and her temperature didn’t show any signs of receding. Hubby was ready to give Min a dose of Panadol or a Voltaren suppository, he was so worried. But I asked him to give me another 30 minutes, I wanted to try another remedy. If it didn’t work, he can swoop in with the medication. By that time, Min was already in bed and asleep.

So I frantically searched for an appropriate remedy and decided on Arsen Alb and prayed for the best. Min’s temperature dropped to 37.8 within 10 minutes of the first dose. I dosed her again a couple of hours later when her temperature climbed up, her body was hot and dry. When I checked her again a little bit later, her temperature was back down to normal and she was perspiring in her sleep. Sweating was always a good sign for Min when she’s ill, for it meant that the fever had broken. My husband could not believe how effective the homeopathic remedy was, but he saw it with his very own eyes.

I’m just glad that we only got away with 3 days of illness and the girls missing 1 day of school each. This fast and furious cold has left this mummy slow and whiny….