Flu Relief in 24 Hours

I don’t normally get sick, but nothing weakens your immune system more than inadequate sleep and stress.  So, after two nights of minimal sleep and two days of classes, I came home on Saturday evening to get ready for another class being held at my home.  One of the guests mentioned that her husband wouldn’t be coming that night because he was sick and that the whole family had been sick the past week.  By the time the class ended, I had a strange dry cough and tickle in my throat.  I didn’t think much of it and went to bed (I was tired).

The next morning, I awoke and got ready for church, still with that strange dry cough and tickle.  When we came home from church, I started to make lunch (salmon, rice, and naturally fermented kim chi) but before it was finished I began to have a fever, chills, headache, aches from head to toe, and the dry cough was worse.

Fortunately, I had the tools to combat this and by Monday morning I was good as new.  Want to know what I did?  Read on.  🙂

The Brew

The first thing I did was make a batch of The Brew.  The Brew is great for any low grade fever or infection, colds, and even for heavy menstrual bleeding or irregular bleeding.  One batch makes a quart and I made sure to finish it before I went to bed that night.

Herbal Tinctures

I took three rounds of tinctures, the last round right before going to bed.  You can purchase the tinctures already made from Butterfly Express, or purchase the herb packs and make your own tincture like I did.  I muscle tested for 2 droppers of IF, 2 droppers of BB-L, and 1 dropper of RC-L.  I placed all of this in a cup of water and drank it down.

IF (formerly Infection Fighter) is a good all-purpose formula that can be used for any type of infection – infected injuries, sore throats, ear infections, and anything else that you can think of.  It includes echinacea root, oregon grape root, poke root, red clover blossoms, cayenne, yarrow leaf or flowers, and usnea.

BBL (formerly B & B) is an outstanding antispasmodic, nervine, and pain reliever.  BBL will bring relief to anythign that manifests with spasms or a pulsing sensation, such as coughing , muscle spasms, and abdominal cramping.  Because is so useful for pain relief it’s a good one to choose when you’re feeling achy.  BBL contains black cohosh, blue cohosh, blue vervain, skullcap, and lobelia.

RC (formerly Red Clover combination) with the addition of lomatium is very effective for bacterial and viral flu.  This is one of the most effective infection fighter formulas and is an excellent blood and body cleanser.  In addition to lomatium, this tincture formula contains buckthorn bark, burdock root, cascara sagrada, chaparral, licorice root, oregon grape root, peach bark or leaves, poke root, prickly ash bark, red clover blossoms, sarsaparilla, and stillingia root.

Essential Oils

I rubbed Aspire essential oil on my chest and then again on my feet before going to bed.

Aspire contains cypress, eucalyptus blue mallee, morjoram, myrtle, peppermint, pine, rosemary, saro, and spruce.  It is quite effective against infections and is used to open the airways and relieve congestion in the lungs.  It is especially effective when used to clear respiratory passages and to relieve coughs and flu that have settled in the lungs.

Eat

When your body is fighting an infection, it’s important to give it the nourishment it needs.  Although I ate lunch with my husband (the natural ferment of the kim chi would have been beneficial in boosting my alkalinity as well as providing beneficial enzymes and probiotics) by the time dinner came around I wasn’t feeling very well.  Still, I made sure I ate some rice warmed up with milk and cinnamon.

Rest

After taking my first round of tinctures, I took my lunch plate and my quart jar of The Brew and sat on the sofa covered in a blanket (by then I really had the chills).  I ate most of my lunch while resting on the sofa and when I couldn’t eat any more, I laid back and took a nap.  When I woke, I sipped some more Brew, played Words With Friends on the iPad, checked out whatever my husband was watching on television, and then took another nap.  Basically, I rested for most of the afternoon and evening.  Your body heals while it sleeps.

By the time bed-time came, I hadn’t noticed much improvement, so I finished the Brew, had my third round of tinctures (my second round occurred during one of my waking moments between naps 🙂 ), applied some more Aspire to my chest and to my feet, and went to bed.

Hydration

It’s important to stay hydrated when you’re not feeling well.  As your body fights off infection, it needs a way to remove the toxins from your body.  The best way is using the body’s natural elimination system so drinking plenty of fluids helps with that elimination.  Between the water in The Brew, the water I used when taking the tinctures, and water I drank throughout the evening because I was thirsty, I did my best to make sure I stayed hydrated.

When using herbal remedies, I like to match the intensity of the treatment to the intensity of the sickness.  So in this case, I hit it hard with everything that I could think of.

The next morning, I woke up and felt good as new!  No fever, no headache, no chills, no cough, no aches!

Have you been successful using herbal remedies in fighting the flu?  What did you use?

You can purchase Aspire and any of the herbal tinctures or herb packs by calling Butterfly Express at 208-747-3021.  Descriptions of Aspire and herbal tinctures comes from Butterfly Miracles with Essential Oils and Butterfly Miracles with Herbal Remedies by LaRee Westover also available by calling 208-747-3021.  Butterfly Express is not an affiliate, I do not receive any compensation for my recommendations.

This post was shared with Wildcrafting Wednesday #73, Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Down Home Blog Hop, and Make Your Own Monday.