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Contents Of This Naturopath's Medical Kit

1/19/2016

I guess the most obvious items are... well, obvious. I went to my local Target and tried to get a wide assortment of Band-Aids, bandages, tape, cotton balls, Q-Tips, gauze, and wrappings for various injuries.

Up until recently I did not even have little Band-Aids in the house. But I thought it would be wise to put together a medical kit just in case. For some reason, not quite sure why, when I think about the need for a medical kit I picture myself in the middle of the woods without access to running water, a telephone, or soap. As I was trying to come up with items to include, I took those circumstances into consideration, and I also wanted my kit to be sufficient in the event that no help was available for lengthy periods of time. If I forgot anything, feel free to let me know!

In addition to bandaging, a few sizes and types of scissors and tweezers seemed appropriate. Maybe I should get some suture equipment to add?

Also, in the event of no soap and water, the kit is stocked with wet wipes, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, and DepHense, a colloidal silver product.

In addition to the items above, some awesome salve in a small container is a great addition. Of course, if you are not in the woods and are in my house you would find several large containers of this so I felt it only necessary to put a small amount in the kit. :)

Now we are getting to some of the fun parts of the kit. Here we have a small bag of activated charcoal and another of bentonite clay. These items are only truly necessary for us if we are in the wilderness somewhere because I have large quantities of these in my house. I have to admit, I am finding it to be very convenient to have everything neatly organized in one place. It is nice not to have to think about everything I might need or that could be useful for the situation at hand, since everything is there and ready for use. Hey, let's face it, sometimes you just don't think of every single thing that could be helpful in the moment. Well, at least I don't...I was vaccinated. ;)
We also have an herbal extract to help my children sleep, in the event we are wandering through the woods sans beds and pillows, and they have extra trouble dozing off. And I also threw in a Sambuca's cough drop...why not?

Now the really fun stuff: essential oils. They are truly wonderful when used properly. For the purposes of a medical kit, only 2 or 3 are really needed. Both of these are safe to use undiluted although peppermint feels like Icy Hot, so it might be too strong for children and I don't recommend it undiluted on children under 4 years of age.
For both sun and local heat burns, a drop of lavender is great. Especially if you are in the wilderness and have no ice.
For muscle pain, a drop of peppermint is great. For headaches, a drop massaged into the temples and on the back of the neck is best. Also, for stomach upset, a drop right in the naval can work wonders. Of course, a shot of baking soda with charcoal would be great, too. Wait, do I not have a bag of baking soda in here? Gotta fix that STAT!

Finally, a wide assortment of homeopathic remedies. Our pediatrician told me when my oldest was a baby that Calcarea Carbonica helps most issues with babies and toddlers, including teething. Pulsatilla was a second go-to for her with babies. The indications on the bottles are only one of very many that the remedy can be used for. In her words, when you get the right one it works immediately and for good. We got to see that one time when Elise was about 8 months old. She was having an allergic reaction to some sort of outdoor allergen. Her eyes were watering and itchy, she was sneezing, and her nose was running. We gave her 1 Pulsatilla tablet based on our pediatrician's advice and her symptoms left immediately and have never come back. I'm not well-versed in homeopathic remedies but having a wide selection in the kit seemed like a great idea if we should ever have a need. Another that we have found helpful for the kids is Chammomilla for teething discomfort and Calcarea Phosphorica for growing pains.

Do you have a medical kit? What's in yours?

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Tips For A Great Cleanse

1/4/2016

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It's January again and after another fall full of junk, so many are looking to clean house, get healthy, and detox the junk they piled on for the last 2 months. Here are some great tips to designing your own cleanse.

Set your "Rules"
There are many different types and levels of cleansing, from eliminating 1 item, to truly cleaning house. Just like for some people spring cleaning might mean catching up on laundry while for others they throw away everything they haven;t used in the last year, and scrub every inch of their home top to bottom. You want to make this a challenge, but one you can accomplish. It also depends on your health. The more health challenges you have, the stricter (and longer) the cleanse should be. Here are some examples of ways to cleanse:

1) Just green juice. All juiced with a juicer, all green, no fruit.

2) Liquid cleanse. Here you can have veggies in the juicer and shakes by putting them in the blender with water. Adding avocado to your veggie shakes helps you get needed fats and emulsify the shake also. It is more strict and a deeper cleanse if you do not include fruit, but if you are pretty healthy and just want to detox you can decide if having one or 2 of your drinks during the day can include fruit. You can also decide if you want to add some lightly cooked veggies to include hot, but blended, soups. You can also have raw pureed soups made in the blender. Another addition to a liquid cleanse is making your own fresh, raw, live nut milks by soaking raw nuts in water for a few hours, rinsing them off and blending with alkaline water. Strain and enjoy. You can add this to green juice to mellow it out for a special treat.

3) All raw. Adding a salad or piece of fruit during the day, or even some raw nuts is another type of cleanse.

Here is a chart to help you keep your cleanse alkaline.

My cleanse this month is going to start out liquid for 3 days to 1 week and then will transition to all raw.

Once you have decided the parameters of your cleanse it is great to keep a log of what you are consuming. I like to include the date, my weight, my water consumption, baking soda shots, supplements, shakes, juice, health drink.

More tips for success:
1) Drink your body weight in ounces of water daily. So, if you are 39 pounds, drink 39 ounces of water per day - in addition to your meals which are your also liquids right now.

2) Drink a meal every 2 hours. It isn't always convenient to blend something every 2 hours, so you can blend extra in the morning and pour it into a few sealable containers and store in the fridge. This is great if you are going to work.

3) Take baking soda shots. The link above explains when and how along with testing your pH on a cleanse.

4) To deep clean the blood add cloves of raw garlic to your salty shakes!

5) Include a daily health drink.

6) Recruit a friend and hold each other accountable. It always helps when you are not alone. Let me know you are joining me!

7) Choose your thoughts wisely. It can be challenging when you are hungry. It is easy to fast when you are full, or even planning on it while you are stuffing your face. But once you are doing it and you get hungry it gets hard. You can have waves of head aches, nausea, and other symptoms that are unpleasant. It is part of the process. It means you are getting rid of the trash. Instead of thinking "I'm starving" I like to think "I'm starving the toxins!". Rather than thinking "I feel awful" I think "I'm getting rid of everything awful!". And when you are sitting next to someone NOT cleansing with you and watching them stuff their face and grain with delight instead of thinking "This sucks!" I like to think "This is worth it. I am healing my body, setting myself up for a healthy life, a good example, and accomplishing my goals! I'm not going to die...I'm going to live better." And some days I need to remind myself often "I'm not going to die if I don't eat that. :D" Can you tell I struggle with self-control yet?

8) Connect with me at Alkaline Mom for more tips and support. Message me or set up a consult with me if you want more tips on how to make your cleanse most effective for your personal goals.

Cheers!!!

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Courtney Charles

A Holistic Health Practitioner and Instructor since 1997, pH Miracle Certified Nutritional Microscopist, and full time mom of 2 and wife dedicated to raising an alkaline family. Above all of that, my ultimate aim in life is to be a disciple of Christ.

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