bump for the season
it's that time of year again. the elderberry syrup recipe is post #8
make it now while no one is sick so you will have it when you need it :mrgreen:
bump for the season
it's that time of year again. the elderberry syrup recipe is post #8
make it now while no one is sick so you will have it when you need it :mrgreen:
Christie... unfortunately, that wasn't our experience. Neither hubby or I have any "preexisting conditions", we both work full time on our dairy, and haven't seen a doctor in years. My DD (who thankfully had a mild case, as it turned out she was about 4 weeks pregnant when she caught H1N1) is a marathon runner.
The most serious cases of THIS particular flu seemed to be in people who were normally healthy, which isn't unexpected given the presumption that it was creating a cytokine storm in those people (where their strong immune systems actually were turned into overdrive and against their own bodies). Very few older people died from H1N1, but an awful lot (comparably, to "regular flu") of healthy teenagers and young pregnant women DID.
We don't do flu shots- never have, don't see any reason to. And for parents of young children, you might want to look into the studies that show that 1000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily actually is several times more effective in preventing them from getting the flu than the vaccine is.
And Huny is right... getting the syrup made ahead of time and having it on hand is well worth the effort. In normal years, as long as we take it at the first sign of any symptoms, we never get sick at all.
Summerthyme
I wish I knew why all of our friends & family members who didn't get the shot & were healthy, all were exposed to H1N1, and none caught this flu. There has to be something we all have in common that was a deterrent. Some of us work out, others don't, some eat organically, others don't, and so on. We don't even live in the same cities.
Len & I eat a lot of blueberries, eat mostly organic, cook our meals from scratch, don't eat junk food, and I don't even eat sugar. We drink Kefir smoothies (bananas, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries) every day, and I drink Comfrey Infusions regularly, also, "Comfrey Uplandica," leaves used only. Neither of us drink, smoke, or take drugs. We are both physically fit and not overweight. Our friends and the family I mentioned? Some drink, smoke, etc..., none eat as well as we do. The only thing we all had in common, I could figure out? None of us seemed to catch anything, hardly ever getting sick. I am wondering if we developed an immunity, not sure how you can with that nasty bug without catching it.
I will be making up that syrup and be ready just in case! Thanks, Summerthyme!
I hadn't read through all the posts, but came across some info on the net about drinking Kefir Milk daily. VIT D use, of course, has been proven as a preventative. Kefir Milk contains VIT D3. In addition, it is recommended for when you have the flu to speed recovery.
How many that have gotten h1.... have gotten the .gov flu shots?
None of us that I know of...
(but some of my DD's co-workers did get the vaccine, and the flu. Not necessarily within a few weeks, but the vaccine definitely didn't seem to be very protective)
Summerthyme
My SIL got the H1N1 after getting her shot. Her sister, other SIL got H1N1 after getting the nasal spray to prevent it. Both maintained it was within the period they shouldn't have contracted it. Then the 2nd SIL told me live H1N1 were used in the nasal spray. Both MIL and FIL got the shots, but didn't get the flu. My friends and most of my direct family don't get flu shots. We have all elected to practice prevention methods as well as make sure we are prepared to self treat at onset of flu symptoms.
My family had an awful flu last late Sept./Oct. It was very likely H1N1 as that was the dominant strain in the area and the time. I had my elderberry tincture already made up and in the cabinet. But this flu hit so hard and so fast, I didn't even remember that I had any tincture! My fever shot up to 105, the kids and DH were around 103. I think I was hit the hardest and took the longest in getting my strength back. DD, who is asthmatic and will require prednisone to keep breathing during a regular old cold, came through it in the shortest time and with the least breathing problems. DH also had it a bit milder, but was still down for a few days. I remember very little of that time, except almost passing out on the way to the bathroom and everything having a funny yellow/orange tint. I was really too sick to know how sick I was. Nasty flu.
This is a wonderful thread. I'm bumping it to bring attention to it. Love all these remedies!
I would like to add an idea here that I have found very helpful after an almost fatal end to the flu 2 years ago.
I don't know if anyone here remembers me from Adelph's site, but I used to particpate all the time in these discussions.
But 2 years ago, I got the flu, pretty bad, developed pneumonia which kept coming back. I was sick for three months, then ended up with massive blood clots to both sides of my lungs which should have killed me. It is by the grace of God that it didn't. My recovery was very slow due to other conditions that are not yet well understood.
However, since then, I have not been sick with the flu once - not been sick at all.
I take only one thing at the first sign of symptoms of cold or flu. A homeopathic remediy Oscilliccocinum. I hope this might help others here as well.
Ya know, I've seen that supplement advertised quite a bit lately for the first time and wondered what it was all about!
Thank you for sharing this! I may go over to Walgreens and pick some up when I get paid........hmmmm, I'm entrigued!8)
Glad to hear of your recovery, too!! :-P
I thought I would add some of our experiences to this thread.
I currently have the flu. I started using vitamin c(ester c powder) and some homeopathic cough syrup.
Couple days have gone by, I started to get strep throat.
For this, we use a homeopathic remedy from nativeremedies.com called Throat and Tonsil doctor. This stuff is what kept me from having to goto a doctor and get my tonsils taken out years ago.
I used it today, and it has already aleviated almost all symptoms of strep.
So, back to the flu, now Im taking an organic elderberry syrup made by the gaia company. Also taking vitamin d (5k mg,garden of life brand), and still taking vitamin c powder periodically.
On a sidenote: I was watching the weather channel the other day and saw the infection map of the us for this flu virus going around. Aside from a handful of states, the whole country reported many cases of this flu.
Personally, I believe they sprayed us with something that caused this flu to kick in. The night I came down with the symptoms, I saw the sky(at night) in the moonlight covered with thick chemtrails.
I dont put it past the jerks doing such a thing.
I've got a friend who has high blood pressure, AND, unfortunately a severe case of the flu... would it be okay to have him start taking the EB tincture I made with alcohol (vodka)?
TIA
PS...his wife says he's been out of work for 10 days now and is sicker than a dog...wished she'd contacted me earlier.
And thanks for all the helpful stuff to pass on to her.
My family of four all got the latest FLU BUG WHICH IS PRETTY BAD. They have fatalities coming in now....so sad. Ok so my two sons went through two rounds of it or just never really got over it. I had it for TWO DAYS, that is all. I drank Nettle tea and got extra sleep plus good eating. I did not take anything else and the other family members are still getting over this, going on three weeks for my one son??? They have gotten other teas, homemade soups etc...I am the only one who drank the Nettle tea..guess I have to say, that was it for me. I did not take any pills and no other herbs. None of them like the Nettle tea as much as I do. I did not develop the cough but my son says his back hurts from coughing so much. They are all getting doused with Nettle tea like it or not today. The proof is in with the Mother...LOL
OR you didn't have influenza, Romy. Let us know how the nettle tea works for your sons.
It won't hurt, but at this late stage, it's not really likely to help much, either. Has he seen a doctor? Yes, influenza CAN last 10-14 days, but it's highly likely that if he's still (or again, after a few days of none) spiking a fever, and if he is coughing up greenish/brownish mucous, it has gone into a secondary bacterial infection.
A reminder:
Elderberry DOES work on influenza. It's not a lot of use on most other viruses, however. But, it works by stopping the virus from reproducing... so you must take it EARLY and OFTEN if you want it to actually help.
Symptom severity is mostly based on viral load- how many million of the rotten creatures you have in your cells. If you take elderberry at the VERY first sign of problems, the few viruses in your system at that point won't reproduce, and you may never develop full blown illness. If you take it when you KNOW you're ill, as long as you take it around the clock (or as close to it as possible- every 4 hours seems to be the best interval) you may shut the virus "factory" down and recover within 48 hours or so.
If you wait until you're flat in bed after 2-3 days of symptoms, OR if you take elderberry infrequently or irregularly, or skip it for a day or so while you still have live viruses in your system, you might as well save your money.
Summerthyme
I'm bringing this post over here from the other thread on flu, just to try to keep most of the "hard" info all in one place.
If anyone knows of any other posts/threads which might be valuable combined or added to this sticky, please let me know !
Influenza- prevention and treatment
This was written in 2009 when a mod asked me to try and put together a basic primer for influenza planning, trying to get it all into one, relatively concise, format.
I AM NOT AN EXPERT. I’m a dairy farmer and herbalist who learned most of what I know on the practical side from trial and error, raising 4 kids without health insurance most of the time.
I’m not going to address every single “remedy” or “treatment” out there… if I haven’t either used it personally for virus treatment or there isn’t a good solid body of evidence (or both) that something works, I’m not going to include it. Colloidal Silver is a good example- while I’ve seen it work amazingly well on bacteria, I haven’t ever seen any real evidence that it works on viruses. It may… but I can’t swear to it. Hence, it won’t be here.
I’m not going to address all the definitions, etc again. Most reading this will have heard terms like “cytokine storm” enough to understand the basics. If not… there is a ton of info out there, on this forum and elsewhere.
Also… there is NO such thing as a completely safe remedy. Some folks can be allergic to elderberries… or anything else.
THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!:
IF you currently take Rx meds or are under a doctor’s care for a chronic medical condition, PLEASE, CHECK WITH THEM if you have any questions. Also, if you are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant, do not take ANYthing mentioned here until you’ve at least followed up with your own research! If your doctor disagrees with you taking anything… either follow their instructions, or change their mind with facts…. No one here can be responsible for anything that happens if you follow any advice here without doing your own due diligence.
All that said… there is nothing mentioned in this essay which has any of the potentially dangerous side effects which are common to TamiFlu and other Rx meds.
First… PREVENTION. Always the best line of defense for any illness. Handwashing, preferably with soap and water, works. Since it’s nearly impossible to avoid touching contaminated surfaces if you’re out in public, it’s going to be easier to train yourself to not touch your mouth, nose or eyes until after you’ve washed your hands.
Eyes??? YES... which brings me to a subject I rarely see mentioned: CONTACT LENSES. IF you wear them, you may want to consider switching to eyeglasses for the duration of the epidemic, at least when you’re out away from home. If you’re one of the fortunate ones who never has the slightest problem once your lenses are in place, you’re probably fine. But I see so many contact wearers poking at their eyes, trying to get an eyelash out, pulling out saline bottles, etc.. and you can as easily absorb the virus through your eyes as you can through your mouth and nose. Glasses can also provide a small bit of protection.. if someone coughs or sneezes, droplets which may have landed in your eyes will land on your glasses instead. (providing you with clear vision so you can then sucker punch the thoughtless idiot who just potentially contaminated you! LOL!)
You may want to take further steps, depending on how seriously you’re taking this. Things like saving one pair of shoes for “outside ONLY”… and stepping out of them before you enter your home. I’d keep my “work shoes” that I wear at work, or shopping, in the car. Remember things like your purse or briefcase… if you set it down on the elevator floor, or a store counter, you MAY have virus on the bottom surface. If you then carry it into your home and set it on the kitchen counter, or your bedroom dresser… you get the picture.
Masks… N95 are better than nothing, and although they can provide a false sense of security if they aren’t fitted properly (and if you then relax because you’re “protected”), they may help protect you in situations where people are in close quarters- elevators, busses, etc.
Supplements and meds:
Because of the potential for a cytokine storm with this particular flu strain, if you take any supplements now for immune system boosting (especially Echinacea or other herbs meant to “strengthen your immune system”) I’d STOP taking them for now. There are some other things you can take which can help prevent you from catching ‘flu or which are known to mitigate the severity of the illness:
Vitamin E
400IU daily
Best started early (NOW)
Shown to reduce Influenza A and B activity if supplemented before exposure. Treatment can reduce inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF, while increasing interferon and non-inflammatory IL-2.
For treatment if symptoms appear, increase to 800 IU daily for the duration
Garlic- Not just for social distancing!
RAW is best. Probably the easiest way to take it is to cut up raw cloves into “capsule size” pieces, and swallow like you would a pill. You could also chop raw garlic and stuff it into gelatin capsules and swallow. Or, simply chew the raw cloves- if you can!
The “odorless” garlic preparations available commercially are better than using cooked garlic, but are a poor second to using raw fresh cloves.
Dosage: 1-4 cloves daily. ( ¾ tsp to 1½ tsps chopped fresh daily)
Garlic is reported to stimulate immunity, including macrophage activity, natural killer and killer cells, and LAK cells, and to increase the production of IL-2, TNF, and interferon-gamma.
Allicin (one of the active principles in garlic) has been shown to reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines.
Zinc.. best obtained from foods (meat, shellfish, pumpkin seeds, wheat germ) Supplement with NO MORE than 25 mgs daily, unless you are sure you’re deficient. We personally (meaning don't follow our lead without doing a bit of research or talking to your doctor!!) take up to 200 mgs of zinc daily at the FIRST sign of a sore throat, runny nose, or the muscle aches/fatigue/chills that may presage a virus coming on. We limit the duration of that dose to 10 days MAX, however. You CAN overdo zinc!!
Vitamin C 1 gram daily (adults- prevention). Increase to 2 grams daily (adults, treatment)
NAC 1/day to prevent the formation of cystein renal stones.
Prevention: 600 mgs daily
N-Acetyl Cysteine
A mucolytic, anti-oxidant. Loosens mucus, increases blood gas exchange and available oxygen. If you take this, you must drink 6-8 glasses of water. You also MUST take Vitamin C if you’re taking NAC (without sufficient Vitamin C, L-cysteine can change to a toxic amino acid, l-cystine). It also REQUIRES sufficient zinc in your system.
TREATMENT: 600 mg/2-3 x's/day
Resveratrol- this is a compound found in red wine (the highest amounts are in Pinot Noir), raw peanuts, and in two herbs- Baikal skullcap and Japanese knotweed. It strongly disrupts the viral replication process. It must be taken very early- preferably within 6 hours of first symptoms, and often- every 2-4 hours. For someone who is actually sick, sipping 1-2 ounces Pinot Noir wine every 2-4 hours works well. If you need to go to work, drive, etc, snacking on freshly boiled (just before eating) peanuts or taking capsules
(Japanese Knotweed is an aggressive import considered a pest weed (like kudzu!) in many areas. Google it, and you may find you've been driving by a virtual gold mine in influenza medicine on your daily drive! Once you know what it looks like, you'll notice it immediately along the roadsides. Long, arching stems with big clusters of foamy white flowers in bloom season. You can make your own resveratrol tincture by soaking the upper parts (leaves and stems) of Japanese knotweed in high proof vodka. The resulting tincture gives you at least 50 mgs of resveratrol per cc. 1 tsp (5 cc's) 3 times a day should be sufficient.
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra species)
This is still the mainstay of my anti-influenza fighting arsenal. After sifting through too many monographs, studies and abstracts, my PERSONAL conclusion is that the risk of a cytokine storm isn’t increased enough for me to NOT use elderberry. The key is to start taking elderberry EARLY and OFTEN. Take a small (1/2 to ¼ of the treatment dose) preventative dose if the virus is in your area, and then if you begin to feel any symptoms at all, ramp it up to the full “treatment” dose.
(for infants, DO NOT use the honey-based recipe. Use the recipe at the very bottom, with sugar. This is due to the tiny (but non-zero) risk of botulism from honey in infants under 12 months old.)
Elderberry Syrup Recipe
7 cups elderberry juice
8 ¾ cups honey
3 cups 80 proof vodka
Warm the elderberry juice to “hot, but not boiling” temp… between 150 and 180°F should be plenty. Stir in the honey and stir until it’s completely dissolved and blended.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the vodka.
Pour into sterile jars or bottles (sterilize them by boiling for 5-10 minutes in boiling water, then let drip dry upside down until filling)
Cap and LABEL. Store in a cool DARK place (or bottle in dark brown glass)
Standard dose for adults would be:
Prophylaxis (prevention) 1 tablespoon 2x a day. If there is active flu in your office or family, double that, or take more often.
Treatment: 1-2 tablespoons every 3-4 hours
Children under 12: half the adult dose
Toddlers and infants: Talk to your doctor! But, lacking that, 1 tsp at similar intervals to the adult dose should be adequate.
There is NO way to overdose on this! Put it in juice, jello, pour it over ice cream- any way you can get the kids to take it is fine.
Alternatives:
If you do not want to use any alcohol in the syrup, use
7 cups elderberry juice
14 cups honey
Proceed as above, ignoring the reference to the vodka.
If you don’t want to use honey (probably best to NOT use it for babies under 1 year)
7 cups elderberry juice
11 ½ cups sugar
Green Tea Catechins demonstrate anti-viral activity.
This would be a good way to take your elderberry… in a cup of green tea. If you’re congested and symptomatic, probably hot green tea with elderberry syrup and a good dollop of honey and lemon would be a “multi-purpose” drink… providing the anti-viral activity of the tea, fluids, and the throat soothing properties of the lemon and honey. The hot tea should help loosen mucous as well.
Essential Fatty acids (immune MODULATOR, potent anti-inflammatory action) GLA is in Borage seed oil or Evening Primrose Oil, EPA from cold pressed fish oil.
Prevention & Treatment: 1-2 capsules each (or a combo product) daily.
ESSENTIAL OILS… The two essential oils I’d use religiously in a vaporizer or cool mister are eucalyptus globulus and Peppermint. Both have potent expectorant effects (an expectorant loosens/ thins mucous and encourages the body to cough it out and expel it). Eucalyptus has anti inflammatory effects (and reduces inflammatory cytokines) as well as anti-fungal and anti-bacterial effects. SOME folks can be sensitive to the “strong” smells essential oils produce… use to tolerance. Start with 3-5 drops in a vaporizer, and add until you can smell the oils strongly, but not at overwhelming levels.
COMFORT CARE… The truth is, the outcome of even serious illnesses CAN be affected positively by simple, but effective TLC (Tender Loving Care). That means keeping the patient comfortable as much as possible. Treat muscle pain, aches, headache with appropriate OTC pain meds. If possible, allow them to sleep as much as they can- if you can, fit meals, drinking fluids and taking the supplements, etc in while they are awake. REST HEALS. At the same time, you don’t want them to go for too long without taking in fluids, so you need to use some common sense.
Many doctors now feel that fever actually serves a valuable purpose in helping the body fight off illness. However, an extremely high fever can be dangerous in itself. Again, you want a balance- if the patient is comfortable, not suffering shaking chills and their temp isn’t above 102.5, don’t give aspirin or acetaminophen JUST to treat the fever. (and DO NOT GIVE aspirin to children under 18 with this or any other viral illness)
One last thought:
RECORD KEEPING! Even though you may only have one or two patients, the MINUTE you start increasing dosages of any meds, start keeping a notebook. Keep a separate page for each person. Write down symptoms, vital signs when you check them, FLUID AMOUNTS TAKEN IN, and what meds/supplements they took. Write date and time, every time. You hopefully will end up only with a personal family memento of a nasty flu bug. But, if one of your patients ends up needing hospital treatment, your record may give them a valuable history. And it will save you from forgetting doses, overdosing accidentally, or worrying needlessly whether or not you remembered a dose.
Our Personal Treatment Plan
Use as a base for your own, adjusting as needed for your own family’s needs. I’m still working this out in my mind for our family, but this is what I’ve come up with so far:
First… anyone who begins to run a fever during an active influenza season or pandemic will immediately start taking treatment doses of Elderberry, NAC, Vitamin C and E, and Zinc.
We have checked normal vital signs on family members, and hence know whether or not a temp of “99.8” is an actual fever or simply a normal late afternoon temp on someone working in the sun. (for me, since I run a normal of around 96.8… that would be a high fever)
If the patient shows any worsening of symptoms- begins to have chills, is noticing a bad headache or body aches, etc… they WILL BE PUT TO BED. This IS one of the most important things you can do, and something you need to discuss with your loved ones NOW! We, as a society, are so used to “taking something” to knock symptoms down so we can keep working, that it’s not funny. And it is dangerous! We get away with it now because of our incredibly advanced medical system and the availability of potent antibiotics which have been able to treat most cases of secondary bacterial pneumonia… many of which were avoidable with sensible care.
I’m planning on treating a pandemic strain of influenza as if we don’t HAVE that medical system or any of the advances since 1918… because I believe that within the first 2 weeks of a serious pandemic (the current strain is NOT that serious- at least not yet) we won’t have access to almost anything they didn’t have in 1918, because our hospitals, pharmacies, etc are going to be completely overwhelmed.
I have plenty of things like small games, reading material, etc to keep someone who is bedbound (by MY decree… in a situation like this, my word – as “chief medical officer” of our family- would be law) but feels well enough to do more than sleep, occupied.
For anyone in the “danger” age group for cytokine storm (pretty much all my grown kids), a fever plus any secondary symptoms (body aches, headache, or ANY respiratory symptoms) will immediately get them put on the full dose of elderberry/NAC/Vitamins, PLUS I’ll add curcumin and resveratrol.
Patients will be strongly encouraged to eat small amounts of whatever appeals to them, and to drink a MINIMUM of 2-3 quarts of fluids. To encourage this, we have a stash of several different juices, green tea, and herb teas. I’ve got a bunch of home canned chicken soup, and at the first hint that someone may be getting ill, I’ll make a couple batches of pudding and stash it in the fridge. People with children may want to have stuff like jello on hand.
We’ll set up at least one bedroom as the “sick room”… at this point, it will be the master bedroom, because it has an attached bathroom, and is only a few steps from the kitchen, but can be closed off if necessary. Everything used in the “sick room” will be put into heavy garbage bags, and sealed until someone has time to deal with it safely… linens, etc, will be sealed up until someone can wash them with bleach (wearing gloves and mask while handling them). We’ll use disposable cups and dishes, and will remove all used items plus dirty tissues, etc at least twice a day. I have some disinfectant bleach wipes which will be stashed in the bathroom, and used to wipe down sink and toilet handles, etc, daily.
I have a stash of older blankets and sheets which I’ll use on the bed… and I’ll then decide whether to wash or burn them, depending on how things go. Because pillows tend to be comfort items and something people have personal preferences about, I’ve thought about how to keep them from being contaminated. I have several “hypoallergenic” pillow cases stashed, to seal the inside pillow itself from contamination. I’ll use old pillowcases for the top layer, again so I can choose whether it’s more prudent to wash and disinfect them (a couple days on the clothesline in the sun should be sufficient) or burn them.
I will keep a vaporizer going in the sick room with the essential oils mentioned above, unless it bothers the patient. In which case, I’ll move it to just outside the sickroom door.
Vital signs will be monitored at least 2x a day… more often if necessary. That means temperature, respirations and blood pressure, as well as a visual inspection of color (lips and nailbeds, as well as skin tone/color). Normal respirations in a healthy adult are between 14 and 20 per minute. Fast, shallow breaths mean respiratory distress (children’s normal numbers are different… if you have children, you’ll want to look up “normal vital signs in children”). If someone is showing signs of increased respirations, check their nail beds and lips... a bluish tinge means they are short of oxygen. (Once you get to this point, you’re well into the “call your doc or go to the ER NOW!” territory. If the pandemic news is attracting a lot of attention, OR if your hospital is packed with ill patients, if you decide you need hospital care, you should probably call an ambulance- it may be the only way to ensure that you have a chance of getting care. Obviously, I’d encourage everyone to NOT use an ambulance or hospital services unless you really believe it’s life or death).
VERY important… get ALL YOUR SUPPLIES purchased and stashed someplace safe NOW. Maybe this will blow over… or maybe it will come roaring back this fall even stronger and more dangerous. I’m reading FAR too many posts by people who are just now looking for elderberries, or masks, or hand sanitizer. Good grief, people! I can understand looking for MORE of these basics, because you’ve suddenly realized you’ve got 2 dozen DGI relatives who are going to come looking for you to help them. But every household should have at least a small, basic supply of these items. Elderberry syrup or extract is a staple around here- I can’t imagine NOT having it around to use the minute someone shows early signs of a viral illness.
And if necessary (depending on your personal situation) buy the stuff and HIDE it. Masks and gloves can easily be “borrowed” for all sorts of household uses, and that’s fine… but if you have family members who habitually “borrow” preps without mentioning it… you need a “pandemic stash” which is NOT TO BE TOUCHED, unless they plan on going out and buying replacements for what they’ve used PDQ.
And last, but certainly not least- remember, even in 1918, the vast majority of people did survive. Many who didn’t, didn’t die of influenza… they died from secondary factors like hunger and cold, when family members couldn’t go out to get food or firewood. Those deaths were preventable… and if this strain gets stronger, we’ll see deaths which didn’t have to happen this time too. Make sure your family isn’t part of that tragic and completely unnecessary statistic!
Summerthyme
(huny caught the fact that I never mentioned Vitamin D3 in this post. In 2009 when I wrote it, Vitamin D was JUST starting to come on the screen in terms of the massive deficiencies in most Americans and its role in strengthening the immune system and helping ward off illness. For most healthy adults, there is no harm in taking 2000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily. If you don't get a lot of sun, or if you use sunscreen religiously, 5000 IU daily is probably closer to your needs. I haven't seen any decent studies showing *for sure* that supplementing D3 makes a difference in either your chances of catching influenza, or in mitigating the seriousness of individual cases, and I *would* like to see some work on D3 and cytokine storm (or blood levels of Vitamin D and cytokine storm) incidence, but with what we have to work with now, it appears that the potential benefits are good and drawbacks minor or non-existent. IF anyone finds studies that address this issue in any way, PLEASE do post them!!)
Summerthyme, I'm just finding my way around the TOL after an absence - wehre is the "other" thread about flu?
I am sick AGAIN (got what I am sure was flu in December) and got sick again about 10 days ago. I'm thinking it's one of those vicious corona viruses and not flu; a friend's grandsons and daughter have been terribly ill with flu like symptoms currently. They too one of the boys to a doctor and he tested neg for flu and strep throat and the doc said "it's a cold". He has fever, extreme malaise, non stop coughing that induces vomiting, headache, pains in body, etc.
BeWell... I think the original thread referenced here has vanished into the (inaccessible) archives... back when the Righthaven pukes were threatening to sue everyone for posting ANY copyrighted info, Housewolf moved ALL the older threads into the archives, "just in case".
If you set the option at the bottom of the page to "show threads from the beginning" in the Doctor's Office here, you can find most of the discussions. This sticky probably has most of the info in one place. Here are a couple other threads I found on the subject...
http://www.thetreeofliberty.com/vb/s...d.php?t=130528
http://74.39.184.126/vb/showthread.php?t=58557
I'll tell you- I'm not a doctor, but what you're describing in that young boy sounds like whooping cough! I wonder if they tested for that? The doc doesn't sound too competent... granted, the common cold can make you feel pretty miserable for a few days, but it *doesn't* generally include the symptoms you are describing!
I'm sorry you're feeling bad... winter is tough enough without being sick! Do you take any sort of immune system stimulants like echinacea or elderflower? Remember, for echinacea (at least), you need to take it for 4-5 weeks, then give yourself a 7-10 day "vacation"... otherwise, the body starts getting accustomed to it, and stop responding.
Something else to consider if someone is constantly catching various bugs is trying an adaptogen- either Ginseng, or maybe Rhodiola Rosea. I don't have any scientific studies to show that it will help, but I figure that frequent illness is an indication that *something* is "out of whack" (real scientific terms there, I know!), and adaptogens are reputed to basically help get the body back into balance. It can't hurt, and MIGHT help.
Summerthyme
We rec recently discovered a 3 year old quart of the vodka EB tincture in the basement frig and wondering if it should be dumped or is it still OK.
Mudking... tinctures keep a long time, (although there is some debate on that, I've always suspected that those who say they "expire" in a year or two may have a "reason" for that assertion... I'll leave it at that). I've used 10 year old tinctures, stored in a dark cabinet at room temperature, and they worked fine.
Yours should be fine for at least another few flu seasons...
Summerthyme
Thank you. With a little heavy on the "vodka" mix I was pretty sure it was OK, but need an experts opinion. Now need to get back to taking it again.
will add my recent experience with the flu that has been going around our area.
we were heavily exposed to the flu virus at a church meeting, everyone came down with it by the next evening and it made them seriously ill very quickly.
the next day when we heard the news of having been exposed, we started taking the elderberry syrup every couple of hours, good thing it tastes yummie!
we also sent a couple bottles over to a large family to try to keep them well. Out of the 13 people in the family the only four who didn't catch the bug were those who took the elderberry syrup remedy, some didn't take it due to containing alcohol, but I hadn't made any without it.
Neither of us came down with it either...
we take vit d, vit e and vit c year round and have found we rarely catch anything since adding the vit d after the flying pig flu a couple years ago.
feel like we dodged a bullet, this years flu bug is a nasty one.
read this thread and refresh your memories and get what you need NOW
Thanks Hunybee I have not been sick in so long, that I am not ever sure when it was last time. Over twenty years but I will be reading so that I may help all that will listen to me. Even though that number grows smaller every year. But some day I will be able to help someone somewhere!
O.K. I read all the threads the only thing that I do is eat lots of garlic, onions, rosemary. Also vit D along with several others, I also work outdoors which I think helps. Thanks to all on the tree! Lance
i found this a little bit ago. we have caught something, and i am a little fuzzy right now (i am hitting this with everything we got) and the graphs are not very clear so i cannot make out the specifics of what they are showing.
anyway, it is about curcumin and influenza
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...609010553#fig2
I just made a new small batch of eb syrup and getting ready to take a jar to my dd. She came down with the flu last night while we were canning. She was exposed at work on Thursday. So now I've been exposed as well as my 2 sons who came to pick me up last night. So we're all taking the preventative doses. Now here's my question. We think dd is very possibly pregnant. So I know she and sil will question is it safe to take this?
gardengal
gardengal- my daughter was pregnant at the height of the H1N1 debacle- in fact, she'd just gone to Mexico with a bunch of school teacher friends and many of them came home sick! She caught H1N1, and her doctor told her that she could take all the elderberry she wanted.
Summerthyme
Thanks, ST. I was pretty sure it was safe, but I figure they may ask. :smile:
gardengal
This morning my 15 year old son is coming down with something. It's already in his chest and his arms and shoulders are aching. Glad I decided to make a big pot of slow cooked chicken soup yesterday. I don't have access to elderberry syrup, but I have elderberry capsules. It's Sambucus Nigra (Solaray) 450 mg. per capsule. The dosage is 1 cap x3 per day. Will this work the same as the syrup?
Many members here have talked about garlic. I wanted to mention a great way to get garlic into you if you can't bring yourself to chew on a clove. I take a block of cream cheese and grate a half BULB of garlic into it and use it as a dip, like for crackers, tortilla chips or especially homemade bread sticks. It's really really yummy. My family gobbles it up. So I'm getting ready to make some bread sticks and dip to help my son get the garlic into him.
I think that I'll add some curry and ginger to the chicken soup also. I also have my son taking about 10,000 units of D3 now.
I really would like to know if the elderberry capsules are effective. Does anyone know?
Thanks for all the contributions.
As many have mentioned, caps contain powdered berries and powdered any herb loses medicinal potency VERY quickly. Powdered any herb shoud be the last choice of hermal medicinal help. Best to use an herb as close to its natural state as possible, so with elderberries that would be whole berries either fresh, dried or frozen as a syrup, tincture then a STRONG tea is next down in potency. There is no way for you to know how long those caps were sitting, in a warehouse or in a store before you bought them and how long have you had then sitting aroung. Can't hurt anyone, but may not produce any positive results at all.
Yeah, I can't really address the potency of the capsules with any certainty. They surely can't hurt, but so much depends on how old they are, how fresh they were when manufactured, temps they were stored at and shipped at before you got them, etc.
Please, consider buying some dried berries and making some syrup, or else buy a reputable brand of "extract" or syrup to keep on hand. Or buy some cold processed elderberry juice concentrate and use it (if it is a larger container than you can use up, pour it into ice cube trays and thaw one as needed)
Hope your son recovers quickly!
Summerthyme
Thanks for your replies. With all these stories about young people dying from this, I have become very worried :-( Praying.
Took son to the doc today. He sent us over to the lab to have his nose swabbed. Negative for H1N1. The lab tech told me they were just about out of swabs however. Lots of people in this area have contracted this. I'm thanking the Father that he was negative. I'm glad that I got him tested though. As some of you remember, my DH had a massive heart attack last year and all of us would have needed to get onto the anti-viral meds.
I did find some elderberry extract at the local health food store. It's called Sambucus. It's supposed to be great stuff. I bought a few bottle to have on hand, as the H1N1 is still in town, and we are constantly exposed.
Stay healthy ya'll!
Glad he tested clear, but remember- the tests aren't anywhere near 100% accuracy- in "high prevalance" flu seasons, false negatives can run close to 15%.
Sambucus should work well... your hubby, especially, may want to start a prophylactic dose immediately, and continue it through the whole flu season. My kids- who all work in jobs with LOTS of contact with others and the public- swear that taking a tablespoon of my homemade elderberry syrup morning and night keeps them healthy when everyone in their workplace is out sick with flu. I actually believe the dosage amount is "overkill", but making my own is so cheap, that we figure it's inexpensive "insurance". Probably a teaspoon at a time would be sufficient...
Summerthyme
btt
Wow, there is HUGE difference between what I bought at the health food store -"Sambucus" and what I bought from Amazon-"Sambucol". The health food store brand Sambucus contains 100 mg of black elderberry extract per dose. The "Sambucol" brand contains 3.8 GRAMS! The two were very close to the same price and the "Sambucol" had twice as much in the bottle.
HUGE difference! Make sure that if you, like me, don't have access to elderberries, and need the extract, that you look closely at what you're paying for.
My son would have had to drink a whole bottle of the lessor brand to get as much as one dose of the Sambucol.
Sambucol is the patented name and ORIGINAL formula that was "invented" by the Israeli doc and tested extensively and proven to work on Influenza.