Natural treatment of winter infections

I seem to be surrounded by people coughing, sneezing and spluttering at the moment.  Coughs, colds and viral infections are an unfortunate fact of life during winter, particularly if you have school aged children.  Over the counter cough and cold remedies are not only ineffective but, they can also be dangerous.  The medicines aimed at children contain high levels of artificial sweeteners, colours, syrups and some dangerous chemicals.  These medicines are usually labeled for use in children over the age of 6 years

Childless and irresponsible

I hope you all had a very happy, merry Christmas!! 
My Christmas morning went off as usual with little fingers prodding me and whispering “Santa’s been, can we open the presents?” so, I got them to practice their new skill of making Mummy a cup of coffee before getting them to drag all the presents onto my bed.  They didn’t get as much as usual (I explained a while back that even Father Christmas has had to make cut backs and there have been a few Elf redundancies...) but, they seemed very pleased with what they did get.  Their Dad had managed to get a second hand Wii (I may have to get the controller surgically removed from my youngest's hand) before he went back to the UK and my eldest got a mobile, something he’s been going on and on about for the last couple of years.  I’ve finally given in as he’s becoming more independent and keeps wandering off and I'm so fed up of screaming his name out of the window like a Burberry clad chav, I caved!  It’s not an iPhone 4 but I’m assured that “it’ll do - for now”!

Having seen the boys off at the airport to spend some time in the UK with their Dad and other family, I find myself alone and able to do whatever I want for the first time in over 10 years!!  For the first couple of nights I’ve acted like a naughty teenager, lying in bed watching rubbish on TV until 5am and falling asleep with my glasses on then, only getting up in the morning to make a cup of coffee and then crawling back under my cosy duvet to slob out until late afternoon.  Today I’ve been a little more productive.  I’ve done some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, swept and dusted.  I miss my noisy little monkeys and even miss the constant arguing and shouting but, not as much as I thought I would.  We’ve spoken on the phone a couple of times every day and it’s lovely to have some time to myself.  Being an only child, I’ve always been used to my own company and have missed it.

So now it’s the eve of New Year’s Eve and I’m planning my first childless, irresponsible festivities in a long time.  Shall I go to a bar that I’ve been invited to and get drunk and disorderly and dance the night away?  No, I shall be spending it with a good friend playing Trivial Persuit and sipping a few Baileys on the rocks...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Perfect remedies for Christmas

Well, Christmas is now but a week away and the Christmas parties are in full swing.  We all have a tendency to overindulge at this time of year with the abundance of alcohol and rich food.  Personally, I only really drink a couple of times a year, at Christmas and my birthday although, I do have the odd cold beer on a hot sunny day (well, it’s got to be done hasn’t it?).

There are some great homeopathic remedies for such overindulgences;

Nux Vomica 30c 
A fantastic remedy for hangovers and for eating far too much rich food.  You’ll probably need to keep this one handy into the New Year!

Arsenicum Album 30c
If you have heartburn, acid stomach or food poisoning from meat, vegetables, watery fruit or that 3rd helping of prawn cocktail starter! 
Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in water will also help neutralise heartburn and acid stomach.

Arnica 30c
For bruising and shock from tripping drunkenly over the coffee table/down the stairs/on the rug...

Chamomilla 30c
For angry tantrums from children who didn’t quite get what they wanted from Santa.

A double <insert alcoholic drink of choice> and a Nux Vomica for adults who didn’t get what they wanted for Christmas and had to listen to tantruming children all day.

As usual I am still totally unprepared for this year’s festivities.  The food shopping will be done tomorrow but, as usual, I’ll still be doing last minute present shopping on Christmas Eve.  I’ll probably be needing lots of Arnica afterwards for bruising, after elbowing my way through the crowds and getting into the odd fight for the last item on the shelf.

If I don’t manage to get another blog post in beforehand, here’s wishing you all a very happy, merry and pain free Christmas xxx

Six weeks and counting...

Well, today marks the six week countdown to Christmas.  It's at this point every year that I realise that I have yet again failed to fulfill my last year's resolution of being better prepared, by buying things throughout the year.  I also realise that I haven't prepared by putting any money aside to buy presents and so, I spend the rest of November worrying about how I will make sure Santa can deliver at least some of the goodies on the boys' Christmas lists.  I cheer up once December 1st comes around, as this is when we always put the decorations up, and there's something about fairy lights that gives me warm fuzzy feelings!!  I love lights....the more the merrier!!!  I like the house to look like a twinkling fairy grotto

Stay fresh, naturally

My 10 year old son was asked to bring a deodorant to school for after PE.  He is only 10 and doesn't even sweat under there yet, let alone smell!!  So, I made him up a little spray bottle of mummy's magic:

Take a 100ml spray bottle and use a mixture of 50% witch hazel & 50% spring or

Some chemical information - SLS/SLES

I should really be turning in for the night (especially on a school night) but, having mentioned SLS in yesterday's post, I didn't want to leave it too long before putting some information up about it so, here it is;

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate/Sulphate (SLS) is a very cheap detergent which is commonly used in cosmetic cleansers, hair shampoos, bath and shower gels, toothpastes, etc...
It is probably the most dangerous ingredient used in skin and hair care products, an ingredient which in the cleaning industry is used in garage floor cleaners, engine

Don’t be flaky!!

Following on from the previous mention of eczema & psoriasis, I thought I would share my experience of these flaky, itchy and irritating skin conditions.  As eczema and asthma are quite prevalent in my family, I wasn’t unduly surprised when my first son was born with dry patches on the tops of his feet and the back of his knees.  The first thing to bear in mind when dealing with eczema is to prevent outside elements from causing flare ups.  For this reason, I bathed him only in salt water during the first few weeks until I found a good olive oil soap (castille) and then found a brand of SLS free body wash.  SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) is a cheap chemical used to make foaming products from shampoo & shower gel to toothpaste.  It is also an irritant particularly if you have sensitive skin or skin conditions.  Very strange then when you consider that it is also in

Cover me in petrol?

Petroleum jelly, liquid paraffin, petrolatum and baby oil are all names for mineral oil and are a by product of the process of refining petrol from crude oil.  Just have a look on the label of one of your commercial beauty products and you will see that it is usually one of the first ingredients on the list, as it is very cheap and will maximise profits.
Mineral oil creates a seal on the skin preventing nutrients being absorbed and preventing toxins from escaping and so preventing the natural function of the body's largest organ.  It's basically like wrapping yourself in cling film and whilst it will feel like you're moisturised while it is on your skin, it actually draws moisture to itself and away from the skin, meaning that you will need to use more of it, and more often to achieve the feeling of being moisturised.  It is an eye and skin irritant, and therefore misplaced in products for sensitive skin and conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, and can cause aspirational pneumonia if inhaled.  According to the International Agency for Research into Cancer in Geneva, mineral oils are probably carcinogenic as testing has revealed the presence of several carcinogenic hydrocarbons.  It has also been shown to slow down the normal development of skin cells, which can cause the skin to age prematurely.  The truth is that if you use a gentle soap, your skin contains plenty of it's own oils and if necessary, you would be far better off using a natural vegetable oil such as Sweet Almond, Olive, Coconut or Grapeseed.
I follow the motto "if I can't eat it, I won't put it on my skin", and personally, I would rather put the petrol in my car than on my face or body...

My first blog...

Well, here goes with my first ever foray into the world of blogging!!
First a little about me, I am a Mum to 2 very cheeky and gorgeous boys.  I am a student of homeopathy and have been using it for myself and my family for the last 10 years.  I was led to homeopathy as while I was pregnant with my first son, I began taking a closer look at vaccination and decided that I did not want to go down this route for my child.  Instead I took the responsibility for mine and my family's health and for us, it has definately been the right choice.  Of course, a huge part of this is good nutrition and I am a firm advocate in cooking fresh meals from scratch with fresh ingredients every day, even whilst being a working mum it is possible with planning.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these raw food vegan types.  I'm not even vegetarian and believe that everything is good in moderation.  We have junk food sometimes but not often.  I also use herbal remedies such as Echinacea and Goldenseal and often cook up my own concoctions of garlic, ginger, honey and lemon for coughs and colds.  It has even cleared up stubborn cases of bronchitis.
6 years ago we moved from the UK to Spain and the boys enjoy a healthy outdoor lifestyle with lots of sports and eating lovely fresh food even at school, where the meals are better than at most restaurants!!!   In the UK we also didn't use commercial shampoos and soaps and although I found a stockist for the same shampoo and bodywash that I had used for the boys in the UK, finding things for me that were chemical free and affordable proved much more difficult so, I started making my own body scrubs and body butters with natural vegetable butters and oils.  I also gave some as gifts to friends, colleagues and friends.  The response was very good and it was suggested that I should make for a wider market, which I have.  Please feel free to have a browse around my site  www.galapuro.com .  I will also soon be posting some simple recipes that you can try for yourselves at home.
That's it from me tonight....