Would you like some chicken pox?

Collecting honey

Would you like some chicken pox?

A friend of mine sent me message, 'Having chicken pox at the moment. Would you like some for your girl?' I admit, it sounded ridiculous, but I politely replied, 'No, thank you, we are doing just fine without it.' A few weeks later chicken pox hit us anyway. It was only then that I understood that my friend had good intentions at heart. As I discovered,  it's much beneficial for a child to get it in the childhood, rather than later in life when the potential side effects could be morbidly serious for the organism.

I was truly scared of my girl having chicken pox and the days of unbearable itchiness, and the nights of little or no sleep, but I shouldn't have at all!! We had only one sleepless night, and only itchy day, after which we were itch-free again! All to the natural home remedies which I used to zap the chicken pox virus withing literally 2-3 days. Does it sound impossible? Well! That's what I thought at first too.

To begin with, it's important to keep the child occupied as it will keep their mind off the unpleasantness of the itch. It meant over-indulgence in what my child really liked doing for a day or two to keep them as blissfully happy as possible. In a nutshell, we had lots of Peppa Pigs!

Bentonite Clay

So here are a few simple natural effective home remedies to get rid of chicken pox quickly and efficiently:

1) Oatmeal Bath
Boil two cups of oatmeal in a pot and then put it in a cotton/linen bag and tie it up.  (I used a man-size handkerchief). Soak the bag in the bathtub with lukewarm water and swirl it around so that the water can take the elements from the oatmeal. Make sure to soak the entire body in the bathtub for at least 10 minutes. This will help relieve itchiness and speed up recovery. I bathed my child 2-3 times a day during the critical period.

2) Honey
Use natural honey to treat the spots. Make sure the honey is of best quality, preferably organic and from a good source. Yeah, it's sticky and not necessarily pleasant. I applied tiny little cotton tissue squares on the spots after applying honey to prevent the clothes from sticking to the body.

3) Bentonite Clay
Apply food/cosmetic grade clay mixed with water on the spots. It will dry them up very quickly and will help prevent scar formation.

4) Apple Cider Vinegar
Add some vinegar to the bath.

5) GAIA Baby Organic Skin Soothing Lotion (Australian product)
I used this lotion on the my girl's skin after the worst was over. It contains Wheat Germ Oil,Chamomile, Lavender, Calendula, Zinc, Castor Oil and Beeswax. It's a great soothing lotion for any skin irritation available from health stores and online sellers.

GAIA products

Fooling big people or tempting little people?

How food manufacturers fool parents and tempt children.

Yesterday my daughter was bought Robinsons FruitShoot Juice Drink by a relative. When I saw her proudly holding on the the purple bottle, I froze for a second. I knew that my child likes water, so what on earth was this thing doing in her hand? Apparently, she chose it herself, most likely attracted by the lively-coloured bottle.

Irresistible rainbow colours

I wasn't happy at all, but I didn't want to make too much fuss about it in front of my child. After arriving home I hid the remaining three bottles of this questionable drink and decided to have a closer look at it later. I noticed in the past few months a growing number of kids in the school and elsewhere drinking this juice drink, so my curiosity level was high. When I looked at the ingredients list, I was petrified. The first question that sprang to my head was WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANYONE GIVE SUCH A DRINK TO THEIR CHILD?

The ingredients list goes like this: Water, Fruit Juices from Concentrate (Apple 8%, Blackcurrant 2%), Citric Acid, Acidic Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Natural Colour (Anthocyanins), Natural Flavouring, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Dimethyl Dicarbonate), Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame K), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid).

Well, I won't go into much detail about all the ingredients of the FruitShoot Juice Drink, but even a perfunctory look at the list would raise some suspicion in many diligent parents. While both preservatives used in the juice drink - Potassium Sorbate and Dimethyl Dicarbonate - are not considered to be very toxic, yet they are artificially added to the product to prolong its shelf life, not to add any value to the product itself. As for the two sweeteners used instead of sugar, the only motivation behind them was to create a juice drink which is low in sugar. Most parents know already that too much sugar is not good at all. Therefore, to make a product more attractive to parents, two sweeteners were used so that the product can proudly state that it is low in sugar.

A quick look at the label will gives us a hint of how dishonest manufacturers of convenience food for kids are. It says:

• Best Ever Taste! ---- Well, this is subjective so I won't comment on that.

• NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS OR FLAVOURS ---- Ha! This statement is malicious once we realize that the so-called juice drink contains two preservatives and two sweeteners.

• Apple & Blackcurrant Juice Drink LOW IN SUGAR ---- How much of a juice drink it's I wonder. It contains only 8% Apple juice and 2% Blackcurrant juice after all. 

A final thought on the convenience product for children. Whether we realize it or not, many convenience foods are designed to appeal to a child's mind. They are made to look attractive and appetizing to a young child who likes all those cute colourful things. It is not so because food manufacturers worry about your child eating a healthy and balanced diet or because they are worried your child will starve to death as a result of (such an often food) fussiness. Let's be very clear on that one: they do it for their very own financial gain to sell more of their own product. After all, there is nothing healthy about FruitShoot Juice Drink and dozen of other products on the shop shelves.

Making it all look, taste and sound fun, while the label isn't so much fun at all.