FIRST AID IMMUNE PROTECTION (AND PREVENTION)

This is the time of year to be especially mindful of our immune system (yes we do have one in spite of all the propaganda we were sold the last few years)... and here are my top tips to ward off infections before they take hold.

In saying that TERRAIN is more important than the GERM - that is, your inside health including diet, sleep, stress activity/movement have more impact on your ability to fight infection, than the pathogenicity of a bug.

Good health is an INSIDE JOB🥗🌝🛌🏋️

So what can we do to prevent a respiratory infection and or minimise its impact? My top 3 tips are...

Nasal irrigation:

Using a neti pot or saline spray (my fave is X Clear as it has some unique ingredients), spray into the nose AM and PM or additional doses throughout the day if you are feeling the start of something coming. Also if you are going to be spending time in an enclosed, air conditioned space with many people, I would do this regardless.

Throat:

We can gargle eg salt, tea tree oil, diluted betadine, colloidal silver and /or use a throat spray containing herbs/ essential oils, colloidal silver, propolis, manuka honey - the health food store, some pharmacies, or your Naturopath/ herbalist can help, Again, I suggest AM and PM as a preventative but at the first sign of a sore throat I would gargle, throat spray, and suck a lozenge several times a day.

Herbal tea:

Lemon juice, grated lemon rind, manuka honey, ginger, turmeric - if you don't have these ingredients in the kitchen you can buy herbal tea blends for immunity from the supermarket or health food store (use 2-3 bags for each cup). Always cover the cup while it's steeping to keep the active ingredients from evaporating, then sip slowly over 15-30 mins.

These measures are often sufficient to prevent or manage symptoms EARLY - please don't wait until day 3 to do these things, the earlier the better. And if your immune system is already dodgy, do these interventions 1 or 2/day throughout winter.

I hope you are marching through JULY well and strong, but if you aren't don't forget I am a phone call/email away.