Maizey Home Remedies Part 2

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MINOR BURN

100% Aloe Vera. You can find it in a tube in the drugstore, or you can get a plant and take off one leaf and use the gel inside. Frequency is the key. Put on Aloe every time you think about it.

BEE/WASP STING

Assuming you are NOT allergic to a bee sting and would need to take more decisive action, cut a potato in half and put the starchy inside against the sting. This will ease the pain and draw out the toxin.

PAINFUL SORE

This works really well on...spider bites that are puffy, inflamed and painful; an inflamed and painful in-grown toenail and a million other EXTERNAL maladies.

Poppy's Poultice

Bar of Ivory Soap

White table sugar

Water

Wood Match (it HAS to be a wood match)

Shave a small part of bar of soap into a spoon and add equal amount of sugar. Add one drop water (just enough to make a paste) and then stir with the business end of a wood match. Using a match under the spoon - or over a burner on the stove, heat until warm - NOT HOT. Apply generously and cover for 24 hours. Check it and repeat if necessary.

This is actually my Dad's recipe and family and friends come from miles around for him to treat them with a poultice (he is our local Miracle Max). Please know that the business end of a wood match has sulfur in it. So if you have a sulfur allergy, please use caution.

THE TOO TIRED TO SLEEP BLUES

I got this recipe from Parent Hacks several years ago and it is the BEST!

Indian Milk

12 oz. warm milk

1 Tablespoon honey

Dash each of ginger, turmeric and cardamom. (Be judicious with these. When it's all mixed you want it to be the color of parchment.)

Serve while still warm.

There is a home remedy book I really like:

There is some really good information in there, but there is also stuff that's...well...crazy and dangerous; bee stings, turpentine and kerosene. Please use good sense and if you have questions call your doctor.

Maizey Home Remedies

Alright, folks - you requested home remedies and I am here to serve!

SORE THROAT

Gargle every four hours with warm salt water

MOUTH SORE

Mix 1 tsp. of honey and 1/4 tsp. of turmeric. Apply as needed

Take a mouth full of Aloe Vera juice and hold in mouth for 1 minute. Repeat several times daily. Warning: Aloe Vera juice IS SAFE to swallow, however it is a natural laxative.

STUFFY NOSE

Go into the bathroom, shut the door and turn on the hot water. Read a magazine in the steam and wait for your nose to clear up. Should only take 5 to 10 minutes.

NAUSEA

This is my dad's recipe. As a kid, when we saw this stuff coming at us, we RAN! That being said, it really does work.

Graveyard Stew

• 2 pieces toast
• Warm milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar.

Tear the toast up into pieces in a mug, add sugar and cover in warm milk. Eat while still warm.

COLD

Put mentholatum on the bottoms of the feet, wear two pairs of socks overnight.

Here are some for now...coming soon PART II

Movies and Subsidies

 have been laying sick in bed for two days and that gave me time to catch up on a little movie watching. This afternoon I watched "King Corn". It's incredibly informative, if not a little scary. To follow the food supply from seed to consumerism is nothing less than shocking. This movie is incredibly interesting for those who are dealing with a corn allergy in some capacity, but equally interesting for consumerist America.
 

Part of what I learned is this: the government, with subsidies, rebates and "incentives" essentially control food production in the United States. 60% of non consumable corn is used for feed for cattle, pigs and chickens - those in the corn allergic community already knew that. According to Wikipedia, high fructose corn syrup in soda can produce 10 times the carbonyl compounds (which are incredibly harmful). Increased carbonyl compounds can lead to diabetes and diabetic complications such as foot ulcers and eye and nerve damage.
Large amounts of HFCS can lead the liver to produce large amounts of triglycerides and can induce insulin resistance. For those who say, "yes, but you would have to consume gallons of that to cause those problems" - on average, Americans consume approximately 70 pounds of HFCS per year - that's almost 9 gallons. A 2004 study found a cause and effect relationship between HCFS and obesity.
Here's my thought. The government, with their money, control corn growth - of which 30% is turned into sweetener. By extension, they are funding America's obesity problem. Now, they want to provide subsidized health care - in 2008, an estimated 24 million people in the US suffered from diabetes; as a matter of fact, according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, diabetes costs $132 million dollars in healthcare every year.
I have a novel solution, decrease the amount of money subsidized to HFCS! That would decrease the cases of high triglycerides, diabetes and obesity (which costs 147 billion dollars in healthcare annually). We would save money in taxes, decrease the amount of money spent by health insurers on the results of obesity and diabetes; which would drive the costs of healthcare down incredibly for the insurers and the public. Maybe we could call it "trickle down sanity".

Not at all corn related, but......

DB said the cutest thing at supper. As he devoured a chicken leg, he screamed, "ME FOUND DINOSAUR BONE!" Apparently he found a dinosaur bone in his chicken. Big Poppa almost spit milk all over the table! It was so funny, I just had to share.

Safe water bottles for people with a corn allergy.

I went water bottle hunting. It took a little while. I sat with my cell phone in a camping chair at Dick's Sporting Goods and started calling companies. I hope you can find my research helpful. If you have found a great water bottle safe for corn allergic folks, please share!

 

• Nathan's water bottles' straw is made out of polyethanol. Ethanol is made of corn.

 

• Nalgene water bottles contain polypropylene which MAY be made from corn.

 

• Sigg refuses to say what their lining is made from; Sissy is way too sensitive to take a chance on a mystery lining.

 

• Camelbak is totally safe and reasonably priced!

They have both metal and plastic - which is actually a form of polyester and is BPA free.

• Klean Kanteen is made from 18/8 Stainless Steel and has no lining. The cap has polypropylene, but not on a part which touches the water. Safe for people with a corn allergy.

The only downside to Klean Kanteen is the price. They can be expensive - but you really are paying for quality.

Eating Out

Since Sloan's diagnosis with a severe corn allergy - I have found it most convenient to make almost everything.  But I get tired of cooking 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. So we consider eating out - but that is easier said than done. Almost every restaurant has a specialty menu for people with allergies to the Top 8. Unfortunately corn allergy is not in the top 8. So we CAPs (Corn Allergy Parents) do what we do best - research and innovate.

Denny's and Culver's both include corn, on their allergy awareness menus; they, as far as I know, are the only two. When dining out at a restaurant with a food allergy not listed in the top 8, there are some steps you can take to ensure a safe trip to dine out.

1. Plan ahead. Give yourself a couple days if you can.
2. Have a plan B. There are some restaurants, believe it or not, that are not at all cooperative to people with food allergies. It's too dangerous to take a chance, so it is worth it to tell the restaurant, "I'm sorry but we will be dining somewhere else until you are able to accommodate people with food allergies".
3. Call ahead. Try to call at times when the restaurant is not experiencing a rush.  I typically try to call at either 11 or 2.
4. Ask for the kitchen manager or the general manager.
5. Have a pad of paper and pen handy - TAKE NOTES! Note the name of the person to whom you spoke, their recommendations and other pertinent information.
6. This conversation can be lengthy so make yourself comfortable.
7. Explain your situation - most managers are VERY helpful. Ask a lot of questions, and be very friendly - remember that you catch a lot more flies with honey!
8. If they simply do not have anything that you or your child can eat, ask if you can bring in a meal.
9. Stick with what you know. We have maybe 10 places where we know exactly what Sissy can eat; they range pizza joints to a place to get a nice steak dinner. We go primarily to those places to dine.
10. If you find something your kiddo can eat - WRITE IT DOWN! I keep a binder in the car that contains a list of the restaurants that can accommodate Sissy and exactly what to order. That way, if Big Poppa and I have the kids out, we can stop somewhere to eat without going home and researching.
11. When you get to the restaurant ask to speak to the manager to whom you spoke on the phone. Tell him who you are - it's good for restaurant management to know when people with food allergies are in their restaurant. They are going to make sure you are well taken care of. They don't want someone going into anaphylaxis in their dining room.
12. Remember to check drinks! Sissy typically sticks with milk or water.

Most of all, remember to have fun! Eating out can be a difficult task - so enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Have you been to a restaurant that was very helpful? Tell us! Share your stories with the rest of us!

Epinephrine shot how-to

Most parents are lucky enough to have never have given their child an epinephrine shot. Unfortunately it is something I am all too familiar with. But for those who have never given a shot, it can be scary. How do I give it, how does it work? Here is the how to. Feel free to print and post somewhere you will see it in an emergency.

* Know in advance that when you give an epinephrine shot, you must immediately seek emergency medical attention - go to an ER or call 911 for an ambulance.

* Know the signs of a reaction and act quickly - every minute counts when you are addressing an anaphylactic reaction.

* You may need another person to help hold down your kiddo while you administer the shot. If you are alone, WebMd recommends that you place your leg over your child's upper body to keep them still.

The last time I had to administer an epi-pen to Sissy, we were at a high school football game. When I took out the shot she bolted! The good news is she tripped and fell on the grass by the paramedics. I was able to give the shot and have medical attention right there. Since then, however, we have talked about why we can't run from getting a shot.

1. Grasp the shot firmly with the black tip pointing down. DO NOT TOUCH OR PUT YOUR FINGER OVER THE BLACK TIP. Remove the gray cap.

 

2. Hold the black tip close to your child's outer thigh. Press the black tip firmly into your child's thigh (through clothing if necessary). The injector should be at a 90-degree angle to the thigh. DO NOT give the shot in the buttock or a vein.

3. Press firmly until you hear the "click" or "pop". Count slowly to 10.

4. Remove the injector and rub the area where the medicine went in. Look at the black tip, if you see the needle, then your child has received the shot. If not, your child has not received the shot and you need to repeat steps 1-3.

5. Get medical assistance immediately.

 

For more information check out these sites:

www.epipen.com

www.twinject.com

www.webmd.com

Or contact your doctor.