Every year we have bacterial issues and viral flus and colds going around. Some years we get a new one ("novel") that is in a form that human systems have not been exposed to so therefore do not have previous immunity to them.   Here is a practical guide for ways I help my body have a greater opportunity to avoid these problems.

Some considerations first are that pathogens can incubate in a person for as little as 3 days to an overall average of 2 to 4 weeks before a person comes down with symptoms of the viral problem.    Also note that not everyone has symptoms because their immune system is humming along doing what it was created to do- protect you.  Some people may have mild symptoms and not recognize that they are actually ill with something of significance.   While a person is infected,  whether they are incubating (the viral agent is replicating in the system), have symptoms or do not have symptoms they are contagious the entire time with the ability to spread viral activity as they cough, sneeze, touch things after touching their mouth, etc.   Also note that some pathogens live an average of 9 days in the environment.   Those can be things like door handles,  your steering wheel, counter surfaces, bathrooms, money- bills and change, shopping carts or baskets,  the keypads on debit/credit card payment machines, fuel pumps, etc. Remember that even if a person (or you) has already had whatever it is going around, when you are exposed again (assuming it hasn't mutated)- you may not get it again but you will be carrying it and able to spread it around.   I know you didn't want to hear that.  But in light of protecting the fragile and wellness compromised people that may be in our homes that we have regular contact with it's good to be aware of these things. 

Here are practical things I do to reduce my need in having to deal with pathogens.  I do this every fall and winter reguardless of anything 'new' is going around.

First I avoid crowded public situations when I can.   The less time one spends around groups of people obviously the less exposure.  Plus I prefer the quieter less crowded times and shorter lines that come from going during the least busy timeframes.  I extend the amount of time between grocery store and feedstore outings as much as possible.  I bank online rather than exposing myself to tellers who get exposed to everything a community has to offer via close contact to handling paper and coin money all day long.    

When I do go out if something is active, I wear latex gloves.   My gloves can touch everything (and I pay attention to NOT touch my face or my things) and once I leave the store I can take them off (I strip them off carefully only touching the inside of them) and dump them in the trash.    When I'm at the gym I can use their sanitizing wipes on my gloves all I want without concerning myself with the carcinogens in the wipe soaking into me, as well as using it on the equipment before and after I use it.

I also like to use homemade hand sanitizer-  I add three drops of antiviral types essential oil to a tablespoon of aloe gel (I prefer scraping the gel from my own plant as there aren't additives).   Mix that up and you have your own hand sanitizer.  I keep some in the car and some at home.   You can get very high quality essential oils here from my other website, (I am an internationally certified aromatherapist) :  https://www.Essential Oils (discountdrchristopher.com)
If you have children under six years old stick to using lavender and tea tree oil.   If they are six or older and don't have liver conditions then you can use the other choices but double dilute the amounts until they are 100 lbs (add two tablespoons of gel to the three drops of eo).     Favorite oils for these types of things with me are basil, cinnamon, clove,eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, oregano, tea tree and Thyme linalool essential oils.  Remember if you have cats keep essential oil use away from them.

Face masks- do they work?   Yes and No.  Well that's not so much help!  This of course is a very controversial topic but I give you the master of herbology side of this.   Yes, if you are sick, wear one to protect others as you cough or sneeze or exhale viral vapor to reduce the amount of airspace these things and if you are sick the best place for you anyways is home resting and taking your herbs so that you get well and stronger quicker as well as keeping the germs at home.    If you are not sick then wearing one won't protect your eyes from receiving microbial vapor which is always airborne among people as they exhale.   Also a mask needs to be medical grade and seal tightly to reduce the amount of microbes getting access to your nose and mouth.  HOWEVER,   one can put a drop of one of the above essential oils onto a face mask for additional support as you inhale that goodness for your respiratory and circulatory systems.  This is what I do to help my body avoid inhaling microbes when I'm required to wear a mask.  It also reduces the amount of pathogens that can replicate themselves on my mask as I exhale hot moist air through it.  As always if you can take fresh air and sunshine walks away from the public in fresh air that is ALWAYS going to give your body a boost mentally, physically and spiritually.

At home, you can put a drop or two of an oil into a stainless or glass container and pour very hot water (remember to keep out of reach of children and pets and not around cats!) over it to get the vapor into the air to inhale it's goodness and reduce microbial possibilities in the air.  If you have permission at work to use a diffuser those work nicely there.  If you don't you can open an essential oil bottle and draw one long breathe with each nostril- before arriving and upon leaving work (and again at lunch if you are able).  REMEMBER to also clear your air as you are recovering and after you are well along with disinfecting surfaces, door handles, toilet handles, faucet handles etc around your house.  In my house I use a small squirt of liquid soap mixed with about 60 drops of one of the above essential oils in a quart (2 lbs) of water and 1 cup of vinegar, shaken real well.  

I also support my body with herbs every single day during these time periods to give my body some tools to try to avoid these types of problems and to also try to keep my body from harboring and thus spreading these types of things to others.   Some of my favorites include taking Super Immune Garlic formula (which has more than garlic!) both before and after I am in public areas (and in between if I'm gone six or more hours) as well as three times a day if I am just working a long at home.  
​Human Supplements & Teas (discountdrchristopher.com)

I also like Respiratory Support Syrup  (

Herbal C which is a wonderful whole herb form of plants with traditionally high values of Vitamin C (rather than the chemical ascorbic acid)  and the amazing  Lung and Bronchial support can all be found on these page Human Supplements & Teas (discountdrchristopher.com)

Wishing you much health and happiness and wisdom!

DA from Ohio wrote: " I swear it is evening out if I didt know it looks close to my other dry does." and before that wrote: "She seems like she is doing well and feeling good
 Her udder is  at the point where my other dry does are except even dry the right teat is a little lower but dry and sucked up"

DA is using MammarEaze(tm) and GlandAide(tm) salves alternated (one in the morning and one in the evening) as well as keeping her on BetterDaze(tm) herb mix.   She came to me wanting help with a doe that kidded this year with a previous owner with dead triplets and a grossly deformed udder.   Her goals are to get some daughters out of her and hopefully be able to show her again which will require a normal mammary again.      The PERFECT time to work on damaged mammaries is during the dry period as their bodies concentrate on mammary cell renewal during this period and slough and replace a higher amount of mammary tissue.

Other products being used or have been used for this situation are Herbiotic(tm) herb mix and Bal-Nce(tm) herb mix.    She also has them on DWA(tm), Kop-Sel(tm) and GISoother(tm).    All of these sustainable natural products are available at www.firmeadowllc.com under the products tab.

​Wishing everyone happy and healthy creatures!!!
 

Photos: Right after lump fell off, a month later and all better.

Wild birds are so fun to watch.   We have several species that visit our feeders and we love to identify and watch them.   But what about those in our barn or with our chickens?   Now that's another story!   Birds of course can leave waste in feeders and spread diseases to poultry as they hop around going after stray feed.  Birds can as hop on coccidia and then hop in your animal feeders and place their coccidia, e coli , etcetera onto their eating areas.  So it's better if they do not mix with your animal feeding areas.

There are a few things one can do to minimize or avoid these things.    First is if you like to feed birds as we do, is to keep their feeding stations far from poultry and livestock feeding areas.    Another thing is to only feed your poultry and stock what they can consume at that feeding and to feed it in containers that avoid waste.   Feeders that can be picked up and moved after feeding should be removed and put in a feed room or other place not accessible to them.    Also, most birds will enter your barns or sheds from higher.   Closing off gaps between eves and other openings with one inch poultry wire or woven hardware cloth so that fresh air movement is still allowed over head but birds aren't allowed to land and hop in will reduce the amount of birds entering your barn areas.  Even old screening can often be obtained for free and be upcycled this way.   Keeping barn doors closed when possible also helps.   Also keeping a barn cat (keep it healthy & chlamydia free!) in the barn can also reduce wild bird populations.   I personally don't do this because of problems with cats using hay for their bathroom.   For poultry's safety from wild birds (as well as weasels!) it is best to use a one inch poultry netting for their pens, housing, chicken tractor and supplemental feeding areas.   Two inch netting, while cheaper, allows birds and small predators in.  It also deteriorates faster allowing foxes and raccoons a greater likelihood of getting to your birds.

Another way to combat this is to be sure your animals and poultry are the healthiest they can possibly be!   We achieve this by supplementing poultry with LayNLayer herb mix or BetterDaze herb mix as well as decrease their parasite challenges with DWormA and GI Soother for coccidial challenges and MMune herb mix for any that need that additional support for their immune systems such as weak, old, recovering or senior creatures.     For livestock we offer the same products (of course they don't need the LayNLayer!).

BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU- YOU, YOUR HUMAN FAMILY AND YOUR CREATURE FAMILY :D

​White Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) , Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber) at Fir Meadow. Photo by Katherine Drovdahl.  

Here's a few tips on how my husband and I largely avoid coming down with these types of issues...

Keeping your water intake up, even in the winter months is key to helping your entire body work and in helping your body dilute and move out toxins in cells and organs.   If your lips feel dry then you are already dehydrated.   Caffeine or refined sugar intake will dehydrate you faster.

Foods- even in the winter months try to keep an abundance of raw fruits and vegetables in your diet.   Opt for vibrant colored and a diverse collection of colors in your fruit and vegetable choices.   If you have a picky family member that only likes just a few choices, be sure and keep those on hand and you enjoy the variety yourself :).   This is a GREAT time of year to keep citrus in front of you.  My tea right now has squeezed lemon into it- which also aids in cleansing.   Your citrus must be fresh squeezed or fresh eaten and not a refrigerated or processed product to retain the vitamin C.  In fact,  upwards of 60% of the Vitamin C will already be gone just fifteen minutes after juicing your fruit.  Sometimes I will just add 1 drop of lemon essential oil per day (not for children under 12) to my quart canning jar filled with water.

Sleep- MAKE SURE you are getting adequate sleep to avoid wearing down your adrenals and immunity.

Exercise-  FRESH AIR AND EXERCISE is important in the winter too.  Those of us that participate in winter chores usually don't have a problem with this.  Be sure you are getting some walking and deep breathing.  I have a friend that comes over for yoga 3x per week as well.  I have videos but there are good yogas to be found on youtube as well. 

Herbal support-  The most awesome thing about herbal support is that even if your body doesn't need it (and really,  your body will still pull and use nutrients anyhow) these aren't going to hurt you.  Products to consider?

Vitalerbs-  available in capsule, extract or bulk powder form.  This is a must take for my husband and I to be sure we have a wide range of whole herb nutrient bases covered for overall body wellness.  We take these year round to be sure cells have what they need to replicate into healthier ones.   Also look for Kid-E-Mins non alcohol extract for young children, toddlers, babies  and even pets.  Either give it by mouth or drop into their water.  Nursing moms can drop a drop or two on their nipples for their baby to nurse.   Click here for Vitalerbs capsules.  Here for the extract.  Click here for Kid E Mins.  And here for the bulk powder Vitalerbs.

Herbal C - This is a fast way to get high quality whole herb C into your body.  I take these every day twice per day and any time I'm heading out into public.    This product also offers some heart support for a bonus.  Click here.

Super Immune Garlic Extract- Is a must have in our home to keep on hand.  Again,  I like to have this in my blood stream before I go out in public and again after I return.  It's so seldom we feel off like we are catching something,  but that is another time to take it up to hourly.  If a problem hits definately take it hourly!!!  Click here.

Echinacea & Goldenseal capsules-  Popluar and time tested to support the body during wellness challenges.   If you are pregnant take this in combination with Cayenne so that the goldenseal doesn't use up all of your Vitamin B in your body.  Also follow with Cayenne as the last dose of the day to top off your B's.  Click here.

Kid-E-Mune extract- Echinacea is really really safe for all including pregnant and very young children.   Young children can be allowed to take Kid-E-Mune hourly if wanted.  Echinacea in the system helps the body make it difficult for viral activity to capture cells.   I also take this before I go out in public.  Take every 4 hours during public exposure.   After ten days of solid use (3 or more times per day) give your body a three day sabbath from it so that your body will utilize it fully.  Click here  for Kid E Mune.

Cayenne- is always an option due to it's provision of Vitamin's B and C to the body as well as it's infection fighting ability.  I like keeping it in salt shaker in the kitchen.  It gets added to much of my meals including salads and in most of my drinks including water.  Click here for capsules or here for the extract.  Cayenne powder here.

Raspberry tea - drinking several glasses of this in a day often helps one feel remarkably better.   Remember to continue to rest though for another couple of days or you'll relapse as your body hasn't finished the interior battle yet.  Click here.

Chest Formula , Cold Formula, Lung and Bronchial Formula and Sinus Formula also offer excellent support. Take 3x per day if these are areas of weakness for you and hourly if you are having a problem.   Click here. 

ANYTIME you see something that creates you concern don't hesitate to consult with your medical provider.  There are some real severe flu issues going around right now and you need to catch them early or better yet stay AHEAD of them before and early into exposure for best results.  It's way easier to avoid an issue by keeping herbs in your body for viral and bacterial activity to hit the second they are inhaled than to fight a problem that has time to replicate and overwhelm the body.

Starting a whole body cleanse - Bowel, Liver/Kidneys and Bloodstream are a long term strong foundational building approach towards a well body.  Never do these without direction from a degreed herbalist.  Doing them wrong or out of order can cause serious problems.  Done right there are amazing tools!  We offer online consultations with our Master's degree in Herbalism practitioner under our services tab for those that don't already have someone to work with.

Here's to PEACE of mind, wellness, blessings and happy herbing!  :D

*Non of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to cure, prevent, treat or diagnose disease.
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