The Cough Syrup Scare and Bacteria-Infested Leaves

(Taken from the Solmux Ad)

On 21 February 2012, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that a 7-year old dies after taking cough syrup. It was reported that Niel John Picoc was given a three-fourths teaspoon of a generic cough syrup when he suffered a seizure and fell to the ground. When the child started getting up, he fell again and banged his head in the pavement. It was at this point that blood started coming out of his mouth and nose. They tried to revive Neil who was rushed to the nearest hopsital but he eventually died.

It was a tragedy that could have been avoided. Whatever may be the proximate cause of Neil's death, whether it was because of the cough syrup or from the head injury, it is clear that the injury sustained by the child was the direct and immediate consequence of his taking the cough syrup.

The use of over-the-counter cough and cold syrups for children ages 5 and below has been decried by the Commissioner of Health for Baltimore together with 15 pediatricians which became the basis for a Citizen's Petition before the United States Food and Drug Authority (US FDA). The City of Baltimore issued a statement on 26 October 2006 that there is no evidence to support the effectiveness of these non-prescription medicines and that the side effects of these drugs could even cause harm. The statement reported that the side effects can be dangerous and that the dangers include accidental ingestions, more specifically, elevation of blood pressure and heart rate, risk of stroke, effects on the heart, and in some cases, death.

On the other side of the fence, big pharmas have been flooding Philippine airwaves with ads discrediting the use of lagundi leaves to cure coughs and colds by saying that anti-cough lagundi products contain (daang libong bacteria) thousands of bacteria. The talent further quipped that if you won't take anything with bacteria, why should your baby (kung ikaw di iinom ng bacteria, si baby pa kaya?).

There are very inaccurate and deceiving statements made in this particular advertisement. It failed to define what kind of bacteria they are talking about. Probiotics, including yogurt and yakult, are filled with billions of good bacteria. Are they referring to these good bacteria? They also failed to give concrete examples of the ill effects of these so-called bacteria to people's health. This pharma thinks that they can dupe intelligent and thinking people with the scare tactic that lagundi products contain bacteria. They should be the first to know that people are exposed daily to all sorts of bacteria, even the most virulent ones, just by opening the door in the office or holding the rails of the escalator. What is most loathsome is their indirect claim that their cough medicine is good for babies. This claim is belied by the statement issued by the US FDA in its website updated last 23 February 2011. The FDA recommended that these drugs not be used to treat infants and children under 2 years of age because of serious and potentially life-threatening side effects. The FDA further disclosed that it has not completed its review of information about the safety of cough and cold medicines in children 2 through 11 years of age. This is not only an alarming disclosure, but an admission-against-interest by the US FDA. This only means that you should not give your children any kind of over-the-counter cough or cold medicines.

I have always relied on fresh oregano leaves and lagundi capsules, cayenne tincture (my kids squirm when i give them this, my baby even covers his mouth, because even a drop stings but even just a drop works extremely well), honey and apple cide vinegar, and homeopathic medicine for my kid's cough and colds and they absolutely work without any dreaded side effects.

So, if given the choice between chemicals and bacteria, which one would you choose?

Another Natural Remedy for the Entire Family

I discovered last year a natural remedy that can ease body pains, alleviate sinus problems, and even cure the flu. They call it the nuero-muscular therapy at the AANI Herbal Center at the Quezon City Circle. It is a form of massage that uses the fingers, with the therapists going through the entire stretch of your body with their gentle, yet firm, strumming of their fingers. These therapists are not the same masseuses you get in spas. They have ample knowledge of the different muscles in your body and they can tell by the mere touch whether it is an ailing muscle.

My bouts with the flu last year were cured through this therapy, and a host of other herbs like oregano, Lagutangi, and salabat (ginger tea). I knew immediately that the therapy worked because right after my massage, I sweated profusely replacing the chills I were experiencing prior to the therapy. I have also seen it worked for my children. I have brought Isabelle once when she had a slight fever and colds. I was expecting her fever to rise the next day but was surprised that not only it did not but her colds and the stuffiness in her nose were completely gone. I have since been bringing my children regularly for therapy. Even Mio has had this therapy but considering that he's barely 2 years old, I would hold him in my lap in a sitting position so the therapist can strumm away at his back. Andrew tries to get a massage from them every chance he gets.

Don't expect first-class accommodations for this therapy. The place is small and only holds 4 beds. A fan is used whenever it is hot. There is no divider since there is no need to undress, which means that the bed beside you can be occupied by someone of the opposite sex. They have a clean restroom for those moments. But, if you can prepare yourself and do what has to be done in the house or somewhere else, the better it would be since there is no flowing water in the toilet. They charge Php300.00 for an hour of massage but I can assure you that you'll be blown away, just as I was and the rest of my brood, by the kind of strumming they will do on you.

I consider this discovery a blessing, as I have with the other natural cures I have found. I just pray that I will remain open to the infinite possibilities that our universe offers and that I will be able to discern those that are best for my children.

The Amazing Cure

Isabelle's eczema took a turn for the worse after Christmas. I am attributing it to the sudden cold,cold weather around January (which is the exact opposite to the very, very hot summer weather in the Philippines right now). The eczema that was limited to her arms, at the back of her elbows particularly, now spread to her face, her neck, the back of her news, even her stomach and legs.

My daughter was in pain and we could not doing anything about it. The scratching never stopped, at home, in school, at daytime, and even at nighttime. I would fetch her in school and see her face and arms all red, swollen, and bloodied with all the scratching. There were nights that Andrew and I tried not to sleep because that was the only way to stop her from scratching. I would wrap her arms with layers of cloth and put socks on top but these would all be gone in the morning.

We have tried several dermalogists, even pediatric ones, but all their topical steroids proved to be ineffective. I tried putting those steroids on Isabelle twice but that was the most I could allow my daughter to be administered such medication.(Isabelle's condition started when she was around 4.) I have tried homeopathy, too, which I usually and normally adhere to when it comes to my children's health and well-being but even this proved futile. We have tried so many things, explored all kinds of alternative methods but again Isabelle's condition did not improve; if it did, it was not substantial.

I was mad at myself, mad for being a naive mother, mad for not doing more research, mad for letting Isabelle drink formula during the first few weeks of her life. The nurses, Filipino nurses at that, insisted on giving formula, claiming that my milk was not enough since Isabelle was diagnosed with newborn jaundice. I can't exactly remember who gave the free set of bottles of enfamil but I vividly remember the nurses giving them. I was mad at myself for breastfeeding Isabelle for only a year and a half.

It was at the height of my frustration that we packed our bags one Sunday in February and brought Isabelle and Ilysse to Laiya, Batangas, to try the supposed therapeutic benefits of seawater. I have read a lot about these benefits. In fact, Andrew's friend, Diday, swore by the efficacy of seawater on her skin condition when I talked to her in 2007.

The moment Isabelle dipped in the sea, the cure was almost instant. The redness went away. She stopped itching. At the start, there was a little discomfort on Isabelle since she said the water stings. But, this did not even last for 10 minutes. It was simply amazing to even think that we only stayed for a couple of hours at Balai Laiya. Since then, we have returned 2 more times, stayed overnight, with Isabelle and Ilysse soaking in seawater for hours. I regretted not heeding Diday's word as early as 2007.

Isabelle's skin is almost back to normal. Her face is clear, the rashes at the back of her knees are totally gone, her stomach is smooth again. Hopefully, we probably would just need one or two more visits to the beach this summer to completely remove the stubborn rashes in Isabelle's arms and neck.

I thank God for those months no matter how frustrating and painful it was for Isabelle because again He showed His immeasurable love and mercy to my daughter.

New Year, New Post, and Hopefully, More in the Coming Days and Months

AP Photo/Aaron Favila

When I created this blog. I rediscovered my passion for writing, especially about people and things I am passionate about. But, due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to put this on hold until I just could not find the momentum anymore. From week one of not being able to update this blog, my daughters were the ones pestering me to continue writing. This new year, Isabelle, after explaining what new year's resolutions are and extracting from her and Ilysse, their own, reminded me that one of my new year's resolutions should be to update my blog. Thus, here I am, fulfilling my daughters' simple request and once again, realizing the immense joy I get from writing.

I have been meaning to write about Isabelle's bout with a serious viral infection in November 2008 that made her temperature spiral to 40 degrees Celsius for more than two days and cough like a mad dog. As always, there was a fear that it could be dengue or a bacterial infection. Notwithstanding my doubts and fears that I was not giving my child the proper medication, I continued giving her oregano for the coughs and the Apis/Belladonna drops (a homeopathic medicine) for the fever. When these medication did not seem to work anymore, I had to get in touch with Dr. Cricket Chen, a pediatrician practicing homeopathy, whom I have recommended in my earlier posts. She advised me to continue giving the Apis/Belladonna and to just continue giving oregano when I disclosed that I have been giving Isabelle the said herb. She also prescribed Mercurius Virus Powder, the equivalent of an antibiotic in conventional medicine, but without the harsh and harmful effects, and Pulsatilla drops for her sinus congestion. She did not find Isabelle to have any bacterial infection and after a blood test done, my daughter was also cleared of the highly-feared dengue fever. After only 2 days since we saw Dr. Chen, Isabelle appeared like she did not endure a week of high fever and coughs.

That incident confirmed again my belief in alternative, homeopathic and/or herbal medicine, although I am not exactly closing my doors on traditional medicine since I, myself, have gone through traditional medical procedures. As a way to start the new year, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to people like Dr. Chen, and all the others around the world who tread the unconventional path to wellness. They have been ridiculed, even sabotaged, but they remain steadfast in their science and principles.

Where Have All the Parks Gone?

I mourn the the loss of a childhood filled with memories of the scorching heat of the sun, the glorious gust of wind, the prickly touch of the June beetle, popularly known as the salagubang in the Philippines, the hundreds of dragonflies caught and set free, the smell of sweet grass just after the rain, the laughter, even the fleeting whinings, of children having the time of their lives under the great, vast sky. I remember our backyard as my Central Park. I remember the beauty of the Parks and Wildlife and the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City and the Luneta Park and the Manila Zoo in Manila. I remember those memories so clearly that they give me a different kind of calm.

Yes, we still do have the same parks, but government and business have decided to pool all their efforts and finances to create a city, filling it with numerous buildings and edifices, without souls, with nary a concern in propagating greenery, and in the process, forget that we have parks where children play, where families renew their ties, where people seek refuge and rest. The Metro Manila I knew and I grew up in has turned into a money-making venture where malls can be seen at every corner to lure people from parting with their money in exchange for things material and superficial. Realty companies claim to promote the environment in their developments but are only truly serving their own interests and a few privileged ones.

Our children are the ones who suffer from this change of priorities and principles. Susan Usha Dermond in her book, Calm and Compassionate Children:A Handbook, explained how the lack of green landscape affects children, citing several sources:

"In the study published in Environement and Behavior, Nancy Wells and her colleague, Gary Evans, found that a relative abundance of green landscape bolsters "children's resilience against stress or adversity." Andrew Faber Taylor and Frances Kuo, researchers at the Human Environmenty Research Lab sponsored by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, found "that spending time in ordinary 'green' settings-such as parks, farms or grassy backyards-reduces symptoms of ADHD [Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder] when compared to time spent at indoor playgrounds and man-made recreation areas of concrete and asphalt." Taylor and Kuo's studies showed this to be true "regardless of the child's age, gender, family income, geographic region or severity of diagnosis," as reported in Psychology Today. My guess is that results would be exactly the same for children who have not been diagnosed with ADHD-every child's ability to focus is improved by being in nature."

In the last twenty years, malls and commercial buildings have tripled in Metro Manila, even quadrupled, but the number of parks and forests remain unchanged. It would have brought wonder and pure, unadulterated happiness to children and adults alike to be able to see breathtakingly beautiful parks at every corner of the city without the need to go to far-flung provinces, or even other countries, to experience the gift of nature. Metro Manila had built multi-billion pesos worth of malls and commercial establishments, thus, I do not see any reason why it cannot create the same number of parks and forests as a gift to every Filipino child.

Natural Eczema Cure

Isabelle has had eczema in her arms, just behind the elbows, for over a year now. We already have brought her to different dermatologists in the hope that they may prescribe medication that is safe and natural but all of them have consistently prescribed steroids, topical and even oral, to cure and manage her skin condition. I refused to give her steroids knowing the side effects that come with the said medication.

In my search for the natural cure, I have stumbled upon a video of a caucasian man in YouTube who was eagerly telling his discovery of a natural cure for his son's eczema. He related his frustrating and unsuccesful efforts to help his son whom he has brought to different doctors who prescribed all kinds of medication, even steroids. The natural cure that he discovered turned out to be blackened rice which was recommended to him by a Filipina acquaintance. I cannot remember exactly how he is related to the Filipina. I tried searching for that video but it no longer appears in YouTube. I regret not trying to get this man's contact details before as I wanted to thank him for his kindness and generosity in sharing this cure.

Isabelle's eczema is not entirely gone but the blackened rice, which we call at home as 'The Black Rice", has eradicated the redness and the rashes by as much as 80%. In fact, I still use it on Isabelle at night to ease the redness when her eczema acts up.

I also discovered that this Black Rice together with the Calendula Cream of California Baby has worked wonders on my daugther. It is just too bad that I already ran out of this calendula cream and still have to order them from the States. So, in the meantime, I have to make do with the Black Rice.


For anyone interested in trying this concoction out, what you do is just fry the rice until it blackens. I prefer using organic rice to make sure that it is 100% free of chemicals and synthetic materials. When the rice is already burnt and blackened, you add water and stir it until it reaches a pasty consistency. This paste is what you put on areas affected by the eczema. But, if you have the calendula cream, you may put this first over the affected areas and then cover this with the black rice.

Oregano-Our Reliable Medicine for Coughs and the Common Cold

If there is one thing that I can say as heaven-sent is my discovery of the benefits of the herb oregano, particularly its leaf. It has been over three years now that I have stopped going to the doctor for the treatment of my children's coughs and colds. To alleviate my doubts on the effectivity and safety of this herb, I had to do my own research and satisfy myself that I would not be endangering the lives of my children if I administer the herb to them.

Aside from scouring articles on the oregano on the internet, I was able to get my hand on several books on oregano. One book, "The Cure is in the Cupboard" by Dr. Cass Ingram (2001), is, in fact, all about oregano and its numerous health benefits. The Condensed Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, N.D. (2006), lists oregano as one of the healing herbs and spices. Both books discussed the two anti-microbial (or antibiotic) agents in oregano, thymol and carvacrol. The US Department of Agriculture even discovered, in one study, that the oregano scored the highest in antioxidant activity than fruits and vegetables known to be high in antioxidants. They found oregano to have forty-two times as much antioxidant activity as apples, thirty times as potatoes, twelve times as much as oranges, and four times as much as blueberries (p. 538, Michael Murray, N.D. Jospeh Pizzorno, N.D., and Laura Pizzorno, The Condensed Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, 2006).

It was also a surprise to me when I found out that Filipinos, especially in the provinces, have been using the oregano to cure coughs for ages. All these information made me decide to try the herb out. Since then, my children have not used even an ounce of antibiotics to treat their coughs and colds. There was one particular incident that stands out in my mind at the time when I was just starting to use the herb. Isabelle was not feeling well and was complaining of pain but since she was just about two years old then, she could not really tell us what was ailing her. My husband, Andrew, and I brought her to a doctor who prescribed antibiotics since the doctor noted her swollen throat. The doctor even advised us to give the antibiotic immediately since he expects Isabelle to become febrile. Not wanting to give any antibiotics, I gave Isabelle oregano instead. In a span of twenty-four hours, Isabelle was cured. She did not have the fever the doctor was warning us about. Andrew and I were simply amazed.

In case anyone is interested in trying the herb out, I just blanch the leaves with boiling water and squeeze the juice out. I give one to two tablespoons of the juice to my children three times a day. When my husband and I feel an itchy throat, we do the same thing but we would usually take three or four tablespoons of it. In fact, my mother-in-law would microwave the leaves and eat them straight.



The photo shown above is the oregano taken from our backyard. Especially during the flu season, I have had to continually replace the old ones that have lost their leaves. I get my supply of oregano pots from Mang Roger who oversees the Herbal Garden at the Quezon City Circle.