Okay, so I’ve [almost] survived a new mommy rite of passage – taking care of sick kids while being sick myself…. and so, I am officially declaring myself the most patient mommy in the world (or at least among the countless patient mommies out there!). My 3 year old, Britton, started coming down with a cold last week and has been running a fever for the past 3 days. A visit to her pediatrician this morning confirms that she has been battling influenza. My 5 month old is sneezy & congested but no fever (hooray) and I, well, I’m just run down with a compromised immune system after battling Mastitis several weeks ago and now fighting the same cold/flu that my darling daughters have. And then there’s my husband who has been “preparing me” for his impending illness as if to say he’ll be unavailable for the weekend so he can rest…oh please…why should daddy get rest when mommy hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in over 5 months! But I digress.

I’m writing this post in order to discuss the different approaches pediatricians can take when treating a child with the cold or flu. When Britton had a similar illness back in November, we were out of town and went to a large group doctor who prescribed antibiotics because he said that she wasn’t able to fight this on her own and needed the help of Amoxicillin. My visit to our regular, single practice pediatrician today resulted in a much more holistic approach. He suggested that I give everyone in the family Imu-Max Natural Defense, a supplement containing Vitamin C, Bee Propolus and Organic Echinacea. It’s free of allergens derived from gluten, corn, yeast artificial colors or flavors. This treatment is much more in line with my own philosophy of helping your body fight illness on it’s own to strengthen the immune system and avoiding antibiotics, especially when treating a virus! His education and experience include The Mayo Clinic and Duke University so he is definitely a traditional medical doctor, but it’s nice to see that he doesn’t look to pharmaceuticals for every ailment. I hope more pediatricians start taking the same approach, maybe then we’ll be able to avoid things like the development of superbugs.