Health Tips – Words from Gwen

Dear Saints,

The original Israelites during Moses’ day were given advanced instructions on cleanliness and keeping disease and infection outside the camp and “at bay.”  As we travel and are in closer contact with one another, there are things that God taught Moses and the Hebrews that we can put into practice to help us with disease control.

One of the main things to help prevent disease is keeping your hands clean at all times—keep the fingernails short and use lots of soap and water.  In addition, a lot of disease could be avoided by keeping your hands away from your mouth, nose and eyes.  I noticed after having babies that newborns only rub their eyes with the back of their hands—all of them do this.  It is wisdom from the Heavens.  It is okay to use a Q-tip—otherwise avoid contact with the eyes.  It is so important to keep the teeth brushed, use mouthwash—even the old baking soda mixed with salt, which seems to kill everything.  I have passed down to my children to put one tablespoon of Clorox in every load of dishes, and this just provides one extra step of disinfecting the eating utensils.

Finally, the biggest health measure is once a child or adult is sick, to create an infirmary by using one room for isolation in the house and only allowing one parent in that room.  Teach the child to cough only in disposable Kleenex.  Be careful not to drink after one another.  Make sure that all restrooms are thoroughly disinfected and sanitized frequently.  Once a child cuts fever, it is best to wait one or two days before you bring the child back to church.  Keep in mind the Jewish people waited seven days after all disease or infection was eradicated.  As hard as this is, it is a beautiful gift to give the church.

I praise God that He has taught me how to deal with sinuses, and I now have many years of positive feedback from the following advice:

• Prevent allergic reactions.  If you prevent the allergic reactions with simple and pure antihistamines then the mucosal linings will not swell or make extra protective mucus, which helps then to prevent headaches and pressure on the eyes.  Obviously, you have to find the pure antihistamine and the amount that does not make you drowsy.  I have personally found it very helpful to increase the amount recommended for antihistamines.  I personally recommend Claritin or generic Claritin because it is non-drowsy.  Some people recommend nasal spray antihistamines, however I have personally recommended using extra dosages of Claritin to at least a hundred people, including children, and everyone has responded with an overwhelmingly positive result—many people saying they feel so much better and no longer have to deal with the negative symptoms that they used to have.
• How to prevent drainage and runny noses: I do not recommend any decongestants added to antihistamines that make the heart race but there are other decongestants that seem to be milder such as an over the counter Sudafed or generic (phenylephrine HCL).  If you have noticed nausea accompanying drainage, the nausea could be a result of the sinus drainage. We have seen antihistamines work to alleviate this nausea in many cases.
• If you feel headaches coming on, do not wait—respond quickly.  It is good to alternate over the counter pain relief that your body responds best to.
• Daily use of saline spray is helpful because no bacteria can grow in salty solutions and could possibly prevent the body from responding to the pollen or other inhalants that your body has deemed a “foreign invader.”
• One more helpful tip — another great way to prevent illness from spreading is to have your family members gargle with Listerine every day. It does a good job of destroying bacteria, and there are several flavors to choose from.

Even though we all may vary somewhat in how to prevent sinus trouble, the good news is that it is preventable.  And I am praying that we all look for more and more ways to prevent the transfer of diseases and infection.  Since the body is God’s Tabernacle and what houses His Holy Spirit, let’s continue to be clean on the inside as well as the outside.