With a family that suffer from asthma and a boy that was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia our health and protection to staying healthy is a number one priority.
Cleanliness is a must – I have seen so many people in public toilets coming out of a tiolet and not washing their hands. It makes me want to scream 😱
At home I am certain I would be classed as having OCD – but it’s my family’s health I am preserving basically. I cook all meals – mainly using organic products and my family only drink filtered water. All fruit and vegetables are fresh, mainly organic and sourced from the best. A take away treat to us is a luxury – when we have to eat whilst travelling and have no other option. Expiry dates are always checked with every purchase. Cleaning products are all organic and ingredients on label checked for authenticity.

Something as simple as just washing hands before you eat and changing out of your outside clothes when you come home can definitely make a big difference in helping keep germs at bay. We always encourage our children to do this everyday including not wearing outside shoes in the house

And don’t forget health checks with a medical professional, and vaccinations, and just the simple act of knowing what’s normal for your kids so you can spot changes and potential problems. But I do think that the tips above are really sensible and will work for most families. They’re not hard.

These are wise tips and things we do ourselves. Especially with our youngest who has Down syndrome we saw that she had far more colds and infections, tonsillitis, prone to complications and hospital admissions in her younger years. Part of this was due to a lower immune system what kids with Down syndrome often have, part of this was due to narrower nasal passages and sinuses leading to more chronic infections and part of this was due to a hart defect. Good food and a healthy life style, dental visit and keeping up with vaccinations were and are certainly important, but in her case doctors visits, medication under the PBS and many hospital visits were needed too.

Definitely quite a few on the list we do ourselves to try our best at keeping germs and illnesses at bay. We always change out of outside clothes as soon as we get home and wash our hands, regardless if from school or not. And encourage kids to keep up with their vitamins too

I agree with Renae about prioritising hand washing and using sanitiser, getting out into the sunshine as often as possible as well. Good fresh food, a lot of which you can grow for yourself is also a priority in my household as is exercise. Just 45 minutes a day makes a huge difference to one’s healthiness. It would be nice if all medicines could be covered by PBS but very few medicines are needed if you look after yourself food and exercise wise as your own immune system will fight off all the nasties before they embed in your system.

I agree with this story and I must admit I’m one who has had to cut back on medication because I can no longer afford everything I need. I can’t work out any other way to cut back so I can afford all of my medication as well as buying food and paying bills.

I agree with what you are saying and that there is too much emphasis on medicine here and that medicine can indeed be a bandaid and that’s far more important to look to what is behind it. Good real wholesome food, fermented foods, exercises, outdoor time, enough sleep and rest are all far more important to me.

Attending Regular Dental checks ups are also very important to keeping our overall health. Bad teeth can affect our heart and health. It’s about keeping our body healthy with nutritious food and exercise and common sense. Keeping living environment clean is also very helpful in maintaining health as well. All great ideas in the article.

I totally disagree with the sentiments about PBS. The article says “It’s obvious that having timely access to the best medicines means better health outcomes for families.” NO. NO. NO. NO. People please do not be sucked into thinking that medicine solves anything. (1) All medicine is just a bandaid to help your symptoms; it does not get to the cause of WHY you are off. This is something Western doctors are just not interested in but which answering usually fixes far more than you imagine, (2) All medicine comes with side-effects, disruptions to your body’s balance, that is often just another insult that it has to try and deal with, while battling the original illness. and (3) the idea that you can take medication and then just carry on business as normal is wrong, wrong, wrong (but what society wants you to do). In my experience the number one tip for good health is EXERCISE. Get your body working, pumping out anti-oxidants like there is no tomorrow and stimulating the immune system for hours after. There is a U-shaped curve for exercise’s benefits but most of us are stuck with WAY too little activity. This is closely followed by HEALTHY EATING which means different things for different people, depending on your genes, your unique health problems, your past history of taking medications (especially those like anti-biotics, painkillers and anti-inflammatories that disrupt your gut and set you up for worse disease down the track). Whatever diet pattern you follow generally avoid eating anything that can sit on a shelf for more than a few days is a good idea (the processing and additives required so that it can last days, weeks, past normal is not going to be an immune boosting aid). And finally be careful of the vitamins / supplements. They certainly have a place, especially when you are proved deficient in something, but they too come with ‘processing’ problems and additives that are not always helpful for health. You have to know what is in them,how they make the casing, what fillers might or might not be used (because these themselves can trigger issues, like increasing gut permeability) and even be aware that there are different formulations of the artificial substances and not all are alike, some can actually make things worse (like the wrong form of B9). it’s generally a good idea to also ask ‘why’ you are deficient, why you can’t absorb this or that, why you’re not getting it from food, or what it is you ARE eating that might be hindering you getting what you need from real food. Just my thoughts. I would not be relying on PBS for my health or my family’s.

Some great tips here. I have 4 kids and their immune systems are pretty good. Good healthy food, exercise, fresh air/sunlight and enough sleep make a huge difference. We do take extra vitamin C in winter as well just as added protection for all the colds and flus that go around.

Food and exercise make a huge difference for overall health. Holding yourself to having servings of fruits and veggies every day and getting at least 30 minutes of active, heart rate up exercise. I’m the gal who has a hard line on no shoes in the house, no tracking in who knows what through the house that the toddler will roll around in. My husband works in health care so making sure he changes before playing with the baby if he’s been with patients. I really feel for families who deal with day care sickness waves, it must be so hard.

Good ideas here. We are big on washing hands and have sanitizer only when we are unable to access soap and water. Plenty of fresh air and safe sun exposure are a must. We feel it kills the bugs if you can get some sunshine. I guess its just a matter of common sense.

Another good way to protect the health of a family is to get plenty of exercise and outdoor time. It is so important for bodies to move and to be physical and to keep bodies strong. Exercise improves strength, fitness and releases plenty of feel good endorphins which is so essential for good health.

This mum has some really great valid points in her article. It is definitely hard managing illnesses with kids at daycare, school etc but if you can take little precautions to help prevent it then that is all you can do. I find exercising really great also as it changes your mood. It would be great if more antibiotics etc were added to the PBS, this would be so helpful.

I think she makes some good points. I have always asked my family to wash their hands as soon as they come in the door. I don’t ask visitors to do this, but I wish it was more of a habit that everyone adopted. Also good food such as veggies and bone broth certainly help to strengthen the immune system.

Some great advice there. I have found that also being active and getting out in the fresh air really seems to help with my family’s health. We walk our dogs twice a day and I also get up early and go for a run. I find that we don’t get sick often and when we do it isn’t lasting.

Great points to protect family health. I would put a bit more emphasis on a good structured routine and sleep. Two years ago one of my children was prescribed an antipsychotic medicine that was not on the PBS list and it was an extremely high expense each month. Certainly when it involve medicine for children I think a reform is needed indeed. Medicine when needed should be available for all

She has some very sensible points in there. Coming in the door and washing hands and face is a big one. Sanitiser is a must in all households nowadays. I’m sitting here wit a grandchild home sick from school today. Sometimes it just is what it is. Things are going around. We all just have to try out best. Fresh air and a little sunshine is wonderful.

I agree with many of the dot points in the article about maintaining good health. The focus for a family does indeed need to be on good health and wellbeing and balance with all things. I agree that the wait for medicine to be available on the PBS should be shorter. The cost of some medicine can make a massive dent in a family budget and cause some families to struggle.