Back to School Anxiety

Hard to believe we’re here again, worried about sending our kids to school amid a pandemic.  Many things have gotten better, we know the importance of masks and vaccines have brought some sense of protection.  But for our 12 and under kids, it’s a scary ordeal putting them back inside classrooms where germs can be hard to control even with the best efforts.  So, what can we do for our kids to keep them healthy this fall?  Below is a list of the tips we are prioritizing with our kids as this school year gets started.

• Daily multi-vitamin – this can cover all the bases in case your child isn’t a perfect eater!  SmartyPants Kids Complete Vitamin is a good example.
• Extra Zinc – our immune system needs zinc to work efficiently.  Many kids get zinc in beans, seafood and fortified cereals and dairy products but during fall and winter cold season taking an extra 1-2mg of zinc/day can give your child’s system a boost. 
• Probiotics – a healthy immune system starts with good gut microbiome but finding the right probiotic can be tricky.  Most kids like to drink Kefir or GoodBelly, both are liquid forms of probiotics that you can find near the milk/yogurt sections of the grocery store.  This is an easy way to get a dose of probiotics each day.  
• Vitamin D – as the sun’s angle shifts in the fall/winter, adding a vitamin D supplement can be very beneficial for your child’s immune system.  Since the main foods that supply lots of vitamin D are fish and eggs and shiitake mushrooms – it’s often easiest to do an extra Vitamin D gummie or liquid D drops.  Giving 1-2,000 IU/day is enough for kids.

If your child is exposed to a virus or starts to have any symptoms, taking action early can have a big impact.  Here are a couple things we do at the first signs of a virus:

• Herbal Medicine – Our Chinese Herbal Medicine pharmacy has many prepared formulas specifically geared toward children.  We have herbal tinctures that work specifically to relieve colds and viruses that start with a sore throat and fever.  We have kid’s formulas that work specifically to relieve stuffy noses and coughs.  We can even blend a custom formula for you if your child has something particularly stubborn going on. 
• Sinus Rinse – Can’t overstate how helpful an old-fashioned sinus rinse is.  Kids usually do well using a squeeze bottle product like NeilMed’s Sinus Rinse.  Pro-tip is to add one drop of Grapefruit Seed Extract to the saline solution.  This adds a powerful anti-bacterial, antiviral component to the wash to get rid of virus lingering in the nose.  M&M’s work great as a treat for doing the rinse 3 times on each side!  

And if the anxiety of the pandemic is weighing you down again – you’re not alone!  Acupuncture works wonders to calm your nervous system and get you back to feeling like yourself again.  We’re all in this together and all of us at Triangle Acupuncture Clinic are here to help!

Telehealth Herbal Consults are a great way to get our help this fall and winter if you yourself or your child is feeling ill. You can call and set up an appointment with one of our acupuncturists who can diagnose and prescribe herbal formulas and other natural remedies.  Call Raleigh, 919-854-7311, Chapel Hill at 919-933-4480.  We can arrange a safe and speedy pick-up option for any herbs prescribed.