Look for these Lollipops ...

...in your local pharmacy!

A little something that would not only help the sore throat to get better, its fun for kids too!! My son and daughter loved it.

Your Skin's Best Friend in Winter

With such a chilly weather outside its natural for the skin to look pale, scaly, itchy and dry. My both kids have eczema and I have severe finger dermatitis. In the sense - my skin on the fingers becomes very dry and sometime so dry that the constant itch makes it bleed. That leaves a burning sensation and sometimes I feel I cannot bend my fingers. Hence a doctor friend recommended me to moisturize a lot and put on gloves when its cold outside.

I found this 'Eucerin - Intensive treatment PLUS ' take care of the eczema problem of my kids, my hands and my husband's dry skin problem. It is a bit expensive .. but works as good as any prescription treatment.

In fact Cream works better than lotion. Of course it doesn't spread easily. So I take a little amount warm it up by rubbing in between my hands and then put it on the skin. While applying ... you may feel its not sticking too well. But after a while it becomes greasy and skin absorbs it.

Typically apply it before you hit the sack .. soon after a nice bath. If you think mornings are a rush for you .. doing some kinda routine at night will help you to stay asleep and at the same time .. keep your skin moisturized and soft. So even though you forget to put on a moisturizer in the morning, your skin will still forgive you :-)

Home remedy for treating Cough : Toddlers

I know.. Cough especially at night .. could be heart-rending! Thanks to some Popsicles my son had .. the cough started. Even though he is a little over 3 yrs, we use those over-the-counter medicines quite sparingly! Following the doctor's advice first .. we tried - using a vapourizer, continued to give him lot of fluids and then nasal drops. But when that didn't help, we tried giving him some Bendatryl one nite. He could sleep through the night, but the cough didn't go away.

Here are a few Home Remedies :

** A friend suggested this excellent tip - Take about a tbsp of honey and mix it with a small piece of grated / crushed ginger. We gave him this mixture and its like the cough instantly disappeared. He slept through the nite minus cough. We were relieved!!

This home remedy is sometimes so much better than those cold/cough medicines which are nothing more than a sleep aids.

The health benefits of honey and ginger:

• Respiratory problems: The mixture of honey and ginger is an excellent expectorant and therefore provides instant relief to a person suffering from cough, cold, sore throat, and runny nose.
• Asthma: It is also believed that a mixture of honey and ginger along with black pepper is capable of treating or reducing the effect of asthma.
• Indigestion: Both ginger and honey have antioxidant properties thereby increasing the immunity of the body. Therefore, consumption of one tea spoonful of this mixture is very useful for people who have a weak digestive system.

**If your kid does not like the ginger taste, you can also try giving honey mixed with lukewarm water. That also helps. I even tried mixing the honey with warm milk for my daughter.

** Vicks vapor rub is good too. Baby vicks is mild. I use the regular vicks ointment. Apply it on chest, back and forehead. My Grand mom's tip : apply on the soles of the feet. The aromatic properties of the ointment leaves a soothing relief.

** Keep the head elevated. Pop in a pillow or raise the headboard/legs of the bed.

** Run a cool mist humidifier or vicks vaporizer in the kid's room.

** Give plenty of fluids. I usually give warm diluted milk for my daughter whenever she has a cold.

I am not totally against over-the-counter medicines. But all I am suggesting is to try treating any sickness naturally, first. See how the child responds! If the child still doesn't feel any better .. then start thinking abt using the medicines or calling a doctor.

Also, check out - Sore Throat Relief Lollipops

Baby Moisturisers - Review

Aveeno - This is a good product and I had used it for a while. What I really like about it is the texture. It looks more like a cream and it spreads easily and a simple massage makes the skin absorb it. It has oatmeal , which has great moisturizing properties. What I don't like about it is the container it comes in. The cream, for the first few uses comes out fine. And after that...I have hard time squeezing it out.

Huggies - Another great product. This 24 hour moisturizer is good and smells nice.

J&J - At present am using J&J Vanilla and Oatmeal Moisturizer. It smells soo good!! But looks like it is not very good for kids with eczema. Like my son...he has extreamly dry skin and eczema flares up somtimes when its very cold outside or if he skips a moisturizing routine.