No longer taking new patients.
Acupuncture for babies, pregnant moms, and the entire family!
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About the Acupuncturist
  • Patient Stories

My Kid Got the Measles! Now What? 7 Things You Can Do.

3/10/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.

​The topic of measles is everywhere. You’re probably hearing about it on the news, on Facebook, and from the people around you. Popular media would have you believe that there’s going to be a massive outbreak and then we’re all going to DIE.



​First, the answer is yes. We are all going to die, but probably not of the measles. So, let’s say your child were to get the measles. All that hype isn’t going to do anything but freak you out. So what should you do?



1. You may want to see the pediatrician. They will likely tell you to go home, give your child plenty of fluids and some OTC drugs and to watch for specific things that might require antibiotics. Or they’ll give the antibiotic as a prophylactic (before it’s even needed). They might even offer your child the vaccination to “provide some protection”. However, as the MMR package insert indicates, “protection” may be afforded only "within 72 hours of exposure". If your child is showing symptoms, that offer of possible protection expired about a week ago. As always, make conscious and educated medical choices. 


Here are some more helpful suggestions:


2. One of the main side effects of measles is eye damage so keep your child in a darkened room. No TV, computer games, or screens of any sort as these will put strain on your child’s eyes and brain.


3. Spend time with you child – keep your child calm, read stories to your child, and comfort your child in times of distress.


4. Feed your child simple, nourishing foods like porridge and homemade bone broth.


5. Avoid processed foods, dairy products, oranges, and sugary drinks/foods. Your child’s immune system is working hard and these foods will slow it down.


6. Get the book: Keeping your Child Healthy with Chinese Medicine. Bob Flaws gives several herbal home remedies which include foods like coriander, sunflower seeds, carrots, parsley, water chestnuts, and even a tea made out of cherry seeds. These recipes will help help vent the rash (which means to help it express more quickly and easily so that your child can recover faster).


7. Call your pediatric acupuncturist. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas can help at every stage. If measles is diagnosed and correct treatment is given in the pre-rash stage, severity can be reduced. Talk to your pediatric acupuncturist about how she can help reduce severity, avoid side-effects, and support healing.


Would you like to know more?


I am available to do free lectures in my office or at your parent group meeting location. Please contact me if you would like to learn more about how pediatric acupuncture can support healing in children with measles. I can be reached through my website and by phone at (619) 630-0802.

0 Comments

Kid's Wellness Day

10/6/2014

0 Comments

 
by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.

CALL TO RESERVE YOUR CHILD’S SPOT: 619-630-0802


Who:
Kids ages Newborn to 8 years old 


When:
From 9 AM - 5 PM on Wednesday, October 8th, 2014


Where:
My office: 3010 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103


Cost:
Wellness treatments are $20 – Expect to be in the office for about 20 minutes.


Background:
In Japan it is common for acupuncture clinics to have children-only days. These occur once per month around the time of the full moon. All the kids in the neighborhood come and get a Shonishin treatment to boost immunity and support overall health. 


Lasting Effects:
In our society, people tend to ignore their bodies so they end up on several medications by their mid-50’s. We need to teach our children differently. Monthly wellness treatments are an opportunity for children to experience the fact that self-care is an ongoing process that continues for a lifetime! Couple that with the health support they’ll receive on a monthly basis and your child will be well ahead of the game!


Sorry:
This is not a time for children with chronic health issues to be evaluated. The wellness treatment will not include the extensive examination or diet and lifestyle counseling of a typical visit. If this is what your child needs, please set up an Initial Examination for your child.


CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT: 619-630-0802
0 Comments

Kid's Wellness Day: 08/08/2014

8/7/2014

0 Comments

 
by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.

CALL TO RESERVE YOUR CHILD’S SPOT: 619-630-0802


Who:
Kids ages Newborn to 8 years old 



When:
From 9-11 AM on Friday, August 8th, 2014


Where:
My office: 3010 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103


Cost:
Wellness treatments are $20 – Expect to be in the office for about 20 minutes.


Background:
In Japan it is common for acupuncture clinics to have children-only days. These occur once per month around the time of the full moon. All the kids in the neighborhood come and get a Shonishin treatment to boost immunity and support overall health.


Lasting Effects:
In our society, people tend to ignore their bodies so they end up on several medications by their mid-50’s. We need to teach our children differently. Monthly wellness treatments are an opportunity for children to experience the fact that self-care is an ongoing process that continues for a lifetime! Couple that with the health support they’ll receive on a monthly basis and your child will be well ahead of the game!


Sorry:
This is not a time for children with chronic health issues to be evaluated. The wellness treatment will not include the extensive examination or diet and lifestyle counseling of a typical visit. If this is what your child needs, please set up an Initial Examination for your child.

CALL TO RESERVE YOUR CHILD’S SPOT: 619-630-0802

0 Comments

I Love Acupuncture

7/31/2014

0 Comments

 
by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.




I love acupuncture.

I love the anticipation of knowing that I’m going to be taken care of.

I love kicking back on the table and relaxing.

I love being touched in all the right spots. (If you’ve received acupuncture from me, you know what I’m talking about).

I love that groggy/happy/loopy feeling I get when I’ve been treated.

I love that my body works better afterwards.

I love that my mind thinks more clearly afterwards.

I love that my spirit feels more free so that the answers to the questions I’ve been asking can find their way to me.

I love acupuncture.

I love being an acupuncturist because people love acupuncture just like I do – but for their own special reasons.

Why do you love acupuncture? Share your reasons below!

0 Comments

It Can Be Too Late.

4/29/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.

I woke up this morning to the news that one of my patients had passed away during the night.

When my husband met her, he described her to me as being “like sunshine”. Saying someone is like sunshine is very odd – especially for my husband who doesn’t usually talk like that. When I met her I realized exactly what he meant. She was like sunshine – she radiated joy. I don’t think anyone in a room with her could help but be affected by her positive energy.

When I met her, she was feeling the best she’d felt in years. She’d lost a lot of weight and she was living the healthy lifestyle that she’d put off living for a long time. Now, instead of just watching her grandkids play and being exhausted afterward, she had the energy and ability to enjoy playing with them. She was also mentoring others in her lifestyle and was really thankful to be able to benefit others in that way.

She’d been feeling great for about six months and then the pain came. The cancer had spread. Our bodies are made to heal and grow naturally. For many people, cancer occurs when the body is so taxed by an unhealthy lifestyle, or other physical limitations, that the immune system is unable to identify and destroy the cancer cells that normally grow within all of us. Several months of healthy living allowed this woman the joy and energy in life that she wasn’t able to feel before, but for her, it was not enough to allow her body to function properly.

A healthy lifestyle, acupuncture, and chiropractic all work together to allow the body to heal and function optimally. This woman’s life may have been very different if she’d chosen that healthy lifestyle years ago, before her system was so taxed. Her story reminds me that it can be too late to choose to live differently. Please, make better choices for yourself and your family today. I am here to guide you on that journey. Call me at 619-630-0802 to schedule initial acupuncture exams for yourself and your family and find out what you can do to help your bodies heal and function optimally.

Join me in praying for, and sending love to, this beautiful soul and her family.


0 Comments

5 Natural Ways to Address Bed Wetting

3/20/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.



Does your child commonly wake with a soggy bed in the morning, even though he or she has been potty trained for quite some time?

Has your pediatrician offered your child electronic moisture alarms, DDAVP to boost anit-diuretic hormone (which has a side effect of seizures), anticholinergic drugs like Ditropan or Levsin (which may cause dry mouth and facial flushing), or antidepressants like Tofranil (which may cause mood issues, sleep problems, or death)? The information in this paragraph is from the Mayo Clinic website.

Are you looking for some less scary options?

Here are 5 Natural Ways to Address Bed-Wetting:

1.     Reduce sugar. Reduce or eliminate your child's intake of sugary drinks (including 100% juice and milk), especially after 4:00 PM.

2.     Reduce family stress. Children can feel and internalize their parent’s tension and stress. Find ways to manage family stress like acupuncture, couples or family counseling, or meditation. Turn off the TV and video games – especially if your child can see or hear programming that is geared to an older audience.

3.     Provide familiarity when away from home. If the bed-wetting only occurs when your child is away from home, bring bedding that has been washed at home so the bed smells familiar.

4.      Make sure your child is getting enough rest.

5.     Acupuncture! There are many causes of bed-wetting that acupuncture addresses. See if acupuncture is right for your child. Call (619) 630-0802 to make an appointment for your child to have an acupuncture examination.

Would you like to find out more about bed-wetting and what you can do to help your child? You are invited to my free talk:

Thursday, March 27, 2014 from 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM

Location: Central Library
(The study room location will depend on the number of RSVPs.)

330 Park Blvd. San Diego, CA 92101


Space is limited - RSVP on my website or call (619) 630-0802 by 03/26/14 to reserve your spot.


Are you coming to this blog a little late, but would like to hear my Bed-Wetting talk? You can arrange for me to speak to your group through my website. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and fill in the form.



0 Comments

A Hummingbird and Fighting Spirit?

10/15/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
When I was in practice in Rancho Bernardo, I put a picture of a “family tree” on my business cards. Very simply, I wanted to work with families and I felt that my tree advertised that pretty clearly. 

I still love my tree, but I don’t resonate with it like I did before. So, for my new practice I have a new symbol, a hummingbird. After we lost Kalis, my husband and I kept seeing hummingbirds and we began to associate them with her. So when I was deciding how to represent my practice, a hummingbird came to mind. I don’t know much about animal symbolism so I looked it up and this is what I found: 

Hummingbirds are about love and joy. They symbolize a celebration of life and an attribute of the hummingbird is being able to roll with the punches. Hummingbirds are creatures that open the heart and allow the heart to heal. I found that a hummingbird is the perfect symbol for www.FightingSpiritAcu.com. This is what my practice is all about. I strive to strengthen these qualities in myself and to support others as they do the same! 

When your energy is out of balance, you may find it difficult to live with love and joy, to celebrate life, or to roll with the punches. When your energy is balanced, you have the mental and physical ability to embody the attributes associated with the hummingbird. Energy can become unbalanced due to physical, mental/emotional, and chemical stresses. Acupuncture and herbal formulas regulate energy to help restore that balance. If you’ve been under stress and feel that you could use support in regaining your energetic balance, call (619) 630-0802 to make an appointment. 



by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.

0 Comments

After the Loss of a Loved One

9/4/2013

0 Comments

 
by Karen Bostock, L.Ac.


I closed down my acupuncture practice in Rancho Bernardo just before I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Kalis. I’d planned to take maternity-leave for several months (or perhaps years). Now, just six weeks later, I’m planning to re-open my practice in Hillcrest. No, I didn’t change my mind about wanting to stay home with my little girl. She was born with bilateral renal agenesis so I got to spend a few precious moments with her and then she was gone.

My little girl taught me a lot. Both her birth and her absence have taught me that I’m a lot stronger than I thought. She also taught me that the moments I have may not last so it’s important to take them in and experience as much joy in life as I can.

I was so blessed to have had regular acupuncture and chiropractic before, during, and after my daughter’s birth. My midwife and acupuncturist were amazed at how quickly I healed physically after giving birth, even in the wake of such an emotional trauma. And while I still miss what I thought I would have with Kalis, I believe that my emotions are healing quickly as well. I attribute the swiftness of my healing to the acupuncture and chiropractic care I received.

One of the things that I notice at support groups for grieving parents is that many parents who have endured the loss of a child have difficulty finding that joy again. They are not only experiencing prolonged grief, but also the physical and mental dis-ease that often accompanies it.

As an acupuncturist, I can support your body and emotions in regaining their natural balance. No, I cannot make you forget your loved one or make you love him or her any less. But when your energy is balanced, your body and mind can begin to heal. My hope is that all those I support can begin to experience the joy in life that Kalis inspired me to have.

If you’d like support in regaining your energetic balance after the loss of a loved one, no matter how long it’s been, call (619) 630-0802 to schedule an appointment.

0 Comments
Forward>>
    Picture

    Author

    Karen Bostock is a licensed acupuncturist who provides care for kids, pregnant moms, and the whole family. Healthy families = healthy world!

    Archives

    February 2018
    July 2017
    March 2016
    February 2016
    October 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Abortion
    Acupuncture
    Affirmation
    Baby Loss
    Balance
    Bed-Wetting
    Breastfeeding
    Children
    Choices
    Emotions
    Exercise
    Family
    Free Talk
    Grief
    Measles
    Medications
    Seasons
    Vaccination
    Yellow Emperor

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.