Safe Remedies, Healthier Kids

My baby tugged at her left ear as tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. At 6 months old, Chloe had her first earache. My initial panicky instinct was to rush her to the ER and give her anything to ease the pain. But my husband and I had seen too many friends ride that earache–antibiotic merry-go-round; yes, the treatments relieved pain quickly, but the antibiotics never dealt with the root causes of the recurring earaches. Instead, I called our naturopath. Within hours of Chloe receiving her first dose of a homeopathic remedy, she seemed much better. She still suffered congestion, but the acute agitation and aches had lifted.

The experience made me wonder: What other homeopathic remedies could I use for Chloe? Turns out this gentle approach is good for everything from diaper rash and colds to tummy aches and the sore gums of teething.

Bitter pill

Of course, in certain situations, conventional medications may be just what the doctor orders for your children—and rightly so. But do pay attention to potential risk factors. Sometimes, physicians will “rush into [recommending] very powerful medicines,” says Dana Ullman, MPH, DHM, and author of The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People & Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy (North Atlantic Books/Random House, to be released in October 2007). “Many of these drugs have not been tested on children and are prescribed based on inexact measurements like weight and height.”

Case in point: In January, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta issued a warning about the dangers of children’s over-the-counter cough and cold medications. The CDC reported that in 2005 three infants died in the US after taking cough or cold medicine and more than 1,500 were taken to emergency rooms the previous year for side effects associated with the medications. Why? The ingredients in these treatments can increase blood pressure and heart rate, in some cases to dangerous levels, the researchers concluded.

Ullman advocates using gentler natural remedies to treat infants and children before resorting to conventional pharmacology. In that vein, he relies on and recommends what he considers to be one of the safest and most effective treatment modalities for children: homeopathy.

Sweeter pill

Homeopathy is based on the principle “like treats like”—whatever symptoms a large dose of a substance can cause, a minute dose can cure. For example, a hefty dose of arsenic (if it doesn’t kill you) will seriously irritate your digestive tract; but a minute amount will actually resolve stomach pains. “It’s a little bit like the law of vaccination or allergy shots,” says Dennis Chernin, MD, MDH, author of Homeopathic Resource (North Atlantic Books, 2007).

Homeopathic remedies, therefore, contain very diluted traces of potentially harmful plants, minerals, and other compounds. Because remedies contain such small doses and, in many cases, only an energetic imprint or memory of the substance, they cannot cause harm.

Also, most kids enjoy taking homeopathic remedies, which come as pills in a lactose or sucrose base. These sweet pills dissolve quickly on or under the tongue.

Although homeopathic treatments occasionally blend together several components, some homeopaths prefer single remedies. Administering blends “is an allopathic way to do medicine,” says Chernin. “Give them everything but the kitchen sink, and see what works.”

But Bruce H. Shelton, MD, MDH, with Valley Integrative Physicians in Phoenix thinks blends have their place. “Usually your body will find the formula that it needs out of the blend,” he says. “Not everyone can afford to see a homeopath, and [blends] can provide relief for less complex ailments.”

Shelton adds: “Homeopathy is an unbelievable fit for kids; it’s a better fit for kids than for adults.” Children have yet to be polluted by their environment, so the remedies don’t have to penetrate layers of toxins; they can go straight to the problem, Shelton explains. “When you choose the right remedy for children, you usually get excellent results and sooner [than with adults].”

Some research backs up these claims. A study published in the British Journal of Homeopathy found that when 230 children experiencing earaches took homeopathic remedies instead of antibiotics, 39 percent of the patients had pain relief after six hours and another 33 percent after 12 hours. Other recent research demonstrates that homeopathy helps fight attention deficit disorder (ADD) and viral infections in children. Most experts recommend working with a homeopath for chronic problems like asthma and ADD.

For straightforward ailments, such as runny noses and teething, parents can determine homeopathic remedies for their children. “For simple things, you can pick up a book or two and go to the health food store [to get remedies],” Chernin says. “If a child has a serious problem, then you really need to go to someone knowledgeable, educated, and, hopefully, licensed.”

Although many alternative practitioners choose homeopathy as their first course of action, that doesn’t preclude using pharmaceutical drugs or other conventional interventions when necessary. “As a physician—a healer—I try and use the best medicinal approach first that has the least side effects,” says Chernin, “and it’s often homeopathy. But if I feel that there are other treatment modalities to consider, I will.”

Now that Chloe is 5, I no longer panic when she spikes a fever or starts to sniffle. And although she has seen doctors several times, we’ve managed to treat most of her ailments without drugs. When Chloe gets a runny nose, she asks, “Mommy, can I have a fairy pill?”—a reference to the marshmallow-like homeopathic tablets. Anna Soref is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to Alternative Medicine.

Remedies for common childhood ailments

Picking the right remedy for whatever ails your son or daughter can be a little tricky, so here’s a handy guide to take the guesswork out of the process. Look for homeopath Dana Ullman’s description that most closely matches the symptoms. Don’t worry about choosing the wrong remedy: A mismatch won’t do any harm; it simply won’t help. Anxiety

Aconitum

Startles easily and fears that something bad will happen. Feels anxious after a natural disaster, an accident, or a near accident.

Gelsemium

Feels anxiety before a performance such as a test, game, or examination. Voice and body may tremble.

Ignatia

Offends easily and is sensitive after being reprimanded. Feels homesickness. Bites + stings

Apis

Has red, inflamed insect bites that sting or burn and are relieved by cold.

Staphysagria

Suffers bites that itch constantly or create large welts.
Ledum

Experiences bites associated with itching. Colic

Aethusa

Has trouble digesting milk.

Chamomilla

Feels irritable because of teething. Infant doubles up, kicks, and screams. Common cold

Aconitum

Coughs more at night. Has dry mouth that gets worse when drinking cold liquids. (Remedy is useful during first 24 hours of symptoms.)

Allium cepa

Suffers runny nose that reddens and irritates the nose and worsens indoors. Has runny eyes.

Pulsatilla

Has thick greenish/yellowish nasal discharge that gets worse at night. Sniffles in newborns. Experiences indigestion and earaches. Desires sympathy and attention. Cough

Bryonia

Experiences a dry, sometimes painful cough that happens when a common cold moves into the chest. Symptoms are aggravated by any motion, even talking.

Aconitum

Wakes with a dry, hoarse cough. The symptoms get worse in the evening. (Remedy works well at the beginning stages of croup, bronchitis, and pneumonia.)

Kali bic

Coughs up stringy, ropy yellow mucus. Discharge gets worse after eating. (Remedy is not useful at early stages of the cough.)

Spongia

Suffers dry, barking, croupy, rasping cough. Diaper rash

Calcarea carb

Experiences chronic diaper rash and irritation.

Calendula

Has diaper rash. (Use a gel or spray on the area. Can use in combination with another remedy.)

Earache

Aconitum

Has hot and painful external ear. Experiences throbbing pain and is sensitive to cold and noise. (Give at onset.)

Mercurius

Experiences chronic ear infections. Has ear discharge. Endures bursting, pulsing, or shooting pain.

Lycopodium

Suffers worse pain of either right ear or left ear and worse at night and when exposed to drafts. Hyperactivity + attention deficit disorder

Note: For treatment of chronic conditions, see a homeopath.

The following can relieve acute episodes of hyperactivity.

Chamomilla

Acts restless, capricious, and irritable.

Rhus tox

Acts physically or mentally restless, especially at night. Has difficulty staying in one place. Mind jumps from one subject to the next subject. Frustrated easily. Insomnia

Coffea

Experiences mental hyperactivity and general sleeplessness due to excitement.

Kali phosphoricum

Finds difficulty falling asleep after night terrors. Has fidgety feet. Feels anxious about events real or imagined.

Pulsatilla

Resists going to sleep because of fear of being alone. Smashed fingers/toes

Hypercium

Has damaged nerves and sharp pain.

Arnica

Suffers bruising. Stomach upset

Arsenicum

Experiences nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Symptoms get worse if exposed to cold. Symptoms worsen after midnight. Abdomen is sensitive to touch. Feels burning pain in stomach.

Bryonia

Has indigestion after eating rich foods. Feels worse with movement.
Chamomilla

Feels hyperirritability. Teething

Chamomilla

Displays irritability, pain, or one red cheek. Might suck on fingers.

Belladonna

Feels intense pain accompanied by restlessness, screaming or biting, and red gums and lips.

Calcarea carb

Perspires. Sucks on fingers. May grind teeth at night. Stools may have sour smell. Remedy for teething of children who are more than 12 months old.

Homeopathy Do’s

Dana Ullman, MPH, DHM, offers these guidelines for treating children’s common ailments with homeopathy.

•• Start with the lower potencies such as 6x, 6c, 12x, 12c, 30x, or 30c, three times daily for one to four days. (The letters x and c refer to 10 and 100 respectively in terms of dilution. In homeopathy, the more diluted the substance, the stronger it is, so c is more potent than x.) For severe symptoms, you can dose every hour for not longer than a day.

••The child should avoid eating, drinking, or chewing gum for 15 minutes before and after taking the remedy.

•• Seek professional medical care if your child runs a fever higher than 103.5 degrees and does not respond to remedies within six hours. Infants less than 6 months old should receive medical care for any fever.