Originally published May 31 2012
Treat common childhood ailments with these effective homeopathic remedies
by Willow Tohi
(NaturalNews) Most parents give pause when medicating their children. It's in the news regularly how some kid died from conventional medicine, and doctors seem all the more willing to write out those prescriptions these days. Their little bodies are still very sensitive and delicate. Homeopathy is amazingly effective, when the correct remedy is used. If you don't use the correct remedy, you will get limited or no effect. There are no side-effects, making it very safe. Children and babies generally respond to it very well, improving natural defenses and lowering the need for conventional medicines.
But for many, homeopathy can get pretty confusing. For this reason, it is wise to consult a practitioner for chronic disease or serious problems. They can also help identify constitutional remedies. But for minor, acute issues, it's pretty easy to learn about a few remedies and try them out. You can always add more after you get a handle on it.
Starter kit
Below are a handful of remedies very popular with parents. Grab a cosmetics sized bag or maybe an empty VHS case, and build a starter kit. Use the lower potencies, 6X, 6C, 10X, 30X, or 30C, for at-home treatment of acute symptoms. Dosing instructions are on the bottle.
1. Arnica - Often the remedy that transforms the skeptical into believers in homeopathy, nothing is quicker or more effective for physical trauma. Get both the pellets (internal use) and the gel/ointmnet (external use). For pain, trauma, bruising, sore muscles, sprains and strains, swelling, shock, overexertion, head injuries, etc. Take before and after events ranging from surgery to tough workouts. Do not use on open wounds - see calendula. Helps stop hemorrhaging from injury, and reabsorption of blood.
2. Aconitum napellus (Aconite) - Use for colds, fever, fear, and other sudden on-set ailments:
• Earache - painful, with a high fever
• Colds - sudden onset, runny nose that is watery, hot
• Fever - high fever, comes on suddenly, skin hot and dry
• Cough - sudden onset, dry, coupy cough
• Insomnia, when the child tosses and turns, kept awake by the fear of nightmares
• Use in first 24 hours of illness, not at the end
• Symptoms - watch for anxious look on the face, with perspiration Better from warmth & rest, worse from cold wind, weather
3. Calendula - One of the best remedies for skin. An antiseptic, use tincture, gel, spray, ointment, cream. Apply directly to wound, cut (not deep ones as it may heal top too quickly), burns, eczema, rash. Helps breakdown scar tissue, has some pain-reducing action, soothes canker sores, prevents pus, resists wound infection, soothes skin.
4. Chamomilla - Powerfully calming, it soothes restless, irritable children. For the child that must be held to be calmed. Use for:
• Colic - spasmodic pains that come and go, worse at night, warm
• Teething - irritable, may have diarrhea, red and tender gums, child refuses toys, food, drink. May or may not have fever.
• Earaches - sensitive to cold and noise, pain that makes child frantic
• Colds - watery, hot, runny nose that is also stuffed, difficulty sleeping
• Fever - alternates between feeling hot, cold
• Cough - dry, tickling, hoarseness, worse 9p.m. - midnight
• Look for anger, impatient, contrary, inconsolable, screaming and arching his back, hot feet, hypersensitive, sour smell to body functions
5. Nux vomica - for overindulgence. Helps the child that has prolonged mental stress, disappointment in not reaching goals, hyperactive, overanxious, impatient, competitive, overexcitable. For the child that thrives on rebellion. Use for:
• Upset tummy/indigestion - gastric reflux with cramping and stomach pains, hiccups, flatulence, constipation
• Headache and nausea, loathing for food
• Diarrhea - from over feeding, or when baby strains but only produces small amount of stool
• Runny nose during the day, stuffiness at night
• Look for concurrent headache, indigestion, emotional upset. Things need to be a certain way, and impatient to be well.
6. Pulsatilla - No other remedy is used more often for children. Match emotional indications first; if they fit, use even if physical symptoms don't fit. A common constitutional remedy, usually for girls, the keynote symptoms are emotional, sensitive, moody children who crave attention. Can be shy, weepy, clingy. Often has complaints after eating rich or fatty foods. Use for:
• Earache - worse at night, may have yellow-green discharge from ears, hearing muffled
• Colds - Nose sometimes stopped, sometimes runny with yellow - green mucous that doesn't irritate skin
• Conjunctivitis - yellow-green discharge from eye
• Fever - can feel child is chilled but she still wants open air, no thirst
• Cough - dry cough at night, loose during the day
• Upset stomach with bloating and gas, abdominal distention in children who are not thirsty. Better from standing and moving, worse resting, in the evenings.
• Look for changeable symptoms, moods
• Better from cold food, complaints improve outside/open air - worse from stuffy rooms, hot weather
• Note: sepia is the remedy to give the caregiver of a pulsatilla child when they feel overwhelmed.
Individuals often respond differently to disease, and in homeopathy this individual totality of symptoms is important in finding the right remedy. One thing that makes it easier to find the right remedy is to try a blend. There are several popular products that have several remedies in them, such as: teething tablets, cough syrups, calms forte, sniffles & sneezes, colic tablets, and many more. There are even homeopathic treatments for ADHD, Asperger's, as well as for developmental, learning, or speech disorders. It is a wonderful, inexpensive tool for parents who want to correct problems rather than treat symptoms, and offers a safe alternative to prescription drugs.
Note: There is no reason not to use the above remedies on adults with the same symptoms.
Sources for this article include:
Hayfield, Robin. The Family Homeopath: Safe, Natural, & Effective Health Care for You & Your Children, 32-38. Toronto, Canada. Alive Books: 1995.
Ullman, M.P.H., Dana. Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants, 133-175. New York, NY. Putnam Books:1992.
http://hpathy.com/materia-medica/homeopathy-for-kids/
http://www.herbalremediesinfo.com/homeopathy_for_kids.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/031325_homeopathy_children.html
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