A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally (62 page)

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Authors: Sue Frederick

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BOOK: A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally
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Before and after surgery on joints (knee, elbow, wrist, teeth), give ruta. Sprains and strains that feel hot to the touch will respond well to both ruta and
Rhus tox,
as do tennis elbow and chronic knee injuries.
Modalities:
Injuries that will respond to ruta will feel better with warm applications and worse when pressure is applied, for example, kneeling on the injured knee.
Sulphur
General uses:
Sulphur is a remedy frequently used with success when acute conditions such as colds, flus, coughs, and ear infections linger on. When a lingering condition is not the problem, sulphur is another remedy chosen more in relation to the personality of the child than to the ailment. If the following profile fits your child, try sulphur for most any common condition, including allergies, bedwetting, boils, fever, headaches, hives, impetigo, measles, poison ivy or oak, sore throats, or styes. Sulphur children are intelligent, frequently ask ''Why?" and easily integrate new information. New facts and figures fascinate them; they can rattle off every sports statistic for the last twenty years. They love to talk, are very entertaining, and may end up spinning stories, both to keep talking and to get attention. They are packrats, selfish about their possessions and careless with the possessions of others. Messy and usually in need of a bath (which they won't want to take), these are the children whose clothes and toys are strewn all over the house or left at a friend's. (If male, they grow up to be the men who leave the cap off the toothpaste tube and the toilet seat up.) Despite their unending energy, sulphur children need to be reminded a dozen times to do their chores and will procrastinate until the last minute. Their constant burning of energy makes them both hot and hungry. They eat a lot (except for breakfast, which they sleep through); favorite foods include salty chips, pizza, chocolate, ice cream, and ice cold sodas. Their internal heat is evident in their coloringa reddened face; reddened mucous membranes; red lips; red edges of eyelids, nostrils, and ears; dry skin; and hot feet. Already warm enough and typically sweaty, they dislike warm weather, warm rooms, warm clothing (especially wool), and bedcovers (which they usually kick off). If they have a fever, they won't have chills and will prefer to be uncovered.
Modalities:
Sulphur children feel much better in open cool air, with cool applications (forget baths; they dislike them so much they will likely feel
 
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worse afterward) and cool drinks. Both heat and extreme cold will aggravate symptoms.
Herbal Medicines
Herbs are plants used for medicinal purposes. Not only do 80 percent of the world's population depend on herbs to treat common ailments, but 30 percent of modern conventional drugs are derived from plants. Aspirin is based on salicylic acid, a component of white willow bark and meadowsweet. As noted earlier, cinchona bark provides quinine, which is still a primary treatment for malaria. The opium poppy's most biologically active constituent, morphine, remains the standard against which new synthetic pain relievers are evaluated.
When plants are used to produce drugs, only those components that pharmacologists can identify as active (given the current state of their science, which is certainly far advanced from a hundred years ago, but hopefully less advanced than it will be a hundred years from now) are used. These components are extracted from the plant's balanced, synergistically intertwined matrix of minerals, vitamins, bioflavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids, and numerous other substances known and unknown whose role we do not yet understand. The extracted components are then chemically altered in some waybecause if a drug is not a substance never before seen in nature, the pharmaceutical company cannot patent itand concentrated, so their effect is magnified many times.
The resulting drug is neither gentle in its action nor balanced. Drugs either block some normal physiological response (antihistamines, for example, prevent the mucus secretion the body uses to trap and flush away viruses and other pathogens) or take over some physiological function, supplanting normal activity with abnormal activity (for example, diuretics, prescribed for congestive heart failure, cause the body to eliminate fluid along with potassium, magnesium, and every other mineral, which can cause serious problems, including irregular heart rhythms). In contrast, herbal medicines are natural in origin. Their physiological actions are gentle and balanced. They do not disrupt; rather, they support the body's regulatory and defense systems. In doing so, herbal medicines strengthen the body so it can eliminate the cause of the problem.
 
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Drugs not only do not eliminate the causes of the vast majority of health problemsyour child does not develop an ear infection because she is antibiotic deficientbut they frequently cause side effects, some of them deadly. A study published April 15, 1998, in
the Journal of the American Medical Association,
reported that in 1994, 2,216,000 hospitalized patients in the United States suffered adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and 106,000 of them died. These ADRs were not the result of inappropriately used drugs; the drugs were properly prescribed and taken in the prescribed amounts.
Where children are concerned, these statistics are reason for extreme caution with regard to drugs. Children's immature organ systems do not process drugs as if they were miniaturized adults, and most conventional drugs are not tested on children before gaining FDA approval. A 1990 study by the U.S. Government's General Accounting Office reviewed 198 new drugs approved by the FDA between 1976 and 1985. More than half of these drugs caused serious side effects that were not detected until several years after the drugs had been in widespread use. The same report found that drugs reviewed by the FDA for use in children were twice as likely to lead to serious reactions as those approved for use by adults. Severe reactions included heart failure, anaphylactic shock, convulsions, kidney and liver failure, severe blood disorders, blindness, and death.
Drugs do have their place. They are definitely appropriate in a crisis where normal physiological responses, such as inflammation or fever, have become so excessive that they become part of the problem, or where a virulent bug is winning over the immune system's defenses. In such instances, the suppressive effects of drugs can save your child's life. After the crisis, consider alternatives. The following herbal medicines will help you enable your child to develop the kind of truly resilient immune system that will keep her healthy and vital. They are the herbal remedies you will rely on as essential components of your natural home pharmacy.
Types of Herbal Preparations
Herbal medicines are available both singly and in combinations, for internal use as tinctures, extracts, capsules and tablets, lozenges, and teas, and for external use as ointments, lotions, salves, and sprays.
Tinctures
are liquid herbal preparations in which alcohol is used to extract
 
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the herb's medicinal constituents. Although concentrated and therefore potent, easy to administer (a dose ranges from 3 drops for an infant to 20 to 40 drops for a child over twelve), and well assimilated by the body, tinctures have their drawbacks. They are typically bitter or unpleasant tasting and contain alcohol, although even a 20-drop dose would provide only minute amounts. If even a minute amount of alcohol is of concern, simply add the dose of tincture to 1/4 cup very hot water, let it sit for five minutes, and the alcohol will evaporate.
Extracts
can be made using either alcohol or water; just check the label to see which extraction method was used. Otherwise, they are equivalent to tinctures.
Capsules and tablets
contain ground-up or powdered raw herb. If these herbal pills do not contain a
standardized extract,
they will be much less potent than tinctures or extracts. Typically, a dose will consist of several pills, several times a day. If your child is able to swallow pills, you will avoid the unpleasant-taste issue. If not, you can open capsules or mash tablets, and add the dose to a small amount of fruit juice, applesauce, oatmeal, yogurt-any food your child likes.
Medicinal herbal teas
can be found in numerous formulations targeting various ailments. Most taste delicious and provide a health-promoting way to give lots of fluids. Teas, however, are much less potent than tinctures, extracts, or pills.
Nursing mothers
can sidestep even the minor difficulties associated with each of the internal herbal preparations by simply taking an adult dose of the necessary herbal medicine-its healing effect will be transmitted to the infant through the breast milk.
Ointments, lotions, salves, and sprays
are applied topically to help heal broken skin and wounds (calendula for surface cuts and bruises; hypericin for deeper wounds), fight skin infections and rashes (goldenseal, echinacea), and heal skin irritations, minor burns, and sunburns (aloe vera, comfrey).
Age-Appropriate Dosages
Use the dosages below unless otherwise indicated in the description of specific herbal medicines that follows. Remember, each child grows and develops at different rates. If your child is two, six, or twelve, use the lower dosage
 
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level if she falls within the lower end of the normal range in height and weight for her age; use the higher dosage level if she falls within the upper end of the normal range in height and weight for her age.
Infant to Two Years.
For one dose, use 3 drops extract or tincture diluted in 1/4 cup water, breast milk, or 2 or 3 teaspoons of tea. As explained above, a nursing mother may simply take an adult dose, and the herb will be transmitted to her baby in her breast milk.
Two to Six Years.
For one dose, use 6 to 10 drops extract or tincture diluted in 1/4 cup water or 1/4 cup tea, or mash 1/2 tablet or capsule and blend into a soft food your child likes.
Six to Twelve Years.
For one dose, use 10 to 20 drops of extract or tincture, 1/2 cup of tea, or 1 tablet or capsule.
Twelve Years or Older.
For one dose, use 20 to 40 drops extract or tincture, 1 cup of tea, or 2 tablets or capsules.
A Child's Basic Herbal Medicines
Aloe Vera Gel
A soothing remedy for all those childhood cuts, scrapes, scratches, and sunburns, aloe vera has long been valued for its anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, emollient, and antimicrobial properties. Applied topically, aloe vera gel enhances the healing of surface wounds (scrapes, cuts, and bruises), burns, and sunburns, and also will relieve the discomfort and promote healing of skin rashes, insect stings, and insect bites. Leave a bottle of aloe vera gel in your refrigerator for extra cooling relief.
Bromelain (capsules)
Obtained from the stem of the pineapple plant, bromelain's primary claim to fame is its use in reducing the pain, inflammation, and edema associated with sports-related injuries, and significantly lessening healing time. Studies also have found that bromelain is effective in reducing the swelling, bruising, pain, and healing time associated with dental surgery, particularly when used both before and after surgery. Should your child need a tooth extraction, or should his braces need to be adjusted, bromelain may help. It should be taken on an empty stomach, one age-appropriate dose three times a day between meals.
 
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Calendula (ointment, lotion, spray)
Commonly known as the marigold, calendula's orange and yellow flowers grace many gardens throughout Europe and North America. Rich in flavonoids, saponins, and carotenoids, calendula is both anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. Gently apply calendula lotion or use calendula spray as you would Bactine to naturally lessen discomfort and speed healing of minor burns, sunburns, skin irritations, eczema, and rashes. Calendula spray is another good remedy to leave in the refrigerator for cooling relief.
Carob (powder)
Finally, a remedy with a taste your child will love. Carob pods, ground into powder that greatly resembles cocoa in both appearance and taste, have been effectively used for centuries to treat diarrhea. Carob's main constituents are large sugar molecules and tannins. When added to liquid, carob's sugars become a gummy thickener that absorbs water and helps solidify loose stools. Carob's tannins bind to and inactivate toxins and inhibit the growth of bacteriatwo actions that also help treat diarrhea.
Catnip (extract, tincture, capsules, tea)
A gentle sedative, catnip is a child's valerian (a renowned herbal sedative for adults). Catnip's essential oil contains a sedative constituent that helps induce sleep and soothe coughs.
Chamomile (flower extract, tincture, tea)
Chamomile flowers contain numerous biologically active constituents, including several bioflavonoids, notably quercetin. Chamomile has long been valued for its anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and smooth muscle-relaxing effects, especially in the gastrointestinal tract. Turn to chamomile when your child has an upset stomach or when muscular tension is preventing her from relaxing and falling asleep.
Comfrey (gel, ointment, tea)
Comfrey root contains a substance called allantoin, which promotes tissue growth and is healing to the skin. It is frequently an ingredient in ointments and salves for irritated or inflamed skin conditions such as burns, sunburn, eczema, and scabies. If you don't have a comfrey ointment, you can soak a clean white cloth in cooled comfrey tea and apply the compress to the skin.

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