- Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets
- Hyland’s Baby Colic Tablets
- Hyland’s Baby Infant Earache Drops
- Hyland’s Cold’n Cough 4 Kids Multi-Symptom Liquid
- Similasan Kids Cough & Fever Relief
- Similasan Kids Allergy Eye Relief
- Boiron Oscillococcinum for Flu-like Symptoms
- Boiron Cold Calm
- Walgreens Homeopathic EarAche Drops
- Colic Calm Homeopathic Gripe Water
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Reading: Homeopathic Medicines for Children
Have you ever bought and used any of these types of homeopathic medicines ?
If so, did you know they were homeopathic or what it means that they are homeopathic ?
Steven Novella provides a nice explanation of homeopathic medicines, which he describes as “ nothing but placebo, magic potions based on prescientific notions and with “ active ingredients ” that are frequently diluted beyond the charge where any original substance is likely to remain. homeopathic products are therefore literally nothing. Further, clinical trials have systematically shown that they do not, in fact, shape. ”
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Homeopathic Medicines
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines homeopathy as “ an option aesculapian system that was developed in Germany more than 200 years ago. ”
The main principles of homeopathic medicine are that :
- Like cures like — also called the law of similars, it proposes that substances that cause similar symptoms can help to heal people. For example, homeopaths have suggested that rattlesnake venom can cure Ebola infections because they both involve bleeding. The homeopathic treatment for insomnia is coffee.
- Law of the minimum dose — also called the law of infinitesimals, it proposes that medications are most effective when given at the lowest possible dose, which leads to ‘enormous dilutions’ of most homeopathic medicines. For example, the Belladonna in Hyland’s Teething Tablets has been diluted 1,000,000,000,000 times. Although there may not be any of the original ingredients left when you extremely dilute them, as is done in many homeopathic medicines, homeopathic practitioners claim that they still work because a ‘spirit-like essence’ or ‘memory’ of the ingredient remains in the diluted “medicine.”
How load do some of these homeopathic medicines get ? Boiron Oscillococcinum for Flu-like Symptoms is diluted so much, at 400X or 200C, that to make sure that you got at least one molecule of the active ingredient, you would have to take more pills than there are atoms in the universe. It is besides interesting to note that skeptics claim that there is not enough water on earth to make such a dilution .
Would you try to make your child hot if he had a fever ?
Would you give him one single dangle of acetaminophen or ibuprofen ( or to be more in line with homeopathic practices, dilute the drop of acetaminophen in a gallon of water, then put a flatten of that mix in a bathtub of water, and then give your child a cliff, after first gear mixing a devolve of the bathtub water system in an Olympic size swimming pool full of body of water ), because you think that would work better than his commend drug of one teaspoon ?
If not, then why would you give your child a homeopathic medicine ?
Homeopathic Medicines for Children
unfortunately, many parents do give their kids homeopathic medicines. Why ? common reasons seem to be that :
- They don’t know what homeopathic medicines really are, which is not surprising when pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens mix them together on the shelf with other traditional over-the-counter medicines for fever, allergies, coughs, and colds.
- Some parents confuse homeopathic medicines with herbal medicines and other over-the-counter natural remedies.
- They use them for symptoms and conditions for which there are no or few pharmacological alternatives, like teething pain, gas pain, colic, and cold symptoms in young children.
There is no testify that these medicines sour, though.
There is besides frequently no good reason that you have to run to the drugstore every time your child has a new symptom, whether he is teething, has gas, or a cough. Talk to your baby doctor about alternate treatments that might provide your child with relief to these very common issues .
Avoiding Homeopathic Medicines
How do you avoid homeopathic medicines ?
You could barely try to avoid sealed brands, like Hyland ‘s, but nowadays that Walgreens and other stores are selling their own versions of homeopathic medicines, you might still be fooled .
These products should besides submit that they are ‘homeopathic music ‘ on the label, which can help you identify and avoid them .
The alone sure way to tell is by looking at the ingredients list, though. Look for things like ‘6X HPUS ‘ or ‘200C HPUS. ‘ Those are the dilutions as described in the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States .
If a intersection has a dilution factor and mentions HPUS, you can be sure it is a homeopathic medicate and has been repeatedly diluted .
What You Need to Know About Homeopathic Medicines
Before buy or trying homeopathic medicines, parents should know that :
- Homeopathy was developed in the 1700s in Germany
- Homeopathic medicines are not regulated by the FDA for safety or efficacy.
- Homeopathy is a big business (or a big waste of resources), which about $3 billion being spent on homeopathic medicines each year
- Some homeopathic medicines are diluted in alcohol
- As with many alternative medicine providers, homeopaths are often anti-vaccine and even promote their own homeopathic vaccines (nosodes) that have not been proven to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases
The bottom line is that homeopathic medicines are no better than a placebo. And since parents may choose homeopathic music over conventional treatments, there is surely damage in choosing to use homeopathy .