Alternative Medicine Can Help Kids Too

Amy Kuras

Generally I am kind of wishy-washy on alternative medicine – I am not one of those people who believe everything they read on the internet and are washing down colloidal minerals with an acai-pomegranate cocktail. But I do take fish oil every day and have used both valerian and St John’s wort to good effect.

I thought this story on CNN discussing the best alternative medicine for kids was interesting.It suggests thing that might help and won’t hurt, like probiotics for diarrhea, chamomile tea for colic, St John’s Wort for mild to moderate depression, and fish oil for asthma and eczema.

Let’s not discount the placebo effect with some of these things – but hey, if you can get he placebo effect with a relativley mild natural compound versus powerful pharmaceuticals, so much the better. And some things you might already be using without realizing it. Both baby gas remedies I have used with my little guy have chamomile extract in them – and both worked a lot better than simethicone drops like Mylicon, for what it’s worth. And some of this just bears out conventional wisdom, like to eat yogurt after you have had antibiotics to build back the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Still, all of this should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism and maybe even a chat with a real medical practitioner, versus the hairy fellow working the checkout at your local health food store.