Homeopathy: An introduction to application in pediatrics

Saturday, 19 May 2012

Homeopathy: An introduction to application in pediatrics

Homeopathy
An introduction to application in pediatrics

By: Denisa Hrncirik-Maruyama, ND and Paul Theriault, ND

Issue: June/July 2011

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in pediatric primary care is common, with homeopathy being one of the most widely used CAM modalities in the world. In a recent survey done in the UK, the rate of homeopathic use in children amongst GPs is 22%, with most prescribing taking place for infants less than one year old with minor self-limiting conditions at a relatively low rate of approximately one per month. A smaller number of GPs report prescribing much more frequently (Ekins-Daukes 2005). In Germany, homeopathy is the most frequently used CAM treatment for childhood ailments, where nearly 50% of the homeopathic medicines are prescribed by medical doctors and Heilpraktiker, and used to treat a wide range of conditions with a greater rate of use for self limiting conditions (Du 2009). The publications on the use of CAM in pediatric primary care and oncology indicate that homeopathy plays a complimentary but largely unofficial role in pediatric oncology in Israel (Ben Arush 2006), Canada (Fernandez 1998), Italy (Steinsbekk 2006), and Netherlands (Grootenhuis 1998). In the US, it is estimated that over 900 000 children are administered homeopathic medicines on a yearly basis (Barnes 2008). In India, homeopathy is widely used in pediatric care, as it is incorporated as a system of primary care within the established medical system (Ghosh 2010).

Homeopathic remedies are potentized substances at a dilution level often greatly surpassing the Avogadro number. This naturaly gives rise to questions about the mechanism of action of homeopathic remedies. Despite much experimentation, the exact mechanism through which homeopathic remedies effect change remains elusive. Recent work has focused on the memory of water hypothesis in which properties of water are held to be influenced by the history of substances water has been in contact with (Chaplin 2007). Other work on the subject has focused on quantum interactions and entanglement of the remedies with the substances from which they are made, as well as quantum entanglement between the patient and practitioner (Molski 2010, Neuhouser 2001). Although no firm consensus has yet emerged, research into the question is gaining solid ground (Enserink 2010).

Most homeopathic remedies are made from natural ingredients (plants, minerals, or animals), yet numerous recent remedies have been created from a wider range of substances, such as colored light (Griffith 2008) and physiological tissues from the birth process (Assilem 2009). In addition, more recent work by Jan Scholten and the members of the Mumbai school in India have introduced classification of remedies into thematically oriented groups, and have offered deeper exploration into the unconscious levels of remedy pictures (Sankaran 2008). Their work has re-energized the field of homeopathy, widening the number of remedies that can be matched to childhood ailments.

Homeopathic remedies are symptom specific. Prescribing in pediatric patients requires keen observational skills as well as a strong knowledge of materia medica. The choice of remedy must take into consideration general temperament of the child, the emotional responses to challenges that they are facing, as well as the unique details of the physical symptoms they are exhibiting or experiencing. This requires careful observation on the part of the parent and the physician since children are often unable to report the subtleties of their symptoms. In addition, observation of the parents and the social environment of the child may offer great clues to remedy selection (Master 2006).

Homeopathic remedies can be prescribed to children on an acute or constitutional basis. Constitutional prescribing is mostly indicated in chronic or recurrent conditions and is based on the child’s overall physical, emotional, and mental symptom picture. A constitutional remedy strengthens and stimulates the child’s vitality, improves physical and mental development and helps maintain their overall health over time. For acute presentations, symptom-specific prescribing based on the totality of the presentation at the time of intake is most commonly employed. A matching acute remedy will promptly releave the child’s symptoms and significantly increase rate of recovery.

Dosing strategies in children are similar to adult protocols. Although most books on pediatric dosing recommend low dose prescribing, for healthy children with strong vitality, dosing higher potencies of 200c, 1M, and 10M often show great results, as long as the remedy is a close similimum. It is generally prudent, however, to begin with lower potencies (such as 6c, 30c) and gradually move up to 200c, 1M and 10M if vitality of the child is vague, or if the remedy match is not entirely revealed. For children with chronic illneses and disabilities, higher potency remedies may provoke aggravations or worsening of the presenting symptoms. In such sensitive cases, liquid dosing and LM dosing are recommended.

The following protocol is designed to minimize aggravations in sensitive children, yet speed up progress of their condition considerably: Begin with 6c potency of the selected remedy diluted and succussed in alcohol and water. Administer 1-10 drops to the child and observe for a week. If no response, redose. If positive response results, redose only when you see child ceasing to improve. If progress comes to a plateau, dose more often until daily dosing. The typical progression of potencies in this protocol is 6c, 30c, LM-1, LM-2, and upwards (De Schepper 2004).

Most Commonly Prescribed Pediatric Homepathic Remedies: (Master 2006, Vermuelen 2000, Zand 2003)

Remedy Name	Common Use	Physical	Mental	Generalities
Aconite	First line remedy in acute condition, shock/fright	Dryness, redness, heat, rapid pulse	Shock/fright, extreme anxiety, panic, restlessness, fear of death	Thirstless, or intense desire for cold drinks
Allium Cepa	Common cold	Profuse clear discharge from eyes and nose, frequent sneezing, dry red raw throat in laryngitis	Pain intolerance	Strong hunger and thirst. Worse in warm room
Antimonium tartaricum	URTI, asthma, pneumonia	Rattling cough with little expectoration, shortness of breath, white coated tongue	Aversion to being touched, or clinging tight, irritable	Thirstless, weakness, inclined to keep eyes closed or sleep
Apis mellifica	Insect bites, Allergic reactions	Heat, redness, swelling, stinging	Active, protective, jealous, desire to be in control and dictate to others	Thirstless, better with cold applications
Arnica	Trauma, bruises, strains, sprains	Trauma, bruising, soreness, black eyes	Desires to be left alone, assures others that nothing is wrong, any intrusion is a violation of their boundaries	Aversion to lying on hard surfaces, worse with touch
Arsenicum album	First line remedy in food poisoning, diarrhea, vomiting	Burning pains, thin clear discharges, heartburn, diarrhea	Restlessness, anxiety, Hypochondria, Insomnia, perfectionistic	Thirst for frequent sips of cold water, Chilly
Baryta Carbonicum	Delayed development, attention deficit, learning disorders	Looks prematurely old, delayed reflexes and motor skills, recurrent tonsillitis	Shy, hiding, anxious, fearful of anything new, fear of losing loved ones	Chilly, lack of vital heat, worse from cold in any form
Belladonna	Sudden onset high fever, redness, dilated pupils, headache	Dilated pupils, eyes appear glassy, red, hot, dry skin	Often behaves as if healthy, intense emotions,	Intense thirst or absence of thirst entirely, right sided
Bryonia alba	Constipation, dry cough, pneumonia, any symptoms worse from motion	Dryness, bursting, splitting, exploding pain worse with motion, stiffness of neck, large hard stools	Irritable, homesick, humiliated, hates to be disturbed, difficulty sharing	Extreme thirst for cold drinks, sensitive to weather changes, damp, wind
Calcarea carbonica	Digestive issues, teething, developmental tardiness, sweat	Sour taste, cramping, perspiration, hypothyroid	Independent, overwhelmed, anxious about health, many fears, need to be supported by family	Worse with exertion and cold damp conditions, desire for eggs
Cantharis	Burns, scalds, urinary tract infection with burning sensation	Burning pains, infections of the urethra and bladder	Excessive energy, restlessness	Better with cold application
Chamomilla	First line remedy for difficult teething	Teething, ear infections, colic, green diarrhea (like chopped eggs or spinach), red cheeks (often unilateral)	Irritable, frustrated, inconsolable, hypersensitive to pain, wants to be carried, very bratty	Chilly, desire motion, arch back while crying
Colocynthis	Colic, diarrhea cramps	Abdominal pain, violent cramping	Offended, Humiliated, Annoyed	Bending over double in pain
Drosera	Dry spasmodic cough, whooping cough, croup	Dry incessant cough, hoarsness	Angry, feels persecuted, slightly manipulative, deceptive	Worse at night, worse lying down
Ferrum Phosphoricum	first line remedy in common cold and mild fever, nosebleeds	Feeling of cold or fever coming on with few definite symptoms, flushed face or pale	Talkative, irritable, not in body, never commited to coming into thier lives	Great thirst, general weakness, sensitivity to pain
Gelsemium	Influenza, weakness, aches, chills, heavy/droopy eyes, performance anxiety	4 Ds: dizzy, drowsy, droopy, dull, headaches across forehead and back of head	Dullness of mind, performance anxiety	Thirstless, better bending forward, overall weakness
Hep Sulphuris	Infections with yellow pussy discharge	Splinter-like pains, abscesses, pus	Oversensitive, annoyed, complaining	Extreme chilliness, hypersensitive to pain
Hypericum	nerve pain, trauma to nerve endings	Numbness, tingling, radiating nerve pain, upwards shooting pain from injured areas	Confused, dull, forgetful,	Worse in cold, damp, closed room
Kali Bichromicum	Thick ropy mucous discharges, colds that lead to sinusitis	Stringy yellow-green nasal discharge, pressure at the root of the nose in sinusitis	Detailed, Introverted	Moving pains, worse with cold, worse after eating, worse after waking
Kali Muriaticum	tonsillitis, sinusitis, yellow mucus	Congestion with colds, paranasal sinusitis, chronic sore throat, loss of appetite, bulimia	Easily excited, easily discouraged, homesick	Worse in open air or drafts
Ledum	mosquito bites, puncture wounds, bruising, growing pains in ankles	Injured area feels cold, pain in the ankles, sore heels, sore feet	Moody, dissatisfied, anxious, prefer to be left alone	Better with cold application, worse with movement
Lycopodium	Digestive issues, right sided	Gas, bloating, constipation where first part of stool is hard followed by soft	Insecure, fearful inside, covers up insecurity and appears bossy	Right sided symptoms, desire for warm drinks and sweets
Magnesium Phosphoricum	Cramping, right sided, colic, diarrhea	Gas, colic, relieved by bending over, drawing the legs up, pressure	Complaining, difficulty concentrating, insomnia	Better with warm applications and pressure
Mercurius	Ear infections, drawn out colds and flus, halitosis	Foul smelling discharges, green-yellow, toxic feeling	Restlessness, suspicious, aggressive, oppositional	Sensitive to extreme temperatures
Nux Vomica	Digestive issues, headache, irritable, hypersensitive, craves rich foods	Cramping, spasms, headaches, digestive concerns, constipation	Highly irritable, impatient, frustrated, competitive, sensitive	Chilly, worse with change of weather, dry/cold weather
Phosphorus	URTI that has tendency to descend into lungs, vomiting, bleeds	Bright red bleeding, cough dry at first, then loose, stomach flu, vomiting	Desires company, outgoing,	Craves cold drinks (yet may vomit these once they warm in stomach)
Pulsatilla	Ear aches, nasal congestion, yellow discharges, sensitive child	Yellow-green discharges, changeable physical symptoms, moving pains	Sensitive, changeable emotions, indecisive	Better in open air, thirstless, desires rich foods
Rhus toxicodendron	Poison ivy, chicken pox	Intense itching, stiffness	Restless, busy, active, feels constrained by any boundary	Better with warmth, desire for cold milk
Ruta graveolens	sprains of wrists and ankles, tendonitis	Injuries to the tendons, cartilage, periosteum,	Easily fatigued, dissatisfied, frustrated	Better with warmth, desire for cold milk
Spongia	Barking, hacking cough, laryngitis	Dry, croupy, barking, hacking cough, hoarsness, constanct clearing of throat	Anxiety, fear of suffocation, weeping, easily startled	Better with warm, worse in hot room and cold air
Sulphur	Skin infections, eczema, head lice, pinworms	Red, burning, itching, smelly discharges, gas, bowel movements, diarrhea	Opinionated, critical, messy, lazy, thier opinion is better than everyone elses	Better in cool air, worse with heat, aversion to bathing
Thuja	Vaccination support, warts, fungal infections	Inflammation due to bacterial or viral infections, vaccination or auto-immunity	Self-depreciation, Forsaken	Chilly, craves open air, allergic constitution
Urtica Urens	Burns, scalds allergic reactions	Stinging pains, intense burning and itching, hives	Restless, Nervous	Worse in cool environment

More recent pediatric homeopathic remedies: (Assilem 2009, Griffith 2008, Le Roux 2009, Scholten 1996)

Remedy Name	Physical	Mental	Generalities	Notes
Thymus gland	Brain damage, by birth or injury. Poor immunity, allergies or chronic infections	Cut off from parents, ancestors- very useful for adoptees. Deep trauma, difficult to access consciously	Frequent belladonna/ tuberculinum type fevers. Constant chest colds/ atopy	Start low, best use is liquid dosing of low potencies, LMs particularly applicable
Hydrogen	Failure to thrive, diarrhea, aptheae, congenital defects	Spacey, feeling of being small, invisible. May actually state that they don’t exist	Craves Pineapple, Autism, failure to thrive, worse 9pm	Has a tendency to induce pregnancy when given to sexually active women. Use with caution
Limentis-b	Eczema, Psoriasis. Frequent UTIs, developemental delay	Feels unprotected, vulnerable, premature sexual development, preoccupation with home environment	Nose obstructed, desires physical exertion, Capricious desires
Vernix Caseosa	Eczema, psoriasis, chronic fatigue	Unprotected assaulted, dependant on mother for protection, fearful	Allergies or environmental illness	Excellent starting remedy.

Paul Anderson Theriault, ND
Family First Chiropractic and Wellness
8860 Macleod Trail SE
Calgary, AB, Canada T2H 0M4
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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