Natural Medicine Guide for Moms

There’s nothing alarming about a four-year old having eczema. Unless, of course, the US Food and Drug Administration links the steroid cream you’ve been applying to the kid’s eczema – almost nightly – to lymphoma.

So then can I panic?

Don’t bother answering. (I panicked.) And since everyone knows it’s silly to waste a perfectly good state of wild hysteria on otherwise rational thinking, I lost faith in drug makers and the doctors who seemed so willing to help line their pockets. I turned to a homeopath employing a practice from the 1700s but charging rates not covered by modern insurance companies. It cost me over $1400.

I’m not alone. Many of us raising children today were ourselves kids in an era of overprescribed antibiotics. And of course, it’s worth, mentioning that natural remedies that are proven and tested can be awesome. But when shopping in stores, it’s too easy for us to read some of the labels and believe that what’s inside the boxes re derived from ingredients that are wholesome and pure and can be consumed in unlimited quantities.

To be clear, the FDA regulates herbs and natural remedies on shelves as “supplements” meaning, more specifically, they’re not at all regulated. There is no approval process. Supplements are not tested for safety. And they are not tested for effectiveness. It’s hard to imagine what else might go into a drug’s oversight, if not whether it’s safe or effective, but that leaves a gap in the market between what’s proven to work and what’s being sold.

Here’s a short guide to shopping.

EAR INFECTIONS: The anti-biotic free theory here is one end of a lit ear candle is placed in your child’s ear and the negative pressure suctions out wax and toxins, offering relief from ear and

sinus infections. The reality here is that ear candles mean placing an open flame next to your child’s ear, which – by natural design – is located within close proximity to his extremely flammable hair, as well as his eyes, nose and throat – critical body parts that most medical professionals will tell us do not function better after being lit on fire.

The FDA has found no valid scientific evidence to support claims that ear candling works. It’s also not a huge shock to learn that the FDA – the same agency mind you that lets us take suppliments that that may not be safe or effective – has issued severe warnings against it. The agency has, on the other hand, received reports of burns, perforated eardrums and blockages that later required outpatient surgery.

CONFIDENCE AND DEPRESSION: It cripples a parent’s heart to see his or her child feeling low on confidence. Any of us would be willing to take remarkable measures to build emotional security. To repair this, as well as fear, stress eating or depression, you can buy a remedy created by a company named for the late Dr. Bach. The box of this confidence remedy states it’s made with larch, which according to the package instills a greater sense of self-esteem.

There’s little doubt this tonic builds confidence, as the FDA allows for higher levels of alcohol to be used in these medicines, and this one is preserved in brandy. I too find that brandy does wonders for my confidence. Scotch is even better. As for larch? The active ingredient, the company tells me, is from the energy of the plant – not the plant itself. The NIH nor the FDA not maintain reports on larch or its “energy.” But I think we can all agree that positive affirmations such as “After sipping this medicine I will have more confidence,” can dramatically improve a person’s outlook. But at the rate we’d burn through these tiny bottles costing $12.99, we could take our kids out for yogurt, create our own affirmations, and build an emotional foundation for their confidence – not an herbal one.

COUGHS AND COLDS: We’ve all felt our chests hurt when watching our kids cough. The American Academy of Pediatrics,

meanwhile, recommends a nighttime dose of soothing buckwheat honey for kids who are coughing and over twelve months old. This is exactly the kind of natural medicine that Western doctors can get behind. Because it’s been tested. In studies. On children.

So one brand of children’s remedies boasts that it’s honey cough syrup contains just three ingredients: water, honey and a preservative. But if not for that darn preservative, a person with even limited culinary talents could perhaps whip up a batch of this elixir at home. You know, with water and honey. Then again, if you don’t use the water, what’s left is the very ingredient doctors say soothes the cough in the first place: honey. No point in mentioning, I’m sure, just four ounces of the cough syrup costs about 300 percent more than 16 ounces of honey.