Banning Pediatric Cold and Cough Medicines
05-12-2010
Ouch! Sore muscles?
05-09-2010
EXPLAINING HOMEOPATHY
05-06-2010
Medicine for the 21st Century
05-01-2010
Safe Drugs? By Avghi Constantinides D.Hom HMC MA
06-02-2010
Your Child’s Health Care By Avghi Constantinides D.Hom HMC MA
05-02-2010
SAM-e By Joel Morris MD
02-01-2010
Colds & Flu Season
10-03-2009
COMING FROM THE HEART By Kellie Jean Lewis June 2009
06-01-2009
Balancing Nutrition with the Seasons By Katie Lee, LMFT, L.Ac. May 2009
05-01-2009
Major depression - April 2009
04-01-2009
February 2009 By Keiko Cronin, L.Ac.
02-01-2009
January 2009 – CFL Newsletter - Green!
01-01-2009
Diabetes By Dr. Margo DeLeaver MD
06-01-2008
YEAR OF THE EARTH RAT - A NEW CYCLE BEGINS By Keiko Cronin, L.Ac.
02-01-2008
Going Green in 2008
01-09-2008
Avghi Constantinides DHom HMC MA
11-01-2006
| Banning Pediatric Cold and Cough Medicines
05-12-2010
An End to Bad Drugs
The FDA may finally take action against the harmful, useless, and sometimes deadly decongestants and antihistamines commonly given to children. FDA safety experts have urged a ban on over-the-counter, multi-symptom cough and cold medicines for children under 6. The FDA experts have recommended removal of these cough and cold formulas from the market, despite the protests of powerful industry trade groups. About 800 of these formulas are marketed for pediatric use. Clinical studies have shown that these medicines are ineffective. The report issued on September 28, 2007 reports that at least 54 children died after taking decongestants and 69 children died after taking antihistamines. The panel suggested that these figures underestimate the number of deaths because of voluntary reporting guidelines. The FDA has also ordered drug makers to remove all prescription cough medicines for children containing hydrocodone, a narcotic, from pharmacy shelves. None of these products have been shown to be effective, and they are certainly not safe.
Holistic Treatment
By contrast, holistic pediatric medicine offers many safe and effective treatments for colds, coughs, and flus in children. Both Chinese and western herbal medicine provide excellent pediatric formulas. The most prominent of these are the Chinese herbal pediatric cold and cough formulas developed by Chinese Modular Solutions (Windbreaker, Chest Relief) and Blue Poppy (CQ Junior, Lung Qi Junior, and Bupleurum and Angelica). Golden Flower produces an excellent pediatric ear infection formula as well (Children's Ear Formula). These are available to any health care practitioner.
Black elderberry extract (Sambucol) is an excellent western pediatric formula for viral illness, which has proven to be effective in flu treatment. Echinacea and golden seal are effective in building the immune response to colds, despite contradictory clinical studies. Other Western products, like Emergen-C, and Airborne (a modern version of the Chinese formula yin chiao jin) are also helpful first-line treatments for children's colds.
Homeopathic medicine provides safe and quick acting treatment for children's colds, though most prescriptions need to be individualized to the patient's condition. I do not recommend homeopathic combination medicines. Single homeopathic medicines are more effective, more precise, and safer. Giving a 6, 12, or 30 strength will usually be equally effective. In the absence of specific characterizing symptoms (such as sore throat or cough) a guideline to follow for colds is:
Stage 1 of the cold: Allium cepa: The first remedy to give for clear, runny nose.
or
Belladonna: If there is also a fever with clear runny nose. Once the discharge has changed from clear to yellow or green these remedies are no longer indicated.
Stage 2 of the cold: Pulsatilla: thick nasal discharge and clingy behavior.
Stage 3 of the cold: Kali bichromicum: thick green nasal discharge.
By Randall Neustaedter OMD
|
