Monday, May 3, 2010

Alternative Medicine – Is It Good for Your Baby?



Alternative Medicine – Is It Good for Your Baby?

What could be worse than hearing your baby crying in pain because they have an ear infection? It can just break your heart, especially if you already took your child to the family physician and the medicine they prescribed just doesn’t seem to be working.

So what do you do? Go online and search for alternative treatments? Nowadays that’s what a heck of a lot of people are doing. And, as far as ear infection treatments are concerned, there are plenty of alternative approaches available, the most popular being chiropractic adjustments and homeopathic treatments.

But should you risk the using alternative ear infection treatments for your baby? The renowned Mayo Clinic staff says “no”. Here’s a synopsis of what they say.

Both homeopathy as well as chiropractic care therapies have been studied and the results have been mixed and it isn’t really clear whether or not there is any actual benefit to these treatments.

And many homeopathic products are not even monitored by the Food and Drug Administration.

However, if you feel that you would like to further investigate alternative treatments for your child’s ear infection there are a number of things you should do first in order to ensure that you will not make the situation any worse or bring them any harm.

First, find out everything you can about the treatments. Find out everything that will be involved and make sure you know what the potential benefits are, along with any potential side effects.

Next, find out the cost. Not all alternative treatments are covered by medical insurance, so you don’t want to have to pay a bill unexpectedly.

Of course you will want to ensure that the alternative medicine advocates have the proper credentials.

And always consult with your doctor before starting to use any alternative treatment. That’s because the treatments can negatively interact with some of the medicines your child is now taking.

Thank you, Nancy Smithson, our guest blogger, for writing this post. Nancy works in the crib bedding industry and promotes Caden Lane baby bedding for www.BabyAuthority.com

8 comments:

  1. I'm definitely an "alternative medicine" supporter. Meaning eating the right foods in the first place, herbs, vitamins, supplements - I truly believe they are just as good, if not better in some cases than traditional "medicines."

    Just my thought - but I'm by no means against traditional medicine, I just like to have options and believe preventive care is the best!

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  2. I'm right there too. Also into organic whole foods. Nothing processed, no corn syrup, hydrogentated oils, ect.
    I think traditional medicine is good but over used. Alternative is a healthy choice if you are a healthy person in the first place and go a long way to keeping us strong and healthy.

    Thanks for visiting me and following. I'll hop on here and read more when I have a little time!!
    Kelly

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  3. i too am a alternative medicine practitioner, but I have years of research and education under my belt. like traditional medicine different peoples bodies react to different things in different ways. I used this example in a class the other day. "There are hundreds of anti-depressants on the market, and sometimes a person has to play with different ones before they find the right one. The same goes for herbs, there are hundreds of calming herbs but sometimes it takes time to find the right one." As for ear infections the key is catching it early, then the best method I have found is warm olive oil with garlic infused in it and some muleein. Of course strain out the garlic and put a few drops in each ear. You should still get it checked out to be sure it cleared. ALso the advice I give for colds, is do your research and have items on hand. there is nothing traditional medicine can do for a cold but there are many herbal remedies that will shorten the duration and make the symptoms bearable, but if you don't do the research and have the products on hand, you will not feeling like going to the health food store when the problem arises. you will send someone to walgreens for cold medicine because its easier.

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  4. Following you back. Thank you for the follow!

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  5. Just blog hopping!
    Great post! My son has asthma and we researched everything. There was some wacky stuff out there!
    http://elislids.blogspot.com/2010/05/momday-morning.html

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  6. Great blog post! It's always so confusing for a great parent to know what to do...the more informed we are the more likely we'll make a good decision.

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  7. Following back...and just my 2 sense. My 3rd child had chronic ear infections....he was put on an antibiotic for 10 different ear infections in 1 year. 3 of those infections caused fever spikes so bad that he had a febrile seizure. Having said that, I would have WELCOMED any alternate options because the traditional medicines and practices I believe hurt my child in the long run. Now when he gets sick requiring an antibiotic, most do not work for him because they were used so much when he was a baby.

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  8. I find it to be a sad fact that Western medicine and Alternative medicine can't be more compatiable...but, I only have to remind myself that Alternative is about 'wellness' and Western is about 'sickness'.....sickness in our country is big business, until the insurance and pharmaceutical interests are taken out of the equation it will never be different or better.

    More education about food, environment, and responsibility for self is also a must do.

    A few things anyone can do to make a huge difference in being healthy and raising healthy children; Read labels, remove from your diet- anything with high fructose corn syrup, aspertame ( other artificial sweeteners )GM foods...hormone growths and antibiotics...most of these can be avoided by removing pre-packaged and/or processed foods.

    Until our food supply is totally cleaned up sickness is going to be a part of daily life.

    Our responsibility is to look, see, and take action ...refuse to be a test subject.

    Is it easy...no...is it doable...yes...is it worth it....it's a matter of life or death.

    Love the blog and thanks for becoming a follower of the Beatitudes.

    EatWell-BeWell~

    Bea Rigsby-Kunz

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