Alternative Medicines & Children
As you wander the aisles of your local health food store, you stumble on one that is full of bottles that look like they belong in the drug store. Looking up, you notice that the name of the aisle is Alternative Medicine.
But the boundaries of alternative medicine in the United States are constantly changing as different types of care become more accepted by doctors and more requested by patients. A few practices (such as hypnosis) that were dismissed as nonsense 20 years ago are now considered helpful therapies in addition to traditional medicine. Can alternative medicine help your child?
Types of Alternative Care
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health recognizes seven general areas of alternative care (some of which have been put through rigorous scientific testing, but many have not):
Alternative medical systems generally fall outside the conventional medical system of doctors and hospitals. They include acupuncture, the practice of stimulating points on the body (usually with a needle) to promote healing; traditional Oriental medicine, which focuses on diagnosing disturbances of energy in the body; homeopathy, treating health problems with very diluted substances; and community-based healers like midwives, herbalists, and practitioners of Native American medicine.
Most alternative practices have not found their way into mainstream hospitals or doctors’ offices, so you or your child’s doctor may not be aware of them. However, new centers for integrative medicine offer a mix of traditional and alternative treatments. There, you might receive a prescription for pain medication (as you might get from a traditional health care provider) and massage therapy to treat a chronic back problem. Such centers usually employ both medical doctors and certified or licensed specialists in the various alternative therapies.
What Are the Risks?
The lack of scientific study means that some potential problems associated with alternative therapies may be difficult to identify. What’s more, the studies that have been done used adults as test subjects; there is little research on the effects of alternative medicine on children. Although approaches such as prayer, massage, and lifestyle changes are generally considered safe complements to regular medical treatment, some therapies - particularly herbal remedies - might harbor risks.
Unlike prescription and over-the-counter medicines, herbal remedies are not rigorously regulated by the FDA. They face no extensive tests before they are marketed, and they do not have to adhere to a standard of quality. That means when you buy a bottle of ginseng capsules, you might not know what you’re getting: the amount of herb can vary from pill to pill, with some capsules containing much less of the active herb than stated on the label. Depending on where the herb originated, there might also be other plants, even drugs like steroids, mixed in the capsules. Herbs that come from developing countries are sometimes contaminated with pesticides and heavy metals.
“Natural” does not equal “good” and many parents don’t consider that herbal remedies can actually cause health problems for their children. Medicating a child without consulting the child’s doctor could result in harm. For example, certain herbal remedies can cause high blood pressure, liver damage, or severe allergic reactions. Consider these examples:
Ephedra, also called ephedrine and often sold as the Chinese herb ma huang, was on the market for years until it was linked to several deaths in people with heart problems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided the health risks associated with ephedra were too great, and it banned the substance in December 2003.
Alone and in combination with prescription drugs, several dietary supplements - such as chaparral, comfrey, germander, and ephedrine - have been linked to severe illness, liver damage, and even death.
Parents might also give their children much more of an herb than recommended, thinking that because it’s natural, higher doses won’t hurt. But many plants contain potent chemicals; in fact, approximately 25% of all prescription drugs are derived from plants.
Choosing a practitioner can pose another problem. Although many states have licensing boards for specialists in acupuncture or massage, for instance, there is no organization in the United States that monitors alternative care providers or establishes standards of treatment. Basically, almost anyone can claim to be a practitioner, whether he or she has any training.
Perhaps the greatest risk, however, is the potential for people to delay or stop traditional medical treatment in favor of an alternative therapy. Illnesses such as diabetes and cancer require the care of a doctor. Relying entirely on alternative therapies for any serious chronic or acute conditions will only jeopardize the health of your child.
Can Alternative Care Help Your Child?
Many parents turn to a cup of chamomile tea or ginger as a first line of treatment against the flu or nausea. Anxious children can learn to relax with the help of meditation or yoga. Such alternative therapies complement traditional care and can give you and your child a greater sense of control over his health.
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD and Sandra Hassink, MD
