Many Australian families actively seek out natural, gentle approaches to their children’s health and wellbeing. To complement organic food choices, natural fabrics, and a reputable pharmacy in Sydney, it can help to look into homeopathic pediatrics as well. Their holistic approach, which emphasises treatment of individuals instead of symptoms, can be invaluable in a child’s formative years.
How prevalent is homeopathy among pediatrics in Australia?
While it’s not especially prevalent across the country, systematic reviews including ones by the Australian Register of Homoepaths (ARoH) show that homeopathy is utilised by a significant number of Australian families. Historically, it has ranged from 1.8% to 5% of adults, with similar estimated proportions for children.
So how viable is it for infants? In this post, we go over the perceived potential benefits of homeopathy for the young, as well as how it can complement more traditional forms of treatment.
Established Advantages of a Holistic Approach
Conventional drug therapy has gained some negative public perception in recent years, and for good reason. With pharmaceuticals like Zantac (Ranitidine) and Belviq (Lorcaserin) being pulled from shelves in the past five years alone due to dangerous side effect profiles, it’s understandable for parents to seek out holistic routes to their children’s wellness. Advantages of homeopathy, as an example, include:
- Individualisation that goes beyond the control or reduction of symptoms via the use of drug compounds, many of which can produce unwanted side effects. Certified practitioners will typically build an in-depth case history for each patient, and consider factors like the child’s temperament, lifestyle, and previous response to an illness along with their specific physical symptoms.
Resulting prescriptions, which can be filled by a homeopathic pharmacy online or at a brick-and-mortar outlet, are often highly personalized to accommodate each patient’s unique needs. This has the added benefit of eliminating guesswork around the ideal homeopathic dosage for infants.
- Coverage over a range of conditions including common acute ailments like discomfort from teething, mild fevers, coughs, and colds. Between remedies and contact therapy, this even extends to acquired conditions like digestive issues (e.g. diarrhoea, colic) and sports injuries. While physical therapies aren’t a feature of homeopathy itself, naturopaths — who engage in a wide range of natural disciplines — offer various treatments integrating it with massage, hydrotherapy, and more.
- Natural formulations that tend to be gentler than compounds with lab-synthesised ingredients, simultaneously offering a much lower side effect profile. Because homeopathic preparations feature only highly diluted mineral, animal, and plant extracts, they inherently come with no risk of toxicity or adverse reactions.
- Virtually no known drug interactions due to the completely natural ingredients of its remedies. Some commercially available drugs can produce serious side effects when taken in conjunction with other medications, food items, alcohol, or even caffeine. Homeopathic preparations, conversely, can be safely taken with food and conventional drugs.
Maintaining Perspective
It’s important to note that homeopathy is not to be considered a replacement for conventional treatments, therapy, or medication. In fact, it’s currently the subject of debate within the wider medical community in multiple contexts. Most notably, evidence of its effectiveness is questioned by major Australian health institutions including the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which has concluded in multiple reviews that further study is required before its efficacy is established.
Because of the lack of conclusive evidence around its efficacy beyond user testimony, the government has revoked private health insurance rebates for homeopathy. This removal extends to a number of other natural therapies including:
- Alexander Technique
- Aromatherapy
- Bowen Therapy
- Buteyko
- Feldenkrais
- Reflexology
- Rolfing
- Shiatsu
- Tai Chi
- Western Herbalism
- Yoga
Health authorities including the NHMRC strongly advise that practitioners do not replace or delay conventional, evidence-based treatments for any health condition. Instead, they recommend people only use it as a form of complementary or supplementary treatment.
Managing Expectations and Proper Child Care
Homeopathy is not without its potential advantages over drug-based therapies, and certainly not lacking in practitioners willing to attest to its efficacy in their personal lives. However, it’s important to temper this information with the input from authoritative sources and experts. Even if natural remedies or preparations have a track record of efficacy in an adult’s life, it’s crucial to err on the side of caution in the case of a young child.
The best course of action for parents looking into holistic health for their infant is to use it alongside conventional treatment. As adults are urged by the government to primarily rely on proven courses of medication, they must be all the more vigilant with the health of their young ones.
