Using Homeopathic Solutions for the Family
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Using Homeopathic Solutions for the Family

mommy soothing child

Are you enjoying this month of natural remedies and illness prevention? If you’ve missed any of the posts, you can find them all here.

I was just wondering what you use for your children in place of tylenol and motrin. We typically don’t bother treating our kids fevers until they get over 101, and fortunately that rarely occurs. But we have been struggling with managing our children and infants pain for both teething and leg aches/growing pains. Do you have any natural pain killers that you have had success with? We try to use massage and heat for the leg aches and cold wash cloth/ teethers for teething, but they don’t always seem to help enough, especially in the middle of the night. Thanks for your advice.

Sarah

Thanks for the excellent question, Sarah! As moms concerned about health, I think that we all want to find natural but effective solutions for treating our little ones aches, pains and owies. Band-aids and kisses are a mama’s best tools, but even they aren’t enough all the time.

When it comes to these types of situations, we generally turn to homeopathic remedies for safe and simple treatment. Although they are growing in popularity in recent years, homepathics are still generally unknown and poorly understood.

What Exactly are Homepathic Remedies?

Here is a definition from the Society of Homeopaths website:

Homeopathy is a system of medicine which is based on treating the individual with highly diluted substances given in mainly tablet form, which triggers the body’s natural system of healing. Based on their experience of their symptoms, a homeopath will match the most appropriate medicine to the patient.

It works on the principle of “like cures like” – that is, a substance that would cause symptoms in a healthy person is used to cure those same symptoms in illness. For example, one remedy which might be used in a person suffering from insomnia is coffea, a remedy made from coffee.

Make sense? The idea is that by giving a small dose of the very thing that could trigger the types of symptoms that a person is experiencing, you can actually bring about a natural healing response that will help to relieve those symptoms.

row of homeopathics

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Homeopathics is actually a complex system of understanding exactly which remedy (and there are many different ones!) to prescribe for which types of symptoms. For instance, if you have morning sickness, you need to determine whether the nausea is constant, only when standing or sitting, involves retching, is aggravated by sights and smells, involves cravings, if the woman still has an appetite, etc. Depending on which symptoms are present, you would choose a different homeopathic remedy to treat the sickness.

Using homeopathics to treat more long-term or serious illness is best done with the help of a certified homeopath, naturopathic doctor or other qualified professional. If you don’t know how to select the correct remedy, you will not find the relief that you are looking for.

However, using homeopathics for simple, first-aid type treatments is something that anyone can learn to do and offers a wonderful alternative to conventional over-the-counter medications!

Simple Homeopathic Use at Home

To get back to Sarah’s question, here are remedies that can easily be used for the usual types of childhood complaints:

Fevers

Like Sarah, our family does not treat fever unless they are particularly high and/or prolonged. I usually do not treat fever in my children until they go above 102 (or 101 in a baby), or when the fever begins to affect their appetite enough that I am worried about dehydration. I believe that a fever is the body’s natural response to illness, a part of the healing process that God created, and shouldn’t be messed with until it becomes dangerous (and not just uncomfortable).

When we do have fevers that we feel need to be treated, we have used Ferrum Phosphoricum with great success. More on choosing a remedy for treating fevers.

Teething

For the past 5 years, I have been happily using Hyland’s Homeopathic Teething Tablets. I love these tablets and can’t imagine going without them. They include 4 different remedies combined: Calcarea Phosphorica (supports dentition), Chamomilla (for irritability), Coffea Cruda (for wakefulness and diuresis), Belladonna (for redness and inflammation).

They come in the form of small tablets that quickly dissolve, either in water or directly in baby’s mouth. They must taste good because my babies eyes light up when they see me shaking the little bottle. I use them to help take the edge off on particularly bad days, or give two doses (15 minutes apart) before putting them to bed on days when their teeth have been giving them trouble.

Anxiety and restlessness

A simple remedy to keep on hand for soothing an upset child, or one that is restless and having a hard time relaxing or sleeping, is Chamomilia. It works very well at calming and soothing children, helping fussy babies, or even could even be used for a distraught and anxious mama.

little boy wiht owie on head

Image by lindsayshaver

Bumps and bruises

Arnica is the perfect solution for all kinds of owies! Useful for pain, swelling, bruising and general soreness, it is ideal to give to a screaming child to take the edge off of an injury.

I would consider either Arnica and/or Chamomilia for aches and pains at night. There may be more specific remedies to try, depending on their exact symptoms, but we have not needed to delve into anything beyond that.

A Word on Dosages

Carefully read the instructions on the particular brand and remedy that you are using. When giving a homeopathic remedy to a child, you will generally want to consider their weight and give them an appropriate dose compared to an average adult dose. For example, if the adult dose is 5 tablets, consider that the average adult may weigh 150 lbs. If your child weighs 30 lbs or less, you would give them 1 tablet.

It really all depends on the strength of the remedy, and who the remedy was made for. Boiron and Hyland’s make many child-specific remedies, for instance, and their doses are tailored to children. If using an adult remedy, you will want to ask your own natural practitioner, or seek advice from the store or pharmacy where you purchase your products, or even google the specific remedy that you are using for advice on how to use it safely.

Generally speaking, it isn’t easy to overdose on these remedies, and you can usually give a second dose about 15 minutes later if the first dose hasn’t been effective enough. Nonetheless, common sense, a bit of research and leaning towards being on the conservative side will go a long way towards safe use of any alternative remedy.

naturokit basic image

Naturokits: A Simple First-Aid Solution

One of my sponsors this month is a wonderful product called Naturokits, created by two moms, who are also naturopathic doctors. These kits include 9 different remedies (homeopathic, botanical/herbal, floral essences, and activated charcoal).

I’m currently test-driving a kit of my own and I am just in love with it! Each kit comes with an extensive list of various types of injuries, sicknesses or symptoms that you might want to treat, and then tells you which of the 9 remedies to use to treat it.

Rather than needing to research and purchase a whole range of different remedies yourself, these moms have done the work for you, and all you have to do it open up your kit, find the treatment you need and feel confident as you tend to your child or family member.

I had been eager to set up a natural first-aid kit of my own this year, but discovering this kit has totally solved that for me. Having all of these remedies that cover a wide range of symptoms in one place is such a good solution. I would really recommend looking into getting a kit for your own family. Right now Keeper of the Home readers can purchase a Naturokit and get $5 off with the code “DCKEEPER”.

Do you use homeopathic remedies? Which ones and what do you use them for?

Disclaimer and Disclosure: I am not a certified medical professional of any kind and am not qualified to give you medical advice (yada, yada, yada…). My goal is to help to educate and inspire you to take responsibility for your own family’s health and make informed choices of your own, not to consult you on medical treatment. As well, I did receive a Naturokit for the purpose of review, but all the nice things I’ve said are my real opinions and I was not paid to say them. There are also some referral links in this post, on which I make a small kickback when you make a purchase, which helps to support this site (thank you!).

Top image by gemsling

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42 Comments

  1. I will second the Hyland’s teething tablets…I found them when my oldest gagged over oragel…in fact, it was my first step into homeopathy. I think they saved my sanity with the next baby that came along…so much so that I tuck a bottle in every baby shower gift. 🙂
    For fevers that are getting uncomfortable, I give doses of vitamin c, lots of water, and cold rice/buckwheat packs (alternated out of the freezer)…I place them where they will help bring the temp down the quickest (forehead, underarms, between thighs).
    Thanks for all the great ideas! I love learning more about this area!<

  2. For Sarah –

    Hyland’s teething tablets were great for two of my children but didn’t really work for one of my sons. In his case, I used a teething liquid that I either found at Kroger (Gentle Naturals) or online at Vitacost.com (Natrabio). We usually gave him twice the recommended dosage at first, and it seemed to work for teething pain. I’d encourage you to give either the tablets or the liquid (or both!) a try. I am convinced they work!

  3. I know my mom just used straight Chamomilia for teething– it worked really well. Arnica is GREAT! I took it before and after having my wisdom teeth out, and did not have excessive bleeding or a long recovery time. Love it. Also, while Arnica will cover just about any “bang-up” kind of injury, Hypericum is good for really sensitive spots, like fingertips.

  4. To treat my son’s fever’s we use Young Living’s Thieves & Peppermint essential oils & massage them into his feet several times a day. The peppermint draws the fever out.
    I agree & LOVE Hyland’s teething tabs & my son loves them too! They are sweet (without sugar) and seem to work even if you can’t keep them under their little tongue 🙂
    Herbs from the Labrynth is a local company that has great herbal remedies too (I am in no way associated with them) but I love their herbal butt balm for diaper irritations & their boo boo balm for well..boo boos!

  5. “Like cures like” is not logical. If homeopathy works for you, it’s probably because of the placebo effect – the act of taking a pill and expecting it to help you makes you feel better. This is a well documented effect. The fact is, many homeopathic remedies are so diluted that many bottles are statistically unlikely to contain even a single atom of the substance, just sugar pills. Many people don’t understand the homeopathic labeling system. A 10X dilution is not the same as 1/10. 10X means 1/10^10 (10 to the 10th power, or 10,000,000,000). So a 3X = 1/1,000, 5X = 1/10,000. Be aware of this before you invest your hard earned cash in homeopathic remedies.

  6. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinions, but how can homeopathy provide a placebo effect when it works in children and infants. I have been treated with homeopathy by a naturopath for the past year and a half and the results are amazing, we have also been treating my daughter who us on autism spectrum, most of her behaviors are gone and she us so engaged in the world around her. We have also used it in acute illnesses and accidents and the turn around is phenomenal. And no side effects of toxins being put into your body it doesn’t get much better than that.

  7. Jonathan,

    I have Bachelor degrees in biology and chemistry, and worked in research labs (both agricultural and oncology, in academia and industry) for many years before becoming a SAHM. I’m not sure what field you are in that makes dilutions in the manner you discuss. I can assure you that in every lab I ever worked in a 10X dilution was exactly the same as a 1/10 dilution. If anyone has a question regarding a certain product, I’m sure they can contact the company to find out exactly how the dilutions are performed.

    Natural herbal and homeopathic treatments have worked wonderfully for our family, and are certainly safer than many pharmaceuticals for basic, everyday issues.

  8. I never gave any of my five children anything by mouth. My aunt was a doctor and told me to give the child a tepid bath and rub their body with a washrag. The rubbing stimulates the blood to come to the surface, and the tepid water then evaporates, taking the heat with it.

  9. We love homeopathic remedies in our home! I am pretty sure that the “placebo effect” does not work on infants anyhow.

    One other teething pain remedy that we love is our Amber Teething Necklace. Our little guy had 4 top teeth come in at once and he acted the perfectly fine! We rarely have to give a Hyland’s these days…

    1. @Nikki,
      I agree that in order for the placebo effect to work you need to be able to comprehend what’s going on!

      Can you tell me a little more about your experience with the teething necklace. I’m really interested in getting one for my son, but we’re on a budget so I’d like to hear some ‘real life’ reviews first.
      Thanks!

  10. Jen,

    My bachelors is in neuroscience. Working in a lab, a 10X dilution DOES mean 1/10. Homeopathic dilutions use a different system which I find deceptive.

    For homeopathic dilutions, the letters X, C, and M are actually Roman numerals. So X=10, C=100, and M=1000. The coefficient in front of the Roman numeral is actually an exponent, so 2X is the same as a 10 to the 2nd power dilution, or 1/100. 2X and C are equivalent dilutions. Check the side of the bottle to find these numerals.

    If you google “homeopathic dilution” you will find that this is the way they are measured. There is a good table on Wikipedia, although you will hardly find that article to be neutral towards homeopathy.

  11. Great info! I’ll have to look at it more later, running out of time…

    My daughter 21 months- if I leave the hyland’s teething tablets out she wants them! The other night she was pointing to her open mouth (at her teeth) and crying and pointing downstairs (she only has a few words) and I got her to point to what she wanted….the hyland tablets! then she went right to sleep a few minutes after getting them.

    I also use a few other remedies for immune boosting, bacteria and viral, and have also for yeast, but thats all I have for now. I think next I will get the one for fever.

  12. Jonathan,

    I didn’t realize that was the standard method for producing homeopathic remedies. I understand why you think that is a bit deceptive.

    My thought is that however they’re made, it should be the appropriate dosage. However, I’m a huge believer in doing your own research on everything before making decisions for your family. I have never purchased remedies myself, and I would definitely research a ton before purchasing any product. I make my own remedies, and I can say with certainty that elderberry syrup and comfrey salve are both wonderful. I’m fairly new to natural treatments, so my experience is limited. My mind is open though, and I would much rather use natural products than pharmaceuticals.

  13. Jen,

    I totally agree with you. I think that there is an enormous difference between natural remedies and homeopathic treatments. Elderberry syrup works because it has natural ingredients that fight disease, boost immune function, etc. You are not taking a micro dose of the rhinovirus in an attempt to cure your cold. Immunizations work to help prevent disease, but they cannot cure them. A lot of homeopathy is based on the idea that water can hold an imprint of a diluted substance, so that even if there is not a single atom remaining, the water still carries the imprint. That is something that just isn’t backed up by chemistry.

  14. Our daughter had a lot of trouble with gas and teething pain, and Hyland’s gas drops and teething tablets were wonderful. She didn’t usually need them during waking hours, when we could distract/soothe her with playtime or nursing, but they were sanity-savers at naptime and night. They worked beautifully every time.

  15. Licorice root is great as a teething aid (the baltic amber necklaces are wonderful as well). For growing pains, nothing beats a soak in warm water with baking soda added.
    Sometimes it is the simple things that make the difference!

  16. Here’s my thoughts on homeopathy: I’m just not quite sure about it. While I can definitely see that herbal medicine is effective, when I read the nitty-gritty about homeopathy, I feel skeptical. Some of the writing talks about the “imprint” Jonathan mentions above or that a ‘life-force” remains in the dilution. I’m not sure I buy that.

    However, I will say that there are so many people who swear by them, that I can’t dismiss it entirely. It may very well be that there is something about the way homeopathy works that we simply can’t explain scientifically YET.

    With all that said, I haven’t had much success with homeopathic remedies. I think for now I’ll stick with trying to learn more about herbal medicine, while trying to keep my mind open to the possibilities of homeopathic cures. 🙂

  17. I’m all for something that works, is SAFE, and natural. I don’t know how anyone else feels about this, but for my son’s molars (he’s 22 months) we fell in love with pure, organic vanilla extract. I just dab a bit onto my (clean) finger and rub his gum with it. It’s not enough to make me worry about the alcohol, but enough to give a warming/numbing sensation that feels good. Also the vanilla seems to have a very calming affect. He never fussed too much until his first molars started to come in, and then he screamed for 2 whole nights straight. I finally found this on the web somewhere (looking up vintage teething remedies) and the affect was almost instant. Sorry to write a book here, just wanted to share a little. 🙂

  18. @ Jonathan and @ Jen:
    My husband and I are on this “battlefield” right now 😉 I have used homeopathics for me and the kids with great success (mostly arnica and teething tablets) and I think there is something to them, while he knows about the dilution you described, Jonathan, and thinks they are sugar pills.

    I was just at a La Leche League Conference and there was a Doctor talking about Homeopathics and how he treats and cures things like ADD and ADHD and different syndromes. He said Homeopathics is based on “physics not chemistry.”

    I also believe in doing your own research (and finding good science) to help one make a decision, so off I go to hit the books again!

  19. When I first heard of homeopathy I was extremely skeptical. It seemed the most illogical idea that “like cures like” and minute doses would help. I’ve suffered hayfever allergies for 20 years and nothing helps. The over-the counter medications leave me feeling foggy and do very little for the congestion and itchyness. The prescription drugs leave me feeling foggy and dry to the point of discomfort. I finally tried a homeopathic allergy formula, figuring it was as valuable as a pack of M&M’s for my allergies. I knew it wasn’t going to work, but figured I’d give it a try anyway, just so I could say I’ve tried them all.
    But it DID! It worked. In the midst of a terrible allergy season, my sinuses cleared up and I was fine. No fogginess. No extreme dryness. I gave some to friends to try and it worked for them too.
    Since then, we’ve tried several other remedies with enough success that I’m no longer skeptical.

  20. Johathan,

    It seems we we have been discussing 2 totally different methods of treatment: natural/herbal medicine vs. homeopathy. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve always thought of them as basically the same thing. 🙂 I just read the Wikipedia article you mentioned, and it was very enlightening about the history of homeopathy.

    I guess my feeling is that if it works for a person, then why not? The remedies are thought to be harmless due to the extremely high dilution factor. I see several commentors here have used some treatments with success, and I agree the placebo effect is unlikely in infants and small children. Finally, it’s not like conventional medicine and pharmaceuticals have a pristine record for doing no harm!

    Thanks for opening my eyes to a new topic to research more fully. I admit I’m not sure exactly where I stand as far as using homeopathy for my family yet. At this point, my mind is still open though.

  21. It should be noted that fevers are NOT dangerous until they reach the 105/106 range. 101 is by no means a “high” fever. Treating a fever generally increases the length of the illness because it prevents the body from fighting it off. So I never treat fevers, even when my daughter’s got up to 104 once. I don’t even take their temperatures anymore; I know that “dry heat” means fever. I put them in a warm bath with lavender to help them relax and put them to bed. This is really all that’s necessary. There are lots of ways to help a child (or adult) without interfering with the body’s healing mechanisms. People are scared of fevers, but they don’t need to be.

    As far as “interventions” that I trust, they go like this: herbs, essential oils, homeopathics, conventional medicine. I trust what is closest to nature first. Homeopathics, while much more natural, are still “preparations” by a person. Much more “prepared” than a dried herb, for example. That is my personal inclination, though.

  22. Please don’t stop checking your child’s temperature when they have a fever! The body’s natural way of fighting a virus off, yes, but if it spikes too fast, it can be fatal. You can never be sure if your child is suffering from a simply common cold or something much more serious like spinal meningitis.

    Responsible parenting is keeping toxins out but also seeking the proper medical attention when necessary.

    If you child has a fever, weather you are treating it naturally or with drugs, they should be VERY closely monitored, day and night

  23. Thanks for answering my question Stephanie! I grabbed a few of the recommended items today at the health food store. Looking forward to steering clear of Tylenol and Motrin!

  24. Hey!

    What a great site and community!

    Regarding fevers – we use Ionic Calcium. If the fever is over 101 I give the 6 drops under my kids tongue every 2 hours – works great to break the fever!

    To keep their immune system up I give them a 1/2 teaspoon of liquid Echinacea each morning.

    Then if you’re in need of a natural antibiotic that can be taken orally or put on topically if needed, Ionic Silver works great! My husband recently had a bad mountain biking accident and I’ve been putting the Ionic Silver on his wounds twice a day – amazing to see how quickly they are healing!

    Thanks for the opportunity to share. :o)

    Blessings,
    Colleen

  25. Many phrases keep popping up in these comments, such as “no side effects,” “no toxins,” “all natural,” etc. This is what I once believed too. I thought “drugs are dangerous” but “homeopathic remedies are harmless.” But I’m starting to get afraid of these homeopathic remedies as well. There are several reasons why, but the latest is yesterday’s FDA recall of Hyland’s Teething tablets which almost eveyone on here recommends (I have used them too!). Here’s the link: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm230764.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter How can Hyland’s put “no side effects” on the bottle when it contains a substance, belladonna, that “can cause serious harm at larger doses” and that causes “serious adverse events in children…that are consistent with belladonna toxicity.”? Wow! So much for harmless! What do you all think about this latest development?

  26. To all skeptics of homeopathy:
    We humans do NOT know everything there is to know about this universe and how it works. There, that sums it up 🙂
    Ok, seriously. My family has been using homeopathy for the past two years, mostly under the care of a homeopath. A previous poster is correct to say that homeopathy is more physics than chemistry. Homeopathy does indeed work in what I would say is an ‘energy field’. Pick up a copy called Body Electric. Fascinating stuff. It’s not on homeopathy in particular, but energy being used for healing (electrical energy). Anyways, I am sure that if you asked anyone a couple hundred years ago if using magnets to take pictures of the inside of your body was possible that they would laugh at you!
    Our personal experience with homeopathy started when our fith child, first son, failed to grow as expected. At seven months old he spent two weeks at Duke Hospital undergoing multiple testing (MRI, CAT scan, x-rays, swallow tests with barium, spinal tap and a ton of blood work, etc.). They couldn’t find anything wrong and sent us home with a feeding tube. He was put on reflux medication with the suspicion that he might have silent reflux. This child, the one who wasn’t growing, then started to throw up multiple times a day. I can assure you that is not a good thing when you can’t gain weight with the food you are already taking in, let alone throwing it up!!! Ok, so more doctors, more tests. Guess what? Nothing. We tried supplements, and allergy free this and that. I spent hours and hours and hours researching possible causes and cures. Then one day, an aquaintence handed me a card to a homeopathic practitioner. One of the first things this practitioner wanted me to do was to take him off of his reflux meds. I told him we tried that in the past but he just throws up more. He assured me that he was going to send us a remedy to take care of any of those episodes. I can assure you my husband thought this was all baloney!!! But we didn’t have any other avenues open to us, with a son still not growing. Basically my son did three things that signaled an impending vomitting episode. That would give us about 30 seconds notice to get him a towel, or to the sink, etc. That also gave me 30 seconds to give him the remedy. He was two years old at the time and he has NOT vomitted since!!! (with the small exception of the tummy bug a year later that all his other siblings had) Placebo? I don’t think so. If anything, assuming it was a placebo effect he would have just thrown up all the more. He had extreme senstivities, and just touching his mouth would produce vomitting. Not to mention that all the other medications/ supplements NEVER stopped him from throwing up, including his reflux medications (which is why I wanted him off since it wasn’t helping). So from my son’s experienc, putting things in his mouth = throwing up. Instead it stopped any and all of his future vomitting episodes in it’s tracks.
    That is just ONE of MANY stories I can share with our walk with homeopathy. I also have used homeopathy with a sick goat. Again, I’ve never heard of the placebo affect working on animals. Yet this goat, which had been coughing, and losts its voice, plus other symtoms was totally fine by evening. Yes, homeopathy does indeed work that quickly, IF you have the correct remedy. Homeopathy has it’s own ‘language’. There is nothing wrong with their dilutions, their dilutions are consistent within their own language. They are not being deceptive. However the ever so lovely FDA mandates that certain information be put on labels. I am not implying that is a bad thing, however with homeopathy they have thier own language and dosages.
    Talking about dilutions and dosages and the Hyland recall. I read most of the article, but didn’t see anything specific about the recal, as to why it is happening other than they are being recalled for their practices or some such thing. I can’t vouch of Hylands itself, but homeopathy in general. If you have a 6X remedy there may indeed be some, very, very miniscul amount of the original substance left in the remedy. But by 30C (or X) there isn’t anything left of the original substance in the remedy so it is completely safe. THat being said, some people (like myself and my son) are sensitive to the remedies. This is good and ‘bad’ at the same time. If you take a remedy for pain, or allergies and you end up getting worse then that means you have the correct remedy, but it is too strong for you. If you all think taking three little homeopathic pills seems crazy, we actually take one pill, put it in a two ounce dropper bottle, shake ten times and take about five drops under the tounge. It works the same. However when my son or I are sensitive to a remedy we actually take that same two once bottle with the remedy in it, shake it and SNIFF the contents of it so we don’t have a ‘reaction’. Again, the reaction is good, it means you got the correct remedy. It’s only ‘bad’ in the sence that your body is not using the remedy to heal at that very moment.
    Sorry to have written a novel. I hate to see homeopathy get a bad name because of the lack of knowledge and myths out there. I am very passionate about this topic as it has totally transformed my son, who by the way is now TUBE FREE and eating on his own, with no vomitting in sight 🙂

    Blessings,
    Kerri

  27. I wanted to clarify and say that when we put the remedy in the two ounce bottle we fill it with water to dissolve the pill, then shake it ten times before giving five drops under the tongue. Sorry if that was confusing!

    Kerri

  28. i saw someone else metioned the amber teething necklace and just wanted to say that i’m a big fan. (in fact, i have an amber bracelet as well that really helps my tendonitis.) my son is 16 months and has been wearing his amber necklace everyday for several weeks and i’ve noticed a difference. it works because amber will give off trace amounts of oils when next to baby’s warm skin and is absorbed by the skin. the oils help with inflamtion and pain, making everyone a less on edge. He still gets some of his other syptoms (runny diapers, a little less of an appitite) and he can still be a little grumpy, but we no longer struggle though the days of bauling & crying and wanting to be held all day. i would say that i try to put it on him even if he’s not activly teething that day. the more consistantly he wears it, the better off he is when the teeth kick it into high gear because he’s already got it in his system.
    side note: i’ve gotten all kinds of “how cute!” comments about him wearing it, even though he’s a boy. 🙂 you can get all sizes and shades (deep dark brown to light creamy yellow) and different clasps and lengths.

  29. It seems to me that the argument for why homeopathy works is the same as the argument for why vaccines work. A small amount of the adverse substance makes the body produce endorphins or antibodies or something to make the problem go away. Any thoughts on this?

  30. Are you aware of the recall on Hyland’s teething tablets? Does this change your decision about using them as a teething relief alternative?

    1. @Gina, An earlier commenter on this post left the press release from the FDA on the recall of the tablets (thank you for that link!). Good question, for sure!

      I personally do not feel worried about it. I have been using the Hyland’s brand for 5 years, on all 3 of my children. I have many, many friends who use them as well and none of them have ever experiencd problems with them either.

      I think that any “natural” remedy poses a risk if it is used improperly. I would venture a guess that the instances where children have had adverse effects would have to do with the improper use of the tablets, too many at once, too frequently, too many in one day, etc. When using alternative solutions, we have to be just as cautious and vigilant as we would be with any pharmaceutical, as anything we put into our body has an effect of some sort.

      I wanted to understand a little more about the Belladonna issue and toxicity levels, and I found this on the Hylands site, speaking specifically to the use and safety of Belladonna.
      http://www.hylands.com/news/teethinginfo.php

      I do agree with the FDA about the caps that are too easy for kids to open. But again, the onus is on the parents to be responsible, as it is with any other medicine, supplement, cleaning product, etc.

      I tend not to respect the opinions of the FDA very much, when I consider some of the insane pharmaceuticals that they approve, and then their general, ignorant statements like “the FDA…is not aware of any proven clinical benefit offered by the product.”. Hmmm, really? Maybe because you don’t consider alternative products worth testing. Ever.

      Sorry, you’re getting a bit of an earful (that you probably didn’t expect!), and it’s entirely directed against the FDA, and absolutely not against you, Gina! Thanks for the question- it is definitely worth talking about! 🙂

  31. Thanks for your reply Stephanie! I love Hyland’s teething tablets and truly wondered if there was any real reason to stop using them!

    1. I know this is a long shot, but does anyone have any ideas or websites I can check for natural healing for psychiatric disorders? My son is 26 and gravely disabled with the toxic psych meds. I am willing to give anything a try. The anti-psychotics cause obesity. He has gained over 100 lbs. It causes metabolic syndrome with an increase in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. He has to take cojentin which is a parkison’s side effect med for his anti-psychoitc med.
      We are on a tight budget and would like to know the best place to purchase tinctures online. thanks in advance. A new Mom to this wonderful site..

      1. I would maybe look into supplements for this. One to check into might be 5HTP which works with the neurotransmitters in the brain. Something to maybe check into anyway.

  32. My classical homeopath has always told me that a dose is a dose. doesn’t really matter the size, or the size of the person being treated. This is a GREAT thing when it comes to children- if they get into them, and take a whole bottle, it’s the same as if they took 1 pellet. Because a dose is a dose. On 2 different occasions, my kids got into the teething tablets and took the entire bottle. (had put them up, but apparently, not up far enough) I wasn’t concerned at all, and was more upset that I had to go buy another bottle. lol Mind you, had they been conventional meds, they’d have safety caps and been up IN the cupboard, but I wasn’t too worried knowing it wasn’t a concern.

  33. It’s good to know that I ought to tailor homeopathic dosages to a child’s weight. I’ve been looking at homeopathics as a natural remedy to pain and disease ever since I learned they are FDA approved. I’ll make sure to pay special attention to dosage amounts when administering it to any of my children.

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