Homeopathy is a popular form of complementary and alternative medicine used by parents seeking natural approaches to symptom management for their kiddos experiencing teething pain, constipation, gas, fussiness, and other issues that traditional medical doctors may not have the answers for.
WHAT ARE HOMEOPATHICS, EXACTLY?
Homeopathic medicine is based on the theory that “like cures like.” For example, consider Arnica, a highly toxic plant when taken orally that causes a specific subset of symptoms. When this plant is diluted, diluted, diluted (several times!) to the point where there is almost no arnica found in the water at all, it can alleviate these same symptoms. This explains why you might see different strengths. You may see Arnica 30C or 200C—the higher the number, the stronger the medicine.
The precise mechanisms upon which homeopathy actually works are still unexplained, and many would attribute their ability to work to the placebo effect. Nevertheless, I’ve seen homeopathics work when nothing else does. The great part about using homeopathy for kids is that there is little to none of the original substance in the remedy due to the dilution process—which means there isn’t enough to worry about risk of toxicity or to hurt the body.1
Homeopathics typically come in pellet form—you may have seen small tubes on the shelf of the health food store. These are made by using the diluted remedy we talked about above, and made into a sugar pellet. They also come in liquid form, which you may have seen if you bought colic, gas, or teething drops for your baby.
HOW HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES WORK
As mentioned above, plants and other substances are diluted so there are virtually no molecules of the original substance left at the time it officially becomes a homeopathic. The number of times the homeopathic was diluted, determines its potency. This means the more diluted it is, the more “energetic,” and therefore the more potent, it becomes. This is a little backwards compared to pharmaceuticals, since you would think the more of a substance in a product, the higher it is! But the opposite is true in homeopathy.
That being said, if you’re choosing to give Chamomilla vulgaris to your child who is being fussy and irritable, you’ll probably see Chamomilla 30CH and 200CH on the shelves. Homeopathic products are commonly labelled according to their dilution and succussion scale, such as 30C or 200C.3
There’s no “wrong way” to dose it, per se, if you’re trying one out on a rough night and you’re skimming the drugstore shelves. Different practitioners will have different ways they like to dose things, but generally, this is what I recommend:
If you have a child who responds easily or strongly to medications (think of those kids who only need a half dose of tylenol when they have the flu) I’d recommend starting with a lower dose (e.g., Chamomilla 30CH).
If you have a child who is strong-willed and typically requires full dosing for medications, you could try a stronger dose like 200CH. Sometimes it really is trial and error if you’re not working with a homeopath.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT REMEDY FOR YOUR CHILD
The absolute best way to choose a homeopathic remedy is to seek the advice of a licensed homeopath. The best way to do this is to use your local College of Homeopaths resource to find a provider. Homeopaths in Ontario, where I am, are regulated health professionals, so it’s important you find one who has attained the proper schooling, successfully completed their exams, and remains a practitioner with the approval to practice safely.
The second-best way to find the proper remedy is to see a naturopathic doctor who can help you find an acute remedy (for the set of symptoms you are experiencing right now) or may recommend a more “classical” approach—where we’d look at your child’s constitution, past symptom history, and past medical history in addition to what’s currently going on. The dosing for this is typically less frequent, and may require different dosing than the acute method.
The third-best way is trial and error and/or complex homeopathy. Trial error is what it sounds like—trying different individual remedies until you find the right one. For example, arnica is commonly used in homeopathic practice for bruising and trauma-related symptoms.
Complex homeopathy means taking a “complex” of remedies, kind of like throwing a few different things at you and hoping one of them works, or their synergistic effects work together to bring you alleviation of symptoms. For example, one of the more common remedies on the shelves marketed for teething pain in babies is a blend of Chamomilla, Phytolacca, and Rheum. All three remedies are often used for restlessness, irritability, and diarrhea (all which can happen due to teething).
While it’s helpful to have a regulated healthcare professional help you find the right remedy the first time, there’s no harm in trying something off the shelf first.
Homeopathy is a safe option for parents to try with their kiddos when they’re stuck. I always recommend checking in with your medical doctor, naturopathic doctor, or nurse practitioner first—to make sure they get a full exam and thorough review of their symptoms to ensure they are diagnosed and treated properly. But if you’re stuck with something more “simple” like mild constipation, teething, recovering from bee stings, etc., homeopathy can be a helpful tool to keep on hand.
