Kids, School and Susceptibility

The homeopathic principle of health is very different from the conventional viewpoint and may seem strange at first to the uninitiated.

"When I talk to other parents at the play group about you and homeopathy, they act as if I was trying to talk them into a sex change!", laughed Angela down the telephone last January. "I don't know why," she went on, "Their kids come down with things frequently and then spend weeks being stuffed with antibiotics and you give mine a remedy or two and my kids are back at it in days!" The homeopathic principle of health is very different from the conventional viewpoint and may seem strange at first to the uninitiated.

Angela was calling because one of her children had picked up a cough that was going around at school and she wanted a remedy. Kids "picking up" whatever is "going around" at school is so accepted that it has become a common cliché. Is it because they're unhealthy? Are their immune systems weak? Why are they so susceptible? Do they need more vitamin C? The homeopathic view is that these reactions are part of a developing immune system. Our way of looking at it is to see a child's susceptibility as a good thing. Certainly we see a fever or a cough as indicative of an immune system in fighting fit order. If no one ever threw you a ball you'd never learn how to catch one. Many homeopaths aren't always in favour of treating a cold, preferring to allow it to run its course and knowing that the child and her immune system is stronger after the sniffles and coughs that are the healthy body's reaction to fending off the offending virus.

At playgroups and school, children come into contact with others and develop socialisation, opening up to the influence of others and learning to adjust their behaviour accordingly. At the same time, their immune systems develop by coming into contact with the sources of childhood diseases. This is why some homeopaths are not supporters of vaccinations against childhood diseases and regard them (the diseases) as a necessary function in the process of an evolving immune system.

Angela originally brought her children to see me because four-year-old Francine had some eczema and an odd puffy redness around her eyelids and Matty at two had suffered with a cold that had lasted five months. In consultation, I learned that Francine had been rushed to the hospital at six months old with a first aid emergency, and the staff had insisted she be given a DPT (Diphtheria / Whooping Cough / Tetanus) shot. Angela agreed to a tetanus jab, since that was all that was needed, however she suspected they had simply lied to her and given the formerly vaccine-free baby the full DPT. "It was all too quick," she confided. The eczema had developed soon afterwards.

Francine was given DPT in homeopathic potency, which cleared the eczema, and later, when I discovered that her red, puffy eyes began soon after the arrival of the new baby, she received Apis, a remedy often good for oedematous swellings - particularly when there might be some jealousy involved.

Matty's long standing cold yielded to a dose of Tuberculinum. He is a beautiful child, playful and rambunctious. I felt I knew what the remedy was when I observed him surreptitiously looking around before he gave the neighbour's cat's tail a sly yank!

Provided I have seen a child for constitutional treatment, I am happy to attend to the coughs, colds, headaches, sore throats, earaches, accidents and small emergencies that homeopaths call ‘acute' problems. I believe that treating a health issue homeopathically allows the immune system to benefit and keeps the patient's suffering to a minimum. So I gathered a bit of information about Francine's cough. Angela described it as "barking" and said her throat was also a little red and she'd complained of soreness and was drinking lots of juice. I quickly suggested Aconite which, if taken in time will stop many sudden onset coughs, colds or ‘flu - especially if caused by getting chilled - Angela was calling me from New York which was experiencing record cold weather. Happily, the remedy worked well and Francine's cough had cleared by morning and she was back at school that very day.

My last phone prescription was just a month ago. The family was off to Brazil the next day to visit the paternal grandparents and Matty had come home from playgroup with a slight fever. "I've given him Belladonna but it hasn't had any effect. He's still very whingey. I'm going to let him sleep with us in our bed tonight. Do you think it'll be safe for him to fly tomorrow?" I found out that he had asked to sleep with his Mum and Dad and that he wasn't asking for anything to eat or drink. He was also pale, rather than flushed with his fever so I was pretty confident when I suggested Pulsatilla 30C. (Repeat in 15 minutes and again in half an hour and expect a change. Call me in the morning if not.) I have heard since that the family had a terrific time in Brazil.

 

Trader is a homeopath currently practising in Los Angeles.

email: itstrader@hotmail.com