Natural Medicine
This article lists and discusses the different forms of complimentary and alternative medicine. It focuses on whether or not it is safe for children and lists the ones that are safe as well as the ones that are not safe.
Complimentary and alternative medicine are not forms of conventional medicine, but they are widely practiced. Many children are now being treated with this form of medicine because of several factors such as cost, safety and complimentary and alternative medicine used to treat children include homeopathy, herbs and dietary supplements, naturopathy, massage, chiropractic care and acupuncture. Some argue that this form of medicine is not safe for children. Some supplements and herbs have been shown not to be safe for children, but the majority of complimentary and alternative medicine treatments can be safely used to treat a variety of children's ailments.
Precautions: Before a child begins any type of complimentary or alternative treatments, their doctor should be consulted. Not all forms of this type of medicine are safe for children and some will cause adverse reactions to certain conventional medical treatments. Many of these treatments, such as herbs, homeopathy, naturopathy and dietary supplements, have not been studied in children so very little is known about whether they are safe or dangerous. In general, children's bodies may react differently to certain complimentary and alternative medicine treatments. This reaction could be dangerous in some cases.
Safe Treatments: Acupuncture , massage and children's multi-vitamins have been proven safe for children. However, it is still important to consult a physician first to avoid possible complications that may occur later. It is also important to get a diagnosis before trying any complimentary or alternative medicine treatments on children so that they are not being wrongly treated.
From www.brighthub.com