Standardized Safety Studies Regarding All Medicine Used On Children - A Little Perspective
There seemingly zero clinical trials studying the use of single herbs and children.
That's right.
There are none, really.
They supposedly exist, somewhere, though I have yet to find them.
It's simply not an easy find.
Because generally, it's just not studied in the same way as pharmaceuticals.
Even for adults.
As far as I know for myself...
There are no controlled studies on children, and herbs.
Are they safe?
Are they not?
Where are we supposed to go with this?
Herbs have been used on children since the beginning of herbal medicine and....well...children. Since the beginning of children.
Okay, since the beginning of medicine anyway.
Traditional medicine books are loaded with herbs recommended for children.
It began with stories of illness passed down from one generation to the next.
Elder guidelines.
Experience over years and years and years.
Some well documented. Some spoken only verbally.
If you ask your Grandma (for some), and Great Grandma (for others), chances are, herbs were a 'given' in their own childhood.
Before formal studies were 'a thing'.
Before allopathy (aka: pharmaceutical based medicine) became 'the norm'.
For everything from the first gassy episode as an infant (or colic) to chicken pox in adolescence.
Children and herbs have been seen, seemingly, as no biggy, in the grand scheme of things.
Yet, we have no formal, double-blind, placebo based clinical studies on the matter.
We do have anecdotal studies, however.
Case studies.
And plenty of formal studies on adults.
And regions outside of the United States regularly use herbs alongside allopathic pediatric care. Clinical herbalists often work in doctor's offices and childrens' hospitals, especially in Europe, and even more especially in Germany.* A country known in modern times as the leader in allopathic medicine.
However, there is something to be said about looking more closely at medicine of all types on these littler, possibly more delicate, bodies we call 'children'.
In general...
Many herbalists call for halfing the dose of adults when using herbs with children. Some call for less frequency. And some call for only using certain herbs, and avoiding others. Most recommend not using alcohol as a solvent, though some disagree even about that.
It's not regulated.
There are professionally assumed guidelines, yet ...
So much is based on experience.
Stories passed down friends and family and elders.
Personal judgement.
Prayers.
Trust.
And intuition.
But when you look at pharmaceuticals and children, it's actually a very similar story.
Even with more formal studies.
While we may have clinical trials on pharmaceuticals in children (such as paracetamol - acetaminophen - used in children's Tylenol), the studies often target only one area of health - such as liver toxicity - while other questionable side effects (neurotoxicity, for example) are left unstudied, at best, and proven harmful, at worst. And of course results always call for....more studies....
Because...
When it comes to science and medicine of any type...
We are dealing with the body.
Differing bodies.
And in this case: bodies of children.
Testing a child who isn't yet of the age and doesn't yet have the understanding of a full grown adult also comes with the question of moral: is it even right to test children based on topics of potential harm simply for the sake of testing?
So...
At the end what you have, yet again, is the necessity for:
Professionally assumed guidelines.
Experience.
Stories passed down from friends and family and elders.
Personal judgment.
Prayers.
Trust.
And intuition.
Parents have to be the ultimate experts. Like always, they have to do their research.
And they have to be their own best judge.
For their children.
Not an easy task, no matter which way you slice it.
No matter which medicine you choose to use, if any.
Now, because there isn't much to share in the way of herbal clinical studies, specifically aimed at the bodies of children, I am sharing some clinical studies on pharmaceutical drugs typically used on children.
Most clinical studies on drugs for children are aimed at discovering if a certain drug helps with the symptoms that it intends to help.
Not safety.
The waters get a little murky there.
And most times, they're very specific to drug brands, performed by the drug companies themselves. And they're looking at the recipe in its entirety. Not the individual ingredients added to make up the drug itself.
See what I mean?
Murky.
See what you see. Read what you will. Look closely. And be sure to read the shares in their entirety.
Even better, make sure to read the inserts of all drugs that you consider using (for children and for yourself), as they will direct you to the summaries of their clinical data, as well as the topics not yet studied in relation to that particular drug.
Happy reading.
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STUDIES & RESOURCES:
(The studies below are nowhere near an exhaustive list. Always continue your own research and read the papers within each paper below.)
2) The Dangers Of Acetaminophen For Neurodevelopment Outweigh Scant Evidence For Long-Term Benefits
3) First-Generation Antihistamines and Seizures in Young Children
4) Clinical Toxicology of OTC Cough and Cold Pediatric Medications: A Narrative Review
5) “Social Medication” and the Control of Children: A Qualitative Study of Over-the-Counter Medication Among Australian Children
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These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. I am not a doctor. I am simply sharing my opinions and studies as a clinical herbalist, researcher, and fellow human being on health topics and methods. Always take my opinions, thoughts, and advice with a grain of salt. Try them on for size but always by your own consent. And continue your research. Remember: your health is your own.
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