Homeopathic medicines for children are becoming more popular as parents are looking for safer ways to treat their children’s illnesses. “Parents should consider using a homeopathic medicine as a first option to treat early symptoms of self-diagnosable illnesses because this genre is one of the safest choices for self-treatment,” said John Durkin, vice president, sales and marketing, Boiron. “Parents also have the advantage of clear indications and directions being provided on the box label because homeopathic medicines are regulated as drugs by FDA.”
Luis Cabin, as a pharmacist for Weston Pharmacy in Weston, FL, said he is comfortable recommending homeopathic products. “Many children are taking medications and these medications can have interactions with natural products,” he said. “The best choice obviously would be to go with homeopathic because it would not interact with what they are currently on.”
Mary C. Borneman, media relations and communications manager, Hyland’s Inc., said more parents are turning to homeopathic medicines for their children because of safety reasons. “Over the course of the last two years, tremendous coverage has been given to the ineffectiveness and/or danger that exists with certain allopathic, or more standard over-the-counter (OTC), medicines for kids, particularly for cough, cold and flu,” she said. “The ingredients of concern in those products include phenylephrine, diphenhydramine, pseudoephedrine, clorpheniramine, brompheniramine, dextromethorphan, guaifensisin and doxylamine. These drugs often suppress symptoms and do not cure the illness. Homeopathic products do not contain these ingredients.”