Anyone give their kids Echinaechia ?

[ThreeMusketeers]

MY dd is very healthy, she eats well, and has never had many colds or flus. But with our upcoming trip and with the bad flu season in tow I was thinking of giving her a little something extra to help her stay healthy..has anyone given their kids Echinaechia or Airborne Jr.??

My dd is only 3.5, so I was not sure if this was a safe alternative or not? Of course I would ask my doctor first, but was just wondering what all your thoughts/experiences were.

Thanks.

 

[taximomfor4]

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, lol.

I will say, though, that if you do decide to give any herbal supplements to your child, treat as a medication. Dose very carefully since they are not regulated by the FDA and make sure to tell the pediatrician. Herbal supplements are drugs too, and can interact with any other drugs and even foods. Also, if the pediatrician knows about it, they can help monitor for side effects. Echinacea can cause rash, at the very least that I know of.

Definitely be wary, as with no FDA regulation there are not purity assessments done or anything.

Beth

 

[KeepSwimming]

Call your doctor.....I'd be wary of any advice you receive on a message board.

Good luck!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

I just read an article in last month's Parent's Magazine about how herbal treatments can be very dangerous for kids. The only person I trust regarding my DD's health issues is her group of peds. My best advice is to wash wash wash those little hands...I have always done that with my little one, especially in cold and flu season and she has always been really healthy. I would also avoid taking her to the grocery store and any pharmacies for a couple weeks before your trip if at all possible, since those are the places people still have to go even when they are sick. Good luck & enjoy your trip!!

 

[rt2dz]

If you're worried about the flu, go get a flu shot. All kids under 12 are considered high risk. It is effective within 48 hours and is already available. Your child will need two shots if it is the first time and they are under 5 (?, maybe 6?). Other than that, I agree with talking to your pedi, washing hands and teaching kids to cough and sneeze into their arm and not to touch their face (although easier said than done).

 

[graygables]

We don't do flu shots. Every time I've had one, I have gotten seriously ill for 6-10 *weeks*. No flu shot, no illness. Hmmmm. We do take (and give to the kids) the homeophathic remedy called "O" (osci....) and we have never had a flu or serious cold with it.

DH takes echinacea/goldenseal for his allergies and it works very well for him, but if one is allergic to ragweed, it can cause a reaction (so I can't take it).

Herbs are *medicines*, just from nature, not the lab, and need to be respected and treated with caution.

 

[hsmamato2]

Check a reputable book on herbs for children out of the library- it's important to educate yourself, articles in mainstream mags tend to try to dissuade parents from using herbs through scare tactics. Ech. has been in use for many years in Europe, with significant benefits. As have other herbs. Tylenol has very bad side effects, yet these same sources of "info." recommend these drugs as having no side effects to be concerned over! The flu shot, well that's personal to you.
I prefer to head off trouble, and keep healthy immune systems before illness strikes.
My own dk's are on a regimen in this season, ech/goldenseal dose 1x a week- astragalus dose 2x a week(deep immune builder) 1 natural vit. c daily, along with anything else that may come up along the way that's necessary- These herbs can all be bought from reputable companies, in doses for kids.
On average, my dk's have been sick less than 4 days each per year, for the last 5 or so years. So we continue this. Of course, we wash our hands a LOT in this season also. Stay well, and stay informed!
You can also look at Mothering.com website, they have a good disc. board about stuff like this...
oh, I've heard GREAT stuff about osci...(homeopathic) and even better stuff about elderberry extracts...

 

[Adrienne]

you need to be careful if the person that you are giving it to has asthma. Most asthmatics cannot take echinacea, and it can cause asthma attacks in many ppl that have moderate to severe asthma.

Adrienne

 

[daisyduck123]

I read an article this summer that stated that it's been learned that Echinaechia (sp.?) does not have any usefulnesses in preventing colds. I remember thinking, "Wow, just this past winter my doctor suggested it might help me the next time I felt a cold coming on". He did tell me that it was just a recommendation. Just thought I'd pass this on. Anyone else read that this past summer?

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm unfamiliar with the asthma precaution- my ds has asthma, and he takes it with no ill effects, I know if you are allergic toragweed, it can be an issue-also- i've recently heard some "studies" that assert that all the well done studies from Germany were worthless, and it doesn't help, however, I think(not 100% sure) that some of these "studies" were performed by the companies who manufacture cold relief drugs...don't get me wrong, when we need pharmacueticals in our home, we use them,Tylenol can be very useful, but there is definitely a world of alternatives out there, that are natural, have far less side effects, and ar epro active against illness that many of us in the U.S. are unfamiliar with.(www.mothering.com)

And really, I just go with my self education(read lots of books) and past experience with what works. I buy reputable herbs,etc., and use them wisely. They really seem to work, so we continue....last night, ds6 started coughing a lot at bedtime, after about an hour, I got concerned, as dh had a sore throat/little cold this week. As a cautionary measure, I gave him a dose of Echinacea drops, and 1 tsp. of elderberry syrup- today he's up, with no symptoms of anything,and dh sore throat is gone too, after 2-3 days of "Mom's doses" Not that we're always in perfect health, just trying to avoid the really big bad bugs of the season.

 

[Adrienne]

I'm unfamiliar with the asthma precaution- my ds has asthma, and he takes it with no ill effects, I know if you are allergic toragweed, it can be an issue-also- i've recently heard some "studies" that assert that all the well done studies from Germany were worthless, and it doesn't help, however, I think(not 100% sure) that some of these "studies" were performed by the companies who manufacture cold relief drugs...don't get me wrong, when we need pharmacueticals in our home, we use them,Tylenol can be very useful, but there is definitely a world of alternatives out there, that are natural, have far less side effects, and ar epro active against illness that many of us in the U.S. are unfamiliar with.(www.mothering.com)

And really, I just go with my self education(read lots of books) and past experience with what works. I buy reputable herbs,etc., and use them wisely. They really seem to work, so we continue....last night, ds6 started coughing a lot at bedtime, after about an hour, I got concerned, as dh had a sore throat/little cold this week. As a cautionary measure, I gave him a dose of Echinacea drops, and 1 tsp. of elderberry syrup- today he's up, with no symptoms of anything,and dh sore throat is gone too, after 2-3 days of "Mom's doses" Not that we're always in perfect health, just trying to avoid the really big bad bugs of the season.

Yeah, some asthmatics are fine with it, but if u are diagnosed with severe asthma then it should only be taken under a doctor's advice. It does share the same allergen structures as many other problem plants (ragweed i think is one of them), also from what i have seen and talked to my asthma specialist about the strength of the echinaca that is sold here in Australia seems to be more problematic than the average strength of the echinaca sold in the US (it is dependent on how much water and other additives are added to liquid suspensions, or how many other ingredients are added to tablet forms). The Australian one is generally much stronger.

I wish that i could use echinaca but with my asthma the way it is, i end up in hospital anytime i take anything that has ech. in it. I am very much one for herbal medicine, eever since i ditched the Zoloft and started taking STJohn's wort, i feel mcuh better and less zombie esque.... lol

HOpe everyone stays well

Adrienne

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I don't. I read there is ragweed in it and if you're allergic it can cause a problem. We all have bad allergies so I avoid echinacea. I
m trying the stay healthy wash hands eat more organic approach. My 8 month old has an ear infection after being sick with a sore thorat and croup. My 3 yo and mysef also has the cold sore throat fever thing. So I'm hoping if I increase the hand washing sanitizing house cleaning we will stay healthier this winter. Otherwise Im keepig everyone homw until our trip! Not reallyl!

 

[hsmamato2]

well, if you're leery of ech., why not try elderberry syrup? I've read great stuff on it's ability to halt viruses,even scientific studies, and ds loves it, says it tastes like juciy juice...sambucol has an alcohol free formula

 

[Lesley]

As someone else said....educate yourself. You are not going to find much useful information on herbal treatments from traditional medical sources. You'll find lots of warnings and scare tactics though....as always people fear what they don't understand (including and sometimes especially mainstream media). If you can, locate a pediatrician who is well versed in alternative medicine...but there is also very good information from herbalists. Honestly, an herbalist who has experience with children is a better source of info. on herbal treatments than most doctors will be....simply because they often have no training in the area of herbs. We used to be lucky enough to have a doctor who always treated naturally first...she was wonderful!

We use the Herbs for Kids brand of echinacea....I've found their products to be consistently effective (for myself as well as my kids) and they have a variety of blends for various needs. I think their website has good information from the children's herbalist who developed this line of herbals. From what I recall they have a better blend than the echinacea for a simple immune boost to fight off potential infections. I personally feel the herbal "big guns" like echinacea and goldenseal are best saved for infections. Echinacea has rid me of mastitis more than once....among other things. As far as hearing that echinacea won't prevent a cold, all I'll say is that a bad preparation of echinacea won't do anything. A quality echinacea product will. In general, don't buy your herbs at Wal-Mart if you want them to work.

If you're worried about the flu, I would find and bring with you some oscillococcinum....which is a homeopathic flu remedy. This stuff is amazing and works wonders. We used it for flu at WDW and were back on our feet in a day. Amazing stuff. You can find it at natural foods stores...but I've also seen it at Walgreens (and I think even Wal-Mart). It is a treatment and not a preventative....but quite useful if you do catch the flu. As far as safety, homeopathics are safer than any other over the counter treatment you can use.

Good luck finding accurate information that answers all your questions.

 

[graygables]

If you're worried about the flu, I would find and bring with you some oscillococcinum....which is a homeopathic flu remedy. This stuff is amazing and works wonders. We used it for flu at WDW and were back on our feet in a day. Amazing stuff. You can find it at natural foods stores...but I've also seen it at Walgreens (and I think even Wal-Mart). It is a treatment and not a preventative....but quite useful if you do catch the flu. As far as safety, homeopathics are safer than any other over the counter treatment you can use.

Our homeopathic doc recommends one dose the first of every month thru flu season as a preventative. It has worked for us for several years.

 

[Lesley]

Interesting. Seems to run contrary to the "conventional wisdom" regarding homeopathics. We might try that next time there's a bad flu season. We definitely take it at the first sign as the directions say and it helps if it is the flu. A few times I've had a cold and wasn't sure it didn't help....but I don't wait for the telltale body aches to set in. Once I'm sure its a cold we set in with the C and echinacea and garlic.

Oh, there's a couple preventative measures that are helpful....vitamin C and garlic. And watch the sugar....it depresses the immune system.

Thanks!

 

[Littlemotherhaywood]

MY dd is very healthy, she eats well, and has never had many colds or flus. But with our upcoming trip and with the bad flu season in tow I was thinking of giving her a little something extra to help her stay healthy..has anyone given their kids Echinaechia or Airborne Jr.??

My dd is only 3.5, so I was not sure if this was a safe alternative or not? Of course I would ask my doctor first, but was just wondering what all your thoughts/experiences were.

Thanks.

About six years ago a study was done proving that Echinacea boosted the nk cell count by 43%. That is your immune system's front line of defense. The only problem is that if taken regularly, it can become toxic in your system. Personally, I've used it, but I will not give it to my children. We do use other supplements here. Another thing that has been proven to help with the flu is elderberry and I don't believe there is any toxicity. HTH