HEALTH ADVICE

October 14, 2024

5 Safe and Simple Herbal Remedies for Children’s Wellness

By Laurie Melrose-DoeringOsteopath & Applied Kinesiologist

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Herbal medicine offers a gentle yet effective way to support children’s health, especially when addressing common ailments like colds, digestive issues, and skin irritations. While many herbs can be too potent for younger individuals, certain herbs are mild and very safe.

These remedies can be easily prepared at home and provide natural relief for a variety of childhood conditions. It’s important, however, to ensure that herbal treatments are used with care, and for more complex situations, consulting an herbalist or a healthcare professional is recommended.

 

Children often respond particularly well to herbal treatments. Their developing bodies tend to be more receptive to natural remedies, allowing them to experience the benefits without the need for strong doses. These five herbs have been selected for their safety, effectiveness, and ease of use in everyday paediatric care. Whether used for calming irritability, soothing skin issues, or boosting the immune system, these herbs can be valuable additions to the home remedy toolkit.

1. Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

  • Uses: Chamomile is a highly versatile herb, often called the “matriarch” of children’s herbs due to its range of benefits.

 

  • Actions: Anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic (reduces muscle spasms), antimicrobial, mild sedative, and carminative (relieves flatulence).
  • Indications: It’s particularly useful for children with nervous irritability, colic, digestive upset, anxious tummy aches, bloating, gastrointestinal infection or mild insomnia. Chamomile also helps with teething pain and nappy rash.

 

  • How to Use: You can create an infusion of chamomile tea and add it to your baby’s bath to soothe irritated skin and calm teething discomfort.

 

  • Caution: Chamomile may trigger allergic reactions in children with sensitivities to plants in the ragwort family, though these cases are rare.

2. Elderflower and Elderberries (Sambucus nigra)

  • Uses: Elderflower and elderberry are two components of the same plant, offering different benefits.

 

  • Elderflower Actions: Diaphoretic (promotes sweating), anti-catarrhal, expectorant, and anti-inflammatory.

 

  • Elderberry Actions: Diaphoretic, diuretic, and mild laxative.

 

  • Indications: Elderflower is ideal for treating colds, catarrh, upper respiratory tract infections, sinusitis, and hay fever and fevers. Elderberry, rich in Vitamin C, is great for boosting immunity and treating coughs, often in combination with thyme.

 

  • How to Use: Elderflower cordial can be given to children to relieve fever and congestion. Elderberry can be made into a tasty syrup to prevent and treat colds.

 

  • Extra Tip: Elderflower tea can also be used as an eye compress for inflamed eyes or as a gargle for mouth ulcers.

3. Garlic (Allium sativum)

  • Uses: Garlic is a potent antimicrobial herb, making it excellent for respiratory infections in children.

 

  • Actions: Antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, promotes immune activity, lowers blood pressure, and has cholesterol-lowering properties.

 

  • Indications: Garlic is traditionally used to treat respiratory conditions such as chronic bronchitis, whooping cough, and recurrent colds.

 

  • How to Use: For children who won’t eat garlic, it can be applied to the soles of the feet, allowing the beneficial compounds to be absorbed through the skin. It’s also effective in treating threadworms when used topically.

 

  • Tip: Mix garlic extract with honey to make it more palatable for children.

4. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

  • Uses: Thyme is an excellent antimicrobial herb for treating respiratory and digestive conditions.

 

  • Actions: Antimicrobial, antiseptic, spasmolytic, and astringent.

 

  • Indications: Especially beneficial for treating bronchitis, asthma, pertussis (whooping cough), sore throats, and infective diarrhoea. It’s also useful as a gargle for tonsillitis and laryngitis.

 

  • How to Use: Thyme tea is delicious, especially when sweetened with honey and lemon, making it easier for children to take. Its carminative and antispasmodic properties can help with indigestion and digestive cramps.

5. Oats (Avena sativa)

  • Uses: Oats are a highly accessible and nutritious herb that supports both the nervous system and skin health.

 

  • Actions: Antidepressant, nourishing, mild sedative, demulcent (soothing), and vulnerary (wound healing).

 

  • Indications: Oats can help with childhood eczema, general fatigue, and stress. Oat baths are especially soothing for dry, irritated skin.

 

  • How to Use: For skin issues like eczema, place oats in a pop-sock or muslin cloth, tie it to the hot water tap, and let the water run through it to create a soothing bath. Oats can also be eaten as porridge, providing nourishment and recovery support after illness.

 

  • Caution: Be mindful of gluten sensitivity in children with coeliac disease, as oats may contain gluten.

Conclusion

Incorporating herbal remedies into your child’s health routine can be a gentle and effective way to manage common childhood ailments. The herbs discussed—chamomile, elderflower and elderberries, garlic, thyme, and oats—are safe, accessible, and easy to use when administered correctly. They provide natural support for everything from colds and fevers to skin irritations and digestive issues.

However, it’s essential to remember that while these herbs are generally safe, consulting an herbalist or a healthcare professional is always advisable, especially for more serious or prolonged conditions. With the right knowledge and care, parents can confidently use these herbal remedies to promote their child’s health and well-being.

Additional Resources

Exercise Resources: Organisations like Versus Arthritis provide useful exercise guidelines that can complement osteopathic treatment.

This comprehensive approach ensures that every aspect of arthritis management is covered, helping patients to maintain an active and pain-reduced lifestyle.

Herbal Care for Children at Aston Clinic London

At Aston Clinic London, our herbalists are dedicated to providing safe, effective, and personalised care for children. We understand that every child is unique, and our practitioners work closely with families to create tailored herbal remedies that address specific health concerns.

By combining traditional herbal wisdom with modern clinical expertise, we ensure that your child receives the best of natural and holistic healthcare.

To book a session with one of our herbalists, click here. Alternatively, you can contact us at 020 8942 3148 to learn how our treatments can benefit you.

 

Aston Clinic London is a third-generation complementary health clinic located in New Malden, serving Kingston, Norbiton, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Surbiton, Chessington, Worcester Park, Sutton, Richmond, and other areas of southwest London and Surrey.

By Laurie Melrose-DoeringOsteopath & Applied Kinesiologist

References

 

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  • Ashktorab, H., Soleimani, A., Singh, G., et al. (2019). Saffron: The golden spice with therapeutic properties on digestive diseases.Nutrients, 11(5), 943. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11050943

 

 

  • Benassi, E., Fan, H., Sun, Q., et al. (2021). Generation of particle assemblies mimicking enzymatic activity by processing of herbal food: The case of rhizoma polygonati and other natural ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine.Nanoscale Advances, 3(8), 2222–2235. Available at: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2021/na/d0na00958j

 

  • Bezerra, S., Leal, L., & Nogueira, N. (2009). Bisabolol-induced gastroprotection against acute gastric lesions: Role of prostaglandins, nitric oxide, and K+ ATP channels.Journal of Medicinal Food, 12(6), 1403–1406. Available at: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jmf.2008.0290

 

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