Alternative remedies dangerous for children

Alternative remedies can be dangerous for children and can even prove fatal, experts have warned.

Parents often misguidedly think alternative treatments are better for their children because they are “natural” and think they are less likely to have harmful side effects than conventional modern medicine, said the researchers from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

The doctors analysed 39 cases of side effects associated with alternative medicines which were reported to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit between 2001 and 2003, including four deaths.

The side effects reported ranged from constipation, bleeding and pain to allergic reactions, mouth ulcers, seizures, vomiting, stunted growth, infections, malnutrition and death.

Almost two thirds of the cases were rated as severe, life threatening or fatal.

In more than three quarters of cases, the side effects were considered to be probably or definitely related to alternative remedies, and in almost half of cases, the paediatricians said the child had been harmed by a failure to use conventional treatment in favour of an alternative remedy.

All four reported deaths were related to alternative remedies being used in place of conventional treatment.

One of the deaths involved a 10 month old child who developed septic shock after being treated with homeopathy and a restricted diet for chronic eczema.

Another included the case of an eight month old child admitted to hospital with malnutrition and septic shock following naturopathic treatment with a rice milk diet from the age of 3 months for the treatment of constipation.

Parents sought to treat anything from constipation to clotting disorders, and diabetes to cerebral palsy, the researchers said. Particular areas for concern included parents replacing conventional medicine with alternative therapies; alternative therapy practitioners changing medication already prescribed by doctors; and restricting foods from a child's diet in the belief that this would cure symptoms.

"Many of the adverse events associated with failure to use convention medicine resulted from the family’s belief in CAM and determination to use it despite medical advice,” said the researchers.

“Discussions with families about CAM use may empower them to talk about any medication changes suggested by a CAM practitioner before altering or ceasing the medication,” they added.

The study is published in the journal Archives of Diseases in Childhood.

This article was published on Thu 23 December 2010