Many parents seek homeopathic treatment for children, fearful of the strong medication they may be prescribed to take for many years, for which the short- and long-term side effects they consider to be unacceptable.  Glue ear, eczema, asthma and dietary allergies (notably dairy and wheat allergy) respond well to homeopathic treatment, leaving the child’s immune system intact.

Allergies account for 6% of GP consultations and 10% of the GP prescribing budget.  Excluding hospital care, they cost the NHS £900M a year in 2004.  Homeopathic treatment of allergies provides a safe and cost-effective alternative to steroidal treatment, repeated antibiotic courses and stays in hospital for specialist care. There is no doubt that asthma is on the increase. A cough with wheezing that won’t go away may be diagnosed as asthma and before you realise it, your child is put on inhaled steroids. With support from their GP, homeopathy can help children reduce or come off their conventional drugs.

There is now good evidence to show that homeopathy is effective in the treatment of a wide range of illnesses; a large study completed at the end of 2005, of the outcomes from 6,500 patients at the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, spanning a period of six years, demonstrated a 75% improvement reported by patients. The largest positive health change was observed in children where 66% reported being better or much better and who were mainly referred for respiratory problems, including allergies.

GPs increasingly welcome the contribution complementary therapies can make and in recent years they have been discouraged from over-prescribing medicines such as inhaled steroids for asthma and hayfever. Concerns about long-term damage to the growing child, coupled with the worry of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, make homeopathy a safer option.  Homeopaths are keen to work alongside other specialists in the health field.  The best way forward for all children is to improve their immune system naturally and the best way to do this is to consult a Registered Homeopath.

Homeopathy a Good Alternattive for Treating Ear Infections
By Laurie Barclay, MD 

The applications of homeopathy are widespread -- everything from treating the common cold to clearing up childhood ear infections. It's this latest use that caught the attention of a group of West Coast researchers, who set out to evaluate in a scientific way the many reports of homeopathic success. 

"We set this up as a pilot study, not really expecting to see any positive effect from homeopathy," says researcher Jennifer Jacobs, MD, MPH, clinical assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine in Seattle. "We were surprised that homeopathy decreased symptoms [of middle ear infections] in the first 24 hours of treatment." 

The implications are important. Not only did the researchers determine that individualized homeopathic treatments can give early relief to the ear pain, fever, and fussiness associated with ear infections, they also say such treatment could potentially help reduce antibiotic use in children, something which has been associated with increasing rates of antibiotic resistance.