Tag: brat diet

Is There Evidence for That Therapy, or No?

Is there any evidence that your favoriate therapy for when your kids are sick actually works?

What do you think of when you think of alternative medicine?

“…there’s no such thing as conventional or alternative or complementary or integrative or holistic medicine. There’s only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t. And the best way to sort it out is by carefully evaluating scientific studies – not by visiting Internet chat rooms, reading magazine articles, or talking to friends.”

Paul Offit, MD on Do You Believe in Magic

Do you think of acupuncture, Ayurveda, homeopathy, Reiki, or reflexology?

And do you wonder if they really work?

Evidence Based Medicine, or No?

Unfortunately, there are many things that parents do for which there is absolutely no evidence that they can actually help their kids.

Some parents are even encouraged to do them by well meaning pediatricians, who may not know the latest evidence about:

  • If her jaundice had been much worse, she would have gotten phototherapy, not sunlight.
    If her jaundice had been much worse, she would have gotten phototherapy, not sunlight. Photo by Vincent Iannelli, MD

    exposing jaundiced babies to sunlight – not only does it not work, unless they were in the sun all day long (this is done in some parts of the world, but under tinted windows to block UV and infrared light), it isn’t very practical and the AAP advises against it

  • changing your child’s toothbrush after they have strep throat – a study has shown it is not necessary
  • alternating Tylenol and Motrin – it isn’t necessary, promotes fever phobia, and can be dangerous if you mix up the times or dosages
  • putting kids on a BRAT diet when they have diarrhea – not necessary and doesn’t help kids get better any faster

For other therapies, your pediatrician isn’t likely to recommend them unless they are a so-called integrative or holistic pediatrician.

“Attaching the word “therapy” to the back end of an activity is an attempt to give it a status it may not deserve – and that status is subsequently used to garner insurance coverage, hospital resources, consumer patronage, and research dollars. It is also used to constrain how we think about an intervention – implying that perhaps there is some specific mechanism as work, when none need exist.”

Steven Novella on Aroma”therapy”

These non-evidence based “therapies” include:

  • acupressure – acupuncture without the needles
  • amber teething necklaces – if your baby’s amber teething necklace doesn’t seem to be doing anything, it isn’t because it’s fake and not made of genuine Baltic amber, it’s because it’s a teething necklace…
  • aromatherapy
  • chiropractic care of newborns and infants – understand that chiropractors don’t adjust real dislocations or misalignments in your spine, but instead manipulate what they think are subluxations that block the flow of energy that prevent your body’s innate ability to heal itself from working. Since these subluxations can’t be seen on xray, it makes you wonder why they chiropractors do so many xrays, doesn’t it?
  • craniosacral therapy (osteopathy) – has to do with tides and rhythms of cerebrospinal fluid, which these practitioners think they can feel and manipulate…
  • dry or wet cupping – what’s next, leeches?
  • essential oils – they don’t even smell good a lot of the times…
  • gripe water for colic
  • Oscillococcinum will not prevent flu complications.
    Oscillococcinum will not prevent flu complications.

    homeopathic “medicines” for teething, colic, gas, and the flu, etc. – do you know what’s in Oscillococcinum, the homeopathic flu medicine? It’s a mix of the pancreatic juice, liver, and heart of a duck, although it is diluted so many times, it is only the memory of those substances that remain in the little pills you take. How does that help treat your flu symptoms?

  • hyperbaric oxygen therapy – this can actually help treat folks with carbon monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness (divers), but HBOT isn’t going to help your autistic child
  • hypnosis and hypnotherapy for pain, anxiety, and insomnia – hypnosis might work as a distraction technique, but there is no good evidence beyond that
  • magic socks – please don’t make your kids wear ice-cold socks at night, either with or without first covering them with Vicks VapoRub. It’s as helpful as putting a raw, cut onion in their socks, which your shouldn’t do either…
  • magnetic field therapy – do your kids still wear one of those magnetic bracelets to “help” their balance?
  • mindfulness – while a nice idea and it may help you relax, it doesn’t have all of the health benefits that folks claim
  • restrictive and fad diets – from gluten-free diets for kids who don’t have Celiac disease to the GAPS and Gluten Free-Casein Free (GFCF) Diet, these diets don’t help, can be difficult and expensive to follow, and can be dangerous if kids don’t get all of the nutrients they need

Have you tried any of these therapies on your kids?

If you have, do you understand that they “work” by way of meridians (acupuncture), the memory of water, like cures like, and law of the minimum dose (homeopathy), energy and spinal fluid tides (craniosacral therapy), manipulating energy fields in your hands or feet (reflexology), and spiritual energy (Reiki)?

What’s the Harm of Trying Alternative Treatments?

But even if you don’t go to a holistic pediatrician that recommends any of these therapies that don’t work, does your pediatrician discourage you from trying them?

If they do, how strongly?

Do they say it isn’t going to work, so don’t do it, or do they use more permissive phrasing?

The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, tells parents that amber teething necklaces don’t work and pose a risk for strangulation and choking, but then gives advice for “parents who choose to use these necklaces.”

Since they don’t work, why not just tell them to save their money and not use them?

Do you ever wonder, what’s the harm in using these things that don’t work?

“Rather than getting distracted by alluring rituals and elaborate pseudoscientific explanations for how they work, we should focus on maximizing the non-specific elements of the therapeutic interaction, and adding that to physiological or psychological interventions that have specific efficacy.”

Steven Novella on EMDR and Acupuncture – Selling Non-specific Effects

If your pediatrician knows that homeopathic medicines aren’t going to work, but tells you to try them if you want, what are they going to let you try next – black salve, coffee enemas, colloidal silver, dry needling, earthing, faith healing, iridology, psychic surgery, slapping, tapping, or shamanism?

In addition to kids actually being harmed by many of these alternative therapies and by missing out on real medicine that could have helped them, putting so much focus on these non-evidence based “treatments” is a waste of time and money that could go towards really helping people.

And be many of the folks who pursue and push these types of alternative treatments also push myths and propaganda about vaccines or seek to skip or delay their child’s vaccines, choosing to follow a follow a non-standard, parent-selected, delayed protection vaccine schedule that leaves their kids at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases.

Don’t be fooled.

Learn to be skeptical, stick to the evidence, and stick with medicine that works.

What to Know About Evidence Based Medicine

There is plenty of evidence that alternative therapies don’t work and can do harm. Stick with medicine that works to keep your kids safe and healthy.

More on Evidence Based Medicine

Treating Hard to Control Vomiting and Diarrhea

Even when they don’t linger, it can be frustrating for parents to treat their kids with vomiting and diarrhea. Get the latest treatment recommendations to help you get through these very common infections quickly.

Kids get vomiting and diarrhea for many reasons, but it is most often caused by a stomach virus.

Whatever the cause, even if it is something your child eat or food poisoning, you will want to know how to best manage your child’s symptoms to help them feel better quickly and prevent them from getting dehydrated.

Vomiting and Diarrhea

Although most people associate vomiting and diarrhea with the “stomach flu,” the flu virus doesn’t usually cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Instead, there are a number of other viruses, bacteria, and parasites that do, including:

  • rotavirus – a vaccine-preventable disease
  • norovirus – the “cruise ship virus,” but very common elsewhere too
  • Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli – food poisoning, animals
  • C. diff – associated with recent antibiotic use
  • Cryptosporidium – drinking contaminated water, swimming pools, water parks

If necessary, especially when diarrhea is associated with severe symptoms or is lingering, stool tests can be done to figure out the specific cause. Fortunately, diarrhea and vomiting often goes away on its own fairly quickly and these tests aren’t necessary. What will likely be necessary is keeping your child well hydrated until these symptoms stop.

Treating Vomiting and Diarrhea

For most kids with vomiting and diarrhea, you can:

  • continue breastfeeding on demand
  • continue their normal diet (feed through the diarrhea), including baby formula or milk, if they just have diarrhea and no vomiting or only occasional vomiting, giving extra fluids every time your child has diarrhea (about 3 ounces if your child is under 22 pounds and about 6 ounces if they are over 22 pounds)
  • forget about eating and concentrate on drinking if your child has a lot of vomiting, but start by offering very small amounts of fluid, perhaps starting with a teaspoon (5ml) every 5 or 10 minutes, and then slowly working your way up to a tablespoon (15ml) and than an ounce (30ml) or two over a few hours
  • take a break from drinking for 30 minutes if your child has a set back and begins vomiting again, and restart at 5ml, slowly working your way back up again as tolerated
  • watch closely for signs and symptoms of dehydration, including weight loss, decreased urine output (fewer wet diapers or going to the bathroom less often), no tears, or dry mouth with no saliva or spit, etc.

In general, when talking about fluids, we mean an oral rehydration solution, like Pedialyte. If your older child won’t drink Pedialyte, you can offer something like Gatorade, but keep in mind that sports drinks have more sugar, so can sometimes make diarrhea worse.

But do you really make your child eat and feed through the diarrhea if he doesn’t want to? Of course not. The idea is that you don’t restrict your child’s diet if they want to eat. If they are complaining of a stomach ache, just don’t feel good, or feeding them their regular diet makes the diarrhea or vomiting worse, then move to more bland food.

Treating Hard to Control Vomiting and Diarrhea

What if your child continues to have vomiting and diarrhea?

You should still avoid treating your younger child with over-the-counter remedies to stop diarrhea, including those with loperamine (Imodium) or bismuth subsalicylate (Kaopectate).

A prescription medication, Zofran (ondansetron), might be appropriate for some children with persistent vomiting who are at risk of getting dehydrated.

If your child has persistent vomiting and diarrhea, ask yourself these questions and share the answers with your pediatrician:

  • Does your child have any symptoms that might require immediate medical attention, such as high fever, bloody diarrhea, severe headache, severe abdominal pain, or signs of moderate to severe dehydration?
  • Has your child with chronic diarrhea (diarrhea for more than four weeks) been losing weight, had fever, or regular stomach pains?
  • Does your otherwise well toddler have chronic, watery diarrhea even though no one else has been sick, a possible sign of Toddler’s diarrhea?
  • Do you have any pets or contact with pets that could put your child at risk for a Salmonella infection, including turtles, lizards, snakes, and frogs?
  • Has your child visited a farm or petting zoo, which puts him at risk for a Salmonella or E. coli infection?
  • Did your child recently take an antibiotic, which puts him at risk for a C. diff infection?
  • Has your child been drinking raw milk or other high risk foods?
  • Has your child traveled recently, which puts him at risk for traveler’s diarrhea?
  • Did you put your child on the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) even though they were eager to eat?
    Have you tried giving your child a probiotic?
  • Does your child now only have diarrhea after drinking milk, perhaps a sign of a temporary lactose deficiency?
  • Is your child better, with much less vomiting, but you are just frustrated that the diarrhea hasn’t gone away yet?
  • Is your child better, with much less vomiting, but you are just frustrated that she is still vomiting at least once each day?

While you should certainly call your pediatrician if your child’s symptoms are lingering, remember that almost everything about the idea of the “24 hour stomach flu” you have heard is probably wrong. In addition to the fact that it isn’t caused by the flu virus, the symptoms typically last more than 24 hours, at least in kids. The vomiting may get better in 24 hours, but diarrhea can easily linger for a week or two.

It is also important to keep in mind that most causes of vomiting and diarrhea are very contagious and can easily spread through the whole house if you aren’t careful. Remember to always wash hands, rinse fruits and vegetables, clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces, and don’t share food or drinks, etc. If you just do it when your kids are sick, it will be too late, as many illnesses are contagious even before you show symptoms.

What To Know About Treating Hard to Control Vomiting and Diarrhea

Even when they don’t linger, it can be frustrating for parents to treat their kids with vomiting and diarrhea. Get the latest treatment recommendations to help you get through these very common infections quickly.

More Information On Treating Hard to Control Vomiting and Diarrhea