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

Don’t Skip Your RhoGAM Shot

There is no reason to skip your RhoGAM shot if it has been recommended for you during or after your pregnancy.

I’m kind of shocked that I am having to write about warning folks to not skip their RhoGAM shot.

“Prophylactic anti-D immune globulin should be offered to unsensitized Rh D-negative women at 28 weeks of gestation. Following birth, if the infant is confirmed to be Rh D positive, all Rh D-negative women who are not known to be sensitized should receive anti-D immune globulin within 72 hours of delivery.”

ACOG on Prevention of Rh D Alloimmunization

Unfortunately, like with the vitamin K shot, in addition to trying to scare new moms away from getting vaccines, they also tell them to skip their RhoGAM shot.

What is RhoGAM?

RhoGAM (RhIg) or anti-D immune globulin is not a vaccine.

A RhoGAM shot can help prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn and fetus.
A RhoGAM shot can help prevent hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn.

It is a prescription immune globulin shot that is given to some pregnant and post-partum women to prevent Rh (Rhesus) immunization, which can lead to hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn if you get pregnant again.

RhoGAM was approved by the FDA in 1968.

RhoGAM Questions and Answers

If you have been educated about RhoGAM on the Internet and are thinking about skipping your RhoGAM shot, it might be time for a little more research:

  1. What is hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN)? It is not to be confused with vitamin K deficiency bleeding, which can be prevented with a vitamin K shot. Also known as erythroblastosis fetalis, HDFN occurs when a mother develops antibodies against her baby’s own red blood cells and destroys them, leading to anemia, jaundice, and edema. In severe cases, this can be life-threatening and the baby can develop hydrops fetalis.
  2. Why would a mom develop these antibodies against her own baby’s blood in the first place? Since a baby’s blood type is determined by both their mom and dad’s blood type, it is easy to see how it might be different than moms. This usually isn’t a problem, after all, a mother’s immune system doesn’t usually attack any other cells of the placenta or her baby (immune tolerance of pregnancy) that might be “foreign.” Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a baby’s blood and “foreign” red blood cells to mix with mom’s blood, which could trigger antibodies to form.
  3. How does a baby’s blood mix with mom’s blood? Doctor’s have long known that while mixing is not common during a women’s pregnancy, it can commonly occur when she gives birth, explaining how Rh disease used to kill 10,000 babies each year in the United States. It doesn’t take trauma, a procedure (amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling), or a difficult delivery for a baby’s blood cells to leak into a mother’s bloodstream. It can just happen. Mixing can also happen after a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, or an induced abortion. Simply trying to turn a baby from the breech to a head-down position before delivery (external cephalic version procedure) leads to fetal-maternal hemorrhage in 2 to 6% of cases.
  4. Who needs to get a RhoGAM shot? It is hopefully clear already that not everyone is at risk to develop Rh immunization and so not everyone needs RhoGAM. Some folks can safely skip their RhoGAM shot, but only because it would never have been recommended for them in the first place. You only need RhoGAM if your baby’s blood type might be different than yours, specifically the Rh D antigen of the blood  and if you (mom) are Rh D negative (Rh-negative). Why don’t we worry about the ABO part? While an ABO incompatibility can also cause hemolytic disease of the newborn, it is usually much more minor. Why don’t we worry if you are Rh-positive and the baby is Rh-negative? If your baby is Rh-negative, then he or she wouldn’t have any Rh antigens on their red blood cells to make antibodies against.
  5. What is the chance your baby will be Rh-positive? It depends. And is actually more complicated than people think. If dad is Rh-positive, he can be either +/- or +/+, because there are two alleles for the Rh gene and Rh-positive is dominant. So if mom is Rh-negative (she can only be -/-), then their baby could either be +/- or -/-, so has at least a 50% chance of being Rh-positive. On the other hand, if dad is definitely +/+, then there will be a 100% chance that the baby will be Rh-positive. If you are confused now, then you don’t want to think about how two Rh-positive parents can have a Rh-negative baby!
  6. When will I get my RhoGAM shot? The current guidelines are to get a RhoGAM shot at around the 28th week of pregnancy to prevent Rh sensitization for the rest of the pregnancy; within 72 hours after the delivery of an Rh-positive infant; after a miscarriage, abortion, or ectopic pregnancy; or after amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling.
  7. Can I skip my RhoGAM shot? You can skip your RhoGAM shot if you are already Rh sensitized (because it’s too late and RhoGAM won’t help for any future pregnancies) or if you are Rh-positive.  You will know if you are already Rh sensitized because a blood test is done to check for Rh antibodies. When paternity is certain (you know who the father is), and the father is Rh-negative, you can also skip the shot you would get at 28 weeks.  You can also skip your RhoGAM shot if your baby is Rh-negative.
  8. How do you know if you are already Rh sensitized? Moms who are Rh-negative get an antibody screen to see if they have Rh antibodies when they are 28 to 29 weeks pregnant.
  9. Why do some women seem to safely skip their RhoGAM shot and have a healthy baby? Like with skipping a vitamin K shot or with skipping or delaying vaccines, the risk of a baby developing hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn isn’t 100%, so these parents who skipped their RhoGAM shot gambled and got lucky their baby wasn’t harmed.
  10. But don’t they do it differently in other countries? Yes. In the UK, they routinely give all Rh-negative mothers either one dose of RhoGAM at 28-30 weeks or two doses, one at 28 weeks and another at 34 weeks. New mums will also get a shot after their baby is born if their baby is Rh-positive.

Don’t skip your RhoGAM shot if it has been recommended. If you do, you will have a 13-16% chance of becoming Rh sensitized, which can affect your next pregnancy.

RhoGAM Myths

But your OB/Gyn doctor gives you RhoGAM, so why is a pediatrician writing about it?

Because getting RhoGAM prevents hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. If you ever see, or hopefully just read about a baby with hydrops fetalis, you will understand why pediatricians don’t want you to skip anything just because of something you read on the Internet, especially myths like:

  • RhoGAM is a vaccine – not true. RhoGAM is made of antibodies. And while it is a blood product, it is extensively screened and tested for infections. Of course, you shouldn’t skip any of your pregnancy vaccines either, like your flu or Tdap vaccines.
  • RhoGAM contains mercury – not true. RhoGAM is thimerosal free.
  • You only need RhoGAM if you have been in a car accident – not true, at all. Again, even in a normal pregnancy, with a “gentle birth,” there can be mixing of blood. And it doesn’t take a lot of blood mixing. As little as 0.1ml of blood (keep in mind that a teaspoon is 5ml) can trigger Rh sensitization.
  • hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn is easily treatable – not true. While it might be true for more minor ABO blood incompatibilities, it is not true for Rh disease. If a baby develops hydrops fetalis, they might need intrauterine fetal blood transfusions and an early delivery. After they are born, babies with hydrops fetalis will likely need blood transfusions (because of severe anemia), exchange transfusions (because of extreme levels of jaundice), medicines to manage heart failure, phototherapy, and will likely be on a ventilator to help them breath. And even in a modern NICU, babies with hydrops fetalis still die.
  • everyone is offered a RhoGAM shot as part of a Big Pharma profit ploy – not true. RhoGAM is only given to moms who are Rh-negative, and since 85% of people are Rh-positive, most are never offered RhoGAM.
  • you can just wait to see if you want to get the shot later – not true. If you are Rh-negative and skip the pregnancy dose, waiting until your baby is born to see if they are Rh-positive, you may have already become sensitized. Mixing of blood occurs during pregnancy in at least 12% of cases and that is not just with car accidents, procedures, or trauma. Before RhoGAM started to be used during pregnancy, instead of just after, almost 2% of moms still became sensitized. Although that might seem like a small number, when you consider that almost 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, it ends up being a lot of babies at risk for HDFN if moms start skipping their RhoGAM shots.
  • you can just skip the shot if you don’t want any more kids – not true. Want if you change your mind and decide you do want more kids or have a “happy accident.”
  • there are natural ways to prevent Rh-sensitization – not true.
  • Rhogam causes serious side effects – not true. Rhogam is safe and doesn’t cause autism or any of the other serious side effects that you might see listed on sites trying to scare you away from getting your shot.
  • “First time mothers do not need it. A dose at 28 weeks is unnecessary unless a test shows sensitization has already occurred.” – ridiculously untrue, but I included it to show what kind of advice you will find on some websites. First time mothers definitely could need it, if they are Rh-negative, so that they don’t become sensitized, and if they are already sensitized, a dose isn’t going to help them!

Again, don’t skip your RhoGAM shot.

What To Know About Getting a RhoGAM Shot

There is no reason to skip your RhoGAM shot if it has been recommended for you during or after your pregnancy.

More About Deciding To Get A RhoGAM Shot

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