Keep Your Child Healthy With Ancient Chinese Wisdom
By Mary Kay Cetan, Doctor of Oriental Medicine

         Seventeen years ago, when my eldest son was six weeks old I brought him to his first exam with a medical doctor. The doctor took a quick look in my infant's ear and said, "I see red, he may have an ear infection." He proceeded to write a prescription for antibiotics and sent us on our way. My intuition knew this treatment was unnecessary and dangerous. I trusted my gut and walked away. I didn't know what other options existed to care for my new responsibility. Yet I was determined to find out.

         This quest began a journey that transformed my experience as a mother and as a professional.  What I found out was that there exist a myriad of pharmaceutical free options for keeping our children healthy and safe throughout their infancy, childhood and puberty. Professionally I went from being an educator in the field of Early Childhood Family Education to being a Doctor in the field of Oriental Medicine.

         For over 1000 years, pediatrics has been a focused study in Chinese medicine---as far back as the Song dynasty (960-1279). The ancient Chinese doctors recorded the fact that children aren't just small versions of adults, they have unique characteristics that call for unique diagnosis and treatment. The main difference in children under the age of six is that their digestive process is immature. They are not as able as older children and adults to process rich, oily, cold, raw, overly sweet foods. No body at any age is able to digest and utilize overly processed chemically laden nutritionally bankrupt junk food, and often since this is what the older siblings and parents are eating, the very young get it too. 

         When a young child ingests foods that his or her body is not mature enough to digest an accumulation of excess is created. This excess phlegm or dampness backs up in the still forming body leading to disease patterns such as colic, earache, cough, swollen glands, tonsillitis, allergies, eczema and childhood asthma. Instead of administering pharmaceutical drugs to kill the infection or suppress the allergic reaction or force the lungs to work, the correct Chinese herbal formula is given to assist the child back to health.  Maintaining the function of the child's body, in this case the digestive ability, while expelling the problem--the phlegm, damp, heat, toxicity or cold--is part of the solution. Oriental Medicine doesn't jeopardize the health of the whole system to treat one area. Included in the wellness plan for the child is to make conscious diet choices that engender health and prevent future problems.

           According to Chinese Medicine, children ages seven through twelve often experience the most robust health, unless a child still suffers from a health challenge not resolved in early childhood. For an example, a child given multiple courses of antibiotics for reoccurring ear infections and not given proper care to restore the gastro-intestinal function can experience   reoccurring inflammation such as tonsillitis, phlegm coughs and allergies. Chinese medicine can restore the function of the child's body even if the disease pattern has been a part of the child's history since early childhood. At any age, colds and flu and even chicken pox are a normal part of allowing an immune system to practice. Chinese medicine works with natural body intelligence to effectively expel the cold or flu or heat pattern from the body.        

           Health challenges during puberty often include acne, addictions, allergies, P.M.S., injury from sports or any accident, emotional swings, digestive disturbances, strain from heavy backpacks, carpal tunnel patterns from overuse of computer and video games, headaches, and many others.   Similar to the first 6 years of life the child is changing rapidly during puberty. It is so easy to attempt to relieve the symptom with an over the counter drug or prescribed medication.  These medications will not restore function to the child's body. Oriental Medicine will find out the cause of the problem and give the body correct information with the use of herbs, acupuncture (with or without needles) and recommend diet changes to insure the health of the child. It is recommended to have a treatment with a Doctor of Oriental medicine at least once a month to help through the transition of puberty.      

         Another aspect of treatment for children in Traditional Chinese Medicine Philosophy is this--to help the child, you must also treat the mother.  Children are an extension of the parent.  They pick up on emotional disturbances and habit patterns from the parents and caregivers and it is included in their experience of heath. So, remember also to take care of you so that you can in turn have a fully functioning body, mind and spirit to care for those you love.  

         Chinese medicine has been helping people for 5000 years to restore and maintain their health.  According to the National Institute of Health and the World Health Organization, acupuncture has proven effective in the treatment of the following: anxiety, arthritis, chronic fatigue, colitis, common cold, constipation, depression, dizziness, emotional problems, fatigue, fertility, fibromyalgia, earache, incontinence, indigestion, low back pain, menopause, migraine, morning sickness, pain, PMS, sciatica, shoulder pain, sinusitis, sleep disturbances, smoking cessation, sore throat, stress, tennis elbow, tonsillitis, and urinary tract infections.                   
Mary Kay Cetan is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and owner of Natural Health Center in Sarasota.  She has a passion for her profession and a love of life.  She lives with her husband, two teenage sons and three cats in Sarasota, Florida.