Natural remedies for toddlers
Medicinal plants were already being used 3,000 years ago to treat illnesses and ailments, and even today their effects have not lost any of their importance. In addition, herbal remedies rarely have side effects and are therefore often used to treat babies and small children.
When something isn’t right and your child isn’t feeling well, it’s often difficult to figure out what’s wrong. Because many small children’s language skills and vocabulary are not yet sufficiently developed for them to be able to describe complaints precisely. You can then get help from a pediatrician. With his many years of experience, he diagnoses better and faster how he can help. In the case of many complaints, you can then use herbal remedies in consultation with your doctor. Especially in small children, they often provide quick relief and can support the self-healing process.
Natural remedies for toddlers
In the following we list the most common complaints in babies and small children and give you information about their treatment with the help of herbal medicine. Exact dosing is required not only for the use of chemically synthesized drugs, but also for naturopathic drugs. You should therefore discuss this with your aftercare midwife or pediatrician. They can question your observations in more detail and give you further tips.
- Difficulty falling asleep: If your child is very restless, lies awake for a long time and cannot fall asleep, the medicinal plants chamomile or lemon balm can help in a natural way. In our medicinal plant encyclopedia you will learn how to make a nightcap for a peaceful, gentle sleep.
- Bronchitis: Bronchitis is an acute inflammation of the bronchi. The disease is usually transmitted by droplet infection with viruses. Symptoms are initially a dry, hollow-sounding cough, after a few days expectoration with tough, whitish mucus is added. Your child may also experience rapid breathing, shortness of breath and fever. In this case, you should see a doctor immediately! You can read about how the medicinal plants marshmallow , fennel , chamomile , garlic and cowslip can help relieve your child’s bronchitis in our medicinal plant lexicon.
- Vomiting and spitting up: Vomiting is not an illness, but an expression of an illness. Nausea is controlled by the brain. Medicinal plants like peppermint can soothe your child’s stomach and make them feel better. Find out how peppermint can help your child in the Medicinal Plant Encyclopedia . But beware: vomiting can also be a symptom of a more serious illness, so you should discuss treatment with herbal remedies with your pediatrician beforehand.
- Diarrhea: If your child’s stool is loose at least three times a day, your child has diarrhoea. Especially in babies and small children, diarrhea can lead to high fluid and electrolyte loss, which can be dangerous for the small body. Find out in our medicinal plant encyclopedia how tormentil and sage can help your child with diarrhea.
- Colds: Children catch colds more often than adults because their immune systems are less developed and the innate immune system contains fewer antibodies. However, you can easily alleviate cold symptoms such as fever, runny nose and cough with herbal remedies such as linden blossom , burnet burnet , fennel , elderberry , sea buckthorn and lemon .
- Strengthening of the immune system: The immune system in young children is weaker because it is not yet mature. Infections in babies and small children are therefore not uncommon. To help your child achieve better health stability, you can give them immune-boosting teas such as Cystus tea .
- Cold : A cold is often associated with a cold or flu. The lining of the nose swells, making it difficult to breathe. Drinking hurts and your child has trouble sleeping. This is especially true for babies, as they have yet to learn to switch from nose to mouth breathing. Lime blossom and burnet contain active ingredients that help your child with a cold. Find out more about the correct use of linden blossom and burnet in our medicinal plant encyclopedia.
- Bladder infection: Normally there are no bacteria in the bladder and only a few in the urethra because urine is constantly flushing through them and the bladder sphincter stops the ascending germs. However, if too many pathogens penetrate the urethra, this cleaning no longer works and the bacteria spread to the urinary bladder. You can read about how the medicinal plants cranberries , currants , lingonberries , maggi herb , bean shells and watercress help with cystitis in the individual entries of our medicinal plants encyclopedia.
- Hay fever: Allergic diseases have increased rapidly in recent decades: Today, almost one million children in Germany suffer from hay fever. Read our medicinal plant dictionary to find out how butterbur and black cumin can help with hay fever.
- Tonsillitis: Tonsillitis is caused by bacteria, mostly by so-called streptococci. If your child has a sore throat, high fever, and swelling in the throat, they may have tonsillitis. Here, too, you should urgently go to the doctor and discuss this with him. Bacterial tonsillitis usually requires antibiotics. In addition, Cystus or tea tree oil can help to inhibit the bacteria and heal the inflammation. You can find out how Cystus or tea tree oil is used in our medicinal plant lexicon.
- Lice: Head lice lurk everywhere: on toys, stuffed animals, in washable and non-washable textiles and on furnishings. Tea tree oil in the form of shampoo, hair tonic or detergent additive can help in the fight against lice. You can find out exactly how in our medicinal plant lexicon under tea tree oil .
- Warts: If your child’s immune system is weakened, warts can form more frequently. The viruses usually get into the upper layer of the skin through small injuries and cracks. You can find out how the medicinal plants thuja , castor oil and celandine can help against warts in our medicinal plant lexicon.
Read other articles in the naturopathy guide, for example, what you can do about complaints…
- in newborns ,
- in school children and young people ,
- with typical childhood illnesses