Parents may believe that homeopathy, a form of alternative or complementary medicine, is safe for their children because its remedies contain natural ingredients.
Unfortunately, this belief may be misguided, according to a study published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, which states that homeopathic treatments may be dangerous for children, and even cause death in some cases.
According to data from the Australian Infant Monitoring from 2001 to 2003, there were 46 incidents involving children and homeopathic treatments, among them, four deaths.
Researchers found that parents hoped to treat everything from constipation and clotting disorders, to diabetes and cerebral palsy with alternative medicine.
In one case, an 8 month old child was admitted to hospital but died from malnutrition and septic shock following naturopathic treatment with a rice milk diet from the age of 3 months for the treatment of constipation.
Another death involved a 10 month old child who developed septic shock after being treated with homeopathy and a restricted diet for chronic eczema.
Adverse reactions to homeopathy, according to the study, ranged from constipation, bleeding and pain to allergic reactions, mouth ulcers, seizures, vomiting, stunted growth, infections, malnutrition and death.