Holistic Healing, Sept 05

Alternative Pediatrics
If "regular" medicine can't help your kids, there's another option.

By Amy Ward Brimmer

   Is there a day that goes by when we don’t hear something about health problems that affect children, such as asthma, allergies, chronic infections, and various behavioral and learning disorders? Given all our supposedly high-tech and cutting-edge medical treatments, any reasonable person would wonder why these problems are increasing rather than being conquered. When conventional or standard medical practices aren’t supplying any answers, what are frustrated parents to do?
   Many have decided to turn to practitioners of holistic healing. Holistic pediatrics differs from conventional medicine in some fundamental ways. As defined by the Holistic Pediatric Association (HPA), it is “a practical approach to the philosophy of pediatric care that focuses on the principles of health, wellness and the safe resolution of illness, [utilizing] natural methods to stimulate healing, recover balance and support the body’s own resilience.” Holistic practitioners believe that each child possesses an innate capacity to heal, and that symptoms are a manifestation of an imbalance, a signal that something is not right.
   While standard medicine treats the symptoms, the holistic goal is to address the cause of illness, assisting the body in rebalancing itself. The primary objective of care as defined by the American Holistic Medical Association (AMHA) is “to promote optimal health and, as a byproduct, to prevent and treat disease.”

Life Beyond the Drugstore
   When a child is under the care of a holistic pediatrician, a parent can expect to do more than just fill a prescription. They will have to answer a lot of questions about the child, offering information about their birth history, diet, activities, family life, genetics, sleep patterns and overall environment. Initial consultations typically last two hours or longer.
   Where most doctors will just ask, “What can I do to remove this symptom?” and prescribe a pill, the holistic approach is to observe and determine what the contributing factors might be in producing the illness, and then how to use those factors in developing a response. “I am deeply concerned about the typical response to illness in children,” says Lawrence Palevsky, MD, a holistic pediatrician and Director of Holistic Child Health in New York City and Northport, Long Island. “We are creating chronic problems in children by the way we treat them.” Palevsky believes that modern medical practice makes it impossible to ask important questions about how we feed, live with and treat our children: “Can we accept that we may not be serving them well?”
   He also believes the standard medical response strips parents of their own intuitive wisdom when it comes to knowing what their child may need. “A good doctor,” he explains, “is a resource for a family, not the ultimate authority. My job is to empower parents through education, reassurance and follow-up. They are the child’s primary caregiver, not me.” Holistic practitioners never tell a family what to do. They use their experience and understanding to make suggestions, but always keep an open mind as to the results.
   “Parents say to me, ‘Will this work?’ and I have to say, ‘I don’t know,’” Palevsky explains. “The truth is, we really don’t know the answers to basic questions like why microbes make some people sick and others not. Even if what I’m suggesting has worked for everyone else, I don’t know how this individual child will respond.”

Fever as Healer?
   The differences in the ways conventional medicine and holistic medicine approach illness become obvious in practice.
   Take a fairly common child malady like a fever, for example. Standard medicine teaches that fevers are bad, dangerous things which must be stopped before they get out of control. But the holistic model sees fever as a positive sign that the body is working to restore balance, and so the fever is left alone to do its necessary work. A holistic practitioner might advise a parent to provide comfort for the child, such as tepid baths, a dim quiet room, gentle touch or massage and perhaps some herbal or homeopathic remedies to support the work of the fever. Palevsky calls this “treating the child, not the number on the thermometer.”
   Otitis media, or middle ear infection, brings tens of thousands of parents and their children to pediatricians each year. Chances are you know someone whose child suffered through so many recurring ear infections that they ended up having permanent shunts inserted to increase drainage.
   This is a good example of what Palevsky calls the “SCUD missile” philosophy of treatment, one that typifies a crisis management attitude. Standard medicine says that bacteria cause the infection. However, bacteria infections—especially in the middle ear—come in a variety of forms. According to Alan Greene, MD, only acute otitis media responds to antibiotics, and even then these drugs are most effective when given over a short period of time (five days or less). He says that a buildup of antibiotics creates resistance, which makes subsequent doses ineffective. What’s more, antibiotic overuse, especially of broad-spectrum types, destroys valuable intestinal bacteria, leading to digestive disturbances, food allergy development and a general weakening of the immune system. The cure can actually make a child sicker or more likely to become sick.
   If antibiotics do not heal an ear infection, is it possible that repeated doses have made the situation worse? The holistic model says “yes.” A holistic practitioner views the situation as an inflammation, not an infection, and asks, “Which treatment will reduce inflammatory stimuli and help the child to clear the inflammation properly and safely?” This involves asking questions not just about the ear but about the whole self, including digestive problems, emotional stressors, allergies and so on.
   For the pain involved, holistic doctors may teach lymphatic massage for drainage, refer patients to other modalities like cranial-sacral therapy, herbology or acupuncture, and suggest foods to eat or avoid. For infants and toddlers who are still nursing, increased breastfeeding often aids in the reduction of painful inflammation. Mom may have to temporarily adjust her diet as well—an example of how the holistic model includes not just the child, but the interactions among all members of the family. “It’s not just in the tools, it’s in the relationship,” explains Palevsky.
   Again, this requires that parents spend time with the child and be available during the healing process. It can be challenging to be with a child who is in pain, restless and cranky. But being willing to tolerate discomfort, to share their experience as it unfolds and not merely push it away, is the hallmark of responsible parenting.
   Of course, there will always be emergencies, like broken bones. Holistic medicine doesn’t dismiss all of modern Western medicine. Children have benefited greatly from advances in things like improved care of infants born prematurely, life-saving surgical procedures and the treatment and understanding of genetic disorders. Still, the conventional model operates fundamentally out of a body-as-machine, either/or mentality, which doesn’t leave much room for inquiry.
   With the number of diseases and the number of children affected by them growing at an alarming rate, which disorder has become the most prevalent? “Fear,” Palevsky answers without hesitation. “My personal belief, based on direct, observable experience, is that, ultimately, fear makes us sick. Most doctors are making treatment decisions based in fear. We need to stop panicking. The holistic practitioner’s goal is to avoid operating in fear.”

To find a practitioner in your area, contact the Holistic Pediatric Association at www.hpakids.org or 707-237-5312 (California).

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