The immunity of children is imperfect, he has yet to "learn" and master the ways of resisting pathogenic microbes and viruses. The issue of strengthening children's immunity is one of the most important. In this article, we will tell you if it is possible to support a child's immunity with echinacea, and how to do it.
What it is?
Echinacea purpurea is a beautiful perennial plant that is probably familiar to everyone, even people far from botany. And all because it grows in almost every garden and in every summer cottage - this plant is highly valued for its pretty inflorescences that do not lose their shape and freshness for a long time even after cutting.
Initially, the plant grew only in the USA, but then it was widely spread almost throughout the world. The Soviet scientist Serey Tomilin paid special attention to its study. It was he who first found out that pretty flowers are not only the joy of a gardener, but also an excellent remedy for depression, tonsillitis, typhoid fever and a number of inflammatory ailments of internal organs, as well as for ulcers, burns and wounds.
In medicine, two types of plants are used - narrow-leaved and purple echinacea, all parts of plants are used - flowers, leaves, stems, roots and rhizomes. The plant is a part of preparations that are designed to maintain immunity, disinfectants, as well as preparations for external cosmetic use.
Useful and medicinal properties for children
For a long time, the treatment of children with echinacea was a big question due to insufficient knowledge of its action. Now the plant and preparations from it are widely prescribed by pediatricians. Due to the amazing natural set of substances, the herb has received well-deserved recognition not only from folk, but also from official medicine.
The composition of plant materials contains large amounts of essential oils, vitamins A, E, C, organic acids, glycosides, antioxidants and minerals such as calcium and iron. If we compare the total effect of the plant, then it is quite comparable with one of the complex vitamin preparations.
Taking echinacea preparations improves the processes of hemostasis - hematopoiesis, has a positive effect on the growth of nails, hair, strengthening of tooth enamel, prevents the development of tumors, increases immunity, accelerates the process of removing toxins from the body due to the ability to bind free radicals. Echinacea improves liver function and helps all damaged tissues heal faster.
How does it affect immunity?
Adults have a supply of antibodies to various pathogens, so adults can more easily tolerate common diseases. In a child, immunity is formed naturally (after illness), as well as artificially (by vaccination against dangerous diseases). Babies have innate or passive immunity, which they inherited from their mother during the period of intrauterine development, and then with breast milk. But this immunity is enough for a child only for the first few months of life.
Strengthening the immune system is becoming an important parental task. Echinacea, according to Tomilin's research, promotes the production of interferon proteins, which are involved in the immune response. However, according to the latest data, echinacea, if taken only during the period of seasonal illness, practically cannot protect against influenza and SARS.
But parents should understand that a child who took echinacea will get sick less, and the likelihood of complications after a viral disease will be significantly lower than that of a baby whose immunity was not strengthened by the parents.
For a long time in North America, echinacea replaced antibiotics, because it has the property of blocking pathogens, preventing them from penetrating cell membranes. Only with the advent of synthetic antibiotics has its use decreased slightly. Under the influence of echinacea, the number of leukocytes in the blood increases, phagocytic processes are stimulated.
Contraindications
Any medicinal plant, in addition to useful properties, has its own contraindications. Echinacea is no exception. Preparations from it are prohibited for children suffering from bronchospasm, multiple sclerosis, as well as children with HIV infection.
You cannot use the plant and preparations from it if the child suffers from a progressive disease, for example, tuberculosis or leukemia. Systemic connective tissue diseases are also contraindications.
Means based on this medicinal plant should not be given to children with allergies, in particular, children with allergic reactions to substances that are part of the chemical composition of the herb, as well as those with allergies to any plants of the Compositae family (marigold, arnica, chamomile, etc.). They are also not recommended for children with bloom allergies.
At what age can you give?
The official instructions for Echinacea preparations prohibit giving funds to children under 12 years old. The ban is not connected with the negative effect of the plant on the child's body, but with the fact that pharmacists still have insufficient clinical data, experiments on children have simply not been carried out. By law, since no such clinical results have been obtained, the manufacturer is obliged to indicate this in the section on contraindications.
In practice, the plant is used in childhood, and there are only restrictions associated with the form of drug release. For example, echinacea tincture is really not suitable for children because it contains alcohol. But the homeopathic tablets "Immunal", which also consist of echinacea, can be given to children from 1 to 5 years old.
Sometimes echinacea is recommended for infants, but in the dosage allowed by the pediatrician. Children aged 2-3 years, as well as 4 years old, can give a child herbal tea with echinacea.
In any case, before using the drug, it is imperative to consult a doctor. This will avoid unpleasant consequences and side effects of the plant.
Indications for use
An indication for use is the prevention of colds and seasonal viral diseases, as well as taking the drug during the period of illness to alleviate symptoms and prevent complications. For prevention - does not mean that the child will not get sick. This means that the disease will be milder.
During the treatment of herpes, other viral diseases, as well as bacterial and fungal infections, echinacea is an auxiliary agent that contributes to a faster healing.
Echinacea is also recommended after an illness during the recovery period, especially if it was preceded by prolonged treatment with antibacterial drugs and hormonal agents.
The recent widespread use of echinacea among children gives doctors good reason to believe that the use of a plant as part of a complex therapy has a positive effect with:
- rhinitis;
- pharyngitis;
- sinusitis;
- otitis media;
- angina and chronic tonsillitis;
- cystitis;
- pyelonephritis;
- chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Often, doctors recommend taking echinacea in the postoperative period, if there are no other contraindications. The medicinal plant helps to recover faster after surgery and partially reduces pain and inflammation.
Forms of release and instructions for use
Echinacea can be sold in regular sachets, from which herbal tea is brewed. Also in pharmacies, an herbal mixture is sold, which is an extract of echinacea.
Granules
The most popular form for children's use is echinacea in granules for resorption. It is also called echinacea tablets. It is a homeopathic remedy. The form is recommended for children from the age of four. Up to the age of 12, you can give a child 1 granule three times a day, and for children over 12 years old - 2 granules with the same frequency.
Water infusion
For young children, it is more convenient to give echinacea in liquid form. To do this, you can prepare a homemade water infusion without alcohol, as well as purchase echinacea in syrup. The dosage is determined by the doctor, but on average it is one teaspoon per day for up to a year and 2 teaspoons per day after 5 years.
Tincture
The pharmacy tincture of echinacea contains alcohol, and therefore is not recommended by the manufacturer for children under 18 years old, but in practice it is given to adolescents over 12 years old, after diluting one third of the tincture with two thirds of water. In this case, the dosage is measured in drops - the child can be given from 5 to 10 drops of diluted tincture three times a day. The general course of treatment should not exceed two months.
It is advisable to prepare the solution before use; it is better not to store the diluted tincture.
Decoction
The broth is prepared at home from plant materials. It is suitable for children for whom syrup is contraindicated due to its high sugar content. The broth can be given to children after a year. Dosage up to 5 years - 25 milliliters of broth three times a day, after 5 years - 50 milliliters three times a day. For adolescents, the dose can be increased to 100 milliliters. It is not difficult to prepare a decoction - you will need 10 grams of dry raw materials and half a liter of water. The broth is prepared over low heat, after a five-minute boil, it is defended for 3 hours and filtered.
Tea
Echinacea tea is prepared using sachet bags that are sold in any pharmacy. Self-preparation from dry raw materials can lead to dosage errors, so it is more convenient to use the packaged form of release. Tea is allowed for children from one year old.
In total, there are about 250 drugs that include this amazing plant. These are vitamins with echinacea in the form of chewable lozenges, capsules, gelatinous bears and fish. Taking such vitamins is recommended for children from one year old. When choosing a drug with a medicinal plant for your child, try to avoid dosage forms that contain dyes, stabilizers and preservatives, especially if the drug is intended for a small child.
Possible side effects
Among the side effects, the official instructions for use indicate the likelihood of a decrease in pressure while taking the drug, which includes echinacea. However, hypotension is rare. The plant does not often become the cause of allergies in a child, but parents are obliged to know about this probability.
An allergic reaction can be different, most often it is manifested by the appearance of a skin rash, itching, local erythema, less often respiratory manifestations: runny nose, cough, lacrimation. In severe cases, bronchospasm, Quincke's edema may develop.
Any echinacea-based drug is not recommended for more than 2 months. After this period, with continuous use, the likelihood of developing leukopenia increases. If the recommended dosage is exceeded, unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms may occur - nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
If symptoms of a side effect of the drug appear, you should stop taking it and consult your doctor.
The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
The well-known pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky claims that echinacea cannot harm a child, like other drugs from the field of homeopathy. However, you should not expect too much benefit from it for children's health. Echinacea does strengthen the immune system, but it is not a panacea. Homeopathic medicines contain extremely low dosages of the active ingredient, their amount is measured not in grams or milligrams, but in molecules. Can a few molecules of a substance increase immunity? Most likely it cannot. Komarovsky assesses the effect of echinacea in homeopathic pharmaceuticals as a placebo.
The effectiveness of homeopathic medicines has not been proven, and today they are not considered medicines. Any immunostimulants, to which manufacturers include echinacea and its derivatives, should, according to Komarovsky, act in proportion to side effects. Drugs with proven immunostimulating effects usually cause a large number of side effects. Echinacea, on the other hand, is completely harmless if there is no allergy to it. And therefore its effectiveness for immunity is almost zero.
The doctor recalls that homeopathy is recognized as a pseudoscience, and homeopathic medicines are a stable source of income for corporations that produce them. To buy them for a child or not to buy them, Komarovsky suggests that parents decide on their own. There will be no harm from them, you can apply, but it is better not to count on a powerful effect.
The doctor advises to increase the child's immunity by hardening, staying in the fresh air, swimming in open reservoirs in summer, a balanced diet and a reasonable intake of any medications, including medicinal plants.
Reviews
On the Web, you can find a fairly large number of reviews of mothers about the child's reception of echinacea. Parents of babies from one to three years old note that they did not notice a particular pronounced effect. But the parents of children over 4-5 years old argue that there is an effect - the child has become less likely to get sick. This can be explained not so much by the effect of homeopathy as by age - after 4 years, the immunity becomes stronger, because in the first three years of life the child has already had major infections, he received many vaccinations. However, if parents want to believe in the miraculous properties of echinacea, no one forbids them.
List of other echinacea medications:
- "Immunorm";
- "Estifan";
- Echinacea tincture;
- Echinacea HEXAL;
- Echinacea-VILAR;
- Echinacea-GalenoPharm;
- Echinatsin Liquidum.
The drugs do not have a patent, they do not belong to medicinal products, and therefore new products with echinacea in the composition appear on the shelves of pharmacies almost every year. Despite the fact that the plant is quite widespread, the cost of echinacea preparations cannot be called low. So, the tablet form "Echinacea" costs from 200 rubles, the cost of "Immunal" starts from 300 rubles per tablet form and reaches 800 rubles per capsule. "Immunorm" costs from 160 rubles.
Parents who are forced to admit that taking echinacea did not cause the desired result are looking for an answer to the question about the reasons for this phenomenon - it helped everyone, but it didn’t help them ... They go through different drugs, experiment with dosages. It is also not prohibited, but parents should remember that experimentation must be reasonable.
Analogs
It is not at all necessary to look for drugs with the name "Echinacea" on the pharmacists' shelves, after all, this plant is included in many preparations.
- For young children, you can choose a homeopathic "Immunal" or "Immunal-S". In the first case, drops and tablets are made only from plant extract, in the second case, with the addition of vitamin C.
- "Gummy King" Is a vitamin complex with echinacea and additional zinc content. These are gummies without dyes or preservatives. Suitable for children from two years old.
- "Sanasol" Is a syrup that, in addition to echinacea extract, contains vitamin C and rosehip extract. You can also buy chewable lozenges with the same name.
- "Solgar" Is a manufacturer of vitamins that contain echinacea. The drugs have the official status of dietary supplements. There are different types of these vitamins - lozenges, syrup, capsules.
- "Doctor Theiss" - drops for oral administration. This tool is quite popular and widely advertised. But few people know about the existence of a solution for intramuscular injection, nevertheless it exists - "Echinacea Compositum SN". This is a homeopathic solution for injections.
All the same doctor Komarovsky, whose opinion is listened to by millions of mothers and grandmothers, recommends spending this money with greater benefits for children's health - buying fruits and berries for the baby, paying the teenager a subscription to the pool. From swimming and fresh fruits, the effect in strengthening the state of the immune system will be faster and more noticeable.
In the next video, Dr. Komarovsky talks about how to strengthen the immune system in children.
