Miracle Pills or Coincidence? You Decide.

First of all, I want to make it totally clear that I have NEVER been a proponent of homeopathic medicine. I'm reasonably open minded when it comes to alternative treatments and have had a lot of success with some forms like chiropractic and massage therapy. But homeopathic meds have not worked for me or anyone in my immediate family. And for the most part, I've been inclined to chalk up any success people have had with them as a placebo effect.

So when I was at our family naturopath a month ago and she recommended a homoepathic treatment for viral infections, I was skeptical at best. But I didn't want to seem like an ungrateful wretch because, truth be told, this doc has had more positive impact on my family's health than any other mainstream physician we've gone to in the past three years.* And so I smiled and nodded and let her convince me to purchase a single pack of ten reputedly anti-viral homeopathic pills. Which I then took home and promtply forgot about. Until a few days ago.

If you read my last few posts, you'll know M came down with a cold late last week. It actually started on Tuesday with a stomach ache and fever. Then seemed to vanish. Only to morph into repeated sneezing, a runny nose, and a nasty cough. I was feeling rather desperate by Friday morning. I'd pretty much kissed my birthday trip to Sonoma good-bye but was not looking forward to a weekend with a sick kid. And then I remembered the pills Dr. Fox gave me. Figuring, "What the hell do I have to lose?" I opened them up, gave M the recommended dose. And waited.

Now here's the thing. Maybe M just happened to have a super mild cold. Or it was a case of bad allergies. But whatever the reason, shortly after she started taking the pills, her energy level shot up, her nose stopped running, and she was--if not completely healed--definitely on the mend. By Saturday, all that was left of the cold was a lingering cough. And Sunday, I spent the morning feeling irked that we'd cancelled our trip for nothing. I said something to K who casually mentioned that the last time he'd gone to see Dr. Fox, a gal had been at the front desk buying dozens of boxes of these pills. She apparently swore by them, said they were miracle workers and the only thing that helped her family get through cold and flu season in tact.

Hmmmm.

Where does this leave me? I most certainly won't go so far as to say I've done a complete about-face with regards to homeopathic remedies. The logical portion of my brain still thinks homeopathy is a bunch of BS. However I'm starting to wonder if maybe there is, perhaps, something to it. I guess the only way to really know is to go through a few more viral infections and have them miraculously vanish overnight while taking these pills.

Anyway, if you care to join me in my experiment, you can order the brand online here or here (and most likely in a number of other places). I don't think they carry them at Whole Foods, though. The recommended dose for kids of all ages who are suffering from a cold or flu is 1/2 pill every three to four hours. If you simply want to try these as a preventative measure, you can give your child 1/2 pill every two weeks (same dosage applies for adults, simply replace 1/2 pill with a whole pill). As with most homeopathic meds, it's best to let them dissolve in the mouth rather than chew them. For babies, you'll want to mash the pills before placing them in your child's mouth.

Oh, and if you have concerns about giving your kids random pills, please note that homeopathic treatments are incredibly mild, don't have side effects, and are very difficult to overdose on. And they taste sweet (so kids don't mind them). Really, the worst that could happen is nothing at all.

*Lest you think I've gone off the deep end and become one of those folks who shuns mainstream doctors for crystal healing shakra therapy and the like, let me put your fears to rest. I personally believe there is a place for both types of doctors and so far, I've found that a judicious combination of our regular family doc and our naturopath offers the very best of both worlds.