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Alternative Medicine and Your Child

As you wander the aisles of your local health food store, you stumble on one that is full of bottles that look like they belong in a drugstore. Looking up, you notice that the name of the aisle is "Alternative Medicine." Seeing the phrase "alternative medicine" might conjure up images of pungent herbal teas, poultices, or meditation.

As you wander the aisles of your local health food store, you stumble on one that is full of bottles that look like they belong in a drugstore. Looking up, you notice that the name of the aisle is "Alternative Medicine."

Seeing the phrase "alternative medicine" might conjure up images of pungent herbal teas, poultices, chanting, or meditation. In fact, both herbal remedies and meditation, as well as dozens of other treatments, fall under the heading of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Although there is no strict definition of alternative medicine, it generally includes any healing practices that are not part of mainstream medicine - that means any practice that is not widely taught in medical schools or frequently used by doctors or in hospitals.

But the boundaries of alternative medicine in the United States are constantly changing as different types of care become more accepted by doctors and more requested by patients. A few practices (such as hypnosis) that were dismissed as nonsense 20 years ago are now considered helpful therapies in addition to traditional medicine. So, are any alternative medicines right for your family?
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