Are there any side effects to babies taking Chinese medicine?

In real life, many people believe that Chinese medicine, pure Chinese medicine, has no side effects. In fact, this is a wrong concept. Although Chinese medicine has fewer side effects than Western medicine, all medicines are toxic. As long as it is a medicine, it will have some side effects to a greater or lesser extent. Especially for infants and young children whose gastrointestinal functions are not yet fully developed, if they take Chinese medicine, it will also cause some adverse effects on the body. So what side effects may occur when infants take Chinese medicine?

Traditional Chinese medicine is not completely without side effects, especially for infants and young children whose bodies are not fully developed in all aspects. Unscientific use of traditional Chinese medicine will only harm their health.

1. Different food accumulations require different medications

Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes treatment based on syndrome differentiation. For food accumulation, we need to consider what caused it. If it is milk food accumulation, the main treatment is malt; if it is meat food accumulation, the main treatment is hawthorn; if it is wheat food accumulation, the main treatment is Shenqu. The seeds of the morning glory can eliminate food accumulation, but the dosage should not be too large, and should not exceed 6 grams at most.

2. Heat-clearing and detoxifying drugs should not be used indiscriminately

The most commonly used medicines parents use when giving their children medicines are heat-clearing and detoxifying medicines. If the child has a cold or cough, they will give the child some Shuanghuanglian oral liquid, Xiasangju granules, etc. However, children's internal organs are delicate, and these bitter and cold medicines can damage the spleen and stomach of children while treating colds and coughs. If you use too much traditional Chinese medicine for clearing heat and detoxifying, such as Scutellaria baicalensis, Prunella vulgaris, and Houttuynia cordata, it will affect the child's appetite. Generally, children only need to take Chinese patent medicine for clearing heat and detoxifying for three days. If the symptoms do not improve significantly, you should see a doctor for a follow-up visit. Do not blindly let the child take the medicine continuously.

Traditional Chinese medicine says “stop taking medicine when the disease is cured”, which means you should stop taking the medicine when the disease is cured.

For example, Fei'er Pills have a good laxative effect, but it should be noted that if children have diarrhea after taking them once, they should not take them again. I would also like to say something special about "Liushen Pills", which is a common medicine in many families. It can treat sore throat, tonsillitis, etc., but you must be very cautious when giving it to children. Liushen Pills contain toad venom and realgar, but children's heart, liver, and kidney functions are not yet fully developed. If taken in large doses for a long time, it is easy to cause damage to the functions of the above organs.

Some parents give their children Wang's Baochi Pills every week. These pills contain mercury, and the rhubarb and coptis chinensis in them are both bitter and cold medicines, so they should not be taken in large quantities for a long time. Clinically, the effect is obvious for children with relatively good physique, food stagnation, and internal phlegm and heat. However, the effect is not obvious for children with weak spleen and stomach, and mixed deficiency and excess.

When choosing Chinese patent medicine, avoid these misunderstandings

Chinese patent medicines are widely used in pediatrics and are deeply loved by parents. However, "all medicines are poisonous to some extent", and Chinese patent medicines are no exception. If used improperly, they will also have certain toxic side effects. Therefore, when parents choose Chinese patent medicine for their baby, they should first understand the condition of the baby and then choose the appropriate Chinese patent medicine. Parents have the following misunderstandings when using Chinese patent medicines for their children.

Take the common cold as an example. In traditional Chinese medicine, different syndromes are divided into wind-cold, wind-heat and so on. If it is a wind-cold with symptoms such as severe chills, mild fever, and clear runny nose, but Chaihuang Granules which are used to treat wind-heat cold are used, it will not only fail to play a therapeutic role, but is more likely to aggravate the condition and prolong the course of the disease. Usually, children can choose medicines such as Jingfang Granules, Xiaoer Qingganling Tablets, and Erganqing Oral Liquid to treat wind-cold colds. Children can choose medicines such as Xiaoer Resuqing Granules, Xiaoer Chiqiao Qingre Granules, and Children Cold Oral Liquid to treat wind-heat colds.

Misconception 2: Blindly combining Chinese and Western medicine without looking at the ingredients

Nowadays, many Chinese patent medicines contain some Western medicine ingredients, so you must read the instructions carefully before taking the medicine. If the Chinese patent medicine and Western medicine you are using have overlapping ingredients, you should avoid using them together. For example, the Chinese patent medicine Vitamin C Yinqiao Tablets and the Western medicine Children's Paracetamol and Phenylacetamine Granules both contain the antipyretic ingredient: acetaminophen. If a child is sick and takes both Vitamin C Yinqiao Tablets and Children's Paracetamol and Phenylacetamine Granules, it may easily cause an overdose of acetaminophen, leading to liver damage.

Misconception 3: Arbitrarily increasing the dosage and prolonging the duration of medication

Many parents believe that Chinese patent medicines have mild properties and that taking a few more pills or taking them for a few more days without following the doctor's advice will have no effect on the body. In fact, this is not the case, because children's body functions are still immature, and the metabolism and excretion of drugs are relatively slow. Excessive doses of drugs in children increase the incidence of adverse drug reactions and may even cause acute or cumulative drug poisoning.

It is undeniable that Chinese patent medicines have unique effects. Some of the prescriptions are even ancient recipes that are hundreds of years old. However, if used improperly, they can have the opposite effect. Therefore, good medicine must be easy to use, and you should be more cautious when using it on children.