Can my almost 6YO DD take my arnica pillules?

[PavlovtheCat]

1. Are they suitable for this age
   
2. Do they have a shelf life? They are 2 years old.
   

If not suitable can I buy any that are ok for children to take? Dd has broken her wrist and I have been told arnica will help with pain as well as the bruising.

[Lorrie123]

My d is 8, 9 next month, she had a freak accident 3 days ago with her easel (from ikea) which resulted in her losing the tip and nail of her finger. Horrific to say the least. She's been super super brave. I use arnica cream on both my kids bruises, and used the arnica pillules after I gave birth. Just wondering whether I can give them to my d now. She's on calpol and brofen together and antibiotics. Could I give them now or wait till the course of antibiotics is finished?

[rockinhippy]

thats great news Pavlov glad it will be an easier recovery for you both

[PavlovtheCat]

[seeker]

Such good news! Remember to elevate the arm if her fingers swell at all- either on a bean bag or in a sling. A sling might help if it's painful as well.

[PavlovtheCat]

and my mum used to use lavender oils when we were sick to help us sleep and i normally have some for my oil burner, run out and did not think of getting more!

[PavlovtheCat]

rockinghippy oh thanks for that info! good to know about the magnesium too but not sure she will sit for 20 mins even with a broken arm!

She is much much much better. We have been to hosp and no surgery/further manipulation required. Doc said that the arm will be crooked for a few months as bones not perfectly in place but he is sure they will return to their correct position as new bone grows. She has a slight angulated fracture on her ulna which was manipulated back non-surgically last week, and a 'buckle' fracture on her distal radius. soft cast for two more weeks only. Been told that this time in one year, if an x-ray was taken there would be no sign of ever having a break in either bone. i am so so releived i cannot even put it into words. i had awful visions of pins and all sorts being required as it looked so bent on sunday!

She is still in some pain with it and moving her littlest finger hurts/won't move well today. I will go get some cherry concentrate and also some epsom salts. Will check the shelf life of the concentrate as the kids are gonna get bashed and bruised again in their life i am certain, but even if I cannot get some now as it wont last, i will know where to go if needed.

I will also check out some herbal arnica if my homeopathic ones don't work. i was bought them for healing after childbirth but it was going to take a bit more than arnica to stop the pain i had when peeing for weeks . I wanted to get some before now, this week but there has been no opportunity to do it. but for the future, i am going to stock up.

[rockinhippy]

Poor mite :( - my DD also has a fractured hand ATM, but she's older so is coping okay

& yes do give her the homeopathic arnica, it can't harm & may even help (even if the nay sayers say otherwise


You may also want to try her with Lavender & Roman Chamomile Aromatherapy oil, a drop or 2 on her pillow or clothes, or mixed with a carrier oil for a foot massage always works well - they are not pain killers as such, but are oils that are perfectly safe even for babies & help with relieving stress & help relaxation & sleep - if she's in pain, then her body is stressed, so anything stress relieving will help, as heightened stress magnifies pain - IYSWIM

Also - Epsom Salts is loaded with magnesium & adding a couple of cups of bath grade ES to a bath or if she can't manage that, a foot bath & soak for as long as possible - 20 min plus is best, it will get magnesium into her(proven in tests for the naysayers & keeping up her mag levels will help her body regulate & manage pain signals properly, so that she is more comfortable - you can add the aroma oils to the same water,

Also Black Cherry Concentrate can be bought in health shops, it's not cheap, but it lasts a while & has been scientifically proven to help reduce pain & makes a very pleasant drink if mixed with sparkling water - around here its was always known as "Magic Pop" - again safe for even one as small as yours - the cherries themselves work too, but the most potent ones aren't so easy to find & are probably more expensive than the juice

HTH

[seeker]

Herbal arnica may very well be amazing stuff. Homeopathic arnica is sugar.

[puffinnuffin]

Yes it is fine to give them to a 6 year old. Arnica is amazing stuff. I was recommended it by my NHS doctor.Don't know about shelf life.

Hope your little one is soon on the mend.

[Trills]

My brother started school (aged nearly-5) with a broken wrist due to monkey bars.

[BewitchedBotheredandBewildered]

Pavlov hope she feels better soon.

[PavlovtheCat]

seeker she was attempting monkey bars. the high ones. In my head they are very high, I am sure they were probably not that high in reality but certainly not 5/6yo size. She slipped and landed on her wrist and hip (hip is fine, thank god).

[JoanOfNark]

They aren't dilutions, none of the "strengths" have any active ingredient in them.

Convinced you may be, wrong you certainly are.

[Rubirosa]

No, it is pretty impossible that there will be any molecules of arnica in a 6c dilution - it means that is was diluted one part tincture in 100 parts water, hit with some leather, then repeated 6 times, each time diluting with 100 parts water. So it ends up something like 1 part tincture to a million parts water.

You know you can buy arnica cream with actual arnica in it though?

[BewitchedBotheredandBewildered]

Rubirosa I think the 30x and 6x dilutions do contain a trace of the remedy. The 200x and certainly the 1000x do not.
I am convinced beyond doubt that arnica 30x has stopped bleeding and reduced bruising in my family.

[seeker]

Ds was 7. His fracture was across the growth plate so they were a bit concerned about that, but he was fine. It meant that he had to go back after 3 weeks for more x rays, and a new cast. It took about 6 weeks to heal, then had to go back every 6 months for 18 months, but that was only because of the growth plate thing.

See if you can get her to keep her arm elevated as much as possible- it really helps to stop the swelling and pain.And once she's got the proper cast on keep an eye on her fingers- if they start to look at all swollen, elevate it again.

Ds went back to school immediately- even with the temporary cast on because he is an ants in the pants type and would have gone crazy at home. Until he got the proper cast, I took him out for lunch every day- I was worried the playground might be a step too far.

It's horrible though, isn't it? How did she do it? Ds rode his bike full tilt down a hill and into a wall while dp and a crowd of our friends watched horrified from the terrace!

[PavlovtheCat]

and great idea about beanbag!

[PavlovtheCat]

thanks Seeker, good to know what might happen on friday. I am waiting for the main cast to go on as so many people have said once this is done she will stop hurting like this. I will tell her she can have sparkly pink, she will be very happy! I am not normally a huge pink fan, but she can have whatever colour she wants! good that your DS did not need to have pins. How old was he/is he when he broke it? Did it mend well/quickly?

[seeker]

Yes ds did it a Friday.. Then they set it under GA on the Saturday and put a massive finger to shoulder plaster cast on. He had a bit of pain with this but i think it was actully mostly because it w so heqvy and it hurt his shoulder.He then had to go to the fracture clinic on, I think, Wednesday, for loads more X rays to decide whether it needed to be pinned or anything. Thankfully, it didn't, and they put a finger tip to below the elbow fibreglass cast (choice of colours- including sparkly pink!).

Once he had that cast on he was more or less back to normal- no pain to speak of and a scarily normal range of activities.

Useful things- a bean bag in bed so she can sleep with her arm elevated, and a thing called a Limbo- a waterproof cover so she can bath and even swim.

[PavlovtheCat]

seeker they have not set it yet she has to go back on friday to fracture clinic to see if she needs to go under general anaesthetic to have it set properly as she snapped both bones in her wrist and one was at an angle, they pushed it back with G&A but not sure if it has gone back to right place yet. In the mean time she has a temp back slab on her wrist which apparantly is heavier than the permament cast that she will have on friday.

[PavlovtheCat]

katymac yes funny you say that but she keeps asking me to itch just above her cast as it hurts inside. She is glued by my side, where i want her. She has been awake in the night in pain and crying. Unfortunately I have to go to work today, and I really dont want to. luckily DH is home with her, and granny is visiting from abroad so she is being looked after.

[seeker]

just to tell you that ds broke his wrist and once it was set and plastered he had very little pain, so don't assume that she will need regular painkillers. I was given a bottle of paracetqmol and a bottle of ibuprofen by the hospital, but we used less than half of each- probably about a quarter. He did it on Friday and was back at school on Monday and only needed painkillers a couple of times after that. I was very surprised- but I've since found out that was a common experience. So if, like me, you don't like using medication you may be relieved to find thatbyu need less than you think.

[KatyMac]

Poor Poppet, I'd go with the arnica & the smarties (sugar is great for pain) & like you say the calpol & ibuprofen too combined with mummy cuddles when it gets bad.

More power to you for trying everything you can.

Don't be surprised if she wants you to rub 'another' part of her body as it's hurting, it's because youu can't rub her sore arm properly and she needs you to touch her.

[PavlovtheCat]

Just to make it clear that the idea of arnica is not instead of using medicine, DD has max doses of both nurofen and calpol regularly. It is in fact not possible for her to have them at the same time due to calpol being 4-6 hourly 4 max in 24 hours and nurofen 6-8 hourly 3 max in 24 hours. We actually have the timings written down to give her the max pain releif without giving her too much/ensuring no time without medicine. I will not be stopping the pain relief any time soon.

I will give her some if it wont hurt her. Some think it is nonsense and I maybe it is, but, right now I want to try to everything to help her. And if sugar in 'pretend' pills work then I will do it! I know for certain the arnica gel works, mumbo or not that is my opinion.

No need to do smarties instead as a placebo as DD understands fully that the medicine she is already taking is to help her painful arm. She takes it without question.

[JoanOfNark]

Sugar is actually a documented pain reliever in children. Certainly a lot more use than homeopathic nonsense.