Parenting is not easy. But when your child is sick, the frustration and fear as a caregiver can be overwhelming. Naturopathic Doctor Carrie Brennan works to change this common scenario and empower parents with education and homeopathic medicine. Brennan will
Parenting is not easy. But when your child is sick, the frustration and fear as a caregiver can be overwhelming. Naturopathic Doctor Carrie Brennan works to change this common scenario and empower parents with education and homeopathic medicine.
Brennan will teach a homeopathic workshop for parents to treat children and infants May 9. The course includes safe remedies for common ailments such as colic, earaches, fevers and more.
According to the book “Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants” by Dana Ullman, “Homeopathic medicine is a natural pharmaceutical science that uses very small doses of substances from the plant, mineral and animal kingdom to stimulate the body’s own defenses.”
With standard (also known as allopathic) medicine there is a risk of overdose and harmful reactions. Homeopathic medicine uses diluted doses which reduce the risk of over-medicating.
“The good thing about homeopathy is that it’s safe,” Brennan said. “You have to practice to learn how to use it. They call it ‘the practice of medicine’ for a reason,” she said.
A common example of homeopathic medicine is prescribing Apis, a homeopathic form of crushed bee, for symptoms of redness and swelling from a bee sting or say, a sore throat. The Apis’ energetic properties stimulate the body’s natural process to heal itself; to decrease redness and swelling, Brennan explained.
Homeopathic medicine is individualistic, and finding the right treatment is based on many subtle symptoms.
“With parents, they know their kids best,” Brennan said. “With homeopathy it’s all the subtle things that make a difference and it’s the parents who know those things.”
Brennan gave an example of noticing subtle symptoms to prescribe the best treatment.
“For example, a high fever, say 102 degrees, accompanied by a red face, twitching in their sleep, and if they are dry, not sweaty, you could give homeopathic Belladonna (a plant derivative). Three pellets under the tongue or crushed with a small amount of water for a baby,” Brennan said. “A good reaction would be sleep or lowering of the fever.”
Learning about homeopathic medicine requires a shift in theory from conventional medicine, which is why Brennan takes three hours to teach her workshop. She also provides handouts and a reference book.
“A big part of all doctors’ jobs is education,” Brennan said. “I really believe in patient empowerment (and parent empowerment).”
Brennan learned to educate and empower herself early on. After receiving a bachelor of arts degree in physics, she spent a year volunteering with WorldTeach in South Africa. During her stay, Brennan became infected with a parasite in her respiratory system that gave her a debilitating cough. Upon return to the United States, she sought numerous doctors who repeatedly prescribed over-the-counter cough suppressants, which only prolonged her illness. After blood tests the parasite was detected and cured, but her negative experience with the standard practice of medicine inspired her to explore other options.
“It made me think about what else was out there as far as medicine,” Brennan said. She later received her doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine, a form of healthcare which focuses on identifying individual core causes of a condition, rather than simply treating symptoms. She is a primary care physician licensed in the State of Hawai’i.
The “Homeopathy for Kids health” workshop is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. May 9 in the same building as Smith Chiropractic in Kapa‘a. The cost is $125, which includes a ‘Keiki Kit’ with ten remedies for the most common treatments, the reference book, “Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants” and various handouts. To register or for more information call, 652-7581.
