Pediatric care
Acupuncture can be an essential alternative therapy to help regain and maintain your child’s health. The goal is to find the root problem and treat it, vs. solely on treating symptomatically. Acupuncture is a non-invasive and gentle treatment method to restore your child’s natural ability to heal. Other therapies include acupressure, herbs, aromatherapy, pediatric massage, and E-stim (tickle machine).
Treatments are customized to fit each child’s needs. All aspects of the child’s health are taken into consideration, such as diet, digestion, immune function, sleep, energy, and emotional well being to determine a diagnosis to treat the body as a whole.
Children often respond the quickest to preventative medicine. When treating a child in eastern medicine the most important system to treat is the digestive system. According to Chinese medical theory, the digestive system up to the age of six is inherently immature/still developing. This is often seen in pediatric care with many children dealing with various digestive problems.
Children’s digestive systems are easily threatened by the overuse of antibiotics and poor nutritional diet.
Common illnesses and conditions treated with eastern medicine include constipation, otitis media, cough, common cold, flu, bed wetting, anxiety, depression, and more.
What to expect
I begin with taking a full health history during the consultation. To help the child get comfortable and build trust I make it fun! I use essential oils, diffusing in the room and applying topically to help with calming and relaxing. Depending on age, I read a book called “my first visit to the acupuncturist”; to get them familiar with acupuncture and from a child’s point of view. After reading I often ask if I can treat their favorite stuffed animal to demonstrate how the treatment will go. This usually does the trick for ones who are fearful, and if it doesn’t that’s ok too!
