Now that I have a little toddler, Baby Aby, my newsletter writing days are limited, but my experience in treating the health problems of small babies has expanded greatly. In this newsletter, I would like to tell you about Chamomilla, one of the most important remedies in treating babies. I will present several Chamomilla cases and tell you about this remedy and its sphere of brilliance.

Being a mother of a toddler, and also treating many small children, I have gained some knowledge of how to address those acute situations that pop up in the middle of the night, when your little one is screaming and needs instant relief. There are several remedies to consider in that situation in addition to Chamomilla, and I will tell you about the most useful ones in an upcoming issue of the newsletter.

I have Baby Aby to thank for teaching me about the wonders of this remedy, and I have this remedy to thank for turning my terribly naughty baby, whom I adore, into a baby I can live with. Chamomilla is such a vast remedy in its range of uses, and so striking and varied in its symptom picture that it is hard to know where to begin to describe it. There are so many facets to this vast polychrest remedy, far more valuable than any diamond. The range of emotional states that this remedy produces and addresses is quite vast. This remedy is also useful for highly sensitive women, who display its characteristic symptoms. I am, however, going to be focusing this article more on the uses of this remedy for children. The numbers next to each rubric correspond to how they are graded in the repertory. Three, the highest grading, means that it has cured this symptom frequently, or produced it in provings. A two or one has the symptom to a lesser extent. Please note that I am referring to the potentized homeopathic remedy in this article, and not to Chamomile tea. The tea should not be given to small children as it can cause convulsions, over-
sensitivity, irritability and other reactions.

1) Chamomilla is known for being one of the principle remedies for the angry child, and associated with this anger is the full range of angry behaviors one can imagine including the following:

abusive children 2
angry children 3
destructive behaviors 1
disobedience 1
defiance 2
insolence 3
kicking 2
rudeness 1
screaming 3
snappish 3
striking 3
tantruming (my addition)

2) Chamomilla also has a discontented aspect with its accompanying features: 2

irritability 3
capriciousness (asking for something and then refusing it) 2
complaining 3
gloomy disposition 3
heart anguish, infants 2
moaning behavior 2
piteous moaning of child, because he can't have what he wants 3
peevish (fretful, quarrelsome) 3
restlessness (relieved by being carried about) 2

 

3) The Chamomilla child can be very sensitive and cry at the drop of a hat. It is also known for having extreme sensitivity to pain. Being stoic in the face of pain goes against this remedy. Here are some of the rubrics associated with sensitivity: 3

ailments after punishment 1
crying 3
crying since birth 1
crying when his will is not done 1
crying quiet only when carried 3
startled easily 2
despair with the pain 2
pain, unbearable 3
violent behavior from pain 3
anger from the pain 3

 

4) Desire to be carried is a keynote symptom for Chamomilla. 3

desire to be carried fast 2

5) Clinging behavior:

clinging child, awakens terrified, knows no one 1
clinging child, wants to be held 2

6) Chamomilla is the most important remedy to know about for the problems of teething children, and other ailments that can occur during the teething time of life. (In a non-Chamomilla child or a teething child on another constitutional remedy consider using Hypericum in low potency or tincture for teething pain):

difficult dentition 3
ailments from dentition 2
convulsions with dentition 2
diarrhea with dentition 2
insomnia with dentition 1

Other ailments of children in which Chamomilla can make the difference between a happy baby and household and a miserable one are:

7) The Colic of infants. Chamomilla is the principle remedy to be considered: 3

colic indisposition to nurse from 2
colic legs drawn up 2

8) Diarrhea of children: 3

corrodes anus 2
frequent stools 2
after nursing 1
thin watery stools, with
pains, worse at night 2

9) Ailments from breastfeeding: 3

worse from mother's milk 2
ailments from weaning 2

10) Insomnia of children: 3

child must be carried 2
child must be rocked 1
child wakes up every 20 minutes
throughout the night and
cries out (my addition)

11) Other characteristics of Chamomilla:

Averse to being spoken to or touched 3
Obstinate 3
Pain with numbness of the affected part 1
Swelling or redness of one cheek, paleness of the other 3

11) Illnesses for which Chamomilla can be useful:

asthma 3
earaches 3
bedwetting 2
constipation 2
convulsions 2
fevers, particularly if brought on by anger 3
jaundice of the newborn 1
labor pains and menstrual cramps of women
learning disabilities 1
rattling breathing of infants 2
any acute ailment of children with the above characteristics

***I referred to Robin Murphy, N.D., Homeopathic Medical Repertory, 2nd edition, 1996 for the above rubrics.

Case 1: I was very happy to be a homeopath and to know about this wonderful remedy when little Aby Baby had problems with teething. Back in November of 2002 Abraham developed a fever. Prior to this fever he had a week of diarrhea. This was very unusual for him, because ordinarily he had excellent stools. During this week of the diarrhea, he also behaved clingier than usual, so that I had to carry him about everywhere with me. If I tried to put him down, he would wrap his little legs around me and hold on as tight as he could.

In addition to the clinginess the baby was very angry, defiant and disobedient. To give you an example of this, we would tell him not to throw objects into the toilet over and over again. Knowing full well that he shouldn't do it, he repeated this action incessantly with a smile on his face. Being very clever he learned quickly how to raise the toilet seat cover, and outsmart his parents. The defiance and disobedience became so extreme that he made everyone in the household miserable.

It was also not like Abraham to throw temper tantrums, but during this time period he threw one whenever he did not get his way. Abraham had never been an excellent sleeper, but during this illness it had become much worse, with him waking almost every twenty minutes in the night, crying out for his mother and wanting to nurse.

What led me to the Chamomilla prescription for Aby were the following symptoms: diarrhea in nursing infants, angry children, clingy children, desiring to be held, defiant, disobedient, obstinate behavior and insomnia in children.

The remedy made a huge difference in Aby and our lives. The diarrhea quickly cleared up, the clinginess, anger, defiance and disobedience steadily got better, and his sleep improved significantly.

The very popular Indian homeopath, Rajan Sankharan, says that the situation in which Chamomilla symptoms often arises, is in children who are at home with their parents, but that the parents are too busy to give them the attention they need. Then the child must become angry, clingy, whiny and defiant and cry out to get the attention he wants to keep the parents engaged.

Case 2: The second child I want to tell you about, was a sick 23 month old baby boy whom I treated in early March. His mother and sister had been clients of mine for several years, but this was the first time I was asked to treat this little boy. This was a long distance phone consultation, as his family had moved to Europe.

Baby Patrick had a fever that they could not get under control. It had been rising up and down for a week. He had been ill a week prior to that with a stomach flu, vomiting and diarrhea. The fever would come one day, rise up to 103, subside the next, only to return the following night. He was not falling asleep till 2 a.m. The pediatrician said there was nothing he could do.

I asked his mom to describe the baby's behavior. In her words he was very whiny and clingy, wanting to be held and carried all the time. His mother was the only person he would go to, and he wanted to sleep in her arms. The baby also pointed to his right ear, indicating he may have an ear infection.

The remedy I prescribed was Chamomilla 200C, and the following day when I spoke to his mother, she said she thought it was a perfect prescription. The clinginess disappeared right away, and the baby was able to fall asleep away from his mother and sleep through the night again. Five days after taking the remedy, I spoke to his father who said, "everything is wonderful with Patrick."

Case 3: Sammy was ten months old when I first treated him over the phone. His mother said he was a very happy and beautiful baby, who would go to anybody. His mom consulted me because he had been getting frequent colds during the previous five months. They would start with a runny nose and lead to chest congestion and coughing within a day. This always happened around when he was teething. He would be happy during the day and frequently awake abruptly from sleep in a cranky mood and cling to his mom. She would need to calm him down with a bottle of milk.

Sammy was colicky during the first three months of his life, and he had a history of an intestinal infection with diarrhea when he was three months old which lasted over a month He received antibiotics for this and another time for bronchitis.

Sammy responded very well to a dose of Chamomilla 30C. His congestion got much better and his sleep improved very quickly. He needed another dose of the remedy a month later for a new cold that was also helped with this remedy. With Chamomilla Sammy's mom has an excellent alternative to antibiotic treatment when her little one falls sick.

In my experience Chamomilla seems to need repetition more frequently than many other constitutional remedies. It does not appear to be a very long acting remedy, though quite a deep acting one. I prefer to start with a 200C strength because it holds two to three times longer than the 30C.

Case 4: I first treated little Siddharthe when he was six months old. About three weeks prior to my seeing him the baby was teething and woke wailing from sleep. He wouldn't stop crying for half an hour. This was unusual for him, because he was a happy and quiet baby who never cried.
His parents took him to the emergency room where they were told he had an ear infection and was given antibiotics. The parents felt that the crying was from teething and not the ears.

The baby had no fever, was fussy and clingy and would not be put down. He wanted to be held all the time and was just not happy. Now three weeks after a ten day course of Amoxycillin, the cold and cough were just starting to clear.

Whenever I treat babies as young as Siddharthe, I like to take the mother and father's case briefly as well. The reason for this is that the health problems of babies usually have a genetic cause. Discovering the genetic background of the family can be invaluable in treating these little ones, where there is often very little to go on, since the child cannot speak for him or herself.

In Siddharthe's case I felt that his mother had strong indications for Carcinosin in her case, and the baby did display some perfectionistic traits himself, with his need to have his diaper changed immediately upon soiling it. I decided to give the baby a dose of Carcinosin 200C through the mother's milk, so that both mother and child would become healthier.

Siddharthe's mother improved dramatically with her health complaints following this dose, and little Siddharthe brought forth a beautiful and clear Chamomilla picture.

He became very clingy, fought to be put down to sleep, awoke every twenty to thirty minutes at night, and was fussy all day. I asked his mother to give him Chamomilla 30C at this time. After taking the remedy the baby developed the symptoms of a cold, but his fussiness, emotional state and sleep improved, and the cold passed quickly.

I saw the family for a follow-up six weeks later, and the baby was doing much better. New teeth were erupting with no complaints. The baby was clingy and still not sleeping too well, so I gave him a dose of Chamomilla 200C. I spoke to his mother today, who said Siddharthe is doing
beautifully on this new dose of the remedy.

Conclusion: Chamomilla is one of the many beautiful remedies in homeopathy, which can help make raising children an easier, happier and healthier experience. There are many other equally wonderful remedies in homeopathy for treating the acute and chronic complaints of children and adults. To derive the maximum benefit from homeopathy, it is important to consult someone with experience and knowledge of the system, who can help get you or your child on the appropriate remedy and put you on the road to better health.

Spring 2003