Nelsons- suggesting kids need mood stabilisers from 2 years+

You know of Rescue Remedy, right? You probably had an aunt who would constantly swig a drop for her nerves, or might have even taken some before a driving test or exam.

Rescue Remedy has become a pretty well known brand- so well known, in fact, that most people don't bother finding out whats in it, or what principles its based on. You wouldn't want to know the recipe of Coca-Cola before you take a refreshing swig- you'd just assume that because its a well known brand, its probably going to work.

Rescue Remedy is, however, a whole load of woo nonsense. Sorry, but there's no other way of putting it. Some dude called Edward Bach decided- apropos of nothing- a good few years ago that some flowers, if left out in the sun and dissolved in alcohol,  will be able to balance physical and emotional distress. This is interesting, really, given that its taken the entire fields of neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychology many, many years to get to a point where there are still a vast amount of unknowns regarding mood disorders.

Science is getting there- slowly- when it comes to understanding things like depression. It's a vastly complicated subject. There's no perfect cure-all drug out there for treating such things- mainly because we don't yet understand it that well yet. So forgive me if I am skeptical that some random guy years ago has just randomly (without any basis in science) decided that, for example, mustard flower:

 "is the remedy for deep gloom and depression that descends for no apparent reason out of a clear blue sky. People in this state often list all the reasons they have to feel happy and contented, but still everything looks black and hopeless to them. The remedy helps to dispel the clouds so that we can once again appreciate the joy and peace in our lives."

Rescue Remedy is a blend of some of Dr Bach's made up flower remedies, diluted in brandy. You're supposed to reach for it in times of anxiety, as a soother. Funnily enough, brandy, being alcohol and all, it might make you feel a little bit better, but similarly to homeopathic remedies, they are dilutes such that very little or no levels of active ingredient are likely to remain. So even if Dr Bach were right about the flowers (despite evidence and science suggesting otherwise), there wouldnt be enough flower-stuff in a drop of it anyway to make a difference.

I can't quite get away from the fact that this is a cynical product which Dr Bach made up in an attempt to target wealthy women ("ooh! pretty flowers!") in the days where women were considered "hysterical" and many were labelled as having "problems with their nerves" based entirely on their sex.

Anyway, why am I on about Nelsons, and why am I on about children? Well, because the Bach Rescue Remedy brand- in all of its many, varying, and just-as-cynically money-grabbing-as-Big-Pharma- forms- is sold via Nelson's homeopathic brand. That's Nelson's who the FDA discovered weren't putting magic woo water in all of their magic woo water pills, but were happy enough to put particles of glass in there. That's Nelson's who are all "ooh, we care about you and your healthcare unlike those big meanie pharmaceutical companies who only care about money" all the time.

Well, I happened to stumble across this product of theirs today. Rescue Remedy Gummy Stars- aimed at children from 2 years and onwards. According to Nelsons:

"The first day back at school is a big day so parents should have a secret weapon against tiny tears on standby in the school run bag. RESCUE® Gummy stars - The latest addition to the RESCUE brand come in fun star shapes to help turn a frown upside down at the school gates and each Gummy Star contains four drops of RESCUE, the famous soothing combination of five flower essences."

What's wrong with that? The fact the Nelsons are attempting to medicalise a perfectly normal part of childhood purely for their profit, that's what. Being nervous on your first day of school is entirely normal, especially for a little one. What they need to do is to develop normal coping mechanisms to deal with their anxiety. What they don't need to feel is that their anxiety is abnormal and something which only a medicine can fix.

When encountering the world of complementary or alternative medicine, I often like to stop for a moment and replace the names of the companies with those of Big Pharma. It gives a good indication of whether or not there really is a difference in practices between the two camps, and whether people's reactions would be different

"The first day back at school is a big day so parents should have a secret weapon against tiny tears on standby in the school run bag. PROZAC® Gummy stars - The latest addition to the PROZAC brand come in fun star shapes to help turn a frown upside down at the school gates and each Gummy Star contains 10mg of PROZAC, the famous soothing antidepressant fluoxetine."

Icky, right?

Hxxx

Red wine as painkiller... In babies?!

A couple of years ago, I was working a locum shift in a supermarket pharmacy. It was quite late at night, and a man came up to the counter to ask me if I did circumcisions. I assumed I had heard incorrectly, but no. "I thought you would be able to do circumcisions, since you can do healthcare services and you have a private room" he said, pointing at the extremely small and flimsy consulting "room" and the end of the counter. I couldn't help but notice the small boy cowering behind him as I politely explained that no, circumcision certainly wasn't a pharmacy service.

At the time, I remember being amazed that it would occur to someone to take their child to a supermarket for what is a surgical procedure. Whilst it may be considered minor surgery, I'm sure to the young boy himself it didn't seem all that minor, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be wanting a pharmacist to do it in the middle of a supermarket with only some thin plastic walls between him and the vegetable aisle.

Anyway, I shall leave aside the ethics of circumcision for now, and consider a tweet I saw this morning by Andy Lewis. One particular Doctor, on his website, is advising pain relief options for babies who are about to be circumcised. He advises loading the child up on red wine as a preferred option. Now hold on here, this is a GMC registered Dr advising on giving babies alcohol. Whilst he doesn't give any information about how much wine to give, i'm assuming it would have to be enough to get the child at least slightly intoxicated to have any painkilling effect. A quick google search suggests the 8th day after birth is a usual time for the circumcision to take place.

"1. To give the baby sweet, red wine prior to the procedure. (Kiddush wine is ideal). This is very effective in calming the baby. Ideally it is given about 15 minutes before the circumcision and I will give it on arrival if you wish. You will need to provide the wine."

At this point, let us consult TOXbase.org, the database of the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS). They advise that any children under the age of 10 who are symptomatic due to an alcohol ingestion (i.e. intoxicated) are taken into hospital for medical assessment.

Why is it dangerous to advise wine as a painkiller in a child of this age? Well, alcohol in children can be very nasty. It can cause hypoglycaemia, particularly in children, and a seemingly well child can sometimes suddenly and quickly go downhill fast- that's why NPIS recommend that they are observed in hospital.

Such advice, coming from a trusted Doctor, is very concerning indeed. It appears from the website that he expects the baby to be "prepared" prior to his arrival, so he is expecting the parents to administer and provide the wine (whilst he says he can give it "if they wish", to me this implies that its more usual for the parents to give it). He also recommends Emla cream, which he says the parents can buy from a pharmacy. This is an off-label use that he is openly promoting.

I have emailled the GMC to ask what their stance on such advice is:

"To whom it may concern,

I have happened upon the following website, which promotes the work of a GMC registered doctor, Dr Howard Cohen GMC number 3057256, and wish to clarify with yourselves whether I would be able to make a complaint against the advice he gives on his website:
www.mohel-circumcision.co.uk

I am particularly concerned about the advice regarding pain relief that Dr Cohen is giving. He recommends giving babies "sweet red wine prior to the procedure". It is my understanding that children should not be given alcohol, particularly on the advice of a healthcare professional. I regularly use Toxbase in my daily work and note that children who have ingested notable amounts of alcohol should be observed in hospital due to the risk of hypoglycaemia and other issues. A Dr recommending that a child is given presumably enough wine to be intoxicated as pain relief is highly dangerous advice.

He also advises purchasing Emla cream from a pharmacy for use prior to circumcision. It is my understanding that, although Emla cream is licensed in children, its use on the skin of male genital organs is only licensed in adults. Dr Cohen is therefore promoting off-label use of a drug on his website, without giving sufficient dosing advice or guidance.

I look forward to hearing from yourselves if this would be grounds for a complaint, or if promoting such advice is reasonable from your point of view.

Kind regards,"

Let's hope I get a decisive reply back. 

Hxxx

Update: As of 25th Feb I still haven't heard back from the GMC.