[Maria]

Hi,
I am a concerned mom of a 9 yr old with a very small bladder infection.
I'm afraid of giving her Amoxil because of the side effects.
Is Astragalus safer to give her ?
I know the Health food store carries the root and a prepared liquid for children.
I just want to make sure that i won't be hurting my little one istead of helping her.
I am also giving her pure cranberry juice, from the health food store.
If anyone can give me some advice on helping my little one i would appreciate it very much.

[carla]

Bladder infections, or any sort of UTI can be very uncomfortable and should be treated as quickly as possible to prevent the infection becoming more serious, especially in children.

I would go with the doctor's advice and give the antibiotics. The cranberry juice will also help.

[jpm]

Hi Maria,

I sympathize with your concerns about Amoxil's side-effects. They're not very pleasant. However, Astragalus also carries its share of side-effects. Because Astragalus contains selenium it has the potential of causing side-effects related to selenium toxicity. Adult symptoms include hair loss, fatigue, nausea, dermatitis and paralysis.[:0] For the most part I have found information concerning pediatric dosage and effects to be nonexistent due to a lack of clinical research involving children. The one website that did offer dose information for children required calculation of dose in relation to weight using the adult dosages and strengths as a base from which to determine the proper dose. On top of that the method of preparation and its resultant strength had to be factored in, i.e. dried herb vs tincture vs extract, etc. Way too much room for error for my taste. [xx(] Astragalus' principal action is as an immune booster. It is sometimes used for kidney infections but no mention is made of its use in the treatment of bladder infections. So really, except for helping your baby's immune system to do a little better job, Astragalus really wouldn't provide very much more benefit and IMHO has the potential for doing significantly more harm than the Amoxil. Sorry to be so long-winded and scary. But IHTH.

jpm