Introduction to Home Remedies for Children

Here's Help for Your Child's Health

If you're a parent, you've probably been wishing to have a book like this at your fingertips since your child came into the world uttering that first, infantile, give-me-something-I-don't-know-what-it-is cry of alarm.

Sometimes it seems as if all childhood is a series of crises interrupted only occasionally by blissful periods of calm. First come the problems with nursing or bottlefeeding. Then the diaper rash, the little coughs, sneezes and intestinal upsets.

As your child grows, her health may seem less fragile, but inevitably new questions arise. What's to be done about thumb-sucking? Or what about bed-wetting? If your child doesn't want to go to school--why? What are those red blotches on her skin--the beginning of a new rash or the first signs of chickenpox? Why is my child sneezing--does he have allergies or a cold? This aggressive behavior--what can I do about it? And how can I unglue my kids from the TV screen?

Of course, all parents compare notes. And before long, you're an amateur expert on food, fever, eczema, earaches, crying, hiccups, colds, croup and many other problems that kids always have. But parents also need authoritative answers to common questions about their children's health.

The book that you hold in your hands is meant to provide those answers. Like The Doctors Book of Home Remedies --a 10-million-copy bestseller published in 1990 --this book emerged from thousands of hours of interviews with hundreds of health professionals. Once again, we asked doctors to recommend safe, simple, practical tips and techniques for healing everyday health problems. But this time, we asked them to give advice about children's health.

In The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Children, you'll find more than 1,100 tips from pediatricians, researchers, nurses, dietitians and child psychologists for children from infancy through age 12. True, this book is no substitute for a doctor's care, but it's the best reference you can have on hand to supplement your doctor's advice.

This book is filled with extra-clear, easy-to-find information on the most effective treatments for dozens of minor complaints that you can take care of at home. Here you'll find the techniques that really do clear up diaper rash; tips for dealing with sibling rivalry; advice on how to treat bee stings, bug bites and minor scrapes and scratches; ways to make your child more comfortable when she gets poison ivy and dozens of tactics for preventing everyday injuries.

Also, this book will tell you when you should call the doctor--information clearly highlighted in boxes titled ''Medical Alert: When to See the Doctor.'' You'll know the signals that tell you when emergency medical care is absolutely essential.

In the second section, you'll find ''Accidents: Prevention and First Aid,'' with advice based upon the procedures recommended by the American Red Cross and by leading emergency-care physicians. Under ''Prevention,'' you'll find out how to create an injury-free home for your infant and toddler--and safety tips on bicycle riding, playground activities and many other subjects. Under ''First Aid,'' you can look up emergency procedures to use in case of poisoning, near-drowning, snakebite, severe bleeding and other catastrophes that you hope will never happen ( but you always want to be prepared for).

Yes, this is a book that belongs on every parent's shelf, but not a book that's meant to stay on the shelf. It's our hope that this will be the book that you refer to any time you have a question about your child's health--from acne to warts, bad breath to stuffy nose, canker sores to temper tantrums. Just take down your copy of The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Children and look up the answer. At last, it's at your fingertips.

Edward Claflin

Managing Editor Prevention Magazine Health Books