Although it may seem like the Internet has answers for everything, doctors insist that parents of children with autism do not turn to the internet for alternative methods of treating their child's condition. While these treatment methods might seem tempting, many can be dangerous to the child's health.
Doctors in the UK recently treated a four-year-old boy who was sick for three weeks; he'd been vomiting, didn't have an appetite, was constipated and thirsty, and had also lost six-and-a-half pounds in just two weeks.
At the emergency room, the boy's mother admitted that she had taken her son, who had been diagnosed with autism, to see a naturopath.
The naturopath had prescribed the boy 12 different holistic supplements — including vitamin D, calcium magnesium citrate, cod liver oil, camel milk, silver, Biocare Lipozyme, archturus bromelain, zinc, trace minerals, Epsom bath salts, AFP Peptizyde and sodium chloride — that would help reduce his symptoms of autism.
By the time the boy was admitted to the hospital, his vitamin D levels were toxic and it took two weeks of varying treatment methods to re-stabilize his body.
The doctors later wrote, "His parents were devastated that something they had given to their son with good intent had made him so unwell."
This poor four-year-old continues to recover, and officials are investigating the naturopath his parents consulted for alternative treatment.
In the meantime, doctors hope that this boy's story will warn other parents that alternative medicine and alternative treatment methods aren't always as wonderful as the Internet may present them to be.
Doctors are trying to remind parents that these treatment methods aren't regulated. Any miracles stories online that haven't been confirmed with solid, scientific evidence shouldn't be used as a guideline for how to treat their own children. "There can be significant adverse effects" if parents choose to follow alternative methods of treatment.
We hope that this young boy makes a full recovery soon.
