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Is Kava Safe For Kids?

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chandra

Kava Enthusiast
When I look online all I can find is sites saying no because of the potential for liver damage which we all know is bs. My 2 yr old daughter suffers from autism and her head hurts a lot because of a medical condition that we haven't been able to deal with yet because of insurance. Watching her cry and struggle to get to sleep last night I started wondering. I'm not talking about daily usage here. I'm talking a small amount when it is truly needed for medicinal purposes. I won't give her anything unless I know it is safe. I know children's bodies are different than ours, especially when they are this young. Does anyone have any real information on whether or not it is safe for kids?
 

chandra

Kava Enthusiast
I did find this on the Kona Kava Farm website of all places. I wouldn't touch their products, but their information always seems to be spot on.
In Hawaii, teething, feverish children are given Kava Root (pre-chewed by their mothers), twice a day to calm and soothe them in their state of pain and discomfort. All across the South Pacific, kava is used as a calmative and as a pain reliever for both children and adults. It is also used as a poison antidote and as a treatment for conditions such as bronchitis, as well as anxiety, tension and restlessness.
 

verticity

I'm interested in things
I would not recommend giving kava to a child, especially one as young as two years old. Some people do use kava for sleep and for pain relief, but it is really not the best medicine for those things. You really need to get your kid to the doctor, and the doctor will probably recommend something like kids ibuprofen drops which would be more effective for pain relief.

The effects of kava on adults are poorly enough understood; but the effects of kava on children are understood not at all. It would be much safer for your daughter to stick with what your doctor recommends.
 

chandra

Kava Enthusiast
I already give her ibuprofen. It helps a little but not much. I do take her to the doctor. I also fight with the insurance company to get her the treatment she needs. I've been fighting for her for the last year and researching everything I can to try to figure out what is going on with her. Finally found out but we need an mri to confirm which the insurance company hasn't approved yet. Even then, there isn't much the medical community can do for her. So if anyone else has any condescending comments about my question please keep them to yourselves. If anyone has anything valuable to add to the conversation I would really appreciate it.
 

chandra

Kava Enthusiast
Sorry if that was harsh. I just don't want anyone to assume that I'm not doing all I can for her going the mainstream route. I have and will continue to fight so hard for her. I've seen her go through test after test. I've hounded doctors and insurance companies because I knew something wasn't right, regardless of what they thought. I'll keep doing that until I get the correct diagnosis for her. Which I already have, just hasn't been confirmed. If her diagnosis is correct, there isn't much they can do for her short of brain surgery. I'll do anything I can to help her including going an unorthodox (but safe) route.
 

verticity

I'm interested in things
Yikes, sorry, I didn't mean to be condescending. I was just trying to be helpful. I was trying to say that kava is not likely to be very helpful for your daughter, and that its safety for kids is simply unknown. There are stories of traditional Pacific Islanders giving it to kids for various ailments, but that is likely because that was the only medicine available to them.

You might try melatonin. I give that to my own daughter (11 yo) to help her sleep, and it is pretty effective.

Again, sorry for offending you, I was just trying to help..
 

Jonathan

All Hail Leon
This is controversial right now, but what about non-psychoactive CBD oil? I've heard some success stories with that for various conditions.

Regarding kava, I'm not sure, honestly, and recommending something for children, whatever it may be, is rocky ground in the first place. If we were sitting around a campfire so to speak and I was being completely honest, I'd say I don't think it would be a problem in small doses. But, and I want to be very clear about this, for purposes of covering my ass and this forum's ass, I am NOT officially recommending kava for children. I'm just saying it's my own personal opinion that it MAY not be a problem.
 
D

Deleted User01

It is written that the ancient Hawaiians gave their "fretful" child a small dose of Nene. Nene also means child in many languages. But of course they didn't have a Walgreens down the road with 1000s of possible curatives. I would certainly go with over the counter stuff unless I was stranded on an Island that only had kava. Man, that would be "Paradise Island". The fishing might be good too. :D Hey, I could start a bed and breakfast .... Do seagull eggs taste good?
 

verticity

I'm interested in things
This is controversial right now, but what about non-psychoactive CBD oil? I've heard some success stories with that for various conditions.

Regarding kava, I'm not sure, honestly, and recommending something for children, whatever it may be, is rocky ground in the first place. If we were sitting around a campfire so to speak and I was being completely honest, I'd say I don't think it would be a problem in small doses. But, and I want to be very clear about this, for purposes of covering my ass and this forum's ass, I am NOT officially recommending kava for children. I'm just saying it's my own personal opinion that it MAY not be a problem.
MMJ/CBD oil is certainly something to look into. That is supposed to be very good for pain, and has been used for kids:
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/36576/title/Medical-Marijuana-for-Kids-/
 

Jerome

Kava Lover
Have you ever heard of the GAPS diet? I don't know a tremendous amount about it, but it may be worth a look.
 

violet

Do all things with love
Because we don't know all the ways kava works on neurotransmitters and the brain chemistry of such a young child is a long way from mature I would say there are probably better known and tried remedies. This may be of even greater importance given there is something going on causing the expression of autistic symptoms and other issues.

@chandra Ayurvedic medicine has a very long history with many safe plant remedies being used to treat children. Perhaps it may be worth looking at? Tulsi is one thing that comes to mind, but there are probably better, more specific remedies that could be helpful.

A compassionate functional medicine doctor could be very useful in helping with your daughter's symptoms while you continue to work on getting diagnosed.
 

chandra

Kava Enthusiast
I've got some valerian extract specifically made for kids on the way. It also has chamomile and a few other things that I know have a proven track record for kids. It's so hard watching her go through things and not being able to do much to help. Especially when she goes into a complete meltdown like she did a few hours ago. She starts screaming, closes her eyes, lays on the floor in a ball lots of times. She acts like she isn't really aware we are there. We try to comfort her and she pushes us away. It is heartbreaking. Other times, like last night, I can tell she is tired but she can't seem to relax enough to go to sleep. So I'm thinking Kava's calming effects may help. As I said this isn't something I would consider doing on a daily basis, just on those evenings when she is really having a bad day so she can relax and sleep. I think any negative effects would probably only be seen with regular use. Kinda scary to try anything when you don't know what the exact results will be, but sometimes I think as a parent you just have to use your own judgement and common sense. When the valerian extract arrives I can give it to her on a daily basis. Hopefully this will help. Letting us all get some good sleep tonight.... I may give her a bit of Kava.
 

verticity

I'm interested in things
I've got some valerian extract specifically made for kids on the way. It also has chamomile and a few other things that I know have a proven track record for kids. It's so hard watching her go through things and not being able to do much to help. Especially when she goes into a complete meltdown like she did a few hours ago. She starts screaming, closes her eyes, lays on the floor in a ball lots of times. She acts like she isn't really aware we are there. We try to comfort her and she pushes us away. It is heartbreaking. Other times, like last night, I can tell she is tired but she can't seem to relax enough to go to sleep. So I'm thinking Kava's calming effects may help. As I said this isn't something I would consider doing on a daily basis, just on those evenings when she is really having a bad day so she can relax and sleep. I think any negative effects would probably only be seen with regular use. Kinda scary to try anything when you don't know what the exact results will be, but sometimes I think as a parent you just have to use your own judgement and common sense. When the valerian extract arrives I can give it to her on a daily basis. Hopefully this will help. Letting us all get some good sleep tonight.... I may give her a bit of Kava.
The valerian extract sounds good. One thing to consider if you do give her kava is that kavalactones and ibuprofen are metabolized by some of the same liver enzymes. This could cause the levels of kavalactones and/or ibuprofen to end up higher with the combination than with either kava or ibuprofen alone, so I would still advise caution there. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will put another plug in for melatonin as a sleep aid. It is available over-the-counter and is safe and effective.
 

chandra

Kava Enthusiast
Well at about midnight last night I gave it a shot. Put half a teaspoon of micro in her Chocolate Soy Milk thinking she wouldn't be able to taste it. Apparently i forgot about her sensory processing issues. She is extremely sensitive to taste. She wouldn't drink it. At least I can stop worrying about whether or not to give it to her. Guess I should have paid for express shipping for the Valerian extract.
 

Nails

Newbie
If you think kava is worth a shot for her, it might be worth trying an instant and putting it in capsules for her to swallow. This has the added benefit of easily producing duplicatable results in case she has a positive reaction. I'd think instants made from a processed kava drink would be better than a micro just in case she has stomach issues from the fibrous materials like so many adults experience, would be the better choice. Or maybe even something like KWK's relaxation drink might be worth a shot if she enjoys fruit flavors. Folks on the spectrum are often extremely picky eaters and frequently fixate on texture and mouth feel far more than the flavors most neurotypical folks look for first so I don't know how well that would work, but it's something to keep in mind. There are other potential options for kids with issues like this, some of them better studied. Things like phenibut, l-theanine, and maybe even a quality bacopa extract could all potentially be of some help. Beta blockers are mild blood pressure meds often used off-label for extreme anxiety and phobias (usually in conjunction with therapy, of course) that alter the way your body processes stress at a very fundamental level, so it might be worth mentioning them to her doctor and seeing what they say. Melatonin is probably the best OTC sleep aid in existence, but it's also famous for causing very intense dreams, so just keep that in mind if you try that.

Having said all that, I'm definitely nor saying I recommend any of those things. All kids are weird on their best day, and having sensory issues and discussing potential treatments that aren't very well understood even for adults could cause unforeseen issues for them that most folks won't have to deal with. Autistic people can process many things very differently than neurotypical folks do, so it's honestly kind of a crap shoot regardless, even if she wasn't so young. I've spent a lot of time with folks on the spectrum to varying degrees and it can definitely be difficult, but I couldn't imagine having to go through something like that with my child. Best of luck to both of you, regardless.
 

chandra

Kava Enthusiast
Thank you Nails. I feel more comfortable giving her things that are known to be safe for kids, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I also feel like the only way to find out if anything will work for her is just to try it. She has night terrors sometimes so I'm a little scared to try melatonin. I've tried it for myself when I was having sleep problems and it didn't do anything at all. She is autistic, has sensory processing issues, and probably a Chiari Malformation which may or may not be the root cause of some of these issues. Still working on getting her into therapy and getting the Chiari diagnosed for certain. At first we thought she had seizures. Doctors said she was "fine, and it was all behavioral". Last time I checked behavior issues don't cause a child's eyes to roll around in their head while they are unresponsive. Another doctor (with an actual brain) is about 95% sure that she has Chiari which is where the hole in her skull isn't the right size and puts pressure on her brainstem. The only medical treatments for it are treating the symptoms like headache and nauseau and brain surgery. So yeah it's hard. But she is the most special wonderful gift I've ever been given.
 
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