Our functional medicine experts can help with a range of children's health concerns
Asthma
Eczema
Dermatitis
Autoimmune Conditions
Frequent Colds or Flus
Recurrent Tonsilitis
Food Allergies / Sensitivities
Frequent Sore Stomach
Anxiety
ADHD
Parasites / Worms
Nappy Rash
Our leading experts in solving chronic children's health issues are here to help.
Get your happy, healthy child back
When a child has health problems, the effects can be far reaching. Not only can young people have self esteem issues and higher chances of experiencing mental health issues when experiencing a health crisis, often the family unit can be put under extra stress. This is why working with children is one of our greatest joys, as we love nothing more than seeing smiles on faces when a child's health is restored!
While the conventional approach to children's health is to manage conditions with medications or surgery, rarely is the problem resolved, which can have long term effects on their health reaching into their adult years. However, the good news is that many chronic children's health conditions can be managed by identifying triggers and getting to the root cause of the problem.
By taking a holistic view of the body and using the latest research and testing methods, the functional medicine approach can restore your child's health so their developing years (and beyond) are filled with health and vibrancy.
The greatest gift you can give a child is the gift of health, and the tools to maintain it. When healthy habits are established early in life, by ensuring kids have adequate physical activity, sufficient nutrition, healthy sleep patterns and tools to manage stress, we're setting them up for a life of good health and wellness, positive gene expression and resilience, while reducing the risks of chronic health conditions like type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease later in life.
Imagine empowering your child to address their health in a way that's effective and long lasting! At Melbourne Functional Medicine, we'll show you how.
We'll help you and your child get to the bottom of what may be triggering their symptoms. And we'll walk with you every step of the way, so they can grow up being healthy and happy.
Case Studies
Amy - children's health
Amy was 11yo when her mother brought her to see us. She had lots of tiny little bumps across her forehead and was getting self conscious about them at school. The other kids were starting to notice and say things about it. Her mum also commented that she’d started to develop noticeable body odour, which is unusual in a girl of her age. Questioning revealed she was constipated (moving her bowels every second day), had tummy pains and snored very loudly. An ear, nose, throat specialist had flagged the need for surgery to remove her enlarges adenoids. Her sister and father have food reactions.
The global nature of her symptoms and family suggested that they could be attributed to food sensitivities. Testing revealed strong reactions to egg, dairy and gluten.
After removing the foods for 3 months, whilst repairing the gut, her body odour completely went away, the snoring stopped, she resumed normal daily bowel motions and the rash on her forehead remitted. Most significantly when the ear nose and throat specialist examined her, the size of her adenoids had resumed to normal (which explained the snoring disappearing). The specialist remarked that he’d never seen such large adenoids shrink back to normal size so rapidly.
Food sensitivities can affect many parts of the body by launching an immune response and especially can cause gut inflammation and damage. IgG food sensitivity testing does not show allergies. It detected reactions that are delayed and cumulative. At the same time as eliminating the foods for 3 months, additional work is done to reduce gut inflammation and restore integrity and to reduce the inflammatory response by the immune system.
Lucy - respiratory infections and failure to thrive
Lucy was 5 when she was referred to us by a speech pathologist. Her mum was worried that she wasn’t going to be school ready, because she was getting sick every couple of weeks which would often progress to croup. The recurrent upper respiratory infections had impacted her hearing earlier in life, which in turn hampered her learning. She was also tired most of the time, and didn’t like the physicality of playing like other kids. In fact, she’d rarely go outside. She was also a very fussy eater, choosing only “white foods” such as milk, bread, cakes and biscuits.
Lucy was small for her age, had been late meeting most of her milestones, she could not breathe through her nose, and had speech and mannerisms that were underdeveloped for her age. She also experienced eczema periodically. Her mum reported that Lucy had been unwell most of her life and had also been constipated primarily since 3 months of age.
Lucy was a C-section baby and breastfed until 3 months of age, when she transitioned onto formula. Vaginal births and breast-feeding are considered to be protective and positive for a developing immune system. However, this isn’t possible for everyone due to circumstances, and can certainly be mitigated with appropriate interventions.
Functionally speaking, Lucy’s body was showing signs of stress from a young age, from about the time formula was introduced and worsened with solid food introduction. Excessive inflammation and mucous production had resulted in ear infections, grommets, lots of antibiotics, colds, coughs and croup. Antibiotics would have caused changes in her gut microbiome diversity, affecting her capacity to digest foods, and further negatively affecting an already imbalanced immune/inflammatory response.
Practically speaking, having a constantly blocked nose would have impaired taste acuity, therefore influencing her choice of foods. Her breathing difficulties would have impaired oxygen exchange, and therefore the production of energy, hence her apathetic response. Furthermore her innate immune resistance to infection was likely compromised by inadequate nutrients from her limited diet.
Therefore the treatment was aimed at several levels:
- Preventing further infections to provide her respiratory system time to heal and to reduce exposure to antibiotics and prednisolone (steroids for inflammation)
- Provide her body with the nutrients and building blocks to create a healthy immune response
- Reduce inflammation and mucous production in her airways to facilitate oxygen exchange and improve energy
- Improve quality and regularity of bowel motions - as a sign of healthy detoxification and restoring the health of her microbial diversity
- Identifying foods that are driving inflammation
Food sensitivity testing revealed a strong reaction to dairy, which her mum was concerned about as she seemed to live off milk and cheese. We used substitutions for these foods for other white foods like coconut yoghurt, soy milk and gradually introduced fruits and vegetables in a way that was playful and reward based, so Lucy enjoyed the transition and became more adventurous with food.
We used:
- easy tasteless pre and probiotics for bowel health.
- nutrients to support her immune system, which also supported gut repair
- Herbal medicine to support her immune resistance
By the end of 6 months of treatment, Lucy was assessed as school ready. But even more gratifying for her parents was that she had transformed into an energetic girl who could go on family bike rides and play outside for hours without needing to rest. She barely got sick anymore and if she did, it resolved quickly. Lucy also became aware of her body and very proud of her poo!
Get clarity, support and results on your child's health
CLARITY
We take what’s complex and make it simple. We help you see through the maze of medical confusion with your ongoing, complex health issues and finally give you clarity on the underlying cause/s. We analyse, assess and test so we can pinpoint and focus on what needs to be addressed to improve your health picture.
SUPPORT
You get a dedicated healthcare team that's just as invested as you are at getting the results you desire. We use a combination of unlimited clinical consultations with health coaching, so we don’t only help you join the dots on your health, we hold your hand through the entire journey so you achieve what you set out to do.
RESULTS
Those who have both a practitioner and a health coach supporting them in their goals are much more likely to achieve them, and get there much quicker than they would alone. This unique model is why we our patients regularly give us 5-star rave reviews on Google.
We get results like these
Want a trusted healthcare provider with a high success rate? Discover why our approach is a cut above the rest.
For personalised care, effective treatments and leading advice, residents from all across Melbourne including from areas like Richmond, Moonee Ponds, Malvern, Hawthorn, Yarraville and more, trust only a qualified naturopath at Melbourne Functional Medicine.