If you are just starting out with herbs and looking into all their benefits, safe herbal doses probably crossed your mind. What should you give to your kids? How much should you take yourself? Which form is the best to take the herb in?
All these questions I would like to tackle in this article in order to help you gain more confidence in using herbs in your everyday life.
What effects the dose?
There are many things that can effect you deciding which dose you need to take here are some things that effect the dose:
1.The form of the herb
Different ways that herbs are available to you and the different forms that you can take those herbs will effect the dose. Simply put, tinctures are different dose than teas. Teas are different doses than decoctions. Capsules are different doses than tinctures and so on.
2. Conditions
Generally speaking when dealing with acute conditions such as colds and flu, then the dose of the herb will be less and more frequent until symptoms improve then the herb will be tapered off slowly. In more chronic conditions such as depression or chronic pain or inflammation or long term gut issues, the doses will be in larger amounts in less frequent doses.
3. Nutrition
Herbs in pregnancy used as a tea like raspberry leaf, will have much larger doses than herbs used for colds or headaches. Herbs with nutritional value that support the body with nutrients like nettle or rosehip, have tremendous value nutritionally that can be used at high doses for longer periods of time.
4. Weight
If you weigh around 150 lb then most dosages are based on that weight. However when dosing a child or yourself that has a different weight, the dose will be different and will need to be adjusted.
How to determine a dose
Starting small technique
This is how I learned to dose in the beginning and figured out the right doses pretty fast when it came to herbs with myself and my kids. The general guideline is to start the dose small and see how it effects the body and then adjust if you need to.
Some herbs will take longer to figure out such as chronic conditions like digestive issues and your child dealing with eczema because of it. You do not want to up the dose right away and might have to increase doses slowly.
In other chronic conditions like recovery from adrenal burnout, you will be taking a certain herb for a certain amount of time to see its effects on your adrenals and overall energy levels.
PMS is another issue that can take longer because you would have to be consistent for a certain amount of cycles to see if an herb combo is working.
But in a situation like a cough that is keeping your child up at night and you know that licorice is working for example, you can up the dose to help move things along and stop increasing the dose once you have a sweet spot for relief.
Headaches are another example with quickly adjusting the dose if you need to, if you are taking willow bark to help with pain and know that it takes the edge off a little by using a smaller dose, then the next dose can be higher to see if it will take the headache away completely.
Another great thing about this method is that you will see if any side effects come up and disregard an herb if needed. Even in the case with licorice and using it for a cough with kids, even though it is generally safe for kids if used long term then it might have unwanted cardiovascular side effects. Seeing if any cardiovascular issues come up right away for your kids can help you disregard the herb before its suggested time.
Lobelia is another herb that might be controversial to some but if used properly has many benefits in opening up the airways and dilating the bronchials. But if taken too much and too many times can cause vomiting.
Being aware of side effects and starting small can really help you fit all the pieces of the puzzle together when it comes to figuring out which dose and which herbs works in which situation.
Children’s doses
To be on the safe side with dosing children, most people would rather use a formula to determine the right dose for their particular child to prevent any errors. There is one that I found helpful to use when I am using an herb like lobelia that does have side effects I’d rather not be dealing with. That is the Clark’s rule.
Clark’s Rule: Child’s weight in pounds divide by 150, multiply by the adult dose.
Here is a general guideline to look at and see which category your own child might fall into and have a good sense of where you can start and adjust the dose if needed:
Toddler: (about 10-15lb) 5-10 drops of tincture and 2 teaspoons of tea
Preschooler: (about 15-25lb) 8-10 drops of tincture and 1-2 tablespoons of tea
Elementary: (about 50lb) 15 drops of tincture and 4 tablespoons of tea
Preteen: (about 75lb) 30 drops of tincture (usually around one squirt) and 1/2 cup of tea
Teen: (about 100lb) 30-60 drops tincture and 1/2-1 cup of tea
Standard Doses for Adults and Types
There are many herbs that fall into the category generally being safe and recommended doses apply to these herbs for adults. It is always important to do your own research with the herbs you are taking and especially involving your physician in the process if you are already on medications. Start with the suggested dose uses on the directions that most bottles have and start small.
Here are a few recommendations that work well for most herbs and most people:
Tea:
Fresh herb – Handful of herb per 8 oz of water, 1-3 times a day
Dried Herb – 1 tsp – 1 tbs per 8 oz of water 1-3 times a day.
Tincture:
1-3 squirts, 1-3 times a day mixed with water if needed.
1 squirt= 1ml=30 drops
Powder:
1/4 – 1 tsp daily, either all at once or divided throughout the day. Works well when mixed with water or into food. Some herbs call for more than 1 tsp a day if needed like eleuthero.
Final Thoughts
When starting an herb, it is best to start small to see how the herb will effect you. You will always catch side effects and adjust the dose if you need to quicker. With acute conditions like coughs, you can still start small but see if it is helping and then taper off as needed or increase as needed.
For long term uses of a certain dose it is important to know the herb itself.
For digestive issues for example, it might take longer to see if a certain dose is working so be patient.
Uses of a certain herb for a specific purpose with a low dose like lobelia, keep to the small dose and understand that certain side effects of long term uses of herbs and increased amount of an herb will not have favorable results.
If you are dealing with either prepping for your families needs of need a consultation to see what herb to use and what dose, I offer free consultations as a starting point to see where you are at and you can schedule them here.
If you just need to know the dose and herb and are dealing with your family or yourself with an acute situation, I go ahead and email me at motherlyjourney@yahoocom and I will be able to book a call with you within 24 hrs.
Hope this helped you on your journey!
