Can CBD Oil Help Your Child? Here's What You Need to Know

 CBD oil has been linked with helping to relieve certain symptoms and ailments of many adults, including pain, inflammation, anxiety, epilepsy or seizures, sleep problems, and more. Can CBD oil help your child? Is it even safe for your child to use? Here’s what you need to know.  

Parents are no strangers to controversy when it comes to doing the right thing for their children.

Everyone has an opinion on everything, and you can be a victim of self-righteous parents who think they know what’s best for your child instead of you.

It’s good to listen to the advice from those who have been there before, but sometimes, you need to make decisions for yourself using the resources and information you have available to you. CBD oil is one topic that you need to research for yourself.

A Break Down of CBD Oil

CBD oil is a compound taken from the industrial hemp plant.

If the hemp used to create CBD oil is grown with regard to USDA regulations, it will be grown organically without the use of herbicides, pesticides, chemicals, or other toxins that might be harmful to your child to ingest.

That’s great news, so far!

The hemp plant does not make marijuana—far from it.

It’s actually a plant that’s very high in CBD and very low in THC, which is the component in marijuana that makes someone high.

The CBD can be extracted from the plant without any THC intact, giving you only the best CBD oil that might be safe for your child to use.

When CBD does not contain any THC, it’s called CBD isolate or broad-spectrum CBD.

If it contains up to 0.3 percent THC, it is called full-spectrum CBD.

That trace amount is still not high enough to make even a small person high, but broad-spectrum CBD and CBD isolate are probably better choices.

As long as your CBD contains less than 0.3 percent THC, it is legal to sell and purchase in the United States.

Most CBD can be purchased online, and it’s recommended that you do so, as there’s a lot of information and resources online that can help you make a responsible purchasing decision.

After the CBD oil has been extracted from hemp, it can be put into multiple products including gummies, soft gels, capsules, oil tinctures, bath salts, bath bombs, topical ointments, and creams, and edible treats.

It can also be made into vape juice or other inhalable products, which are not recommended for adults or children, given the risks of smoking and vaping.

Warnings on Using CBD Oil for Children

The most important thing for parents to understand is that CBD oil is a relatively new study.

We don’t have a lot of definitive research about CBD oil, and that’s what scares some people.

We have a collection of positive results from studies that have tested animals and some humans.

What we don’t have are studies that test CBD on children, since no one is certain that it is 100 percent safe on children.

We also don’t have studies that show people having adverse effects on CBD.

In fact, even those who take more CBD than they need don’t show overdose symptoms, but rather a few uncomfortable side effects that run their course and disappear.

So far, nobody has discovered long-term negative health effects of using CBD.

Furthermore, the FDA does not approve of most CBD products.

There’s not enough definitive research to protect their interests, so they just make it clear that they’re not affiliated with CBD and don’t regulate it.

The exception, here, is Epidiolex, a prescription drug that’s made for children and adults who experience severe cases of epilepsy like Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome.

But products that are sold over the counter or online are not FDA-approved, and parents assume all risks when giving their kids these products.

The CBD industry has struggled with the lack of regulation for years, but there are a few organizations that have banded together to try to make sure the CBD products being sold to consumers are safer and as advertised.

They’ve spread information about choosing quality CBD and encourage every CBD company to get and publish third-party lab reports on their CBD products.

You can read these lab reports and check for ingredients and potency levels to make sure you won’t be giving your child something you don’t want to give them.

It’s essential to do your due diligence before giving CBD to your child.

Additionally, it’s important to note that topical creams and ointments are more widely trusted than CBD oils that you consume.

Childhood Ailments CBD Might Help

When it comes down to it, the choice of whether or not to try CBD for your child will be intuition.

If you’ve thoroughly done your research and feel okay about giving your child CBD, that choice is yours.

You might find that it helps relieve the following conditions common in children:

Eczema or Psoriasis:

These inflammatory skin diseases are itchy and uncomfortable for children, and if not treated, they can leave scars.

CBD ointments or creams might help to reduce aggravation at the site and ease your child’s discomfort.

Anxiety:

It’s heart-wrenching to watch your child battle with anxiety.

They want to participate in certain activities, but an unfounded fear keeps them away.

CBD might help to ease their anxiety by calming the surge of hormones in their endocannabinoid system that contribute to feelings of stress and unease.

Epilepsy or Seizures:

As mentioned previously, CBD has been used in clinical settings to treat epilepsy and seizures.

Many patients who suffer from severe forms of epilepsy are children, and the studies showed that CBD worked effectively without harmful side effects.

This can be telling when thinking about giving CBD to your child.

Furthermore, if your child suffers from seizures or epilepsy, talk to your doctor about Epidiolex or another form of CBD to treat their symptoms.

Sleep Problems:

Children who struggle to sleep also struggle in other areas of development.

They can’t concentrate at school, they have behavioral problems, and it can stunt their growth.

Helping your child sleep with CBD might be a better alternative to using sleeping pills because it has fewer side effects and won’t leave them feeling groggy in the morning.

Ultimately, the choice of whether or not to give your child CBD is yours, and you assume the risks and rewards of doing so.

Hopefully, this information has given you some guidelines to make the right decision.