Chamomile alleviates symptoms of enuresis in children

Research has found that chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) oil can help treat enuresis in children. The study, which was published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, looked at the efficacy of topical use of chamomile oil in treating enuresis in children.

• In traditional Persian medicine, chamomile flowers are used to treat children with enuresis.
• For the study, researchers at Tehran University of Medical Science, Islamic Azad University, and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran recruited 80 patients with monosymptomatic nocturnal or daytime enuresis.
• Monosymptomatic enuresis is referred to as urinary incontinence in children who have no other lower urinary tract symptoms and no history of bladder dysfunction.
• The parents of the participants were tasked to topically apply chamomile oil or placebo on the perineal and suprapubic area of children once each night for six weeks.
• Before the intervention period and eight weeks after the intervention, the researchers assessed the participants’ frequency of enuresis.
• They also monitored any adverse events.
• The researchers found that the average frequency of enuresis at the first, second, and third weeks was lower in the treatment group compared with the placebo group.
• Moreover, no occurrence of any adverse event was reported in the study groups.
• These results suggest that the topical application of chamomile oil can reduce the frequency of enuresis in children with monosymptomatic nocturnal or daytime enuresis.
• These effects may be attributed to the spasmolytic and anticholinergic activities of chamomile’s active constituents.

From this study, the researchers suggested that chamomile oil should be considered as a potential complementary treatment option for children with monosymptomatic enuresis.

To read more studies on the health benefits of chamomile, visit NaturalCures.news.

Journal Reference:

Sharifi H, Minaie MB, Qasemzadeh MJ, Ataei N, Gharehbeglou M, Heydari M. TOPICAL USE OF MATRICARIA RECUTITA L (CHAMOMILE) OIL IN THE TREATMENT OF MONOSYMPTOMATIC ENURESIS IN CHILDREN: A DOUBLE-BLIND RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 2016; 22(1): 12-17. DOI: 10.1177/2156587215608989