Black Elderberry

Does anyone know much about Black Elderberry syrup? Everything Ive read says it is great for the immune system, to help guard against virus' specifically. want to try with my LO who was diagnosed at 13 months (although i think she's had it since she was about 11mon old) - she's 17mon now. she's never had treatment, rebounds very nicely on her own - so far, and tends to drop during a viral illness. she managed strep, and an ear infection w/ antibiotics and stayed in the 200's...

my question with the black elderberry is this - if it boosts your immune system, could it cause an exacerbated response and kick the system into overdrive, thus dropping platelets again?

it warns this on webmd:
""Autoimmune diseases” such as multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or other conditions: Elderberry might cause the immune system to become more active, and this could increase the symptoms of autoimmune diseases. If you have one of these conditions, it’s best to avoid using elderberry."

any info would be greatly appreciated.

How could we answer this question about medicating your child with an untested substance? What evidence would you consider safe, what answer could lead you to give this to your child who has an autoimmune disease? If I said I gave it to my child and he was fine, would that override the warning you found on webmd?

My point is, it sounds dangerous to medicate your child with this substance. None of us here have conducted any unpublished clinical studies on black elderberry syrup, I'm pretty sure.
Erica

I already regret how mean that sounds. I'm sorry. But I do think it was a scary question.
Erica

doesn't sound mean, and doesn't bother me. my mother has lupus, and low platelets, she takes this. she's had no problem. just as people ask about vitamin C, papaya leaf, and other sorts of nutritional supplements, i was just curious of anyone else's experience...

the warning says it could exacerbate an autoimmune disorder, but on the other hand, it could be very helpful at staving off virus', which cause my child's platelets to drop. consequently, vaccines can also cause a reaction, but plenty of people with itp continue to vaccinate...

I have Lupus and ITP. If there is a warning about autoimmune disorders on the package insert, I do not use the product. I'm not sure that people can ever say with absolute certainty that something they take does not affect them. An example: I have a friend with Lupus who has widespread inflammation on a daily basis. She claims that nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, etc) do not bother her. I do know that they bother me because one week I drank V-8 every day and I felt like my body was on fire. Since then, I am very observant when I eat those things. Before the V-8, I would have made the same claim that they didn't affect me. Symptoms come and go so often with Lupus that you rarely know what is causing what. I honestly believe that if my friend paid more attention to the nightshades, she would probably notice a difference. Symptoms sometimes occur so slowly that you never link them to a cause.

Since your child did not experience platelet drops during illnesses, why push it? She seems to be doing fine as is.