Difficulty sleeping

Q. My 10-year-old daughter has two problems. Firstly, for the last six months she has been finding it difficult to get to sleep. She feels very hot, even though the window is open and she only has a sheet covering. She has eczema but this is well managed, most of the time with moisturisers and steroid creams. Often it’s midnight before she gets to sleep. Secondly, she has always had very fine hair (even the shaft is very thin) but for the last year or so it is also falling out. Routine bloods were normal (ferritin was 31, so she has taken Floradix 10mls twice a day, but this hasn’t made any difference). I would be grateful for any suggestions.

A. It is difficult to say exactly why your daughter is having issues with excess heat, without knowing a full case history. This is almost certainly linked with her sleep problems, so once you have dealt with the heat the insomnia will likely be resolved as well. I know that in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) excess heat is treated as a separate and underlying issue that may trigger other symptoms, such as the eczema that your daughter is dealing with.

A TCM practitioner typically utilises a combination of herbs and acupuncture or acupressure to rebalance the body. Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine system, has a fantastic cooling herb which is also very nutritious. Shatavari (asparagus racemosus) has a specific affinity with female health and helps with hormone regulation, so this nourishing and cooling herb would be a great choice to support and prepare your daughter in the years leading up to the changes she will experience with the onset of puberty. I like to take this herb as a tea, using 1 teaspoon and steeping it in boiling water for three to five minutes. It is quite mild and pleasant tasting.