Sometimes people think of herbs as foods. Some herbs are foods, and if we consume them in the same high amounts as we do with most foods it would truly not be good to eat them every day all the time, but herbs are usually used in smaller amounts, and the use is based on need for either acute, short term situations, or chronic long term situations. The data on using herbs internally for two weeks is only going to be applicable to certain situations. Every herb is different and every person is different and the condition they have can also present in different manners. There is no rule on time of use for herbs that can be used as a general rule. I wish life was that easy to be able to use one single rule, but it is not in actual practice of herbal medicine.
For example, in relation to the common herb Echinacea, I often use it short term for acute situations, but have also used it in some chronic conditions for months at a time with good results. There are herbs that are considered toxic, or low dose botanicals that I would only use for short periods of time and in small amounts. I might not want to use them more than a day, few days , a week or a matter of a few weeks. There could however be a situation where I use it in very tiny amounts over the long term, as part of a larger formula, for a specific person, with a specific condition, presenting in a specific manner. How long I decide to use any herb depends on the specific herb, what it is being used for, the dose being used and the individual. These factors are quite varied.
For some chronic conditions such a person who has lets say a transplanted organ, they may need to take specific herbs every day forever to help protect their organ from damage due to the drugs they are taking, or to help the organ survive in general. It has been my
experience that these people can stop taking herbs or supplements short term when wanting a holiday from them, but if they stop too long, you may see their lab indices start to deteriorate. If they only took them two weeks, it would be completely unhelpful of
course. Someone who has a genetic condition of one kind or another that makes them more susceptible to some health conditions is another situation where they also may need to take specific herbs for longer than two weeks. Most chronic conditions are such that two weeks of an herb is not going to be enough. You may at some point need to change what the person is using, but that would not be based on a known period of time. It would be based on the fact that this herb no longer works, or it is causing a reaction in the person or the person for some other reason no longer wants to take it.
A whole book could be written on how to prescribe herbs, but I hope this is enough information to give you an idea of why we can't make a rule that herbs should be taken for only two weeks. This is not going to work in the real world. There are conditions where the body will start reacting to an herb, or the body will no longer be helped by an herb for one reason or another, but even in these instances, you change up the herbs depending on the need at the time as it does not relate to a two week period.
Regarding your toddler's situation, external applications are similar to internal ones. You create the dose and the application rate and length of application of the treatment based on the situation. You change the herb, the dose or other aspects of the application when the situation tells you that you need to change the application. If an application is working wonderful, and the person has no reaction to it, there is no need to stop using it.
When you say dermatitis, I am not sure what is taking place. Dermatitis means inflamed skin and can be used as a term for many skin conditions. If you are talking about a specific dermatitis such as the common seborrheic dermatitis (which causes dandruff and various skin reactions), this is thought now to be largely caused by the fungus Malassezia. Some types of oils will make Malassezia grow, so you have to be careful about this. It can depend on the species and variant of Malassezia too. Some people will use a nice olive oil as a base in their salve only to find it does not help, or makes the issue worse as they have species and variants of Malassezia that grow great with oleic acid - basically feeding the fungus. I usually suggest people use a base of high C-8 MCT oil that has no or almost no lauric acid in it if they find things like olive oil or other oils in products are bothering them. Some people are ok with coconut oil, while some are bothered by the lauric acid as again it depends on the species of Malassezia. Therefore to be safe, I just tell folks to use the C-8 MCT oil with little or no lauric acid in it. This can also help with other skin conditions associated with Malassezia. I am half way through writing a book on this entire subject as people don't understand that many skin conditions are related to overgrowth of Demodex and Malassezia and that there are people who have genetic susceptibility that makes them over-react to these mites and fungi or that there are variants that act pathogenic rather than acting as commensals as has been thought in the past. For those with genetic reasons for reacting to Malassezia in an excessive manner these folks need to work with the dysfunctional immune system and be vigilant with skin care. Usually a functional medicine doc or naturopathic doc can be helpful in these situations.
There are issues currently with getting good products and I am no longer sure if I can trust all products. If you use a high C-8 MCT oil that claims it has low or no lauric acid, and the individual reacts to it, we have to be suspect that the manufacturer may not be telling the truth.
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