 Fall must be approaching. It doesn’t feel like it here in the desert southwest; we are still seemingly in the throes of straight summer with temperatures remaining 10+ degrees above average. In fact, it almost feels like we have hit the breaks on moving toward fall and reversed into actual summer. You see, we had a relatively humid summer. (See "12 Angry Homeopathic Remedies” if you care to know a bit more about our summer this year.) And, today, September 10th, 2026 (and 11th, I didn’t quite get everything finished yesterday), we finally have our normal sky — cloudless and bright blue. Boy, have I missed seeing that! A New Mexico 9% humidity sky. 😍 Even though we have been humid (for New Mexico), we have had no rain worth mentioning. Our trees are dying 😫. Rivers are just beds of stones. The monsoons never developed this year. Despite this lingering heat, autumnal bugs are beginning their march into town. The internet tells me October is the month where things really get going. However, this morning I saw in my email that Stanford University-run WastewaterSCAN program indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is currently “high” nationwide, with a significant upward trend in the last 3 weeks. I checked the WastewaterSCAN Dashboard and New Mexico doesn’t appear. However, a Today show article claims it is increasing nationwide. Cold, Flu, Covid, the Crud, the Suds** — whatever seasonal ailment is getting you, homeopathy is a good place to start. It’s important to remember that homeopathy doesn’t care the name of what ails you — homeopathy is (for the most part) only interested in your symptoms. With that, let’s look at a few remedies to have handy. As Benjamin Franklin taught us, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure! All of these homeopathic remedies work really well when taken at the first sign of any symptoms. Repeat every few hours, or, follow the manufacturer’s direction.
So far this month, I’m seeing a bunch of throat stuff and huge fatigue, in addition to milder cold-like symptoms and one person with some stomach issues thrown in for good measure. For what it’s worth, Gelsemium has been helpful for a couple of people I have encountered. Why Gelsemium? Gelsemium symptoms (keynotes from Morrison are bolded):
When the stomach plays a larger role, consider Arsenicum album. A quick comparison between Gelsemium and Arsenicum for cold/flu symptoms:  These early days of flu/cold-like symptoms mark the beginning of what could be a long season of yuckiness. Homeopathy may just be able to set things right before they are able to take hold.
Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits *I have no affiliation with this or any other company — I just like their stuff! **Spongebob Squarepants gets the suds — Good stuff!
0 Comments
 The yucks hit my house in very early January. For the next couple of weeks, I sometimes felt like I was on the verge of succumbing to something yucky. Many weeks later, I can safely say I skirted it.
The important piece of this puzzle, is this: Your remedies do not have to be perfect. Remedies are forgiving. Many remedies share many symptoms and many overlapping symptoms. In most cases, there is not one single remedy that you have to get absolutely right in order to feel better. I did all the usual things when one feels like they might be getting ill:
When I really thought I was in trouble and realizing that all those things I had been doing didn’t actually do what needed to be done, I was ready to acquiesce; I was ready to throw in the towel. Then, the shaky quakes, as I call them, set in. I felt so weak and trembly. I had gone to bed really early (the headache was too much) and I slept really hard and I slept late and I did not want to get out of bed the next morning. I did get out of bed and I had some breakfast — even though the thought made me nauseous (I did feel better after eating) — I knew I had only a short amount of time to get the bills paid and do a quick couple of other things with deadlines before I was no longer going to be able to get to them for a while. But then, when this new symptom set in, I decided to throw one more remedy at it. Main symptom? Trembling and weakness. Just sitting and opening the bills was too much. I was waffling between Arsenicum album and Gelsemium (both really good flu remedies, in general; and, both are in the “eating ameliorates” rubric, so that fit, too). I went with Gelsemium because the trembling was the chief complaint. Within 30 minutes, the trembling had completely disappeared. The weakness remained, however. Gelsemium no longer felt right, even though it had done what was asked of it, so I switched to Arsenicum album. I couldn’t tell you now and I don’t think I could have told you then why the Gelsemium no longer felt right. Could it have done the job just as well? Perhaps. One dose of each and the world was quite simply a happier place. I continued to feel better hour by hour. By the next day, I was completely back to normal. I know I (and others) have said, that if a remedy is working, stick with it, but I broke that rule and I’m pleased I did. I took the “chase the symptoms route.” (See also, tis the season… for the crud.) After a couple weeks of occasionally using good, general flu remedies to ward off symptoms that seemed to maybe be trying to creep in from time to time, I decided to focus on just the new main symptoms - one at a time. Once again, I never actually felt unwell until the very end — I just didn’t want anything to take hold. It is entirely possible there simply weren’t good symptoms to follow previously - just a general sense of uh-oh. If I had worked with another homeopath, perhaps they could have seen something, but, I couldn’t see it in myself. Had I taken these two remedies earlier in my battle of the on again/off again possible yucks, would I have put it all in my rearview mirror sooner? Maybe. The symptoms calling for these remedies, if they were there, they were very, very quiet and I couldn’t hear them. There is another possibility… Maybe I didn’t, in fact, dodge the yucks and was just “homeopathically unwell” : translation, I had a bug, but the remedies were working well enough to keep me going — and these last two remedies were the clean up crew. (Arsenicum album and Gelsemium are both indicated in convalescence.) Will I ever know? Nope. Do I care? Only in that I could have shared more detailed information so others may learn from my experience. Stay well — spring is coming to the rescue soon! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits  When one is a homeopath, one sees a lot of [ahem] coincidences.
One evening someone slips and falls and can barely move and they are expecting to need x-rays the following morning and they take a dose of Arnica and coincidentally, they wake up pretty much back to their old self. A nasty burn on the forearm, and they say — “that’s going to be there for a while.” They take Cantharis and when you see them the next day, they are absolutely amazed that the burn no longer hurts. Someone ate something off — the resulting gas and tummy pain is bad. They take some Arsenicum album and all those bad things vanished. A young person scheduled for a tonsillectomy and they take some Silica and they shortly thereafter spit tonsil stones out of their mouth by the spoonful. Surgery cancelled and years later they still have their tonsils. A young person with frequent, gushing nosebleeds and each time they take the Ferrum phos, the nosebleeds stop (sometimes almost instantly). In fact, not only do they stop when taking the Ferr phos, the following nosebleeds become a little lighter and they show up a little less often. Surgery is completed and a full schedule of pain meds has been provided (including the big guns, you know what I’m talking about!), and, after taking the first dose of the indicated homeopathic remedies, not one single pain killer has been used. The dog that is pacing and panting and totally not behaving like his normal self and a few minutes after a dose of Ignatia, he is sleeping peacefully. All these situations could absolutely be chalked up to coincidence… UNTIL, you see them happen over and over and over again. That’s exactly what you see when you use homeopathy… things that seem too good to be true; things that seem totally coincidental, happening over and over again. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits  I used to think I wanted to live forever. My then-young son told me that wasn’t a good idea. He couldn’t really explain to me at the time what he was thinking, but he was adamant. Later, we read one of his school assigned-reading books together, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, and the penny finally dropped for me. (Forget the fact this is a children’s book and pick up a copy — it’s excellent.)
I was recently speaking with a man in his early 90s, who said, “My mom is dead. My dad is dead. My brother is dead. My sister is dead. My wife is dead. I’ve outlived them all.” For some, this could be touted as a victorious feat and worn with a badge of honor; for others, it could be a desolate situation. If one is not feeling triumphant in this position, that is a heavy place to sit. This particular gentleman still has his best friend (same age), and he has lots of younger people around him all the time, including some good friends who are a decade or so behind him. But, it seems to me after talking to him that there is a different level of loneliness when you’re the last of your ilk. There is a tendency, I think, to assume one who is lonely is also sad. Though this may not always be the case, Julia Métraux in Everyday Health says depression and loneliness appear to reinforce each other. From that same article, Drew Maygren, DO, a psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California says, “Among a cohort of older adults in the UK, there was a 29% increase in depressive scores of those that reported loneliness compared with those who did not report loneliness.” For other reasons, loneliness is also increasing among young people with 1 in every 3 young adults reporting feeling lonely. Gone are the days of mandatory human interaction, replaced, instead by technological interfacing which some say can make loneliness “more like virtual isolation.” In some respects, you can’t fix normal. This is simply a sad situation. I think, though, homeopathy can help one cope with this heavy, lonely burden. Let’s look at some possible MIND rubrics, using various repertories (Mangialavore*; Murphy (both Homeopathic Remedy Guide and Meta*); Saine; Schroyens), followed by the number of remedies listed in each, including the remedies I have chosen to highlight (note: when rubrics were available in multiple repertories, I chose to use the one with the largest number of remedies available):
There are other, smaller, more specific rubrics which I will not throw into the mix, such as: “being a castaway” or “imaginations, alone, graveyard, in a” — but I think it’s useful to know these rubrics exist. **Continuing the theme from the Language of Rubrics earlier this month: Delusion: in modern parlance, we may equate this with someone who is “delusional,” implying someone with a mental illness. That is not necessarily the case in the language of rubrics. Delusion = a false judgement of objective things. Dr. Muhammed Rafeeque’s Reverse Repertory of the Mind explains further:
“Wrong perception” sums it up nicely, I think. Now, let’s see what remedies are indicated for these thoughts… Rafeeque lists some of the important drugs for delusions/hallucinations and illusions: Argentum nitricum; Belladonna; Coccinum; Hyoscyamus; Ignatia; Lachesis; Petroleum; Phosphoric acid; Sabadilla; Stramonium; Sulphur (which is found only in the large “loneliness” rubric). (The bold remedies in this list are also represented in our rubrics listed above.) It’s important when choosing a remedy to consider the following differentiation: is this a rubric to lift the delusion or idea, or, is this a rubric addressing the loneliness? What are we trying to achieve? There are many, many homeopathic remedies which may be relevant here, but I have chosen just a couple of commonly available remedies to compare. Natrum muriaticum, Aurum metallicum, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, Argentum nitricum and Arsenicum album are all well indicated; in fact, all of them are also in Murphy’s “elderly constitutions” rubric (90). For each head to head comparison, both remedies are indicated, but one may be a little more indicated than the other and I tried to simply give a flavor of each remedy in regard to how they may relate to loneliness. Nat mur and Aurum are both excellent sadness/depression remedies.
Phosphorus and Pulsatilla both hate to be alone. In very broad terms, Phosphorus is more fearful and Pulsatilla is sadder.
Arsenicum album and Argentum nitricum are two more "fearful/anxious” remedies (both are level 4 in Murphy in the anxiety rubric). Again, both of these remedies are in all of these rubrics; I have just highlighted the higher ranked remedies.
Bellis perennis showed up very strongly in Massimo Mangialavore’s*** rubric: Age - old people - mind - forsaken feeling… so I went looking a little further and I was surprised to see it in the ailments from death of loved ones rubric. Most people know Bellis as a “deeper” Arnica — something to try when Arnica doesn’t quite do what it is needed to do on a physical level. Let’s take a little look at some prominent mental symptoms of Bellis perennis (Schroyens & Murphy’s Meta*): Anxiety about their or their or loved one’s health. Indifference: to pain; to loved ones; stoical to what happens. (The word “stoical” is in this rubric so I am going to assume this is different than “apathy.” note: Mangialavori has this remedy in both “heroic” and “stoic.”) Too much sense of duty. Dictatorial/domineering. Aversion to being touched. Aggravated by consolation. Abandoned/forsaken feelings. Ailments from agony/anguish; ailments from grief. Anger alternating with indifference. Fastidious. Fearful of impending danger and heart disease. Panic attacks. Feels friendless; forsaken feeling. Silent grief; cannot cry. They feel better from physical exercise. Aggravated by company. Oversensitive to criticism/reprimands. All of these, ultimately overlapping, remedies may help regardless of age, or reason for the loneliness. Look a little beyond the surface of loneliness and see what lies underneath to find the most well-suited remedy. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits *Both Mangialavore’s and Murphy’s Meta repertory are (will be?) available in Similia.io†. **This note is beneath the list of rubrics, in the text. ***I recently listened to a talk by Massimo Mangialavore and he was talking about the idea that perhaps we don’t need more homeopathic remedies but that maybe we should work on the quality of the information we have on our existing remedies rather than keep adding more. He also says he doesn’t “consider a good case something where the follow-up is not at least four, five years.” With that, I put a little more stock in the remedies in his repertory because they generally come with a lot of reflection. †I have no affiliation with this company other than they have been kind enough to open up the full software for me to play around with it. I have to say, I really like Similia and I enjoy using it. Reference list Métraux, J. and Vann, M. R., 2012. Dealing With Depression and Loneliness [online]. EverydayHealth.com. MUHAMMED., D. and Salini, J. P., 2021. Reverse Repertory of the Mind. B. Jain Publishers (P.) Ltd. Newport Institute, 2022. Loneliness and Depression in Young Adults [online]. Newport Institute.  “Wellness Box” image created by AI, with my help. Everything else was done by lil’ old me. Do you have a homeopathy kit yet?
If not, why not? It doesn’t take anything fancy. Any old box or bag will do. You could purchase a kit, ready to go. (See here and here for some ideas.) Or, you could make your own kit by purchasing remedies as you need them. Start with one. Add another couple and put a rubber band around them to keep them together. Add a few more and put them in a little ziplock bag. Add a few more and put them in a shoebox. Once you have them, you are then good to go. As long as you keep them safe and together, then you have your kit. I could give you a list of suggested remedies. Would that help? (Almost all of these Ruminating on Remedies articles are written with common, easily sourced remedies in mind. Read through and find a few remedies that might serve you and your family well. It’s actually one of the hardest things to do — narrowing down to just 10, but here goes! Top 10 — in no particular order: 1. Arnica
Two people have independently spoken to me about their homeopathic kits in the last two weeks. The first one purchased a Narayani kit and there is no other way to say it — she is over the moon with it. (She didn’t purchase the little one mentioned in the link above, she went for the whole kit and kaboodle!) The second person, just this morning told me how much she loved her little kit of 50 remedies. She said she wants to carry it around with her everywhere. The other day her son was feeling a little off — Nux took care of that. She slammed her finger tip in a drawer and Arnica and Hypericum took care of that. Done. Easy. Return the remedies to where they belong and your kit is once more ready to go for the next thing that comes along. What are you waiting for?!? Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits  I’m a little embarrassed to say that I have just cleaned out a cupboard in my kitchen that had supplements that expired as long ago as 2015. Really, the reason I still had them was that I totally have not needed anything that was in that cupboard for over a decade and I just never looked in there. But, I know that in the beginning of my homeopathic journey, I kept them around, just in case. I had no idea that I would never require them again. Who knew?!?
What was in there? Digestive supplements, primarily. I am really glad that I inadvertently kept that little time capsule. You see, prior to embarking on my homeopathic journey I had some pretty intense gut issues and opening that cupboard the other day was a really excellent reminder of what my life used to be. I don’t miss it — it wasn’t pretty! Then, (surprise!), I found homeopathy and all I have to show for my old gut problems is a shelf full of expired digestive enzymes and other supplements and gut-related herbal teas. How did I fix my gut? There were a few remedies that were suggested to me by my homeopath, because I had some pretty potent food sensitivities which are beyond the scope of this little article. However, I can tell you that I relied on Lyco/Ars — Lycopodium 200c mixed with Arsenicum album 3c for quite a while. It was a real game changer for me. I began taking it twice daily for a while, as suggested, and then backed down to once daily and then once every few days and then weekly and then every couple weeks — you get the picture. Every now and then, I would need to return to more frequent use, but that never lasted very long because things were definitely heading in the right direction. As to all those food sensitivities? Only one remains to any great degree and I think that one is there for life. Alas. I have to say, though, even though I can’t eat that food regularly, if I do happen upon it, I don’t suffer like I used to and I can actually get away with eating it now and again. Fortunately, it’s not a favorite for me but it is common. And, if things are a little rougher than I would like, I have my remedies to help me through, like Lyco/Ars. So, gone are the days of shelves full of supplements. They are now replaced by homeopathy and every now and again I stumble upon a remedy that I used to need regularly and now, it’s just part of my homeopathic arsenal… standing by in case it’s particular qualities are once again required. To read a little more about a couple of gut remedies, see: Rooty Toot Toots and Gobble Gobble and Carnival Salami. If you would like to see if homeopathy can help you with any food-related issues, click here to book a free 20-minute call. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits  I was beginning to think the flu season may have just skimmed over the world this year, but here it is… a little later than usual, but, just like always, it is no fun. And, just like always, a little prevention can go a long way. (See also: Calming the Cold; Flu Remedies to Consider; Ho Ho Ho, (not Oooooh No!); Ahh-choo; On the 4th Day of Cell Salts… Ferr Phos.) Let’s jump ahead to the unfortunate situation we see in the picture above where those early signals were missed (or, ignored) and, here we are, unable to get out of bed… feeling just awful and the kids are hungry. (Oh, man, I remember those days. So painful!) So, where would one start in this scenario? Below are seven MAIN COMPLAINTs, followed by 4 or 5 commonly found remedies with 4 or 5 symptoms each which may help to choose a remedy to get back on your feet quickly. Remember! We are not looking for perfection. We are looking for improvement. We are looking to move the worst symptom out of the way for a minute so you can do what you need to do and then, when that’s done, get back into bed to rest properly. This is far from a complete flu repertory. The intent here is to put as many remedies as possible in a quick list. All of these remedies could (pretty much) be listed under all of the headings. In other words, they are (for the most part) wide-reaching flu remedies. Choose the worst MAIN COMPLAINT (found in BOLD CAPS) you are experiencing at the moment and then choose the remedy that best fits your current symptoms. Notes:
 ACHING BODY: Arnica
 COUGH: Antimonium tart
 FEVER*: Aconite
 GASTRO: Arsenicum album
 HEADACHE: Belladonna
 NOSE: Arsenicum album
 SORE THROAT: Causticum
It’s important to remember that there are many, many homeopathic remedies for each of these main symptoms. This is just a brief list which may help to get dinner on the table or that important email answered. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * Be sure to seek treatment if the fever is very high, continues to climb or is accompanied by seizure or fainting or severe headache or stiff neck (to name but a few concerning symptoms). For more information:
If you have already been through the worst of the flu, check out “Get Well Soon” to find a few helpful tips on recuperating.  Back in August I sent out a post saying, “Please Stand By.” I mentioned that I was returning from vacation and I had been ready to hit the ground running but that life had other plans for me. We are now to February and I think, hope, I have moved (most of) life’s other plans to the wayside and I can resume as previously planned. What happened? An awful lot, and I suspect that plays a part in what ultimately put the roadblock in my way. However, I will share with you the shortened version of what happened after my summer vacation. We were all checked in for our flight the next morning and late that afternoon things changed. Eventually, we learned our flight had been cancelled and the airline gave us various flight choices for return flights many days later. That wasn’t an option, though, because there were plans set in stone for some of our group and we had to get back. Many hours later (and many dollars, too!) all 5 of us were booked on a flight home the following morning. Phew! What a to-do! But it was done. Fast forward a few hours and literally the minute I stepped on the plane, I had a bad headache. It was really bad. I slept. I looked in my bag for my Aconite/Bryonia combination (see here and here and here and here for more on this fabulous Banerji protocol) but then I remembered I gave it away on the trip. I knew I had remedies in my carry on but I really couldn’t think about what I had, where I had them or what to do with them if I were even able to muster the energy to get them out of the overhead bin. I kept sleeping instead. Back on terra firma, waiting for our final flight home I was unbelievably grumpy. Grumpy actually doesn’t begin to touch my mood — I was foul and angry and I hated the world. My headache was still raging. I felt feverish on and off. I was miserable. Now home, I confirmed my low-grade fever and then I slept. The next morning my headache was a little better, the fever was barely there, but still there it was. The next day things got worse. Now my headache was really terrible. Fever remained low. I slept and I slept and then I slept some more. Now on day 3, I could barely walk my hip hurt so badly. My neck was killing me. My head was so awful I even took ibuprofen — something I have not done in almost 10 years. That lessened the pain for a few hours and I was able to sleep without pain. The headache returned the next day and I again had to take the painkiller so I could sleep without pain. It was a truly debilitating pain. The other thing this ibuprofen did for me was allow my brain to function enough to contact some homeopath friends for some help. Help they did and two days later, I was feeling better, but the low fever stuck around. One week to the day from stepping on that plane, my fever broke. Hallelujah! That night, as I was getting ready for bed, I found an awful looking thing on the outside of my left knee. It was a big, ugly, dare I say garish looking thing and I can’t for a moment think that I could have missed seeing this if it was there before. I booked an on-line appointment for the next morning to confirm my suspicion of and immediately began homeopathic remedies for Lyme disease. It all made sense now as to why I felt so horrible and why none of the homeopathy I was trying was working. This was not a little bug I picked up… well, it was, actually a really little bug, but you know what I mean. My otherwise well chosen remedies were not doing anything to touch those little spirochetes that were busy burrowing themselves deep into my system. The nurse I spoke with during my on-line consultation advised that it looked like Lyme but that she recommended I turn up at the ER for “eyes on” to make sure I wasn’t suffering from cellulitis or some other nasty thing. So, the next day, I did just that and 7-1/2 hours later I was discharged (after never actually getting to speak with a medical doctor but there were plenty of physician’s assistants who stopped by to see my colorful leg. You see, Lyme technically exists in the desert in which I live, but conditions are apparently too dry for them. The most senior of these PAs told me he had seen Lyme in New Mexico only 2 other times in his many years of working here and, like me, both those cases had recently traveled, but I digress…) with a prescription of what turned out to be a nasty antibiotic which I learned a week into the 2-week protocol that it doesn’t have a great track record for “curing” Lyme. However, if you get a tick bite and you immediately take a single dose of Doxycycline, that provides a statistically significant level of protection. Not surprisingly, though, side effects were more common in the Doxycycline group than in the placebo group (Zepf 2002). (Click here to read a literature review.) How did I handle my Lyme disease? Right off the bat, I was remarkably calm (after a little Holy Shamoly moment when I found the rash). I started looking everything up online and confirmed in my mind what was going on. I was both excited (I had a plan in mind) and terrified (it’s Lyme!) to have this answer to what had been ailing me. I made my tele-health appointment and then immediately began taking homeopathic remedies and I slept a good, fever-free sleep. What remedies did I take? I turned to the Banerjis (Parekh 2022) for my first round of homeopathic remedies because the Banerjis are always a very good place to start, especially when you have a diagnosis. The Banerji protocol for Lyme begins with homeopathic Ledum and uses other remedies to address pain as well as specific remedies and nosodes to address the infection itself. Why are these remedies recommended for Lyme disease? Ledum is the remedy for puncture wounds and a tick bite is indeed a puncture wound! Some say Ledum can be used prophylactically and if taken at the first noticing of a tick bite, it may be able to nip a potential infection in the bud. I put this in the can’t hurt, might help category. If you frequent tick-y areas, keep a tube of Ledum with you, just in case. Plus, Ledum is really good for insect bites in general and can be helpful if you are Poked by a Branch, (and, I addressed Lyme and Ledum in Summer Fun #3: Flying Things (mainly.)) The Lyme nosode is exactly what it says — a homeopathic remedy made from the Lyme microbe. (See Sodes and Codes.) These are not the only remedies which are indicated for Lyme disease. Dr. Robin Murphy lists Arsenicum album, Mercurius sol, Tarentula and Thuja in his Lyme disease rubric. Beyond that, there are many, many homeopathic remedies which may be useful in a chronic Lyme case. Work with a professional homeopath and see what relief can be found. After taking those first doses of homeopathic remedies, the next morning I felt better than I had for a week. Granted, it was my first fever-free night’s sleep, but something felt different. And, that afternoon, for better or for worse, after spending hours in the ER, I began the Doxycycline because that is what every medical source I read said to do. A couple of weeks into this rotten scenario, I was still having pretty bad hip pain. I went to my Doctor of Oriental Medicine who addressed my right hip through my left hand (acupuncture is mind blowing). While those needles were doing their thing, I did some breathing exercises I read about in a book prior to having a surgery many years ago. I breathed in deeply, envisioning white, healing light going into my hip and as I exhaled, I pictured whatever color came to mind (usually grey or black) while at the same time conjuring up an image of the spirochetes being unscrewed from my hip. (This, too, goes into my “can’t hurt, might help” bucket of tricks.) I find the breathing in white and exhaling whatever ickiness comes to mind to be very helpful for all sorts of things that come along. What else did I do? I read a few books on Lyme (some helpful, others just slightly informative). I scoured the internet. I watched professional webinars on how to treat Lyme naturally. I purchased a whole bunch of naturopathic remedies after watching these webinars… but, I never needed them. Homeopathy fixed me all up. I didn’t stop with the Banerji Lyme protocol remedies. I needed to pivot a few times to tackle my symptoms. I also encountered some pretty big yuckiness as a result of the conventional meds. I worked with my homeopath to help clean that up, too. It was quite the learning experience on many levels. I feel pretty confident that Lyme disease is in my rearview mirror and I can’t begin to tell you what a relief that is. I had my Lyme diagnosis the middle of August and due to one thing or another (not just Lyme, remember I had a lot going on at the time) it really wasn’t until the beginning of December that I was feeling completely back to myself. It was quite a trek. The other thing I did was to purchase a tick remover and I have put it in my little travel bag to make sure I always have it with me whenever I visit tick-land.
This post is a shortened version of the first of my “Digging Deeper” paid articles. “Digging Deeper” is exactly that — posts that dive deeper into whatever subject is taking my fancy at the moment. To become a paid subscriber and to read the full article, click here. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits Sutton, D. and Spry, C., 2019. One Dose of Doxycycline for the Prevention of Lyme Disease: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines [online]. PubMed. Zepf, B., 2002. Single-Dose Doxycycline to Prevent Lyme Disease. American Family Physician [online], 65 (4), 714–717. This post is a shortened version of the first of my “Digging Deeper” paid articles.  The point of life is balance, not perfection. This sentiment keeps popping up everywhere I turn. I’m taking it as a direct communication from the universe to me. You see, I’m not very good at balance — I’ve always been a kind of an all or nothing sort of gal. Physically, I’m pretty decent with balance. In a former life, I was a recreational figure skater and I could do my spirals and my spins and I could land my basic jumps on one blade. I used to slalom water ski as well as snow ski and those take balance. When we had to do gymnastics in PE, I was horrible at every single part of it, except the balance beam. Mentally, that’s another story. I used to think I was good at balance but only because I was juggling lots of things at once — which, in fact is not a demonstration of balance at all, just an act of mental acrobatics. I start making jewelry and that’s all I think about for the next couple of years. I decide to try my hand at art and I am almost paralyzed by the need for it to feel “perfect” and then I’m unable to do anything at all. I discover homeopathy and I drop everything else and decide there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to study this fascinating system of medicine. So, having this mentality, I have perfected the art of giving stuff up, that’s for sure. (Remember, "all or nothing" was my motto.) I'm pretty good at embracing an all-encompassing deep dive on things, often at the expense of other things. Even writing these articles -- recently taking a step back from writing weekly weighs on my mind heavily. It's a struggle to remember that "about weekly" (as I stated in the "about" section of Ruminating on Remedies) is not the same thing as weekly. However, it's never too late to start a good habit and I have finally come to the realization that it’s time to accept the idea of Wabi Sabi. I’ve heard of this concept before, but I am new to putting it into practice, but I like it, and I’m thinking this might be a good answer for me. Wabi Sabi is a traditional Japanese aesthetic that celebrates the beauty of imperfection and impermanence. Perhaps embracing this philosophy is the way out of my all or nothing mentality. Perfection, or the pursuit thereof, is an admirable goal, I suppose. But, it’s really not a very healthy way to live a life. I always tell my clients when using homeopathy that we are NOT looking for perfection, we’re looking for improvement. (See: What Now and Perfect is the Enemy of the Good.) What is it we are looking for? As a reminder, we are looking for the symptoms to pop up a little less often and when they do, to be a little less intense and hopefully we see an improvement in mood and/or energy. If one struggles with the idea of needing to be perfect, there are some excellent homeopathic remedies to consider. Ignatia is the first remedy that comes to mind for perfection. Ailments from disappointments. Unhappy love. Idealistic. Nervous. High goals, high ambitions, high ideals and high expectations and a burning desire to fulfill them (Master 2009). Intolerant of contradiction. Expectation of others to be perfect. Strong sense of inner duty. Nux vomica for overstudy; "close application to business, with its cares and anxieties" (Vermeulen 2015). These mental strains may lead to the use of stimulants, possibly in excess. Keeping late hours and displaying an irritable temper. Everything makes too strong an impression on this overloaded nervous system. See also: Overwhelmed for further discussion comparing Ignatia and Nux vomica. Arsenicum album for the fastidious person who wants everything neat and clean and tidy and just right. Even when feeling poorly, the person who may benefit from Arsenicum alb may direct someone to tidy up the sick room a bit. This is a person who, in the words of George Vithoulkas, takes "order and cleanliness to the point of expending inordinate energy constantly cleaning and straightening" (Vithoulkas 2015). Natrum muriaticum for one who is responsible and perfectionistic. They may "be compulsively fastidious, trying to control the environment". They may display a "type of hypochondria… expressed as an anxious desire to find the cause of every blemish or pimple" (Morrison 1993). Nat mur cell salt also plays an important role in balancing fluids in the body… if there is excessive dryness or excessive mucus production (for example), Nat mur may be of help. As American poet Henry Van Dyke very eloquently states, “Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” Life is too short. Drop the idea of perfection. Let it go. Sing the song, regardless of talent. Paint the picture. Write the story. Live a good life and enjoy yourself while you're at it. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits Reference list: all books accessed through RadarOpus software
Master, F. J., 2009. Clinical Observations of Children Remedies B. Jain Publishing. Morrison, R., 1993. Desktop guide to keynotes and confirmatory symptoms. Nevada City, Calif.: Hahnemann Clinic Pub. Vermeulen, F., 2015. Concordant reference : complete classic materia medica : 1284 remedies. Glasgow: Saltire Books. Vithoulkas, G., 2015. Essence of materia medica. Usa: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd.  “So putrescent, so feculent, so foul.” These words, borrowed from Colleen Paeff’s The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Solution Problem (2021) really get to the heart of the matter. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of poop? The smell, of course! Poop and stink go hand in hand. (See Rooty Toot Toots for remedies which may help for stinky gas.) Why are poops stinky? Referring back to the first article in this series, dead bacteria, which makes up 30% of poop, is the cause of the smell. Mental Floss, citing Val Curtis from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says, “that we think poop stinks for our good. Our disgust towards certain sights and smells is a ‘behavioral immune system’… that evolved to keep us from coming into contact with infection and disease (Soniak 2013). So, how does homeopathy fit into stinky stools? Well, if you are a regular reader of Ruminating on Remedies, I’m hoping you are now catching on to the idea that after the 220+ years that homeopathy has been around, homeopathy pretty much has a remedy to address pretty much everything… even stinky stools. Most stools stink and that’s normal. However, sometimes there may be a particular odor that is new to a person. In these instances, that new poop smell may help guide one to a helpful remedy. There are a few homeopathic remedies which keep popping up for specifically stinky stools. In particular, Dioscorea, Colocynthis and Sulphur. Generally speaking, I try to keep the remedies mentioned in this blog to those that are readily available. Dioscorea and Colocynthis aren’t unusual remedies, but unlike Sulphur, they are definitely not found in my local stores which sell homeopathic remedies, nor are they always included in remedy kits, but they are well worth seeking out to have in your homeopathic remedy stash. Interestingly, in terms of gastrointestinal disorders, Dioscorea and Colocynthis are opposite each other in regard to colicky pains. Dioscorea has a tendency to stretch backwards to relieve abdominal pains whereas Colocynthis would bend forward to relieve those pains. As for smelly stools, Colocynthis, according to Schroyens, has stools which smell like:
Dioscorea, on the other hand, is mentioned in Murphy’s Repertory in 86 rubrics relating to stools but it is the only remedy listed in the only rubric for those acutely sensitive to the odor of stools to the point of fainting. (Dioscorea is also mentioned in a number of other repertories for offensive stools in general.) Sulphur is another remedy to consider for those oversensitive to stool odors. A Synoptic Key (Boger 2015) is an excellent get-to-the-point materia medica (the book also includes “a brief repertory” which also gets right to the point). Dr. Boger lists Stool, bad odor, including 3 really good stool remedies: Arsenicum album, Carbo-veg and Podophyllum. (That’s a heck of a lot easier than parsing through the 297 remedies listed in Schroyens under offensive stools. See what I mean -- he gets right to the point, kind of like a "start here" sort of repertory.) However, if the stools are offensive only in the morning, consider Graphites. If the stools smell like rotten cheese, try Bryonia or Hepar sulph. If the stools have a penetrating odor: Sulphur or Podophyllum. If the odor cannot be removed, even with washing: Sulphur. Putrid (meaning decaying or rotting smell) stools: there are lots of well indicated remedies here, but start with Podophyllum or Arsenicum album. If these putrid stools are found in the elderly, try Baptisia. If they smell putrid only at night, try Sulphur. Back to Boger for stools that smell like carrion (decaying flesh of dead animals): Carbo veg. Like rotten eggs? Chamomilla. Like sour milk? Tabacum. Sour, in general? Calc carb, Hepar sulph, Mercurius or Sulphur. For an odorless stool, look to Veratrum album. If you would like to keep your bathroom smelling decent for those visitors who have not yet discovered the wonders of homeopathy, try some Poo-Pourri.* They make products to spray into the toilet “before-you-go” and claim it “trap[s] bathroom odor under the water’s surface, so it never enters the air.” It works and it also makes for a funny present with names like: “Trap-a-Crap” and “Royal Flush” and “Heavy Doody” and they even come in seasonal scents. Now, I must admit that I am pooped. I have crapped out on the Doo-Doo Documents for now but there is more to be said on this topic and perhaps one day we shall revisit this extraordinarily important topic. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * I have no affiliation with this company, I just like their products. RESOURCES
Boger, C. M., 2015. Synoptic key of the materia medica : a treatise for homeopathic students. New Delhi: B. Jain. Murphy, R., n.d. Homeopathic Remedy Guide. accessed through Radar Opus software. Paeff, C., Carpenter, N. and Mcelderry, M. K., 2021. The great stink : how Joseph Bazalgette solved London’s poop pollution problem. New York: Margaret K. Mcelderry Books. Schroyens, F., 2012. Synthesis : repertorium homeopathicum syntheticum. Accessed through Radar Opus software. London: Homeopathic Book Publishers. Soniak, M., 2013. Why Does Poop Stink? [online]. www.mentalfloss.com. Available from: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49033/why-does-poop-stink. |
Julia Coyte, CHomI am passionate about homeopathy and I love sharing this passion. Having a working knowledge of homeopathy shouldn't be kept a secret. If people have the ability to help themselves, their children and their friends when they have minor ailments, life just gets better for everyone. That is the purpose behind Ruminating on Remedies. Archives
October 2026
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed