 A quick and positive response to homeopathy can often open the door for people to discover further benefits of this marvelous modality. Last fall, we were at a gathering and somebody mentioned having been stung by a bee the day before. She had a hard, hot, red, painful lump on her leg, just above the knee. Well, I always have homeopathic remedies with me, so I offered a dose of Apis mellifica. Not long after, the site was a little softer and a little less painful. We repeated the Apis. She was pleased. I sent her away with the tube of Apis. A few days later I heard from her that she had been stung again. “Those little bee pellets of yours really work. I’m impressed! The bees have been vicious and I’m keeping this nearby.” Is Apis the only remedy for a bee sting? Nope. For further information on what other homeopathic remedies may help if you’ve been stung or bitten: Summer Fun #3: Flying Things, Wasp Attack 1 & 2. Apis mellifica is a homeopathic remedy made from a crushed honeybee and processed or, potentized into being a medicine which can help bee stings. Technically, in this instance, Apis would be considered Isopathy, not homeopathy. Homeopathy is “like cures like” and Isopathy is “same cures same.” Click HERE for more information. Isopathy, from the Greek, “equal or same suffering.” Isopathic remedies are made from the actual substance which is causing the allergic reaction or illness. We saw the example of Apis for the relief from the physical complaints of a bee sting, other possible isopathic uses would be potentized (for the sake of this discussion, potentize will refer to turning a substance into a homeopathic remedy) substances to help relieve allergies, (e.g. potentized cat hair to lessen the effects of cat hair on a person allergic to cat hair). The Journal of Asthma has a study evaluating isopathic treatment of allergic mice. For further basic information on Isopathy, click here. Where else does the potentized honeybee (the homeopathic remedy Apis mellifica) come in handy? The quick way of remembering how Apis can help is to think about what happens when one is stung by a bee: swelling, fluid-filled, hot (sensation as well as feeling worse from hot), burning pain, stinging pain and redness. Back to homeopathy (as opposed to isopathy)… when you have a condition resulting in one or more of those symptoms, Apis mellifica may be helpful. For example:
One other very important thing that may possibly happen when one is stung by a bee is an anaphylactic reaction, resulting in swelling of the airway, tongue or throat, causing trouble breathing. If you find yourself in this position, get to the hospital immediately and administer Apis frequently while waiting for the ambulance or while on the way to the hospital. The blossoms are blooming, the bees are busy gathering pollen and I will catch you next time with some more homeopathic nuggets. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits Further Reading & Reference List:
Coyte, J., 2021a. Wasp Attack, pt 1 [online]. CLASSICALLYPRACTICAL.COM. Coyte, J., 2021b. Wasp attack! part 2 [online]. CLASSICALLYPRACTICAL.COM. Coyte, J., 2021c. My Little Bag of Wellness : the homeopathic remedies I carry with me [online]. CLASSICALLYPRACTICAL.COM. Coyte, J., 2022. Summer Fun #3: Flying Things (mainly) [online]. CLASSICALLYPRACTICAL.COM. Homeopathyplus.com, 2023. What Is Isopathy? | Homeopathy Plus [online]. Homeopathy Plus. Mayo Clinic, 2021. Anaphylaxis - Symptoms and causes [online]. Mayo Clinic. Mazloomi, E., Ilkhanizadeh, B., Zare, A. and Shahabi, S., 2020. Evaluation of the efficacy of isopathic immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic asthma in BALB/C mice. The Journal of Asthma: Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma [online], 57 (6), 670–679.
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 And, so it begins. The season of family, friends, food, festivities and, less desirably, the crud.
What follows is an account of one family suffering from the crud. I know this family well and often help them homeopathically through quick text exchanges. Knowing she has a good home kit of homeopathic remedies, I addressed her questions and their symptoms with common remedies. Note: sitting down and taking the full case is definitely a better way to approach any situation, but this is how things go sometimes. She didn’t request a “full” acute consultation, she just wanted to address her symptoms as they popped up. A friend called last week with her 1st grader suffering a nasty, yucky cough. She got over it pretty quickly, but she managed to share it with her little sisters. The littlest one wasn’t sleeping for a few nights and since little ones aren’t known for entertaining themselves quietly when they aren’t sleeping, her mom didn’t sleep either and she, too, succumbed to the crud. In an ideal world, the right remedy will take care of the whole enchilada all at once. But, with colds and flus you often have to chase the symptoms. One remedy takes care of the first problem and then the symptoms change and move and are looking for attention elsewhere. The mom texted with her symptoms: “What do I take for right sided nasal congestion that is also plugging my right ear? It’s a gross one. I tried to get on top of it before it fully took over and was unsuccessful.” My answer: homeopathic Sanguinaria canadensis. I knew from her oldest’s symptoms that an icky cough was part of this picture and Sanguinaria is a good cough remedy in general. It is highly indicated in a hacking cough, an irritable cough, a tickling cough and even whooping cough. Sanguinaria also is noted for ear pain and ear discharges and excessive mucus and/or tickling in the larynx, trachea or throat. The lungs may be filled with gunk and the discharges may be stringy or have an odor The headaches of Sanguinaria can be accompanied by nausea or have pain above the eyes and can be specifically associated with the right side. Gastric headaches, throbbing headaches and migraines can all be helped by homeopathic Sanguinaria. The Sanguinaria did its thing and she was feeling better than she had been earlier in the day, but her ear was still troubling her. It turns out her ear was hurting more than she mentioned at first and said that earlier in the day she found relief from resting her ear on a heating pad*. This made me think of Belladonna, another right-sided remedy that is indicated in ear pain that is better from warmth. Not long after, she texted that the crackling was much improved. * This is a very common occurrence, where what would be important symptoms are left off “the list” for one reason or another. Perhaps it is that another symptom is taking precedence or the symptom in question was worse and seemed to have disappeared and not worth mentioning, but then rears its head again. The next morning, the ear pain was gone but the congestion had shifted to her left nostril. Arsenicum album or Apis popped into my head and she texted that she had the Arsenicum album near by and “it seemed to do the trick.” I didn’t hear from her again and I just happened to text this afternoon to see how she was doing and she was not well. She now thought she had developed a sinus infection. In addition to that, her middle child was still sleeping poorly, coughing and “when she blows her nose it’s like she could blow it forever and never run out of snot.” Her daughter was also “fairly emotional” and “overly sensitive” about things that normally wouldn’t bother her. This was the first I had heard about this daughter and suggested Pulsatilla. Pulsatilla is well known for sadness, weeping easily and changeable moods. Children who can benefit from Pulsatilla are often in need of comforting and feel better for consolation. Pulsatilla is also known for discharges of all kinds from all over the body: ears, eyes, lungs, nose and more. A non-irritating, bland, discharge which may be thick or slimy or yellowish/greenish. Pulsatilla is not the only remedy that is known for a copious discharge, but when you add in the over-sensitivity, then Pulsatilla makes a lot of sense. Very soon after, another text arrived saying her daughter was already sounding less cruddy and was “snotting and coughing” less than before. As for the mom, she was suffering sinus pressure and a pretty bad headache. The mucus was no longer free flowing but it was sticking around causing the sinus pressure and the headache and causing pain at the base of her neck and down the shoulder blades. Kali bich is one of the best remedies for headaches from sinus pressure and also for sinus infections. Again, in very short order, another text arrived saying she was “feeling so much better.” A few minutes after that she phoned from her car (she felt well enough to go out and do what she needed to do!) and said she could “feel the tension leaving her body.” Her face pain was gone, her shoulders were relaxing and her voice continued to lighten as the conversation continued. Could all of the mom’s symptoms be addressed more cleanly straight off the bat? Perhaps. In hindsight, Kali bich may have been what she needed from the start, but as the symptoms presented themselves, it didn’t become clear until later. Homeopathy definitely isn’t an exact science and when the symptoms are being addressed in a piece-meal fashion via short, informal texts it’s easy to miss symptoms which could be more specifically targeted if more information had been available. Regardless, homeopathy was able to keep this busy mom going, despite her many and varied symptoms and is a good example of how symptoms can be addressed and responded to when you have a stash of common remedies at your disposal. At this point, the dad has not succumbed. He has been taking Cold Calm** as a preventative. So far, so good! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits ** I have no affiliation with this company, I just like their product.  I’ve heard jokes made about homeopathic first aid kits. You know the sort of thing. “How is this sugar pill going to help you when you’re bleeding out?” Point taken. Your gushing finger will eventually need to be bandaged up, once you have the bleeding and shock under control. That’s where the homeopathy comes in and that’s why I keep both a homeopathic first aid kit & a good conventional first aid kit handy.* Homeopathic Phosphorus is indicated when there is “bright red and abundant blood” (Ratera, 2016). I have witnessed the blood stop flowing, whether it be from my son’s profuse bloody nose or my gushing finger. “Maybe the blood was stopping on its own, anyway!” Maybe. But, when you see the blood stop flowing on multiple occasions and situations… I’m going with the Phosphorus is working… and very quickly! Cantharis is one of the best remedies for burns (Ratera, 2016, p. 386). Not only can this remedy be taken by mouth to relieve the pain and to start the healing, homeopathic Cantharis can be diluted in water and applied topically after soaking some gauze in the solution. Calendula is another remedy which works well when diluted and applied topically, especially if there are lacerations (deep cuts). Homeopathic Calendula is highly indicated “to promote healthy granulation (Taber’s Medical Dictionary: “granulations bring a rich blood supply to the healing surface”) and prevent excessive suppuration (Taber: “the formation of pus”) and disfiguring scars” (Allen, 2017, p. 76). Plus, it helps the pain… a lot! ** I have included a few links to research papers on Calendula in this article. For more links to further research on the benefits of homeopathic remedies, visit my research page. And, let’s not forget the first rule of dealing with an emergency … staying calm. Arnica should be one of the first remedies administered in an emergency. Homeopathic Arnica is highly indicated in the patient who says there is nothing wrong with them (especially when they are clearly in need of medical attention). Arnica, too, can be applied topically for bruises, strains and muscular injuries, but NEVER on an open wound. English physician Dorothy Shepard (1885-1952) writes about her patients who believed they were being given morphine when in fact they had been given homeopathic Arnica (Shephard, 1989, p. 145). I am not suggesting that homeopathy can fix everything all by itself, (though, it can go an awfully long way!) Homeopathy is also excellent to use ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL! If you are dealing with someone who is suffering hives or an allergic reaction and it looks like it is turning into an anaphylactic situation, administer homeopathic Apis mellifica immediately (Ratera, 2016, p. 322) and frequently while on the way to the hospital or when you are waiting for the ambulance to arrive. If you are faced with someone having a stroke or heart attack, administer Arnica or Aconite immediately (Banerji and Banerji, 2013, p. 56; Pareek and Pareek, 2012, p. 17; Pareek and Pareek, 2012, p. 47) and frequently while you are waiting for the ambulance to arrive. In addition to all the horrible scenarios that are possible, a homeopathic kit can also help address everyday issues that arise: ear aches, fever, too many sweets, diarrhea & vomiting, bumps and bruises and coughs, colds & allergies. I have written a few times about when my homeopathic remedy kit has come in handy… here and here. Below, please find some links to a wide range of homeopathic remedy kits. Once you have a kit in your possession, you are on your way to protecting yourself and your family both in everyday and emergency situations. The more you use it, the more you will want to use it because you will be amazed at how quickly bad situations can be averted and made right. * I have no affiliation with any of the companies listed in this article. Julia Coyte, CHom classicallypractical.com #wellnessawaits #homeopathycanhelp Homeopathic Remedy Kits These prices and links are accurate at the time of writing this article in September 2021. 1/2 dram vials are excellent for travel. 2 dram vials are much easier to dispense the remedies and are excellent for home use. A 30c kit is a very good place to start, regardless of who makes it or how many remedies are included. Americans For Homeopathy Choice An Altoid sized tin with twelve 1/2 dram glass bottles to which you can add your own remedies, $20. Or, you can purchase a full kit which includes twelve 1/2 dram OHM Pharma remedies, $60. A truly easy to carry choice. BONUS! All profits from this kit are donated to Americans for Homeopathy Choice. Boiron Remedies included: HomeoFamily Kit: this is a nice drawer-like kit, holding 32 full size Boiron remedies in both 6c and 30c as well as 12 individual Oscillococcinum tubes, includes the “Easy Guide” with room to hold 16 additional full size tubes: $199.99. Remedies included. HomeoTravel Kit: Room to hold 16 remedies, 6c & 30c combined, $109.99. Remedies included. Boiron storage containers only (no remedies included), but a good way to organize your loose Boiron tubes! My Home Kit: is an empty drawer-like container with room to hold 48 Boiron tubes plus 18 doses of Oscilloccinum: $49.99. My Pocket Kit is an empty container which holds 5 Boiron tubes: $1.99. My Travel Kit is an empty container which holds 16 Boiron tubes: $29.99. Hahnemann Labs: 2020 kit: 12 remedies, 30c: $70 — 2 dram First Aid: 15 remedies, 30c: $61.95 — 2 dram Home Remedy Kit: 35 remedies, 30c: $154.95 — 2 dram Expanded Home Remedy Kit: 50 remedies, 30c: $203.95 — 2 dram Helios Childbirth kit, 18 remedies, 200c £29.95 Traveller kit, 36 remedies, 30c, £42.95 Pet kit, 24 remedies, 30c, £36.25* *Homeopathic remedies are the same whether for pets or for people. A pet kit could be used for people and a people kit can be used for pets. Accident & emergency, 18 remedies, 200c, £29.95 Basic 18 kit, 30c, £29.95 Basic 36 kit, 30c, £42.95 Lotus Health (Robin Murphy, N.D.) First aid kit, 1/2 dram, 50 remedies, in either 30c or 200c: $150 Robin Murphy, N.D. also offers a number of CDs or Downloads to learn all about homeopathy and homeopathic remedies. I highly recommend all of his lectures, but in this instance, I suggest his “Emergencies and First Aid” lecture. Natural Health Supply First aid: 50 remedies, 1/2 dram: 6c: $149 30c: $149 200c: $179 Emergency kit upgrade, Part B, 1/2 dram: 30c: $169 200c: $189 Household kit, 25 remedies, 2 dram: 30c: $159 200c: $189 Tissue salts kit, 12 remedie, 2 dram:$ 59.95 Ollois First aid kit, 4 remedies in a little case, 12c and 30c: $29.99 Washington Homeopathy 50 remedy kit 30c, 1/2 dram: $124.99 (out of stock til 10/21) 50 remedy kit 200c, 1/2 dram: $174.99 (out of stock til 10/21) Top 100 kit: $224.99 (out of stock, no date given) Empty storage kits: 1/2 dram, 50 count: $7.59 1/2 dram, 100 count: $8.19 Resources for this article:
Allen, H.C. (2017). Keynotes : rearranged and classified with leading remedies of the materia medica and bowel nosodes including repertorial index. Noida, U.P., India: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd. Banerji, P. and Banerji, P. (2013). The Banerji protocols : a new method of treatment with homeopathic medicines. India: Pratip Banerji. **Givol, O., Kornhaber, R., Visentin, D., Cleary, M., Haik, J. and Harats, M. (2019). A systematic review of Calendula officinalis extract for wound healing. Wound Repair and Regeneration, 27(5), pp.548–561. **Hostanska, K., Rostock, M., Melzer, J., Baumgartner, S. and Saller, R. (2012). A homeopathic remedy from arnica, marigold, St. John’s wort and comfrey accelerates in vitro wound scratch closure of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 12(1). **Nicolaus, C., Junghanns, S., Hartmann, A., Murillo, R., Ganzera, M. and Merfort, I. (2017). In vitro studies to evaluate the wound healing properties of Calendula officinalis extracts. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 196, pp.94–103. Pareek, R.S. and Pareek, A. (2012). Homeopathy for Acutes and Emergencies. Kandern, Germany: Narayana Publishers. Ratera, Dr.M.M. (2016). First Aid with Homeopathy. Dr. Ratera specialized in Internal Medicine and also studied Traumatology and Emergency Medicine in Spain. Shephard, D. (1989). The magic of the minimum dose : experiences and cases. Saffron Walden: Health Science Press. A highly readable book, loaded with good information. Venes, D. and Clarence Wilbur Taber (2013). Taber’s cyclopedic medical dictionary. [22nd ed., ISBN: 9780803629776]. Philadelphia, Pa.: F.A. Davis.  Remember way back when when we used to routinely exercise our immune system? We would be constantly bombarded by germs that if you weren’t strong enough would result in… [play the ‘duh duh duh’ music here] a cold! There is/was a school of thought that getting and beating these types of attacks is/was good for your health — taking your immune system for a walk, so to speak. My family routinely turned to Boiron’s Cold Calm for quick relief almost every time a little “somethin’ somethin’” seemed to be creeping in. Cold Calm is a combination homeopathic remedy that can certainly save time and energy if the symptoms are just starting to present and are not quite clear enough to choose just one remedy. Or, when you are the person suffering and the inability to think clearly sets in. Here are the homeopathic remedies included in Cold Calm with a little more information to understand what’s in it and how these individual remedies may help your symptoms. Allium cepa is the red onion — you know, the thing that makes your eyes itch and burn and tear up and your nose follows streaming along soon after. Apis mellifica is the honey bee — you know, the thing that stings you and you swell up… like your nose or your eyes if you have a cold. Belladonna has a reputation as a “virus interrupter.” More specifically to coming down with a cold, Belladonna can be helpful with congestion or when suffering a headache as a result of stuffiness. It’s certainly helpful if any sore throat is involved. Eupatorium perfoliatum, also known as “Bone-set” is an excellent fever remedy, specifically (wait for it…) when your bones ache, including your facial bones as a result of sinus pain. Gelsemium sempervirens is one of the great homeopathic influenza remedies. This remedy is taught in the homeopathy schools as the 7 dwarfs remedy: for when someone is Droopy, Drowsy, Dumb, Dizzy, Drained — that’s only 5, but you get the idea. An excellent headache remedy. Kali bich — for when it’s thick! The old homeopathy books call them “clinkers” — that’s a booger to you and me in modern parlance. Lumps of stuff in the nose or throat. Again, another excellent headache remedy if the symptoms fit. Nux vomica — good for stuffy nose, but even better for sneezing. Nux vomica is also an excellent remedy for the tummy symptoms which can sometimes accompany a cold/flu. And, it’s really good for the short temper that can sneak in there when you’re feeling crummy. Phytolacca decandra — swollen glands and sore throats, specifically the sore throats where the pains shoot from the throat into the ears on swallowing. Pulsatilla — if there is a loss of taste and smell. Stuffy nose; a bad odor in the nose; mucusy, loose cough, bland watering eyes (not burning, that’s Apis mentioned above). I have heard Cold Calm referred to as "magical" — now you know why. This little mixture covers just about everything one would need at the start of “a little somethin’ somethin’” coming on. If Cold Calm isn’t quite cutting it for you and you need some further assistance with cold or flu symptoms, book an acute appointment and we’ll see what we can do to get you feeling better quicker. Julia Coyte, CHom Classicallypractical.com #homeopathycanhelp Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash  My latest read arrived in the mail today. “Pigs: The Homeopathic Approach to the Treatment and Prevention of Diseases.” Once I have read it, it will sit on the shelf next to “Homeopathy for the Heard: A Farmer’s Guide to Low-Cost, Non-Toxic Veterinary Care of Cattle” and the “Practical Handbook of Veterinary Homeopathy: Healing Our Companion Animals from the Inside Out.” I have more like this on the shelf, but that’s not the point of this article. The purpose of this article is to point out how marvelously well homeopathy works for all creatures. I have recently written about Rufus and his troubles ["An insecure rectum"& "What Hurts?"], but homeopathy has in the past helped our chickens and our peacock, too. Now, let's take a look at our imaginary creatures from the title of this article. I have no doubt this powerful medicine would be able to help “The Lion in Love.” That’s the Aesop’s Fable where the poor lion, in love with the woodsman’s daughter, was de-fanged and de-clawed and still denied the woodsman’s daughter anyway. This poor fellow most certainly could have been helped by Natrum muriaticum, the preeminent remedy for unrequited love. Though tiger balm isn’t made from any part of a tiger (at least not that I can find!), and can be useful for straining injuries — the mechanism behind the active ingredient is to numb and block nerve sensations to make the area feel temporarily less painful. Now, if our imaginary tiger from an Aesop’s fable was in need of tiger balm, I’m not certain it would do him much good due to his thick coat and skin. BUT, homeopathy could help him. Helios pharmacy makes a lovely remedy they call “Helios Injury.” This is a combination of Arnica, Rhus tox and Ruta grav which will bring relief to strains and sprains and bruises (oh, my! — sorry, I couldn’t resist). If you are not near a Helios (located in the UK), you can make your own combination remedy by putting a couple of pellets of each of the 3 remedies in your mouth at one time and letting them dissolve together to create this powerful remedy. The bear in Aesop's “The Bear and The Bees,” who was stung so terribly by the whole hive from whom he was trying to steal their honey… Apis mellifica is the remedy needed if the area is warm, red and swollen. But, if the sting area feels cold and it is relieved by cold, then Ledum palustre is the better choice. Whether it’s a chicken or a peacock or a dog or a pig or a whole herd of cows… homeopathy can help clear up what ails them quickly, safely and non-toxically. If you are interested in setting an appointment for your lion, tiger or bear, I'm willing to give it a try! Contact me at classicallypractical.com. |
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
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