Ringworm

​I’ve been hearing that ringworm is going around. Is it true? I must confess, it’s getting pretty hard to tell what is true these days when you’re looking at the news.

Regardless of all that nonsense, it’s important to be pro-active and know what to do if whatever is going around is coming your way.

With that, let’s talk about ringworm.

Ringworm is a fungal rash, named because of the ring that encircles the rash — no worms are involved. It is related to athlete’s foot and jock itch and it’s important to remember that fungal infections are likely to be contagious. They can spread through contact with the infected skin of others (including animals) or objects like towels, bedding or clothing.
What to look for, according to Mayo Clinic:

• a scaly, ring-shaped area (on the bottom, the trunk, the limbs)
• itching
• slightly raised rings with a round, flat patch of itchy skin
• the rings may overlap

“Ringworm may cause bald patches and consistent scratching leads to oozing and blistering” (Alton and Alton 2021).

Sounds kind of miserable. How can homeopathy help?

My first homeopathic stop would be from the Drs. Banerji who recommend the following protocol:

• Graphites 200c, one dose taken every 3 days
• Kali sulph 3x, taken twice daily
• and, if the itching is really bad, Coffea cruda 200c, every hour until better.

They also caution that if one member of the family has it, it may spread to the whole family (Prasanta Banerji and Pratip Banerji 2013), so be prepared!

Now, let’s look at these remedies individually and see why they might help.

Graphites is a big skin remedy. In this instance, it can be helpful for moist, crusty eruptions and has thick borders. Blisters which itch and ooze. Skin that comes off in scales or flakes. It is well indicated for eruptions which burn or itch as well as “smarting” — they just hurt. Itching skin, with the need to scratch it until it is raw. It’s also helpful for spots of falling hair (bald patches).

Kali sulph is the primary cell salt which is indicated in ringworm, according to Natural Healing with Cell Salts ((Weintraub 1999). I’ll just let George W. Carey, MD sum up the skin conditions noted in his book, The Biochemic System of Medicine (1896):

“All sores on the skin, when exuding a thin, yellow, watery matter, sometimes with dryness and desquamation of the surrounding skin. Skin scales freely on a sticky base… This salt also greatly aids desquamation in eruptive diseases and assists in the formation of new skin.” [author’s emphasis, not mine]

Coffea cruda, a homeopathic remedy made from raw coffee, helps to keep one’s mind off of things. In my mind, I have somehow squashed the squirrel from Hoodwinked with the dog from Up to represent this remedy. The squirrel becomes hyper-focused when he has coffee and Dug the Dog’s attention leaves whenever there is the mention of a squirrel. So, my mind justifies this craziness in this way… when your mind is hyper-focused on the itching (think: squirrel from Hoodwinked) take the Coffea cruda remedy and it can remove the attention of the itching to the “squirrel” over there (think: Dug the Dog). In other words, the remedy removes the hyper focus and allows your mind to go elsewhere.

Here’s to being prepared for the real stuff as well as the (possibly) over-hyped stuff. May we one day be able to easily decipher truth from fiction again.


Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath


#wellnessawaits

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Reference list

Alton, J. and Alton, A., 2021. The survival medicine handbook : the essential guide for when help is NOT on the way : a Doom and Bloom guide. United States? Doom And Bloom Llc.

George Washington Carey, 1896. The Biochemic System of Medicine. F. August Luyties.
Lockie, A., 1993. The family guide to homeopathy : symptoms and natural solutions. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Mayo Clinic, 2018. Ringworm (body) - Symptoms and causes [online]. Mayo Clinic.

Morrison, R., 1998. Desktop companion to physical pathology. Nevada City, Calif.: Hahnemann Clinic Publ.

Prasanta Banerji and Pratip Banerji, 2013. The Banerji protocols : a new method of treatment with homeopathic medicines. India: Pratip Banerji.

Weintraub, S., 1999. Natural healing with cell salts. Pleasant Grove, Ut: Woodland Pub.