Homeopathy Medicine(A-Z); Disease Condition, Treatment

Most dog owners have dealt with doggie diarrhea at some point or another. Perhaps during a food/diet transition, perhaps due to stress, or perhaps due to the warm summer weather. Try these remedies the next time your four-legged friend comes down with the runs to bring him some fast relief:

• Arsenicum album –  diarrhea related to whether or diet changes; dogs are often chilly and may be nauseated.
• Kali bichromicum – summer diarrhea, foamy stools or may be yellow, worse in the morning. The dog may vomit mucus.
• Natrum muriaticum –  Phosphoric acid: profuse, painless diarrhea with or without debility, worse from hot weather or grief.
• Pulsatilla – painless, changeable diarrhea, worse from the warmth and rich food.
• Staphysagria –  summer diarrhea, worse after surgical procedures.
• Sulfur – Foul-smelling diarrhea, often in the morning.

One common home health problem that frequently arises is that of middle ear infections, also known by their Latin name, otitis media. Most children experience a few episodes of otitis media, usually associated with a cold or upper respiratory infection.

Here are some of the common, and truly indispensable, remedies to consider for children (or adults) with ear infections.

Chamomilla – You can hear the child who needs Chamomilla down the hall and through a closed door. They are uncomfortable and irritable, and they want you to know it. There is something in their cry that puts you on edge; it’s the kind of cry that causes adults to think things like, “Would someone please shut that kid up!?” The child demands to be carried and screams when put down. They demand this or that but throw the object of their desire away when they finally get it. Another peculiar symptom that may occur is that one cheek may be glowing red, while the other is pale.

Pulsatilla – A child needing Pulsatilla is also tearful, but quite different from the Chamomilla patient. Here the cry is usually wimpier, creating a reaction in the surrounding adults of, ‘Oh, the poor thing!’ The child clearly wants sympathy and nurturing. Discharges (such as a runny nose) are usually yellow or green, thick, and bland – not irritating. They typically have little thirst or appetite and they generally feel better in fresh, open air.

Belladonna – Belladonna is appropriate for ear infections with sudden, violent onsets. The child is typically hot, red, and dry. The pupils are often dilated and the eyes seem very bring. Curiously, the head is often hot but the limbs are cold. The nervous system is affected in such a way that the child often experiences twitching or jerking – perhaps in their sleep- and is sensitive to light and jarring. They are often excited and restless.

Ferrum phosphoricum – The child needing Ferrum phosphoricum may first be mistaken for one needing Belladonna. The symptoms are similar, but less intense. The child is often excited, sensitive to light and jarring, but not to the extent of the child needing Belladonna. They are often red, but not as intensely red; hot, but not as burning; eyes red, but not so bright.

Hepar sulphuris –  Think of Hepar sulphuris when the child is chilly, sweat easily, and often has an accompanying hoarse, barking cough. Discharges are typically thick and yellow, and pains are often sticking (like splinters).

Eye injuries can come in all shapes and sizes. For minor eye injuries, consider one of the remedies below to help heal.

• Aconite –  Arnica of the eye; the pain of eye injury.
• Calendula – as the eyewash for pain after removal of foreign body.
• Hypericum – use as an eyewash to wash out foreign body; internally for an excessively painful black eye.
• Ledum – soft tissue injury that is better from a cold.
• Ruta graveolens – eye strain.
• Symphytum – injury to eyeball.

How to make eyewash –  add two drops of the remedy to ½ cup of water.

Note: Get medical care immediately if there is severe eye pain, any loss of vision if there is an injury to the eyeball or a foreign body or chemical in the eye. Get medical care today if there is any significant eye pain, if light causes pain in the eye, if the pupil is irregularly shaped or if the pupil does not react to changes in light.

• Argentum metallicum –  when there is a breakdown in the nerves.
• Gelsemium sempervirens –  after a fright, influenza, or a strong chill.
• Kali phosphoricum – when there has been too much mental exertion or worry, especially in love relationships.
• Natrum sulphuricum – when weakness occurs after a head or back injury.
• Nux vomica – when there has been the abuse of stimulants and alcohol, and a loss of sleep.
• Phosphoric acid –  when there has been a strong grief.
• Picric acid – when exhaustion results from overwork and intense study.
• Selenium – when there is exhaustion on the sexual sphere from overindulgence.
• Stannum metallicum –  after pneumonia or lung problems.
• Zincum metallicum – after influenza, or a disease (especially of the skin) that has been suppressed in some way.

The flu can come on suddenly and stop you in your tracks – but there are many homeopathic remedies that can help bring relief and shorten the duration of the flu.

The following are some remedies that can bring relief during the flu:

• Arsenicum album – great prostration with extreme chilliness and a thirst for frequent sips of warm drinks. The eyes and nose stream with watery, acrid discharges. Feels irritable and anxious.
• Baptista – gastric flu with vomiting and diarrhea. Comes on suddenly. Feels sore and bruised all over. Profuse perspiration with a high fever and extreme thirst. Feels (and looks) dazed and sluggish.
• Bryonia –  flu comes on slowly. Aching pains in all the joints are worse for the slightest motion. Painful dry cough that makes the head hurt. Extreme thirst at infrequent intervals. Feels intensely irritable and wants to be alone.
• Eupatorium perfoliatum – the pains are so severe it feels as if the bones are broken. The muscles ache and feel sore and bruised as well. A bursting headache with sore, aching eyeballs. The nose runs with much sneezing, and the chest feels sore and raw. Thirsty for cold water even though it brings on violent chills in the small of the back.
• Ferrum phosphoricum – a fever develops, the flu is likely but the symptoms aren’t clearly developed yet (and Aconitedidn’t help). Take 3 doses every 2-4 hours.
• Gelsemium –  flu comes on slowly especially when the weather changes from cold to warm. The muscles feel weak and achy. There’s a great feeling of heaviness everywhere-the head (which aches dully), limbs, eyelids, etc. No thist at all. Fever alternative with chills and shivers that run up and down the spine. Feels (and looks) apathetic, dull, and drowsy.
• Mercurius solubilis – fever with copious, extremely offensive perspiration that doesn’t provide any relief (unlike most feverish sweats). The breath smells bad, there’s more salivation than normal and an extreme thirst.
• Nux vomica –  gastric flu with vomiting and diarrhea. The limbs and back ache a great deal. The nose runs during the day and is stopped up at night. Fever with chills and shivering especially after drinking. Very chilly and sensitive to the slightest draught of air or uncovering. Feels extremely impatient and irritable.
• Pyrogenium –  serious flu with severe pains in the back and the limbs and a terrible, bursting headache. Feels beaten and bruised all over. Very restless and feels better on beginning to move. Chills in the back and the limbs with a thumping heart.
• Rhus Toxicodendron –  flu in cold, damp weather. Great restlessness: aching and stiffness in the joints are worse for first motion, it eases with continued motion and then they feel weak and have to rest after which they stiffen and have to move again. Pains are better for warmth. Feels anxious and weepy.

Frostbite is the body’s way of protecting itself from hypothermia and can range from mild to severe. In mild frostbite, the skin looks cold and can be numb and stiff. It’s uncomfortable but doesn’t lead to permanent damage. In second degree frostbite, the skin turns white or blue and feels hard and frozen. In severe frostbite, the skin turns white, blue, or mottled. In severe cases, a damaged area may need to be amputated. However, there are several remedies that can be used to quickly heal mild cases of frostbite at home. More severe cases require immediate medical attention.

• Agaricus muscarius –  this is the most common frostbite remedy. The person may feel like hot or cold needles are piercing him. The frostbite can itch and burn, sometimes intolerable, and the pains may be accompanied by a sensation of cold, numbness, and tingling. There may be trembling and/or twitching. The symptoms may appear diagonally, such as right hand and left foot.
• Carbo vegetabilis – this person may be very sick. He may appear blue, icy-cold, weak, and exhausted. His limbs may feel heavy, stiff, and paralyzed. Although he is terribly cold, he may want the window open or a fan pointed at him. He feels he needs the air in order to breathe.
• Nitric Acid – the pain of frostbite has a characteristic sticking quality, like pain from a splinter. This person is extremely sensitive to pain. He will not want anyone to touch or move the painful area. He may appear irritable and anxious about his health.
• Nux moschata –  the skin will feel cold, dry, and may have bluish spots. The person may appear very drowsy and seem a little bewildered. Though his mouth and throat will be dry, he is characteristically thirstless.
• Petroleum –  people needing this remedy tend to have skin that cracks in the wintertime. The skin feels thick, tight, and hard. There can be swelling of the extremities with painful cracks or splits in the skin, accompanied by a burning sensation, itching, tingling, and/or numbness. The skin may also appear purple.
• Pulsatilla –  the pain can be shifting in intensity and location. For example, the person may complain of burning in the fingers and throbbing in the toes. The pain is worse if the affected part is hanging down. The person may be weepy and frightened, seeking comfort and sympathy.
• Silica terra – the person needing this remedy tends to get cold very quickly. You may find him wrapped in blankets sitting by the fire, even if it’s not terribly cold out. Although his feet may feel icy cold, they may be very sweaty. The skin appears delicate, pale, and waxy.
• Zincum metallicum – the frostbitten area will appear swollen and painful and feels much worse if you rub it. The tip of the nose is easily frostbitten and will remain red long after it has been frostbitten. The affected areas can feel weak and may tremble and twitch. This person may appear confused and is likely to complain about their discomfort.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFM) starts with a fever and shortly after, the spots appear. The spots are more like blisters and can show up on the soles of the feet, palms of the hands, and/or inside the mouth and back of the throat. The blisters in the mouth can be very painful, especially when your little one is trying to swallow or eat.

A child also might

• develop fever, muscle aches, or other flu-like symptoms.
• become irritable or sleep more than usual.
• begin drooling (due to painful swallowing).
• gravitate toward cold fluids.

Try the following remedies when HFM makes an appearance in your house.

• Mercurius solubis –  Mouth sores can be very severe, and the person is very sensitive to hot and cold; may have a fever before getting the blisters and may alternate between getting too hot with perspiration and becoming chilled at night; becoming too hot or too cold makes the person worse in general; blisters tend to be more painful at night; one of the characteristic symptoms of Mercurius is the tendency to drool or to have an excess of saliva in the mouth; the breath may be quite offensive with pus visible on the tonsils or elsewhere in the mouth.
• Antimonium tart – Chill stage of fever: gooseflesh and icy cold skin; heat stage of fever: clings to those around and wants to be carried; does not want to be touched or looked at; thirstless despite the dry parched tongue; what stage of fever: profuse, cold, clammy or sticky; dry, cracked, parched tongue with whitish discoloration in the center; tongue tip and sides clean, moist and red; thrush; may crave apples or apple juice.
• Borax –  Refuses to talk during fever; desire for cold drinks and cold food during fever; great heat and dryness of mouth with white ulcers (aphthae); white fungus-like growth; tender; ulcers bleed on touch and eating; painful red blisters on tongue; sore mouth prevents infants from nursing; fear of downward motion; startle easily; very sensitive to sudden noises.

Selecting the right remedy for a headache can be difficult because many headaches are worse or better from the same conditions. Many remedies cover these common symptoms. You should only use the person’s strongest and most definite headache symptoms when you are considering remedies. The person’s general symptoms are often the most helpful in making the choice between remedies. Belladonna, Nux vominca, and Bryonia are the remedies most likely to be helpful for people suffering from an acute headache with few other symptoms.

• Belladonna – intense headache with violent, throbbing pains; extreme sensitivity to light, noise, touch, strong or unusual smell or jarring; pains begin and end suddenly; pain may be localized anywhere in the head or spread throughout the head, but is most often focused in the forehead; pain may extend from the forehead to the back of the head; face is flushed and hot, and hands and feet may be cold; pupils may be dilated; often used for headaches associated with high fever.
• Bryonia –  pain is described as a steady ache, marked sensitivity to motion (even slight movement of the head or eyes); pain often in forehead and extending to the back of the head, or centered over the left eye; pain is worse with light touch but better from firm pressure; the head feels full or heavy; worse in the morning; nausea, vomiting, and constipation may accompany the headache; emotionally irritable and wants to be left alone.
• Gelsemium – pain begins at the back of the head and extends to the rest of the head or forehead; may feel like a band or hood is bound tightly around the head; a headache preceded by dim vision or other visual disturbances; pain may be localized on the right side of the head; pain aggravated by light, noise, motion, and jarrig, but not affected much by temperature change; better from napping or urinating; person feels dull, tired, heavy, and apathetic; eyelids droop and looks exhausted; not very irritable, but wants to be left alone.
• Iris –  pain felt on one side of the forehead, especially on the right side; pain preceded or accompanied by dim vision or other eyesight changes; nausea and vomiting, with a headache worse after vomiting; pain better by walking in the open air; periodically recurring migraines (e.g. every weekend).
• Nux vomica –  headaches brought on by overeating, use of alcohol, coffee and other drugs, or missed sleep; overall sick feeling and digestive upset; sour or bitter taste in the mouth, queasiness, nausea and/or vomiting, dry heaving and/or gas; also for headache from mental over-exertion, cold air or cold wind; worse from morning, especially on first waking; worse with motion, but shaking the head is especially painful; sound of footsteps is especially irritating; pain better from wrapping the head up a warm room, or from a nap if allowed to finish it; very irritable.
• Sanguinaria –  especially noted for pain beginning in the back of the head and extending to and settling over the right eye or in the right side of the head; pain is sharp, spitting, knife-like and sometimes throbbing; nausea and vomiting at height of the pain; pain better after vomiting; worse with motion, better with sleep and firm pressure; headaches may recur in a consistent pattern.
• Spigelia –  stitching, burning, and pulsating pain, usually in the front and often on the left side of the head; better from lying with the head propped up; worse from stooping, motion, noise, and cold, stormy weather; washing with cold water may feel good, but pain usually worsens after; head pain is made worse from warmth and temporarily better from cold; headache with stiff neck and shoulders which make motion very painful; may have severe pain in and around the eyes, extending deep into the sockets.

Homeopathy can be extremely effective in stabilizing an individual and helping them to heal from overheating. Being exposed to too much hot weather can result in a mild form of shock and make a person overcome with exhaustion. Below are ten common remedies to consider*. Before selecting, make sure that the patient lies down in a cool, dark space and apply a cool wet cloth to the head while giving sips of water (add a bit of salt to the water if it’s available):

• Glonoinum – Agonizing congestive headache with waves of throbbing. A face is hot and red. Extremities are cold. Irritability and confusion might be present.
• Veratrum alb –  Individual might have fainted or collapsed. A face is pale with profuse and clammy sweat, extreme coldness especially to hands and feet. Pulse is rapid and weak. They are anxious, afraid and may rant and rave wildly.
• Belladonna – Face is bright red, glassy-eyed, pupils are dilated. Pulse is strong and fast. No thirst but has a dry mouth.
• Cuprum met – All symptoms of Veratrum alb may be present, but the dominant symptom is cramping. Individual may have jerking motions of the muscles.
• Aconite – Faint and dizzy with a headache after prolonged, direct exposure to the sun. Individual may say that they feel like they are dying, be anxious and restless.
• Bryonia – The individual feels “done in”, wants to lie down and to be left alone. Has a terrible headache made worse by the slightest motion? The individual is extremely thirsty for large amounts of cold water.
• Camphor – The individual responds to heat by feeling intense chilliness and will shiver. They feel faint and dizzy. Muscle cramps in the arms, legs, or abdomen might be present.
• Carbo Veg – Collapse from excess heat with clamminess of the skin and stomach complaints. They have a sense of heaviness in the head, with a throbbing headache in the middle of the forehead and might complain of pain in the eyes. The individual wants to be fanned and needs to feel moving air.
• Gelsemium – The individual is overwhelmed by the exhaustion and puzzled by what is happening. They might experience changes in vision and sore muscles. They are drowsy with a headache in the back of the head, aren’t thirsty.
• Lachesis –  For headaches from sun exposure; especially if they are worse on the left side. The individual feels worse after waking from sleep (possibly fell asleep in the sun), feels faint and dizzy.

Getting away from home can be a true relief for some people, a break from both routine and wearisome demands. But for others, leaving home – and separation from home and family – can be very difficult, and can affect both adults and children.

There are quite a few remedies to help relieve the feelings of homesickness, and the following are some of the most common:

• Arnica –  Though not usually thought of as a homesickness remedy, Arnica addresses shock of many kinds, and every emergency kit should keep this on top. If the separation is shocking, hugely upsetting, repeated in the mind (“I can’t stop seeing them come to take me away…”), or an emotional “blow” to the heart and soul, consider Arnica.
• Aurum metallicum – Literally the gold standard of remedies for sadness, longing, and melancholy, this remedy appears in the repertory rubric, “Mind, Sadness, pining in boys.” The child who needs Aurum feels profoundly forsaken and responds with despondency and self-reproach, believing he has done something horrible to deserve the abandonment. The child might desire open air and can be irascible, unyielding, and taciturn.
• Belladonna – This remedy can be useful for the person whose ­homesickness ­symptoms are vigorous and volatile. Are acutely sensitive, have nightmares, and be surprisingly agitated, even violent without clear cause. Symptoms come and go suddenly. The person may experience and demonstrate an urgent need to escape (a child at camp may try to run away, for example). The person may crave lemons or lemonade and cold food. They tend to be averse to water, to be aggravated by light, noise, and touch, and to have right-sided symptoms, spiking fevers, and redness of the face. This remedy may need to be differentiated from Capsicum.
• Capsicum annuum – This is one of the most important remedies to consider when a person’s homesickness is accompanied by sleeplessness and red cheeks. The person may want to be alone. They may be cross and unable to concentrate. Often, children who need this remedy cannot study or work and will unceasingly complain that they want to go home. The person may look a bit like they need ­Belladonna, but they are more obstinate and sullen, and they show a diminishing of reaction. The redness of Capsicum is cold to the touch (“false plethora” as it’s called in the old books), whereas the flush of Belladonna is burning hot.
• Gelsemium –  This is a wonderful gift for a person who is terrified of having to perform, an issue that may surface strongly when a child is away from home for the first time or an adult is traveling on business for an important engagement.
• Ignatia – The premiere homesickness remedy, it is indicated in people who are agitated, overwhelmed, and upset; sometimes to the point of “hysteria” (e.g., fainting or dramatic mood swings). Worse from stress, coffee, and cold air and may have fevers, headaches that feel like nails driven into the skull, or other physical symptoms that can be traced back to a disappointment, ­separation, grief, shock, or trauma. They sigh a great deal and feel ­disconnected from what is going on. For that reason, they may be heard saying, “I just can’t believe…”  Do not like consolation, but are not made angry by consolation.
• Phosphoricum Acidum – The homesick person is prostrate with grief and hopelessness. On the surface they may seem apathetic and ­mentally unfocused, although the longing is right under the surface. The person may speak and respond quite slowly. Their pain results in a sad kind of resignation, and they appear to be what people commonly call “depressed.” Low spirited and anxious about the future, they may lose their appetite.
• Pulsatilla – This is an effective remedy for those who feel lonely, ­forsaken, and weepy. They are as sad as sad can be and give homesickness a truly poignant cast. They cry easily, and they feel better from consolation, touch, company, and sympathy. They may develop a cold with a thick or yellow nasal discharge. They feel all alone in the world and may elicit in others a need to nurture and protect them. They may be indecisive and reach out for help and reassurance.

There are two main remedies for appropriate for most insect bites and stings and you should find them in any homeopathic kit:

• Apis mellifica – This remedy is not just for bee stings, but for any insect bite with swelling. The bites feel better from cold applications.
• Ledum palustre – For insect bites or stings of any kind without significant swelling, including mosquito, flea, or tick bites.

The following remedies are less commonly needed for insect bites and stings and rarely found in standard homeopathic kits

• Androctonus – This is the first choice for scorpion bites; otherwise, use Ledum.
• Carbolic acid – This is for anaphylactic reactions or collapse after bee or wasp stings, with hives all over teh body and dangerous swelling of the face, tongue, and throat.

Many IC patients have found significant or complete relief from their IC symptoms through homeopathy. But because homeopathy is patient-specific rather than disease-specific (as conventional medicine is), one interstitial cystitis patient may require a completely different homeopathic remedy than the next. The symptoms that lead a homeopath to choose a helpful remedy are often not the urinary pain, urgency, and frequency that are common in most people with interstitial cystitis (unless the urinary symptoms are unusually intense or unique). Instead, it is usually the constitutional remedy that fit the patient’s overall mental, emotional, and physical nature that alleviates the IC. NCH recommends seeking assistance from a trained professional homeopath to treat the symptoms of IC. Visit our Practitioner Directory to find a homeopath near you.