Musculoskeletal complaints improve with Homeopathy

There are millions of people throughout the world enduring musculoskeletal complaints which can
include rheumatic diseases. Many sufferers find that consulting with a complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioner helps in relieving their pain, and may also prevent further occurrences of their problem.

It is interesting to note, since one of the most frequently used CAM therapies is homeopathy, that 23 research studies have been carried out to determine the effect of homeopathy for patients suffering from rheumatic and musculoskeletal complaints, namely rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. These trials, which have included over 2,300 patients in total,
have shown positive results for homeopathy, over and above conventional treatment and placebos.

The studies mostly used patients who suffered from long-term complaints and were treated with homeopathic remedies for an average of four to five months. There was, within these studies, a 77% improvement in 400 rheumatic patients over the first month of treatment and reduced severity of pain in 87% after six months. In addition, after just three months of treatment,
85% of osteoarthritis sufferers found that they had reduced pain, stiffness and swelling of joints.

The multiple investigations also concluded that the safety of homeopathic treatment was greater than conventional treatment, where side-effects to the drugs prescribed are typical. It has been advised, with all these positive conclusions, that homeopathy should be considered a viable
therapeutic option for patients suffering from rheumatic and musculoskeletal complaints.

If you would therefore like to know more about this research, please visit www.homeopathy-ecch.eu.

If you suffer from similar problems to those mentioned in this article, please go to http://www.a-rh.org/FindMembers/find.php to find a homeopath in your area, and to obtain advice specific for your needs.

This article first appeared in Homeopathy Healthy Medicine, March 2011

Yeo Valley uses Alternative Treatment

The company, Yeo Valley Organic, takes pride in having a proactive approach to animal welfare and minimising the stress to livestock which may result in illness. The routine use of antibiotics as a preventative measure to treat the ailments of its cows is not permitted at Yeo Valley Organic. The Herd Manager has invested time and money in studying a course on homeopathic treatments, which he believes has been enormously beneficial to the company.

On conventionally run farms, the administration of antibiotics always results in withdrawal periods for milk and meat during treatment, but homeopathy has no such effect. The cows do not build up immunity to homeopathic remedies - a major consideration; in fact, homeopathy appears to encourage the cows’ immune systems to fight ‘bugs’ for themselves, so the cows stay healthy naturally.

Homeopathic treatment is used in a number of different ways; including to ward off flies, to ease the cows’ stress levels when they have their feet clipped, and to help them during a difficult calving. Yeo Valley Organic are keen to increase the homeopathic care they offer to their animals in the future, and aim to continue to treat their herd homeopathically, whenever appropriate.

This article was first published in Homeopathy Health Medicine, March 2011

Switch off your technology to have a fuller life?

The advancements in technology, over the past decade, have been immeasurable but at what price to our self-esteem and life experiences?

Recent research has demonstrated that the introduction of Twitter and social networking sites such as Facebook have resulted in shorter concentration spans among users and has made us more impatient and dissatisfied with the pace of normal life. While 60% of the population crave to be constantly stimulated, it is not surprising to learn that many of us live life on autopilot, walking down the street plugged into an iPod and reading texts on a phone, completely oblivious of anything that is actually going on around us.

The University of Michigan’s Brain Cognition and Action Laboratory has also identified that the idea of multi-tasking is a myth and that the brain has inherent limitations for processing information. This means, despite consuming more information than ever before, our ability to retain it is worse than ever and we are, therefore, feeling less fulfilled than in the past.

In addition, the vast volume of information confronting us, dulls our sense of excitement
and de-activates our emotions with regard to that information. The human brain, according
to the University of California, needs 6-8 seconds to respond to a story which requires us to react with a feeling of emotional pain and, although that may seem fast, it is enough time to sift through 20-30 Twitter messages, without registering any of them!

It is obvious that huge positives have come out of technology, for example, keeping in touch with friends and family all over the globe and having a constant flow of information available with just a single touch of a keypad. It is, however, important to step back once in a while and “de-tech” in order to live a more enriched and engaged life. Studies have shown those who step away from the gadgets show an increased blood flow to the frontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for memory, problem solving, decision-
making and planning.

And as Sharmash Alidina, a Mindfulness Trainer says, “You only get one moment in life to truly enjoy something and so many of us are missing out on those moments due to distraction”.

(Stylist, 23 February 2011)
First published in Homeopathy Healthy Medicine, March 2011

Homeopathy for Christmas (2)

Try singing or humming this along to the tune of Jingle Bells - another fun rhyme for Winter colds and chills - enjoy

Homeopathy (to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Winter time is here again
Bringing colds and chills
You can treat it naturally
Using homeopathic pills

If you catch the flu
And your bones do ache
Eupatorium Perfoliatum
Is the remedy you should take

When you lose your voice
You really have no choice
Phosphorus is the remedy name
That will let you sing again

Your tongue resembles a map
And your nose runs like a tap
Here’s a little friendly tip
Natrum Mur will stop the drip

Shivers up and down the spine
So you want to lay supine
Gelsemium is the one to meet
Gets you back up on your feet

When your temperature is high
And you think you’re going to die
Belladonna will bring it down
And alleviate your frown

It’s like a splinter in your throat
And you voice it has a croak
Nit Ac will relieve the pain
So you are happy again

A few well-known remedies
To help you feel at ease
Homeopathy is the medicine of choice
Of its benefits please rejoice

Now it’s time to say
I hope you’ll find a way
To use these homeopathic remedies
When you are ill at ease

© June Sayer 2013

Homeopathy for Christmas

Christmas is nearly here so I thought I would pass on some remedy tips in rhyme to keep you all in good spirits throughout the festive season.

Homeopathy for Christmas 

Leading up to Christmas my homeopathic remedy supply I should check
To keep my friends and family well so they don’t all end up a wreck

The shopping is done, presents wrapped, it is always so much of a rush
When I am in need of a power nap, I will thank goodness for Phosphorus

Definitely need to have some Gelsemium for the fear and anticipation
That food and presents will be well received; it helps allay my agitation

Aconite, the trusted friend when eyes can’t bear the light
For a dry sore throat and hoarse cough that is worse at midnight

Arnica for those bumps and bruises caused by kids falling over toys
Or when muscles ache or my head hurts by listening to all that noise

Little Alice always eats too many sweets and ends up with the squits
I’d better make sure that in my remedy box, I have some Arg Nit

Turkey dinner and Christmas pudding can wreak havoc with the digestion
For all that flatulence and burping Carbo Veg will be my suggestion

She knows it gives her a headache but Patty still craves rich food
She will whinge and whine at anything, Pulsatilla will lift her mood

Greedy Glen drinks too much until it makes him feel sick
Nux Vomica will be close at hand to sort him out real quick

Restless Ron needs some Rhus Tox for his rheumatic pain
It stops him from complaining and the family are happy again

Just in case it’s needed for dear cousin Annabelle
To soothe her jealous disposition I have some Apis Mel

Irene is missing her boyfriend he’s gone travelling to Malaysia
To help her enjoy herself while he’s away she is taking some Ignatia

Hypersensitive Hilary with teenage acne always seems to sulk
To clear her skin and put a smile on her face she needs Hepar Sulph

The festivities have tired me out now back to work I must go
Some Kali Phos will restore my energy and give me a healthy glow

© June Sayer 2013

The Handman - an amazing cure with Homeopathy

This article was first published in the ARH magazine, "Homeopathy in Practice", Summer 2005 edition. Alison Pittendrigh, a UK trained Homeopathy, who runs the Frontline Homeopathy project near Mombasa in Kenya, was the author.

No day of rest
It was a Sunday afternoon, just the time when I don't really want to see a patient. One of the workers told me that a man had arrived with a very sore hand.

"How sore" I asked.
"It's very bad" he replied

I have to admit I sighed. "Very bad" is something that is seen every day here and I really needed a break.

A bit more than just sore
The patient was sweating and clearly in agony. The story he was was that he'd been arrested because he 'd lost his ID card (everyone has to carry one here) and while in prison something had bitten him. It started as a small itchy spot and within two weeks it had turned to this - the flesh across the bridge of his hand had been eaten away and his fingers were beginning to fall off (he is supporting them in the photograph as even through the lens it was hard to look). I could see the tendons and bones behind all the pus and within seconds of removing the old cloth bandage the flies buzzed around us.

He had been released from prison but had nowhere to go, so he had been living in the rough scrub between the main road and my house and someone had told him I may be able to help. What? I thought, no, no, no, not even homeopathy can fix this. He told me he had come to the coast to look for work but had found himself in prison instead. His home town was over 600 miles away.

I had heard a similar story where the person also thought he had been bitten by an insect of some sort. I remembered that in that instance the person had enlisted the help of a witchdoctor who had saved the hand and one finger and thumb. I decided the best thing was to give him the bus fare home, where he would be fed and looked after, some money for a decent meal while he was travelling and suggested he went to see his witchdoctor in his home area. I gave him some remedies.

The remedies
The remedies I chose were:

• Pyrogenium 200c (truly bad meat here)
• Mercurius Viva 200c (eating away at tissues)
• Calcarea Sulphurica 30c (just to keep it all coming)

The remedies were made by machine into one tablet, and I told him to take them as often as he liked really. I gave him enough for 2 a day for about 3 weeks. I also gave him Syphilinum 200c (why did it happen to him?) to take weekly for 4 weeks. I honestly never thought I would see him again and had no expectation of a good result from the prescription. Would it really save his hand?

I took a photograph. It is not something I like to do because it feels so inappropriate and intrusive when a patient is suffering so much, but something was nudging me and the patient himself was not too concerned.

They worked!

Well, imagine my surprise when he returned some months later and showed me his hand. There was only one small hole just at the base of his third finger which was still producing a small amount of pus. I asked him if he had seen the witchdoctor.

"No"
Had he been to hospital?
"No"
What, he only took the remedies?
"Yes"
And he went home?
"Yes"

I wondered if he was just saying that so that I might give him some more money but he said he didn't want any money. He told me he had returned to collect a few possessions and he just wanted to thank me, and to show me his hand. He told me that the pain went within a couple of days and over three weeks he watched as his hand began to heal. He said there was still some pain if he carried heavy items, so I gave him some more Calc-s and suggested he came back if there was still some residual problem.

He hasn't returned - I suspect he has gone home so I really won't see him again.

This is quite an amazing story, and highlights just how, sometimes, especially when we are not expecting anything to happen, it does. It is the amazing power of homeopathy at work.

Wonderful Moments in Homeopathy

A group of my Homeopathy colleagues got talking about some of their 'magic' or 'wonderful moments' in experiencing Homeopathy recently. It started like this, when we were discussing the treatment of Salmonella food poisoning.

I cured Salmonella poisoning once in myself in about 30 seconds with the bowel nosode Gaertner - in a 30c (which contains salmonella). One of those miracle cures we all know about in an acute situation. It went from pain, cramping, sweating, about to throw up - to nothing - in the click of a finger! (Erica)

Oh! Erica! ... aren't those just wonderful moments!  Happened to me many years' ago.  I had an eye problem and, after suffering miserable symptoms all day (and in front of a computer), I was given a remedy and wham! all the symptoms disappeared within seconds!  I was a new patient to homeopathy and I was so impressed. (Anne)

I had a similar 'magic' experience, after my first visit to a Homeopath for my painful gastric ulcers. I was given a remedy before I left, and walking out of his house, towards my car, I could feel the remedy working. I knew something was going on, something healing. And within a few weeks, no more ulcers. Never again was I going to say "Homeopathy? Nonsense, I don't believe it that sort of thing!"

Others soon joined in with their own 'magical' homeopathic moments.

One of my simple and wonderful moments, of the very many, happened when a lady I was working for had a severe reaction to a sun cream that she had used. Her face was completely swollen, puffy, red, eyes swollen and stinging, she said her face felt so tight, she thought it would explode. She had been googling on the internet, reading other peoples experiences, and she was starting to panic.

This was before I qualified, I was at college, but I always carry a bag of remedies with me. I suggested she try Apis 30c and to take a couple more during the day if she needed it.

By the end of the day her face was back to normal and there was a big fuss around the office, about how amazing this was. She said at the time she was now a convert, but I don't know if she ever used homeopathic remedies again. But how wonderful anyhow. (Sylvia)

My friend's daughter, then 17 years old came to visit us, and had such bad period pain she could only sit on the chair with her knees drawn up close. One dose of the remedy, Chocolate, and two minutes later the pain was completely gone. (Marianne)

Which one to pick? I used to be a teacher and had parents' written permission to give homoeopathic first aid on school trips. On a residential visit to France, one boy was allergic to eggs and, having been told that îleflottante contained eggs, went ahead and ate it, thinking it wouldn't have any effect. I was sent for urgently as he was having a bad allergic reaction; I had a limited number of remedies, and thought the nearest I could get was Apis 30c. Another teacher was with me and we both witnessed with amazement what happened next. The remedy touched the boy's tongue and he at once vomited without effort, expelling all the contents of his stomach. After half an hour he was out playing football; that trip to the hospital for treatment for anaphylactic shock was avoided by a wee sugar pill. (Neil)

I had a little finger severely crushed when my front door banged shut. The pain was so excruciating, that I nearly fainted on the door step. My husband gave me Hypericum 10M, every five minutes, and repeated when the pain became unbearable again. The pain had completely gone after two hours. The following day the finger looked completely normal, good pink colour, no signs of bruising at all, apart from a broken nail which just grew up again healthily. (Grace)

Grace almost the exact thing happened to me last week. So glad I knew of hypericum. It was agonising! (Gemma)

The only amazing experience I have had may be a little too wacky for your blog, Steve, but here-goes anyway! I had a wasp sting on one one the fingers of my left had while gardening, went indoors and opened a bottle of Apis which I was holding in the same hand. Before removing a pill the pain vanished and I don't think I bothered to take it. It wasn't even a bee sting! Presumably the energy of the remedy was close enough to my sting for it to work. (Teresa)

(Well, it does sound a bit wacky, perhaps even far-fetched, but I have heard about this so many times it is now difficult for me not to believe something is happening. Remember that most of our skeptic detractors think Homeopathy is nonsense anyway, that there is nothing in any of our remedies. So I thought I would publish your experience - just to annoy them)!

My gardener told me that his mum was behaving in a psychotic way since the menopause and they were about to have her sectioned. At first he said she was obsessed with everything being right and straight and was very bossy so I suggested he give her Arsenicum. It had some effect, then a few days later he told me something.(I can't remember what as it was a few years ago) and I knew it was Sepia. I gave him Sepia 1m for her (she was happy about Homeopathy) and soon after he told me she had completely gone back to normal. (Suzy).

A year or so after qualifying I was seeing a patient who, at the end of the consultation, mentioned that she had been plagued by an ingrowing toenail for some weeks which was making getting about very painful for her. Although I hadn't ever tried this before, as she left I gave her Mag-aust 2M with which Clarke had had so much success. The following morning she rang me with the news that she was delighted to be completely pain free. The pain has never returned. (Peter).

A magic moment that I always quote to patients who ask how quickly remedies can act is the incidence of a fellow student at college who always used to bring her (usually very quiet and contented) baby to lectures. One day he would not settle and fidgeted and cried continuously, despite all efforts because he happened to be cutting his first tooth. Somebody had a Chamomilla 30C in their remedy kit, gave it to the little boy and effect was just like a switch. He became quiet & content again literally in under a second ....! (Sue).

And then, Fiona supplied these, saying that "even though I am fully converted and know how well homeopathy works it still never ceases to amaze me!" I could not agree more.

• 14 years ago, before I really understood homeopathy and used Arnica for bruises and Chamomilla for teething, we were on holiday in Cornwall and met the rest of our friends in the pub.  Our then one year old daughter was screaming her head off, bright red in the face, overtired but refusing to sleep. I gave her one ABC (probably a 6 x or c as I believed then that is all you should give children).  She stopped instantly and fell straight asleep for hours.  The rest of the group were open mouthed and asked whether we had given her valium!! 

• My son, aged 6 decided to undo his shoe laces with his teeth (just as we were rushing out for the theatre), he managed to rip a loose tooth out by what looked like the root.  Blood started pouring from it.  I tried to stop the bleeding with a tissue and pressure, but still pouring. I left him holding the tissue with strict instructions not to get blood on his clothes, gave him an Arnica 200 (in front of my somtimes sceptical daughters) and it stopped instantly, enabling us to get to the theatre on time - and amaze not only me, but the girls too.

• My eldest daughter became fluey November 5 years ago and I perservered with homeopathy for 3 weeks with no improvement.  She was pale, had a cough, no appetite or energy, laying on the sofa all day.  In desperation I went to the GP and of course was given an antibiotic prescription.  I was considering getting antibiotics as I didn't know what else to do when a friend suggested I call her homeopath.  With someone else looking at it from a fresh perspective the correct remedy was chosen (Carcinosin). I gave her the remedy Monday 8pm, by Tuesday afternoon she was playing with her brother and sister, on the Wednesday she started eating and was up and about and Thursday back to school!!  A case to completely disprove placebo effect as an excellent homeopath was treating her, but the remedies tried weren't correct.

• My Dad, a non alternative health believer, suffered severe hayfever from age 17, he tried antihistamines, steroid injections and suffered severely every summer. 25 years ago my mother persuaded him to see Janice Micalef and after one week of remedies - cured!  Every year he takes a few remedies throughout the week for the season and no longer suffers.  He still doesn't really believe in homeopathy though!!

Sadna then supplied these - saying that she had many, many others.

• My friend got a splinter in her finger from gardening which was very painful. One dose of hepar sulph 30c. I rang her the next day to ask how her finger was and she had forgotten that there was a problem with her finger - the pain and splinter had disappeared!

• I hurt my back through a succession of events over a few days which included gardening, hoovering and lifting heavy items. One morning I suddenly found myself unable to sit, stand straight or even move without being in pain.Every position I moved into caused excrutiating pain. One dose of Bryonia 200c and my back straightened within half an hour, second dose few hours later and my back pain had gone completely.

• My husband had been walking through a dusty building site and came home with a feeling of grit in his eyes. Eyes had become red and sore and inflamed, one dose of Aconite 200c took his symptoms away.

• My mum had one of her back teeth removed one dose of Emerald 30c along with Arnica 1M and she was having a full meal couple of hours later - no painkillers taken!

• When my daughter was just over a year old she developed croup which was very frightening, symptoms included heavy loud breathing it felt to us as if she was struggling to breathe, the first time it happened we took her to A&E in the middle of the night and they reassured us she was fine. The next time it happened I gave her a dose of hepar sulph 30c and the symptoms vanished within minutes - just like magic! Since then she has had a lot more homeopathy to build her her constitution.

And so they go on. If you have a magic, or wonderful moment relating to Homeopathy, do tell me about it. They can be made into a regular blog!