Recognising the characteristic language and experience of sarcodes
A patient rarely enters the consultation announcing that they are experiencing a disturbance of metabolic regulation, endocrine signalling or cellular energy production.
Instead, they describe life.
They speak of feeling blocked, unable to move, unable to release, driven to continue, or exhausted by the effort required to keep everything working. They may describe cycles, pressure, flow, storage, signals, timing, conversion or breakdown.
In a strongly expressed sarcode case, these are not merely metaphors decorating the story. They may form the architecture of the case itself.
“I have a job to do”
One of the clearest themes associated with sarcodes is function.
The patient may be deeply concerned with being useful, performing correctly or fulfilling a particular role. They may feel that they exist to complete a task within a larger system.
Characteristic expressions may include:
“I need to do what I am supposed to do.”
“Everything depends on me functioning properly.”
“There is no point in me being here if I cannot be useful.”
“If one part stops working, the whole system collapses.”
The emphasis is not necessarily upon achievement, recognition or social status. It is upon the fulfilment of an essential function.
This helps distinguish sarcode language from remedies that may appear superficially similar. Lycopodium may worry about capacity and failure. Aurum may experience intense responsibility and moral duty. Carcinosin may adapt, overperform and suppress personal needs in order to meet expectations.
The sarcode concern is more elemental. It resembles the experience of a gland, cell or physiological messenger whose purpose is to perform one specific task in harmony with the whole.
This can be described as a simple and ancient quality, with an emphasis upon order, normality, efficiency and the distress that occurs when function fails.
Function within a larger system
No hormone acts entirely alone. No gland regulates only itself. Every physiological component participates in a network of signals, feedback and response.
This creates another important sarcode theme: being one part of a coordinated whole.
The person may feel responsible for maintaining equilibrium around them. They may attempt to coordinate family members, colleagues or practical systems. Chaos feels threatening because it prevents each part from performing its correct role.
There can be a need for routine, precision and predictability, but this should not be confused automatically with the orderliness of mineral remedies or the conscientiousness of Carcinosin.
“Everything must remain in balance so that the system can continue.”
When balance is restored, the person may describe a feeling of smoothness, harmony and effortlessness. When it is disturbed, there is a sense that one faulty component is destabilising the entire organism.
The central polarity: blocked and flowing
A frequently observed polarity in sarcode cases is the contrast between obstruction and release:
Blocked: trapped, congested, compressed and retained
Flowing: circulating, spreading, released and free
The patient may describe something building up inside them. Pressure increases, layers accumulate, movement becomes restricted, or energy is unable to travel where it needs to go.
They may use imagery of pipes, rivers, channels, circulation or irrigation:
“It is all backed up.”
“The energy cannot get through.”
“Everything becomes stagnant.”
“Once it releases, I feel light again.”
“It should flow naturally, but something keeps stopping it.”
The crucial feature is not the word “stuck” by itself. Many remedy families experience obstruction. What distinguishes the sarcode is the sense that a physiological process cannot complete its intended cycle.
This is different from the obstruction of Calcarea carbonica or the difficulty pushing through associated with Silicea. In the sarcode, the process itself is interrupted.
Describing process rather than personality
Sarcode cases may contain less psychological drama than some strongly expressed plant, mineral or animal cases. The patient can sound factual, descriptive or almost mechanical.
They may speak of:
Cycles repeating or failing to complete
Raw material being transformed into energy
Signals being sent but not received
Pressure building before release
Heat being produced or lost
Something being stored for future use
Material being broken down into smaller components
A system working too slowly and then suddenly too quickly
Hand gestures can be especially revealing. The patient may draw circles, show energy moving through a pathway, demonstrate something spreading outwards or imitate the closing of a channel.
Rather than describing symptoms happening to them, they begin to describe the process itself.
The patient becomes the physiology.
Rhythm, cycles and timing
Many sarcodes are closely associated with processes that depend upon rhythm.
The pineal gland participates in circadian timing. Cortisol follows a daily pattern. Ovarian hormones change through the menstrual cycle. Insulin responds dynamically to food intake and glucose availability. Growth, puberty, lactation and reproductive transition unfold according to timing and developmental sequence.
Disturbance may therefore appear as:
Sleep-wake reversal
Symptoms recurring at the same hour
Irregular or absent menstrual cycles
Marked symptoms around ovulation
Delayed or premature puberty
Alternation between intense activity and collapse
Inability to establish a stable routine
Seasonal or lunar sensitivity
The person may feel that their internal clock no longer corresponds with the external world.
Too much and too little at the same time
Sarcodes may present with an apparent contradiction between under-function and over-function.
The person is exhausted but cannot rest. They feel slowed down, yet internally driven. Their body feels cold while the mind races. They alternate between prolonged inactivity and bursts of excessive output.
This apparent contradiction can be clinically valuable. It suggests that the problem may not be confined to a single organ producing too much or too little. The regulatory mechanism itself may be unstable.
Their repertorial existence emphasises this coexistence of hypo-function and hyper-function, describing patients who are depleted yet wired, or whose physiological state swings between opposing extremes.
The key observation: apparent hypo-function and hyper-function may coexist when regulation itself has become unstable.
Reading sarcodes through physiological hierarchy
Different levels of regulation may produce different forms of functional language.
Hypothalamic pattern: the internal thermostat is broken. Temperature, hunger, thirst, sleep and reproductive timing fail to self-regulate.
Pituitary pattern: coordination becomes central. Instructions are being given, but other systems are not responding correctly.
Thyroid pattern: life and body are experienced through speed — running too slowly or too rapidly.
Adrenal pattern: readiness, emergency and difficulty leaving a state of mobilisation become prominent.
Insulin-related pattern: management, storage and fear of not having enough for the future may predominate.
Mitochondrial or ATP pattern: energy production, distribution and the ability to sustain cellular activity become central.
These associations can help organise the case, but they remain hypotheses until supported by characteristic symptoms and materia medica.
Avoiding the trap of source projection
Once a practitioner learns the physiology of a sarcode, there is a temptation to find that physiology in every sentence.
Someone who speaks about pressure does not necessarily need a sarcode. A patient who values usefulness may require Aurum, Carcinosin, Staphysagria or another remedy entirely. Fatigue and hormonal symptoms alone are not sufficient.
The pattern becomes meaningful when several levels converge:
The patient’s language reflects the same process as their physical symptoms.
Their general modalities support it.
The functional disturbance repeats across different areas of life.
The source association clarifies the pattern rather than replacing the totality.
The sarcode hypothesis should make the case more coherent, not merely more interesting.
In Part Three, we will move from recognition to application. How can sarcodes be found in the repertory, confirmed in materia medica and differentiated as intercurrent remedies or deeper simillimums?
Joint inflammation is one of the most common presentations in clinical practice, affecting people across all ages and activity levels. Whether arising from acute sports injuries, repetitive strain, the wear and tear of ageing, or as a manifestation of deeper systemic disturbance, inflamed joints share a common physiology.
The synovial membrane becomes irritated, producing excess fluid that causes swelling, heat, redness, and pain. The bursa—small fluid-filled sacs that cushion the joints—can also become inflamed, as can the tendon sheaths that protect the tendons during movement.
While acute injuries respond to rest and appropriate care, chronic inflammatory joint conditions often point to something deeper at work. Rheumatic complaints, gouty conditions, and recurrent joint problems may signal immune dysregulation, metabolic imbalance, or constitutional susceptibility that warrants a more holistic approach.
Educational disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and does not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare professional. The remedy descriptions below are drawn from classical homeopathic literature and clinical experience, showing how each substance’s characteristic action corresponds to specific patterns of joint inflammation.
Ledum Palustre
Wild rosemary
This low-growing evergreen shrub thrives in cold, damp northern bogs, and its homeopathic application mirrors its habitat. Ledum has long been valued as a remedy for puncture wounds, insect stings, and inflammatory joint conditions that crave cold.
The joints may feel hot internally yet improve from cold applications. The patient may thrust painful, swollen limbs out of bed at night or apply ice packs to knees or ankles that feel burning and congested.
The inflammation tends to ascend, moving upward from smaller joints to larger ones. Feet and ankles are particularly affected, becoming puffy and tender. The finger joints may show inflammation of the periosteum, and there is often a sprained sensation in several joints. Rheumatic stiffness accompanies the pain, yet this stiffness is relieved by cold.
The warmth of bed becomes intolerable, and the joints ache and throb as soon as they are covered. Cold bathing, cold compresses, or walking barefoot on cold floors may bring relief, although motion itself can aggravate. Ledum’s sphere extends to gouty nodules, chronic rheumatic swelling of the knees, and inflammatory conditions in which covering, warm rooms, or warm applications intensify the suffering.
Characteristic pattern: Hot, swollen joints that feel better from cold and worse from warmth or covering.
Arsenicum Album
White Arsenic
Arsenicum is prepared from arsenic trioxide, a mineral poison known to produce burning pains, profound weakness, and tissue destruction in toxic doses. In homeopathic potency, it is associated with restlessness, anxiety, burning sensations relieved by warmth, and a tendency towards destructive inflammatory change.
In joint pathology, the pains are burning, yet the patient craves warmth from hot applications, warm rooms, and warm covering. There is stiffness of the joints with exhaustion and a feeling of being unable to rest despite profound fatigue.
The inflammatory state carries an anxious, restless quality. The patient cannot keep still, changes position frequently, and becomes worse after midnight.
Marked prostration may accompany the pains, and symptoms may appear before a fever. The whole picture suggests a deeper constitutional disturbance rather than a simple mechanical injury. The joint symptoms form part of a broader pattern of systemic burning, restlessness, weakness, anxiety, and destructive processes.
Characteristic pattern: Burning joint pain relieved by warmth, with anxiety, restlessness, weakness, and aggravation after midnight.
Rhus Toxicodendron
Poison Ivy
Rhus tox is one of the most trusted remedies for rheumatic and inflammatory conditions of the joints, particularly when the hallmark modality is present: worse from initial motion and better from continued movement.
The patient wakes stiff and sore, struggles to rise from bed, and finds the first steps painful and difficult. As movement continues through walking, stretching, and limbering up, the stiffness gradually yields and the pain lessens.
Rest brings a return of symptoms. Sitting too long, lying in one position, or waking after sleep all aggravate. Warm applications bring relief, and a hot bath or shower may ease the stiffness considerably. Cold, damp weather, getting chilled, and exposure to drafts worsen the rheumatic state.
The joints feel drawn and torn, with tearing pains extending through the limbs. Sciatic pain is worse at the beginning of motion. The knees, hips, and back are often affected, and the tendons may feel too short. Restlessness accompanies the pain because the patient must move to find relief, even when the first movement hurts. Rhus tox suits overexertion, strain, sports injuries, damp-weather flare-ups, and joints that stiffen overnight.
Characteristic pattern: Worse when first moving, better from continued movement and warmth, and worse after rest or exposure to cold and damp.
Iodium
Iodine
Iodium brings a characteristic metabolic imbalance to the picture: ravenous appetite with progressive emaciation. In crude doses, iodine increases metabolic activity, and in excess it causes wasting despite hunger, heat intolerance, and glandular swelling.
Homeopathically, these themes may accompany a particular form of joint inflammation. The joints become inflamed at night. There is restlessness in bed, and the limbs are worse from lying down and from warmth.
Iodium patients are generally hot-blooded, worse in warm rooms, and seek open air and coolness. The cervical, axillary, or inguinal glands may be swollen alongside the joint symptoms.
The appetite is insatiable, and the patient may feel hungry again soon after a large meal, yet the muscles and limbs progressively waste. Children may show emaciation of the limbs with a pot belly and enlarged glands. Nocturnal aggravation, physical restlessness, aversion to warmth, glandular swelling, and wasting despite hunger distinguish Iodium.
Characteristic pattern: Nocturnal joint inflammation with heat intolerance, restlessness, swollen glands, and weight loss despite a strong appetite.
Benzoicum Acidum
Benzoic Acid
Benzoic acid has a long history in medicine as an antiseptic and urinary tract remedy. In toxic doses it irritates mucous membranes and is excreted largely through the kidneys, producing characteristic urinary changes. Homeopathically, it is associated with gouty joint conditions accompanied by highly offensive urine.
The knees are especially affected, with gouty swelling and marked pain. The smaller joints of the fingers may develop hard, knotty arthritic nodules around the joint margins. The urine is dark, strong-smelling, and highly offensive, often with mucous or sandy sediments. These changes reflect the metabolic disturbance accompanying the joint pathology.
The pains are rheumatic, tearing, or stitching, and the joints crack and pop with movement. There is stiffness and soreness, worse in cold, damp weather. The remedy has a particular affinity for the knee and the great toe, although other joints may be involved. Its clearest keynote is the combination of gouty or rheumatic joint disease with intensely offensive urine and mucous or sandy deposits.
Characteristic pattern: Gouty or rheumatic joint pain, especially in the knees and great toe, accompanied by dark, intensely offensive urine and sandy or mucous deposits.
China Officinalis
Peruvian Bark, Cinchona
China holds a central place in homeopathic history as the substance Hahnemann proved on himself. Homeopathically, it is associated with weakness and exhaustion following loss of fluids, including haemorrhage, diarrhoea, excessive sweating, or prolonged lactation.
In joint pathology, China is indicated where inflammation accompanies or follows debilitating illness. The joints feel sore and bruised, especially during fever, with jerking or tearing pains that come and go periodically. The limbs feel heavy and weak, and there may be puffy swelling of the lower limbs that pits on pressure.
The patient is hypersensitive to touch, and even light contact aggravates the soreness. Drafts of air, whether cold or warm, are unbearable. The weakness is out of proportion to the inflammation, pointing to exhaustion rather than a vigorous inflammatory response. China suits joint symptoms associated with anaemia, chronic weakness, night sweats, fluid loss, or prolonged illness, particularly when the pains recur at regular intervals.
Characteristic pattern: Periodic, sore, bruised joint pains with marked weakness following fluid loss, prolonged illness, anaemia, or night sweats.
Bryonia Alba
White Bryony
Bryonia is characterised by one overriding modality: aggravation from the slightest motion. It becomes important where movement intensifies suffering and complete rest brings relief. The patient lies perfectly still because any attempt to move, and sometimes even a deep breath, provokes sharp, stitching pains in the joints, chest, or back.
Pressure ameliorates, and the patient may press the painful part or lie on it to gain relief. The inflammation may be intense, with hot, red, swollen joints that are exquisitely tender yet benefit from firm pressure. Effusion can produce tense, shiny swelling, while stitching or tearing pain shoots through the joint with movement.
The knees, hips, shoulders, and lumbar region are frequently involved. Bryonia suits acute inflammatory arthritis, bursitis following overexertion, and gouty flare-ups where the joint is too painful to move. The mental state matches the physical picture: the patient is irritable, wants to be left alone, and is worse from disturbance. It is often needed when rest is imperative and any movement feels unbearable.
Characteristic pattern: Sharp, stitching joint pain made worse by the slightest movement and relieved by complete rest and firm pressure.
Apis Mellifica
The Honey Bee
The sting of the honey bee produces swelling, burning, stinging pain, and a rosy-red flush relieved by cold applications. This picture corresponds to oedematous, burning, stinging inflammation improved by cold. The swelling is the hallmark. Joints become puffy, bag-like, shiny, and tense, while the skin may appear pale or rosy-pink rather than deeply red.
The sensation is burning and stinging, as though the joint had been stung. Ice packs, cold compresses, and cool air bring relief. Heat from warm rooms, warm covering, or warm applications is intolerable and intensifies the pain. There is marked sensitivity to touch, and even light pressure aggravates.
Apis has a particular affinity for synovial and serous membranes, making it relevant to acute bursitis, synovitis, and inflammatory effusions. The patient may be restless and fidgety yet unwilling to be covered. Thirst is often absent despite the heat and restlessness. Apis suits acute reactive swelling where oedema is more striking than redness and symptoms are aggravated by warm weather or overheated rooms.
Characteristic pattern: Puffy, shiny joint swelling with burning and stinging pain, relieved by cold and aggravated by warmth and touch.
Causticum
Hahnemann’s Potassium Hydrate
Causticum presents with gradual stiffness and weakness, particularly in the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. The patient experiences paralytic heaviness, as though the joints and muscles are losing their power. The knees may give way when walking, there may be stumbling, and the tendons may feel too short. Hard, knotty arthritic nodules can develop in the finger joints.
The rheumatic pains are tearing and affect muscles, tendons, and joints. Stiffness is worse during chills and in cold, dry weather. Raw, cold winds aggravate, while warmth generally relieves. Damp weather may ameliorate, which is unusual among rheumatic remedies. There is also an urge to stretch and move the affected parts to relieve tension, despite the underlying weakness.
The mental picture includes deep sympathy for the suffering of others, a strong sense of injustice, and anxiety about family and friends. Involuntary urination when coughing or sneezing may accompany the joint symptoms. Progressive weakness, tearing pains, shortening sensations in the tendons, and improvement in damp weather distinguish Causticum.
Characteristic pattern: Progressive joint weakness and stiffness with tearing pains, shortened tendons, aggravation from cold dry weather, and relief from warmth or damp conditions.
Calcarea Fluorica
Fluoride of Lime
Calcarea fluorica is associated with hardness, induration, bony outgrowths, and loss of elasticity. It is indicated where hard swellings and exostoses develop around the joints. The finger joints may become knotted with bony nodules, while muscles and tendons harden and restrict movement, producing a wooden, stiff sensation.
Warmth ameliorates, and continued motion gradually improves the stiffness, although the first movement may be difficult. Cold, damp conditions worsen the pains. The joints may crack and pop with movement, reflecting lax ligaments and irregular joint surfaces. There can be a sense that the structures are either too loose or too hard, lacking healthy elasticity.
The remedy suits chronic, slowly progressive joint degeneration where hard swellings, bony spurs, irregular surfaces, and loss of elasticity dominate. It is particularly associated with later stages of osteoarthritis in which structural changes have become established.
Characteristic pattern: Chronic joint degeneration with hard nodules, bony outgrowths, cracking, loss of elasticity, and stiffness improved by warmth and continued motion.
Sticta Pulmonaria
Lungwort Lichen
Sticta is associated with dull, aching rheumatic pains and marked stiffness, particularly in the knees, shoulders, and small joints of the hands and feet. The bursae may become inflamed with heat and swelling, and the knees may develop pale, boggy, white swelling rather than the hot, red inflammation of more acute remedies.
The cervical spine and nape of the neck become stiff, and the scapular region aches. The pains are often worse from rest and improved by motion, yet the relief is partial and temporary. The aching joints may keep the patient awake, and no position feels comfortable. This differs from Rhus tox, where continued motion brings more sustained improvement.
A strong accompanying feature is nasal and sinus involvement. There may be fullness at the root of the nose, dry mucous membranes, and a dry, hacking cough with the joint symptoms. Sticta suits cases where upper respiratory catarrh and rheumatic pain appear together, particularly in damp, changeable weather.
Characteristic pattern: Dull, sleepless rheumatic aching with pale, boggy swelling, temporary relief from movement, and accompanying nasal or sinus dryness.
Osteoarthriticum
Arthritic Nosode
Osteoarthriticum is described as a nosode prepared from synovial fluid or degenerative joint tissue. It is considered in chronic osteoarthritis where there is a strong family history, progressive joint degeneration, and symptoms that have become fixed or resistant to well-indicated remedies.
The joints are stiff, cracking, and painful on motion. There may be a grating sensation, or crepitus, as roughened surfaces move against each other. Morning stiffness is pronounced and gradually eases as the day progresses, although overuse brings back pain and swelling. The pain is deep and gnawing, worse in cold, damp weather and better with moderate warmth and gentle motion.
The hands, knees, hips, and spine are commonly affected. There may be a history of repeated joint injuries, heavy labour, or athletic overuse that set the stage for later degeneration. The nosode may be considered when acute flare-ups respond to remedies such as Rhus tox or Bryonia but the underlying degenerative process continues. Its use requires careful case assessment and is best undertaken by experienced practitioners.
Characteristic pattern: Long-standing osteoarthritis with morning stiffness, crepitus, deep pain, progressive degeneration, and temporary relief from warmth and gentle movement.
Clinical Differentiation
Cold and Heat Modalities
Ledum and Apis both crave cold applications. Ledum has hot, painful joints with marked intolerance of warmth, while Apis shows bag-like oedema with burning and stinging. Arsenicum and Rhus tox both desire warmth, but Arsenicum combines burning pains with restless anxiety and weakness, while Rhus tox has mechanical stiffness relieved by limbering up. Bryonia also desires warmth but cannot bear motion.
Motion Modalities
Bryonia is worse from the slightest motion and must lie still. Rhus tox is worse from initial motion but better from continued movement. Sticta receives only partial, temporary relief from motion and remains sleepless from aching. Causticum needs to stretch and move but has progressive weakness. Ledum may be worse from motion, particularly when the joints are hot.
Urinary and Metabolic Features
Benzoicum acidum stands out through offensive, strong-smelling urine, sandy or mucous sediments, and gouty nodules. Iodium is distinguished by ravenous appetite with progressive emaciation, glandular swelling, heat, and nocturnal aggravation. China presents with weakness, oedema, hypersensitivity, and periodic pains following fluid loss or prolonged illness.
Character of Inflammation
Apis gives pale or rosy, puffy, shiny swelling with stinging pains. Bryonia produces hot, red, tense swelling with stitching pain on motion. Ledum shows swelling that ascends from below and is relieved by cold. Arsenicum adds burning, restlessness, anxiety, and marked prostration.
Structural Pathology and Weather
Calcarea fluorica presents with hard nodules, bony exostoses, cracking joints, and loss of tissue elasticity. Osteoarthriticum corresponds to long-standing degeneration, crepitus, and family history. Causticum shows gradual paralytic weakness and is unusual in improving in damp weather, while Rhus tox, Sticta, Calcarea fluorica, and Osteoarthriticum tend to worsen in cold or damp conditions.
Concomitants and Constitutional Context
Sticta combines rheumatic pains with nasal or sinus fullness and dry cough. Causticum may show involuntary urination and deep sympathy for suffering. China is weak, depleted, and sensitive to touch and drafts. Arsenicum is anxious and restless, especially after midnight. Bryonia is irritable and lies motionless. Apis is restless yet intolerant of heat and covering. Iodium is hot, hungry, and wasting.
Important note: These remedy pictures are drawn from provings, toxicology, and clinical observation. A well-selected homeopathic remedy addresses the modalities, sensations, constitutional state, and deeper disturbance associated with the local pathology. Persistent or severe joint symptoms warrant professional assessment to rule out serious underlying conditions.
Homeopathy and Naturopathy are often considered complementary to conventional medicine, focusing on holistic principles and natural remedies. This article aims to provide a comparative analysis of these two healing modalities, examining their underlying philosophies and approaches to patient care.
What is the Homeopathic Philosophy of Healing?
Homeopathy, founded by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th century, is based on the principles of “like cures like”, the minimum dose (which relates to the first part of the Hippocratic oath – do no harm) and the concept of vital force, an innate regulatory system in all living beings. Hahnemann also stressed the importance of remaining unbiased and unprejudiced in seeking to understand the core issues of a patient, whilst ensuring that the totality of symptoms is considered. In other words, Homeopaths consider the whole person, particularly noting the more striking, singular and characteristic manifestations of disease (that are unique to each individual case).
According to homeopathic philosophy, symptoms are seen as manifestations of an underlying imbalance in the vital force or regulatory system within an individual. The primary goal of homeopathy is to stimulate the body’s innate healing response to restore homeostasis (balance).
Homeopathic remedies are prepared using a process of potentization, where a medicinal substance is diluted and succussed (vigorous shaking). The principle of potentization suggests that as a substance undergoes the process of dynamized high dilutions (DHDs), its therapeutic properties become enhanced and its toxic properties are negated. The regulatory effects of Homeopathic remedies (DHDs) on biosystems has been illustrated in a variety of studies by Stephan Baumgartner, which can be found on PubMed. For example – Development of a test system for homeopathic preparations using impaired duckweed (Lemna gibba L.).
Homeopaths prescribe natural, non-toxic remedies based on the law of similars, meaning a substance that produces symptoms in a healthy person can be used to treat similar symptoms in a sick individual. An easy example to remember is Allium cepa (onion) for Hay fever or Apis mellifica (Bee venom) for insect stings. This concept is also utilised in Allopathic medicine – for example Ritalin (known chemically as Methylphenidate, a central nervous system stimulant) is used to treat ADHD (a hyperactivity disorder).
What is the Naturopathic Philosophy of Healing?
Naturopathy, which traces its roots back to ancient healing traditions, also emphasizes the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. Naturopathic medicine encompasses a wide range of natural therapies, including nutrition, herbal medicine, physical medicine, and lifestyle counselling. The core principles of naturopathy include treating the whole person, addressing the underlying causes of illness, and promoting prevention.
Naturopaths aim to support and stimulate the body’s self-healing mechanisms by removing obstacles to health and providing the necessary conditions for optimal well-being. They emphasize the importance of individualized treatment plans, focusing on addressing the root cause rather than merely suppressing symptoms. Naturopathy promotes a holistic approach, considering physical, mental, emotional, and environmental factors in patient care.
Naturopathy uses a variety of modalities to promote self-healing, including:
A natural diet
Fasting
Herbal medicine
Physical manipulation
Hydrotherapy
Therapy
Acupuncture
Homeopathy and Homotoxicology
Comparative Analysis
While both homeopathy and naturopathy share a holistic perspective, they differ in their approaches to healing. Homeopathy primarily employs highly diluted remedies to stimulate the vital force, while naturopathy encompasses various natural therapies to support the body’s innate healing capacity. The following points highlight key aspects of comparison:
Treatment Modalities: Homeopathy utilizes DHDs (dynamized high dilutions) as remedies to initiate a regulatory response from the vital force, while naturopathy incorporates a broad spectrum of natural therapies such as nutrition, herbal medicine, hydrotherapy, and physical therapy.
Philosophy of Disease: Homeopathy views illness as signs and symptoms of an imbalance in the vital force resulting from innate susceptibility. Treatment is aimed at bolstering vitality so that overall health is improved. Naturopathy focuses on identifying and removing the root causes of disease, including poor nutrition, stress, and environmental factors.
Individualization: Homeopathy emphasizes individualized treatment plans based on the most characteristic symptoms, including aetiology (how it started), modalities (better or worse for), sensations and an overall understanding of who the person is (and how that has changed since onset of disease). Naturopathy also focuses on tailoring treatments to each patient’s unique circumstances, considering their physical, mental, and emotional aspects.
Evidence Base: Homeopathy has been subjected to biased assertions as to its scientific validity, despite high quality research supporting its efficacy. Naturopathy integrates evidence-based practices, drawing from both traditional wisdom and modern scientific research.
Naturopath or homeopath?
When considering homeopathy and naturopathy as alternative healing modalities, it is essential for potential patients to understand the underlying philosophies and approaches to patient care. While homeopathy relies on potentized remedies and the principle of similars, naturopathy employs a broad range of natural therapies to support the body’s self-healing mechanisms. Making an informed decision involves considering individual needs, consulting with qualified practitioners, and critically evaluating the available scientific evidence.
It is important to know the common symptoms of any condition, and Hay Fever is no exception. This is so that the Homeopath can better understand which symptoms are more characteristic, singular or unique to each case. In other words, those symptoms of the patient which do not belong to the common symptoms of the condition are considered as the most guiding to the most similar Homeopathic remedy.
These are some of the most common symptoms in Hay Fever:
Sneezing: Frequent and repetitive sneezing.
Runny or Stuffy Nose: Profuse, watery nasal discharge or nasal congestion.
Itchy and Watery Eyes: Red, itchy, and watery eyes.
Nasal Itching and Tickling: Intense itching
Homeopathic remedies to help with acute Hay Fever symptoms
Before we continue with outlining 7 of the best Homeopathic remedies for treating the acute symptoms of Hay Fever, let’s remember what the legendary Homeopath, James Tyler Kent said about therapeutic work in acute settings:
“Homeopathy is wholly capable of satisfying the therapeutic demands of this age better than any other system or school of medicine.”
Allium cepa
Allium cepa is derived from the onion plant. Onions contain bioactive compounds such as quercetin and sulfur compounds that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These properties may help reduce the inflammatory response in the nasal passages and eyes, providing relief from symptoms associated with hay fever.
Genius Symptoms: Profuse, watery nasal discharge with bland tears; burning sensation in eyes and nose; better in open air.
Keynote Repertory Rubrics from Synthesis Adonis:
EYE – PAIN – rubbing – must rub – burning
NOSE – CORYZA – discharge, with – warm room agg.
NOSE – CORYZA – warm – room – agg.
NOSE – DISCHARGE – excoriating – left nostril, from
NOSE – HAY FEVER – August; in
LARYNX AND TRACHEA – PAIN – Larynx – cough agg.; during – grasps the larynx
COUGH – HACKING – cold air agg.
Euphrasia officinalis
Euphrasia, commonly known as eyebright, is a flowering plant. It contains flavonoids, tannins, and essential oils that have astringent and anti-inflammatory properties. These components may help reduce eye inflammation, relieve redness, and soothe irritated eyes, which are common symptoms of hay fever.
EYE – COMPLAINTS of eyes – accompanied by – coryza
EYE – INFLAMMATION – chronic
EYE – INFLAMMATION – Conjunctiva – purulent
EYE – LACHRYMATION – profuse
EYE – LACHRYMATION – wind agg.
EYE – LIGHT; from – artificial light – agg.
EYE – SUPPURATION
EYE – TEARS – biting
NOSE – DISCHARGE – bland
EXPECTORATION – COPIOUS – mouthful at a time
Sabadilla officinarum
Sabadilla is derived from the seeds of the Cevadilla plant. It contains alkaloids, particularly Veratrine, which has antispasmodic properties.
Genius Symptoms: Violent, spasmodic sneezing; itching and tingling in nose and throat; stuffed sensation in nose with clear, watery discharge.
Keynote Repertory Rubrics from Synthesis Adonis:
EYE – LACHRYMATION – yawning agg.
NOSE – COMPLAINTS of nose – one side
NOSE – CORYZA – lachrymation; with
NOSE – CORYZA – odors – roses agg. Of
NOSE – CORYZA – warm – room – amel.
NOSE – DISCHARGE – hot
NOSE – FORMICATION – Inside
NOSE – HAY FEVER – accompanied by – sneezing
NOSE – SNEEZING – concussive
Arsenicum album is a homeopathic remedy derived from arsenic trioxide. In its natural form, arsenic is toxic, but when diluted and potentized according to homeopathic principles, it is capable of stimulating the body’s healing response. Arsenic has been historically used in traditional medicine for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Genius Symptoms: Burning, watery nasal discharge; frequent sneezing with itching in the nose; anxiety and restlessness.
Keynote Repertory Rubrics from Synthesis Adonis:
EYE – EXCORIATION – Canthi
EYE – EXCORIATION – Lids
EYE – INFLAMMATION – chronic
EYE – PAIN – opening the eyes – agg. – burning
EYE – SWELLING – Lids – edematous
EYE – SWELLING – Lids – Under the lids
NOSE – CORYZA – accompanied by – smell; loss of
NOSE – CORYZA – violent attacks
NOSE – EXCORIATION – Nostrils – coryza; during
NOSE – OBSTRUCTION – sensation of – watery discharge; with
NOSE – PAIN – coryza; during – burning pain
NOSE – PAIN – coryza; during – raw; as if
LARYNX AND TRACHEA – CATARRH – sudden
Natrum muriaticum
Natrum muriaticum, or common salt, is a mineral substance used in homeopathy. Salt is an essential mineral for maintaining the body’s electrolyte balance and fluid distribution.
Genius Symptoms: Profuse, watery nasal discharge like raw egg white; violent sneezing attacks in the morning; worse in the sun.
Keynote Repertory Rubrics from Synthesis Adonis:
EYE – DISCHARGES – thick
EYE – DISCHARGES – Lachrymal sac, from
EYE – DISCOLORATION – red – reading agg.
EYE – EXCORIATION – Lids
EYE – INFLAMMATION – Canthi
EYE – INFLAMMATION – Lachrymal ducts
EYE – ITCHING – morning
EYE – LACHRYMATION – profuse
EYE – LACHRYMATION – wind agg.
EYE – PAIN – morning – sand; as from
EYE – PAIN – exertion of the eyes – agg. – burning
Wyethia helenioides, also known as poison weed, is a flowering plant. It is considered a botanical irritant.
Genius Symptoms: Intense itching and tickling sensation in the throat, causing constant coughing; pain in the throat with a constant desire to swallow.
Ambrosia artemisiifolia, commonly known as ragweed, is a flowering plant found in many parts of the world. It is a well-known allergen and a major trigger for hay fever symptoms. Ambrosia artemisiifolia releases pollen into the air, which can cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals.
Genius Symptoms: Profuse, watery nasal discharge; frequent sneezing; intense itching in the nose and throat.
Keynote Repertory Rubrics from Synthesis Adonis:
EYE – ITCHING – Canthi – Inner
EYE – ITCHING – Lids – Margin
NOSE – CORYZA – accompanied by – epistaxis
NOSE – CORYZA – discharge, without
NOSE – CORYZA – lachrymation; with
NOSE – DISCHARGE – cold
NOSE – DISCHARGE – excoriating
NOSE – DISCHARGE – hot
NOSE – HAY FEVER – asthmatic breathing; with
NOSE – HAY FEVER – August; in
LARYNX AND TRACHEA – TICKLING – Trachea, in
COUGH – SEASONS – summer agg.
Please note that the above information is general and not tailored to individual cases. Homeopathy is a holistic approach, and remedies are selected based on a person’s unique symptoms and characteristics. It is advisable to consult with a qualified homeopathic practitioner for proper diagnosis and personalized treatment.
Competitive, forceful, explosive, impulsive, violent vs. Quiet, desires repose and tranquility
Blog by Luke Norland drawing upon a wide range of classical sources. Whilst the first set of slides in the gallery below introduce some more contemporary ideas about the plant kingdom.
Nux vomica – the substance (Gibson)
Grows in the East Indies, the Malay archipelago and northern Australia.
The fruit is an orange yellow globular berry, about the size of a large apple, with a hard rind, and filled with a soft, white, jelly-like pulp containing five seeds which are covered with a soft woolly substance.
The dried seeds are used which are exceedingly bitter and contain, among other alkaloids, brucine and strychnine. Other constituents are a glucoside, loganin, caffeotannicacid, fatty matter and a trace of copper.
They have been dubbed Quaker’s buttons, though anything less Quaker-like than the typical Nux Vomica subject would be difficult to imagine.
Pharmacology (Gibson)
The tissue affinities of the drug are largely associated with the action of the alkaloid strychnine, which has a marked effect on the nervous system. Its poisonous symptoms are only too well known as the result of its use as a homicidal poison and in connection with destruction of animal pests.
They are vividly described by Schenk
Strychnine can lead to an atrocious death. Doses of 10 to 20 milligram lead to dyspnoea and unbearable feelings of anxiety (this is a marked symptom in the early stage of tetanus). Twitching and spasms gradually develop and lead to violent tetanic seizures in which the head is often bent right to the buttocks, so that the spine may be broken, as in insulin shock. Breathing may cease for intervals of one to two minutes at a time- in this event the seizures may also stop, only to recommence at the least excitation – a loud noise or a gentle touch – until death from exhaustion finally supervenes. No death could be worse than this and no man is likely to endure greater agonies. Despite the virulence of the poison, strychnine habituation may develop. Preparations of the drug may be taken medicinally for many years, until one day the patient is suddenly struck dead by convulsions. Strychnine is poisonous to almost all common animals and birds, but cats are remarkably tolerant to the poison and snails are unaffected by it. The action of the poison on the motor elements of the pons and spinal cord results in exaggerated motor responses to sensory stimuli; probably by lowering the threshold for impulse transmission through inhibition of the activity of choline-esterase, the enzyme which normally controls the flow of acetylcholine. The latter is responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses at synapses and myoneural junctions.
Enhanced sensitivity to all stimuli, with abnormal acuteness of all senses, especially that of touch. The excessive excitability of the nervous system, while resulting initially in muscle spasm, leads to exhaustion and paralysis.This is an instance of the phenomenon of dual effect: two opposite reactions being brought about by one and the same drug, which at different stages, or meeting varying degrees of tissue susceptibility, can swing the balance of function in either of two opposite directions towards hyper-activity or towards hypo-activity.
Pharmacologically, therefore, the drug suggests tension, increased tone of musdes, increased response to irritation. It is noteworthy that mental tension is accompanied by and associated with muscle tension – the one can scarcely be present without the other. Moreover, the increased muscle tonus affects not only the skeletal muscles, leading to clenched jaws and jerky limbs, but also involves the plain muscle in the walls of blood-vessels and gut. This is of great import, as the consequent disturbance of steady adequate blood-flow to every cell in the body, with resulting impairment of oxygen supply and inadequate removal of waste products, can be responsible for a wide range of physical disorders and distress.
Physiological action (Grandgeorge)
The nux vomica seed contains strychnine. Recent neurophysiological studies show that strychnine is a neurotransmitter which acts in the human brain to excite the pyramidal (corticospinal) system, responsible for our motor functions (glycine, on the contrary, calms this symptom). This clearly confirms the homeopathic observation that Nux vomica is a person who is overexcited, on edge after excesses of any kind (rich food, drink, intellectual labor . . . ) without an adequate expenditure of physical energy.
Naps. Wrapping head. Rest. Hot drinks. Milk. Moist air In evening. Warm room. Covering
After stool. Flatus. Warmth
Loosening the garments
Mode of action (Cowperthwaite)
Acts on the spinal cord, including the motory and sensory centers at the base of the brain – affecting chiefly that portion of the spinal tract which presides over reflex functions.
The condition produced is one of excessive irritation and excitability, giving rise to incoherent muscular action, which, on the extreme constitutes violent tetanic contractions, and which, finally, may end in entire cessation of muscular movement, paralysis.
These tetanic convulsions affect particularly the limbs and trunk; the former being rigidly flexed, and the body arched as in opisthotonos, the respiratory muscles rigidly contracted, rendering breathing laborious, even to asphyxia, which at the same time there are present spasmodic conditions of the face, jaws throat, oesophagus and of the intestinal and urinary tracts.
Ailments from – discords & rudeness of others • Confidence – lack of • Cowardice • Discouraged • Held – desire to be • Lamenting • Longing – repose and tranquillity; for • Quiet disposition • Timidity • Will – weakness of
Cannot be contradicted or opposed, if the chair is in the way he kicks it over. If a part of his clothing should catch on a button he would pull it off because he is so mad at it. A businessman has been at his desk until he is tired out he receives many letters; he has a great many irons in the fire he is troubled with a thousand little things his mind is constantly hurried from one thing to another until he is tortured. His mind is confused with the world of business and the affairs of the day crowd upon him, finally brain-fag comes on.
Produces Digestive Disturbances; partial congestion and hypochondriacal states.
Dyspeptic persons who always select their food for experimenting, that is digested little.
He is subject to spasms, convulsions, and fainting.
The patient seems to be always out of tune; The Action is Violent, often irregularly fitful or inefficient.
Materia Medica of Nux vomica according to Hering
Suits very particular, careful, zealous persons, inclined to get angry or excited, or of a spiteful, malicious disposition
Irritable, Morose, sullen; quarrelsome if disturbed
Despondent and buoyant alternately
Melancholic in consequence of losing his position, morose, capricious, irritable, hasty; the least contradiction puts him out entirely; remains for hours without wishing to take part in conversation.
It corresponds to many diseased conditions to which a modern man is prone to.
It is useful to those persons who lead a sedentary life, doing much mental work; or to those who remain under stress and strain of prolonged office work, business cares and worries.
Such persons in order to forget their worries are apt to indulge in wine, women, rich stimulant food and sedative drugs; and ill effects from which they are apt to suffer.
The typical Nux. patient is rather thin, spare, quick, active, nervous and irritable. It affects the nerves, causing hyper-sensitiveness, and over-impressionability, mentally and physically.
The theme of ambition in Nux vomica
They are known to be ambitious, driven perfectionists who often excel at whatever they turn their hand to.
In order to reach the heights for which they strive, there is often a reliance on stimulants to get them through their gruelling daily regime- one pictures the hurried dealings of a business executive/ stock-market broker / lawyer.
Whatever timidity belongs to their character will not help them get through their day, so it isn’t logical or desirable to let that part of the psyche emerge.
In other words, this side of their persona is likely to be denied or suppressed, so they can make the strides towards achieving their ambitious goals.
“Nux is chiefly successful with persons of an ardent character, of an irritable, impatient temperament, disposed to anger, spite or deception” (Hahnemann)
If they fail in reaching the targets they set themselves, then they are likely to work even harder, becoming more and more irritable, the blood pressure rising and the caffeine intake going through the roof until they reach burn out.
This relentless energy is of the Typhoid miasm, combined with the spasmodic action of the poison strychnine. Paralysis and cramping, extreme chilliness, desire for rest and tranquility, reverse peristalsis are all attempts by the body to rebalance the constitution through allowing expression in the somatic realm. I.E. if the person denies these as psychical attributes, the vital force will attempt to express them in the physical realm.
Someone with an audacious temperament may be addicted to thrills and spills: life in the fast lane – climbing the social / business ladders and, as Del Boy (the wannabe yuppie from Only Fools and Horses) puts it- “he who dares, wins!”. Act first, think later could be this type’s motto. He might be fractious in his personal dealings, willing, as he is, to trample over other people to achieve his own goals.
Category: Minerals. Class: Metal. Periodic Table: Group 8, Series 4
In this blog, Luke Norland pulls together classical and modern sources to synthesise a Materia Medica portrait of Ferrum metallicum – an important homeopathic remedy, particularly in Anemia.
The strain which runs through every pathogenetic symptom complex… To give this its proper place in the prescription should be the ideal of every prescriber. Only changes of proven value in coordinating and assembling the significant features of seemingly disassociated symptom groups, have been made. Upon these depends almost wholly the final choice of the simillimum. They should reflect a speaking image, as it were, of the correctly indicated remedy. The symptom features of many remedies have been clarified in order to increase their usefulness, especially in precisionizing differentiations. The repertory is only intended to orient the searcher.
Synoptic means to be able to take in all the information with one sweep of the eye.
The Gestalt pattern is the established remedy picture of a certain remedy.
The Genius is the clinically confirmed essence or nucleus of the overall gestalt picture which has been established for many remedies over decades or even centuries.
One use of Clarke’s Clinical Repertory is to compare lesser known remedies with the polycrests following a conventional repertorisation
For example, one can compare similar clinical rubrics from Synthesis with those found in Clarke to help provide some nuance to a repertorisation that would otherwise contain over 100 remedies.
This technique is particularly useful when the case lacks defining characteristics and there is not much to go on other than knowing the nature of the clinical condition.
It is also helpful when using the clinical condition as an entry point into studying Keynotes or Materia Medica rather than making a full classical repertorisation.
ANAEMIA – young persons subject to / anaemic – persons / blood – irregular distribution of / breathlessness and FATIGUE, with flushed cheeks / cheeks, flushed, in young persons / chlorosis with erethism / chlorotics / chronic – sufferers from diarrhoea / constipation – extreme, in girls / delicate / DELICATE – GIRLS, FEARFULLY CONSTIPATED, WITH LOW SPIRITS / diarrhoea – chronic, sufferers from / erethism, chlorosis with / exertion – least, red face from / face – red – from least exertion / fat – persons / FATIGUE – GREAT, AND BREATHLESSNESS IN GIRLS WITH FLUSHED CHEEKS / flushed cheeks – young persons with – fatigue and breathlessness / girls or women – delicate, fearfully constipated, with low spirits / girls or women – flushed cheeks, fatigue, and breathlessness, with / irregular – distributions of blood / lips, pallor of / low – spirits, anaemic girls with / motion – symptoms set up by / mucous – membranes – pallor of / PALLOR – lips of / pallor – mucous membranes, of / PLETHORIC / red – face (also in hectic) – from least exertion / SANGUINE / WEAKLY
Frans Vermeulen’s ‘plus group’ of Ferrum
Weak and strong; reactive and resistant; reinforced, alloyed strength
Desire for solitude; intolerance of noise and contradiction
Irregular and changeable: moods and circulation
Congestion from least pain, motion, emotion, exertion
Desire for motion, slow motion; restlessness
Eggs, sour, tomatoes and fat – digestive disorders
Keynotes of Ferrum (Lippe)
Great emaciation. WEAKNESS AMOUNTING TO PARALYSIS.
Restlessness in the affected limbs.
Cracking in the joints.
Disposition to languor and rest on account of internal weakness.
Varices. Chlorosis.
Congestions (not limited to any part of the body, but useful throughout).
Metrorrhagia with red face and swelled veins.
Impotence.
Catamenia (Menses) – too early and too profuse.
Aversion to fat food and vomiting of what has been eaten
Walking in the open air greatly affects him.
Bad effects from the abuse of tea – and from the abuse of quinine.
Color of the face yellow or else earthy.
Circumscribed red area on the cheeks.
Keynotes of Ferrum (Allen)
Persons of sanguine temperament; pettish, QUARRELSOME, disputative, easily excited, least contradiction angers (Anac., Coc., Ign.); amel. from mental exertion.
Irritability: slight noises like cracking of paper, drive him to despair (Asar., Tar.).
Women who are weak, delicate, chlorotic, yet have a fiery red face.
Extreme paleness of the face, lips and mucous membranes which become red and flushed on the least pain, emotion or exertion. BLUSHING (Amyl., Coca).
Erethitic chlorosis, worse in winter Red parts become white; face, lips, tongue and mucous membrane of mouth.
Vertigo: with balancing sensation, as if on water; on seeing flowing water; when walking over water, as when crossing a bridge (Lys.); on descending (Bor., Sanic).
Headache: hammering, beating, pulsating pains must lie down; with aversion to eating or drinking. For two, three or four days every two or three weeks.
Adapted to persons of sanguine, choleric temperament; pettish, quarrelsome, disputative, easily excited, least contradiction angers; women are weak, delicate, chlorotic, yet have a very red face.
Very weak and thin.
General hemorrhagic diathesis.
Sensation and function of Ferrum (Hering)
GIDDY, as if drunk; as if everything went around with her; as if balancing to and fro; STAGGERING as if intoxicated; as if head would constantly incline to right side; as if skull were PUSHED UPWARD; as if brain were rent asunder; as if grain of sand were in eyes; pressure in eyes as if they would protrude; face as if swollen or bloated; tongue as if burnt; as of a lump in left side of throat; throat as if swollen outside; as if a nerve was quivering in stomach; as if a valve rose in throat; as if viscera would drop; bowels as if bruised; bowels as if beaten, as if they had been acted upon by purgatives; bowels as though they were going to move; as if something was in larynx; as if throat was being squeezed; chest as if constricted; clavicles as if gone to sleep.
Attacks and periodicity of Ferrum (Hering)
Frequent short shuddering.
Periodical headaches.
Quarter of an hour; headache in morning, grows agg.
20 minutes : headaches changing to pressive pain from within outward.
Three quarters of an hour : chilliness.
Stools followed for hours by cramping pain in rectum
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition in which the kidneys are gradually damaged and become less able to filter out waste products from the blood. This leads to high levels of creatinine in your blood, which can lead to problems with other organs like your heart and liver. The term chronic also indicates that the damage done to the kidneys is long-lasting, and often cannot be repaired naturally.
CKD can be caused by diabetes, excessive use of painkillers or certain medicines, heavy alcohol consumption or some autoimmune diseases. Treatment options include dialysis or transplantation.
Treatment options vary depending on how severe your kidney damage is but often involve drugs that help preserve function until you need dialysis treatments for an extended period of time.
What causes chronic kidney disease?
Certain conditions and diseases can lead to the damage and failure of the kidneys. Diabetes and high blood pressure make up two-thirds of CKD cases.
Diabetes results in high levels of sugar to damage the important organs in our bodies, with the heart and kidney facing the most damage. High blood pressure causes the walls of blood vessels to expand, leading to heart attacks, strokes and chronic kidney disease.
Polycystic kidney disease
Vesicoureteral reflux
Glomerulonephritis
Repeated urinary infections
Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract
Lupus
Chronic kidney disease stages
There are five stages of chronic kidney disease, with each stage producing its own set of symptoms.
Stage 1 refers to mild damage done to the kidneys, whereas stage 5 indicates severe damage that leads to kidney failure. In stage 1, symptoms may be so mild that a person doesn’t realise they have CKD, which often means that it can rapidly worsen until the condition is advanced.
The advanced stage can lead to dangerous levels of fluids, electrolytes and wastes to build up in the body, resulting in gradual loss of kidney function.
Chronic kidney disease symptoms
Early detection and treatment are essential to maintain quality of life and extend life expectancy. Symptoms may not be apparent until advanced stages of the disease have developed. Knowing the signs and symptoms of chronic kidney disease can help you get treatment early if needed.
Some common symptoms include:
Weakness
Swollen feet or ankles
Changes in urine output or colour
Shortness of breath
Nausea or vomiting
Poor appetite
Trouble sleeping
Dry, flaky, itchy skin
Fatigue and needing to sleep longer than usual
Cramping at night
Increased need to urinate
Homoeopathic remedies for chronic kidney disease
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in homoeopathy as an alternative treatment for chronic kidney disease (CKD). While there is no cure for chronic kidney disease, there are treatments available that can help slow its progression. Homoeopathic remedies are thought to be safe and effective for addressing the symptoms of CKD.
Disclaimer – Homeopathy does not work by treating named conditions; that is the domain of Allopathic Medicine. Homeopathy employs natural remedies in potentised doses to encourage your own innate healing response – supporting your overall wellbeing. For the best results in helping your condition, we advise you to visit a professional Homeopath rather than rely on anything mentioned in this article. By consulting with a Homeopath, your individual treatment plan will help you gain a better understanding of yourself and what triggers your emotional or physical disease. When you develop an illness, the way you experience your symptoms is unique to you – therefore your Homeopathic prescription will be based on your subjective symptoms and individual reactions rather than your diagnosis. That being said, there are remedies which do have an elective affinity to certain organ systems, physiological and pathological processes. These are outlined below for cold sores.
Terebinthinae oleum
This is a remedy made from Oil of turpentine. It has a specific affinity to the Kidneys, and is suitable for treatment of burning and drawingpains in the kidney region. It is indicated when there are proteins or blood found in the urine. There may also be constant tenesmus (straining at stool / having the urge to go but passing nothing).
Cantharis vesicatoria
Cantharis (Spanish fly) is famous for its burning pains and for urinary tract infections. It can be a useful remedy in CKD where there are violentcutting or burning pains extending from the kidneys down either ureter to the bladder.
Apis mellifica
This remedy is made from the Honey bee. One of the main characteristics is the tendency to produce swelling – hot and red and of course reminiscent of a bee sting. As well as being suited to Kidney disorders, it is suited to people who are worse from heat and better for cold applications or being out of doors. The type is usually very industrious, busyfruitlessly and suffer from angryoutbursts, jealousy and shock.
Arsenicum and compunds
Arsenicum is another useful remedy for CKD, particularly when accompanied by restlessness, nervousness and a great deal of fears and anxieties of any origin. Typically, the pains (usually burning in nature) bring about a despairing condition where the person paces up and down relentlessly, worrying about their condition. This is all despite being very exhausted and weak.
Formica rufa
This remedy made from the formic acid of a Red ant, has an affinity for the kidneys and in particular for chronicnephritis (inflammation of the kidneys). It is also a remedy often used in the treatment of gout and other rheumatic conditions, such as stiffness in the joints. Typically, the pains are rapidlyshifting and there is swelling of the joints.
Hepar sulphur
A remedy made by Dr Hahnemann by burning flowers of Sulphur and Oyster shell together at a very high heat. The main feature of this remedy is extreme sensitivity and a feeling of vulnerability. They feel that anything can penetrate their defences and are therefore very oversensitive to pain. It is also an important remedy for suppurations – where the wound forms pus. In terms of kidney problems, there is a constanturging to urinate, with purulentsediment found in the urine.
Note: If you would like to use RadarOpus and practise homoeopathy, take a look at ourbeginner’s course.
Cold sores, also known as fever blisters, are a common viral infection that causes small, fluid-filled blisters on the lips and around the mouth. However, they can also appear in clusters on the fingers and nose. After the blister breaks, the cold sores result in scabs that can last days or weeks.
They are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), which is highly contagious and can be spread through contact with contaminated saliva, skin or objects.
While cold sores usually clear up on their own within a few weeks, they can sometimes cause discomfort and pain. Treatment options include homoeopathic remedies, topical medications and oral antiviral drugs.
What causes cold sores?
Cold sores are caused by strains of the herpes simplex virus; most commonly it is the herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV-1). Type one is most often responsible for the cold sores one experiences in the mouth and on the lips. Whereas the herpes simplex type 2 virus (HSV-2) results in genital herpes.
In some cases, HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, and HSV-2 can cause mouth cold sores.
What triggers cold sores?
Once you’ve been exposed to and infected with herpes simplex, it can take some time for the virus to break. But once you’ve had an outbreak, the virus can remain dormant in the nerve cells in your skin.
The virus may be triggered by the following events:
Allergies and hay fever
Fatigue
Sunburn
Viral infection
Menstruation or hormonal changes
Exposure to wind
Weakened immune system
Dental work
Certain foods
How long do cold sores last?
Without treatment, cold sores can last up to four weeks. Generally, a scab will start to break out several days after the initial blistering phase.
Are cold sores contagious?
Cold sores are most contagious when they are in the oozing phase, as it allows the virus to spread via bodily fluids. Both strains of herpes can be passed through kissing, oral sex, and intercourse. The virus is also passed by sharing utensils, towels, cosmetics, or drinks.
Even when cold sores aren’t in their oozing phase, they can still be contagious; it can spread even when they aren’t seen. In fact, many people can go their whole lives without realising they have the herpes simplex virus.
Once you get the herpes simplex virus, it can’t be cured. However, it is a manageable virus to live with and there are numerous ways to treat cold sores.
How to prevent cold sores
Cold sores are a common skin condition that can be painful and unsightly. There is no cure for cold sores, only treatments that relieve the symptoms of the infection. The best way to prevent cold sores from forming is by avoiding the things that cause them in the first place: kissing someone who has an active sore, touching any part of their body during an outbreak, sharing utensils with someone who has a sore on their mouth, and using personal items such as towels without washing your hands after contact with infected areas.
If you tend to get cold sores after sun exposure, be sure to apply zinc oxide lip balm. If stress is the usual culprit for cold sore outbreaks, practise mindful techniques to prevent stress.
Homoeopathic remedies for cold sores
Homoeopathic remedies offer a natural alternative that is safe and effective. There are several different homoeopathic remedies that can be used to treat cold sores, and each one works in a slightly different way. Choosing the right remedy for your individual needs is important for achieving the best results.
Note: If you would like to use RadarOpus and practise homoeopathy, take a look at our beginner’s course.
Disclaimer – Homeopathy does not work by treating named conditions; that is the domain of Allopathic Medicine. Homeopathy employs natural remedies in potentised doses to encourage your own innate healing response – supporting your overall wellbeing. For the best results in helping your condition, we advise you to visit a professional Homeopath rather than rely on anything mentioned in this article. By consulting with a Homeopath, your individual treatment plan will help you gain a better understanding of yourself and what triggers your emotional or physical disease. When you develop an illness, the way you experience your symptoms is unique to you – therefore your Homeopathic prescription will be based on your subjective symptoms and individual reactions rather than your diagnosis. That being said, there are remedies which do have an elective affinity to certain organ systems, physiological and pathological processes. These are outlined below for cold sores.
Natrum mur
This is a good choice for large, swollen and tender cold sores. There are often also vesicles around the lips. It is also a useful remedy for mouth ulcers which seem to recur. The lower lip may be cracked, sore, and the mouth dry. Nat-mur types are generally aggravated by hot sun or extremes of temperature. They are usually refined, sensitive individuals who are vulnerable to emotional injury and for that reason tend to compensate by building a defensive wall around themselves. They are naturally good listeners and would much rather hear someone else’s problems than divulge of their own. If the cold sores have manifested after a disappointment in love or from unexpressed grief then that would indicate Natrum mur even further.
Rhus Toxicodendron
Rhus tox is a suitable remedy when the cold sores are red and swollen, with blistered skin around the corners of the mouth and chin. The characterisitic pains are shooting / fiery and there can also be a puffy appearance to facial features. Those responding to Rhus tox feel much worse in cold/damp weather. At the mental, emotional and physical level, these are restless folk, who will have an irresistible desire to keep moving as the pains become unbearable when at rest.
Capsicum annuum
Capsicum is a remedy prepared from the chilli pepper. As such, this remedy can be helpful where there is rather extreme blistering around the lips and inside of the mouth accompanied by burning blisters on the tongue. The whole area around the mouth is sore, with splitting and crustingskin. Other indicators for this remedy include bad breath and a foul taste. The type of person who responds to Capsicum will typically be sensitive, nostalgic and phlegmatic (retiring, mild). They are drawn to the past and home. Indeed, all of their complaints are made worse when they are away from the comfort and routine of home life.
Sempervivum tectorum
This is a plant whose common name is the House leek, from the Crassulaceae family (of which Sedum is a member). As well as being a remedy for Herpes simplex, this is a specific remedy for a highly ulcerated mouth with sore and/or bleeding gums – with inability to eat because of intense pain and discomfort. The symptoms are worse at night.
Calendula/ Hypericum Tincture
A combination of Calendula and hypericum tincture or balm will help soothe, heal and resist infection.
If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of getting sick to your stomach, you might have had gastroenteritis – a condition characterised by inflammation and irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, which leads to diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting.
Though it’s often referred to as “stomach flu,” gastroenteritis is not caused by the influenza virus . Rather, it’s most commonly caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. It affects 1 in 5 people in the UK every year.
What causes gastroenteritis?
Gastroenteritis is commonly caused by two types of viruses; rotavirus and norovirus. The former typically affects children and infants and is the leading cause of death due to diarrhoea. The latter virus is the most common cause of serious outbreaks of gastroenteritis.
Gastroenteritis can also be caused by bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella, although this is less common, and is referred to as food poisoning.
How long does gastroenteritis last?
Gastroenteritis is a relatively common illness and the length of time it lasts can vary significantly from person to person. Depending on whether it is viral or bacterial, gastroenteritis can affect adults for up to a week, although symptoms should start to ease two days after they develop.
Symptoms of gastroenteritis
When you suffer from gastroenteritis, viruses and bacteria infect the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract, resulting in the main symptom of diarrhoea. If you’ve contracted gastroenteritis, you will start developing symptoms within 24 hours.
Along with diarrhoea, the following symptoms may be present:
Abdominal pain
Cramping
Fever
Dehydration
Headaches
Fatigue
Nausea
Is gastroenteritis contagious?
Viral gastroenteritis is contagious, typically in the winter months when people tend to spend more time indoors. It becomes contagious when you’re in contact with someone who is ill and their germs from stool or vomit contaminate surfaces.
If someone has gastroenteritis, it is best to avoid sharing food or drinks and to avoid remaining in close proximity to them.
Homoeopathic remedies for gastroenteritis
Disclaimer – Homeopathy does not work by treating named conditions; that is the domain of Allopathic Medicine. Homeopathy employs natural remedies in potentised doses to encourage your own innate healing response – supporting your overall wellbeing. For the best results in helping your condition, we advise you to visit a professional Homeopath rather than rely on anything mentioned in this article. By consulting with a Homeopath, your individual treatment plan will help you gain a better understanding of yourself and what triggers your emotional or physical disease. When you develop an illness, the way you experience your symptoms is unique to you – therefore your Homeopathic prescription will be based on your subjective symptoms and individual reactions rather than your diagnosis. That being said, there are remedies which do have an elective affinity to certain organ systems, physiological and pathological processes. These are outlined below for Gastroenteritis.
Gastroenteritis, or stomach flu, is a common ailment that can be treated with homoeopathic remedies. According to Kaiser Permanente , the most effective remedies for gastroenteritis vary depending on the individual’s symptoms, but some of the most commonly used remedies include:
Note: If you would like to use RadarOpus and practise homoeopathy, take a look at our beginner’s course.
Arsenicum album
Douglas Borland says:
There are indications for Arsenicum alb. in a variety of pathological conditions; in an acute gastritis, an acute gastroenteritis, a gastric ulcer, or a gastric carcinoma. But no matter what the pathological condition is, unless you get the other Arsenicum indications the drug is not going to help.
For instance, an acute gastroenteritis, with vomiting and diarrhoea, as the result of food poisoning, may call for Arsenicum. Not all such cases, however, call for it, and unless the other indications are present, Arsenicum will not do any good.
For instance, one essential symptom in these Arsenicum cases is an intense burning pain, whether the lesion be in the stomach or the bowel. These burning pains are relieved by either external heat applied to the abdomen, or by taking mildly warm fluids; and definitely aggravated by cold. In general makeup, the Arsenicum patient is always extremely distressed, very anxious, very worried and very much afraid. Always restless, always thirsty, and craves cold drinks as the mouth is burning hot. Any vomit is again burning hot, and scalds the throat. But if the patient takes a cold drink, it will increase the abdominal pain. The patient himself is always chilly.
George Vithoulkas says:
Arsenicum patients have a predisposition for gastroenteritis and food poisoning.
Diarrhoea and vomiting may often occur simultaneously (as with Veratrum album ).
The food poisoning occurs usually from spoiled or questionable meat or mouldy cheese.
During these acute conditions the patient may have an aversion to all food.
Many times, in acute conditions there is nausea from the sight, smell or even the thought of food.
Didier Grandgeorge says:
This is a remedy known for its intense acute states which give the impression of cardiovascular shock: pale skin, cold sweat, pulse weak and fast.
This may also be the case in acute gastroenteritis, such as the type which sometimes afflicts world travellers, in which we find abundant diarrhoea with profuse and sudden vomiting.
The notable characteristic is that the stool does not smell bad (the opposite of Arsenicum album).
The vomiting is followed by intense hiccoughing.
Bismuth
Frans Vermeulen says:
Burning/ pressure; feeling of a load on one spot, alternating with burning, crampy pain and pyrosis.
Pain from stomach extending to spine. Inexpressible, in stomach; must bend backwards.
Abdominal muscles are spasmodically contracted; the pain is so violent as to induce fainting. There may be vomiting, convulsive gagging and pain.
Gaertner
Scientific information from Frans Vermeulen’s Source and Substance:
Scientific name: Salmonella serotype Enteritidis [SE]. • Synonyms: Salmonella enteritidis [Gaertner] Castellani and Chalmers. Bacillus Gaertner. • Family: Enterobacteriaceae. • Order: Enterobacteriales. Class: Gammaproteobacteria. Phylum: Proteobacteria. Description • This species of Salmonella was first isolated as Bacillus enteritidis in 1888 by the German bacteriologist A. Gaertner from the flesh of an emergency-slaughtered cow and from the spleen of a man poisoned by eating meat obtained from it. • Part of the genus Salmonella, which are rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria. • One of the most common serotypes of Salmonella bacteria reported worldwide.
A case of coeliac disease with a high grade of malnutrition cured with a new non-lactose fermenting nosode of the bowel (by W. B Griggs) in The Homeopathic Recorder, 1939
Bacillus Gaertner (Bach) for Gastroenteritis coeliac disease
I wish to report an unusual case of celiac disease with a high grade of malnutrition which has been of unusual interest to me, because of the most thorough scientific examination this child received before I saw it and which demonstrated that careful scientific feeding and hygiene can go just so far but cannot remove or change the character of the soil upon which the child has been made.
The patient, a male and only child, three and a half years old, who came from very intellectual parents about forty years of age when the child was born. They are both living but physically frail. The birth was normal. The child has been artificially fed since birth. Dentition began at the eighth month and was particularly difficult; during the eruption of the canine teeth he developed what was diagnosed as a very severe case of gastroenteritis from which has never fully recovered. Although always below weight, he has never seemed to gain or if he did he would lose it with every acute upset. There is not history of any of the other acute illnesses of early childhood.
Physical examination May 1, 1936: John S. age 3 years, 7 months. Weight 27 lbs. 2 oz. Sallow complexion. A very thin anaemic child; somewhat flabby tissue with loss of turgor and tonus of tissue and poor musculature. Skin wrinkled and dehydrated. Head well developed, good shape. Mentally quite bright. Abdomen distended. Tongue coated; breath offensive; the hands and feet were cold. Head was sweating. No evidence of rickets in osseous system. Temperature subnormal.
The stool examined was a soft fecal mass, offensive; consistency of soft salve with little mucus, acid reaction, with fat curds and calcium soaps. For the past month have been only three times daily, sometimes one when the child seemed to be improved but constantly relapses. Mother says child is restless at night. The mother had several laboratory reports of blood and urine. The blood picture showed a mild secondary anaemia and the blood calcium was reduced.
Blood Wassermann and Kahn were negative.
Mantoux tuberculin test was negative.
This case, as you can see by the history, was nearly two years old and had been correctly diagnosed by one of our ablest paediatricians as celiac disease or chronic intestinal indigestion. As this was the first time the mother consulted a physician for homoeopathic treatment, I asked her to go home and carefully recall what genuine symptoms the child complained of and what she had observed for several months back, if possible.
On the general symptoms given, namely, an emaciated child with an unhealthy skin, redness of the mucocutaneous borders, the catnap sleep, sudden spells of hot skin, the changeable stools with the characteristic offensive odor which clung to the child, and also to bring out suppressed or new symptoms, I prescribed Sulphur 500 four doses and continued the same diet and general regime but no other medication of any kind.
May 14, 1936. Mother reports child has slept better; no other changes.
May 28. About the same; no worse. Sac. Lac.
June 10. Child no better and stools much more frequent. Diet adjusted. Sulphur 10M.
June 20. Reports stool better, less offensive. Sleep is better. No loss of weight. Sac. lac.
July 2. Stools have lost their bad odor; the best in a year. Child had gained seventeen ounces. Enjoys playing outside. Sac. lac.
September 1. Mother has reported several times. Stools are better. Child has made a progressive gain in weight; has gained one and one-half pounds, which is most significant.
September 15. Mother reports babys condition changed. No gain in weight for the past two weeks. Profuse sweating on the head. Sour odor. Feet cold and damp. Bowels frequent. Chemical examination of stool shows calcium soap and fatty acids. Abdomen quite distended. Calcarea carb. 200.
October 15. Began to gain weight. Stools normal, two daily. Sleeps well. Sweat less, feet warm and dry. Sac. lac.
December 1. Again another slump. No gain in weight for the last ten days; lost three ounces. Increase in sweating of the head. Stool more frequent with increase of flatulence. Calcarea carb. 10M.
January 2, 1937. Mother reports this month the baby gained two pounds. No sweating for the past two weeks. Sour odor has left stools and also child. Stools are soft, smooth and well digested. Now for the first time she believes the child is on the straight road to recovery. Sac. lac.
March 16. Mother reported to the office with child; they live about 150 miles away from Philadelphia. The report is that the child went bad about four days ago; began to get restless; refused diet, or seemed filled up and pushed it away after taking a few mouthfuls. Has lost two pounds in last four days. Seems to show most loss of weight, if not all, in the face, neck and shoulders. The face is a pale yellow, sallow or gray color. Abdomen is distended with noisy gas and the bowels have become loose — five to six stools per day. Most of the stools occur in the early evening from about 5 to 8 p. m. His nights are restless. Awakens irritable and frightened and is quite angry. After a careful study I prescribed Lycopodium 500, six doses. There was no response for two days. Then he began to sleep quite soundly and the flatulence decreased and in the course of seven days bowels were reduced to two stools daily, and were quite normal. The weight was stationary for the last four days. His mother took him back home, of course with plenty of Sac. lac.
March 26. Five days after leaving me she reported child was holding his own; no more digestive upsets; sleeps well, stools normal; but no gain in weight.
April 2. Mother reports child has been quite well until last night, when he awoke cross and crying. Stools normal. Sac. lac.
April 9. Mother reports child has been losing some ground for the last three days; his nights are restless. Flatulence worse, much rolling of gas in intestines. Stools very loose. Lycopodium 10M., one dose.
April 16. Mother reports slow improvement; nights quiet, flatulence gone; stools better, only three daily.
April 23. Report indicates patient is generally improving; looks better, sleeping well; bowels practically normal. Made the first gain in weight since March 16. Sac. lac.
April 30. Mother writes: “I feel relieved, for I believe the child is improving in every way.” Sac. lac.
May 7. Mother writes the child is doing well in every way; gained twenty ounces in the last two weeks; keeping strict diet regulations. Sac. lac.
May 12. Received an urgent message to come to a local hotel to see the patient. When I came, the mother scolded me and accused me of sending a medicine four days ago which almost killed her child. That prescription which I sent was Sac. lac. Furthermore she told me she would not leave the city until I had made some definite improvement in her child. The patient had relapsed with a complicated mess of symptoms. A profuse painless diarrhoea with much exhaustion, etc., for which I prescribed China off. 30.
I could see no reason why the apparently well selected remedies did not help or cure. The mother had thought on several occasions that the child was cured. I recalled the advice of the late Dr. H. C. Allen, who told me nearly forty years ago at one of our meetings, “When the well selected remedy does not improve or cure, dont forget to consult your nosode;” and having had an almost marvelous result in my new field of research, namely, the non-lactose intestinal bacillus nosode (for which I must thank Dr. John Paterson of Glasgow, Scotland, whose yeoman work in this field, along with his valuable letters, has helped me so much) I began to study the four prominent nosodes which I have used, and decided on Gaertner Co.
It was prescribed because of the poorly developed musculature of the body and limbs; his hyperesthesia to all impressions, both psychical and physical; the attacks occurring at various points of time; his inability to absorb fats and his pathological diagnosis, celiac disease or intestinal infantilism.
I prescribed Gaertner Co. with hopes, and watched this patient daily as his condition was almost as bad as when I took the case. His whole reaction was different to this nosode — somewhat slow but it held, and after two weeks on Gaertner Co. he was taken home May 25, 1937. On this date he was hungry and eating well his prescribed diet. The bowels were returning to normal. In regular cycles of a month or two there were some minor upsets. Then the remedy was repeated either in the same or higher potency. He was brought to see me on New Years Day, 1938, and has gained nineteen pounds. He looked the picture of health, and was eating practically everything. On this visit he received his last dose of medicine, and he is now in wonderful physical condition and is active and apparently healthy as any child can be or need be. The parents say he has been made over — thanks to Gaertner Co. 30,200 and 1000. PHILADELPHIA, PENNA.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition that significantly impacts the lives of those who suffer from it. Also known as ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), the condition is characterised by extreme fatigue, which makes even the simplest tasks impossible.
This extreme fatigue and tiredness don’t seem to go away, no matter how many hours of sleep you receive a night.
CFS was once seen as a controversial illness, but today, it is widely accepted as a medical condition. However, it is very difficult to diagnose, because there is no official test for CFS. Your doctor will rule out other causes of fatigue and ensure that there are no underlying conditions that result in extreme fatigue.
Chronic fatigue syndrome causes
The precise causes of chronic fatigue syndrome are unknown, and it can be difficult to diagnose because other conditions can result in similar symptoms. Many individuals can be born with a predisposition for the disorder which can be triggered by a number of the following causes:
Viruses: Many individuals develop CFS after recovering from a viral infection. Possible viruses include Epstein-Barr virus, Ross River virus (RRV) and human herpes virus – which often results in cold sores .
Stress: Stress occurring because of physical and emotional trauma can result in extreme fatigue. Research indicates that after an injury, surgery and emotional trauma, those with CFS started experiencing symptoms.
Weakened immune system: People who suffer from CFS also seem to have underlying immune system issues, although there isn’t an indication of whether compromised immune systems result in the condition.
Hormonal imbalances: Abnormal hormone levels may cause people to experience the symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome. The specific hormones refer to those produced in the hypothalamus, pituitary glands or adrenal glands.
Chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms
Chronic fatigue syndrome is diagnosed on the basis of extreme fatigue lasting at least 6 months, with no indications of underlying causes or explanations. This fatigue often worsens with physical activity, yet no amount of sleep can leave a person feeling well-rested.
Difficulty with memory and inability to concentrate
Homoeopathic remedies for chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition that can significantly reduce the quality of life for those affected. While conventional treatments options are available, many people find them unsatisfactory. Some patients may therefore be interested in exploring alternative therapies, such as homoeopathy.
Note: If you would like to use RadarOpus and practise homoeopathy, take a look at our beginner’s course.
Disclaimer: Homeopathy does not work by treating named conditions; that is the domain of Allopathic Medicine. Homeopathy employs natural remedies in potentised doses to encourage your own innate healing response – supporting your overall wellbeing. For the best results in helping your condition, we advise you to visit a professional Homeopath rather than rely on anything mentioned in this article. By consulting with a Homeopath, your individual treatment plan will help you gain a better understanding of yourself and what triggers your emotional or physical disease. When you develop an illness, the way you experience your symptoms is unique to you – therefore your Homeopathic prescription will be based on your subjective symptoms and individual reactions rather than your diagnosis. That being said, there are remedies which do have an elective affinity to certain organ systems, physiological and pathological processes. These are outlined below for chronic fatigue syndrome.
The acids
The Acid group of remedies is a very important one when helping patients with chronic fatigue via the homeopathic approach. There are several important themes for individuals requiring remedies from this group – namely, and most importantly, exhaustion from overdoing it in a particular area (each acid has a domain in which they tend to over-exert themselves). It could be the overworked businessman or student (Picric acid), the self-sacrificing carer (Muriatic acid) or someone worn-out from painful long-lasting grief (Phosphoric acid).
Another important factor is the opposite state that precedes the eventual burn-out; where there used to be excessive liveliness, extroversion and industry in all their endeavours, there is now lethargy and indifference. There can be marked self-destructive tendencies over perceived failures to come up to their own impeccably high standards, as well as an inability to set limits for themselves, which only leads them into further broken-down states. Typically the state of fatigue is brought on by shocks, grief or prolonged mental exertion, such as when facing a pressurised work deadline.
Contemporary Homeopath and medical Doctor, Massimo Mangialavori (whose Suggesta repertory is available in RadarOpus) says the following about Acid remedies:
One of the compensation strategies of the Acids is to over-work, mainly for the family. You can see how much they are able to do, but how little it has to do with what they really would have liked to achieve in their life… Most Acid patients present with diseases of the digestive tract. Severe problems with their digestive system is often a representation that they cannot be properly nourished… The inability to “take in” is not just on a physical level either. It seems Acids live in this negative state because they were unable to integrate any nourishment or nurturing from their early family environment.
Picric acid
This remedy has gained its laurels in the treatment of chronic fatigue. It is a remedy par excellence for breakdowns following prolonged periods of study or mental exertion at work. These individuals feel much, much worse after trying to apply themselves mentally to their usual tasks or study. The body feels tired and heavy and there may be burning sensations along the spine which seem to emanate from an occipital headache. Understandably, the best relief for such patients comes from sleeping, resting or lying down. There is complete indifference and exhaustion, even reading for pleasure becomes a chore.
Muriatic acid
In this remedy the weakness is expressed more physically then in Picric acid (more mentally) – all the joints may feel bruised with drawing or tearing pains in the limbs while resting. This leads them to want to move about, which of course eventually results in even lower energy levels. The feeling in the body is like a kind of inertia coming over them – they may even slide down in bed from the weakness. Another guiding symptom for the Homeopath is the feeling of emptiness or all-gone sensation in the stomach. These individuals can come across as rather introverted, suffering in silence over their tendency to self-sacrifice to accomodate other’s wishes.
Phosphoric acid
In this remedy the weakness is expressed more through the emotional level owing to the draining effects of long-lasting grief. Slowly but surely, the patient loses their vitality – becoming softer and more withdrawn, eventually leading to indifference and apathy towards loved ones. The emotions become ‘frozen down‘ and they can end up just lying and looking at the wall to avoid contact. There can be a desire for refreshing cold drinks or fruit which can momentarily enliven the senses. It is also a useful remedy where there has been hair-loss, and in children it can be helpful in the treatment of growing pains. It is also indicated when there is debility from loss of fluids, such as after an influenza, heavy menses or even intercourse.
Kali phosphoricum
This is an important remedy where there is nervousness, weakness and insomnia from work worries. It is also very useful when there is exhaustionfollowing operations. There are problems focusing the mind and forgetfulness when trying to remember names of people or things. Everything gets on top of them and they become irritable. Unlike the other remedies mentioned so far, these types tend to try and keep up their extroverted exterior and excitability despite their worn-out condition.
Scutellaria
An important remedy to help regain strength after enduring an episode of influenza. There is usually restlessness at night with sudden waking from nightmares. The headaches can be very intense, primarily in the forehead with a feeling as though the eyeballs were being forced out. It has also been used to bring relief during teething where the child also has spasms.
Stannum metallicum
It is a useful remedy for chronic exhaustion, especially when this is related to the respiratory system. The weakness is so deep-seated it feels as though it is flowing through their very veins. A strong keynote is that they are much worse when having to use the voice, so it can be a helpful remedy for laryngitis. Like many remedies for chronic fatigue, they are much worse from exertion. There is difficulty breathing, especially after only a small amount of physical exertion. The sensations are typically of emptiness and trembling which are aggravated by rest. The pains tend to come and go gradually over the course of the day.
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
