Autumn coughs, croup and homeopathy – Part 2

So last week we saw the first three from a list of primary homeopathic remedies to think of when your child has a cough. We will now take a look at the remaining remedies most commonly prescribed, and end with a brief focus on croup, which can be a scary illness to have to manage as a parent. 

Before we begin, I would like to repeat last week's caution: the following advice applies only to straightforward coughs. Coughs that are very persistent or that affect breathing require professional help. If your child has a bluish tinge to their face, mouth or tongue, or if they are abnormally drowsy or limp, seek medical help immediately.

Ipecacuanha 

The child who would benefit from this remedy will have a wet cough and will bring up a lot of phlegm when they cough. Their coughing fits commonly end in vomiting. 

Phosphorus

The cough that would be helped by this remedy is dry and tickly. Phosphorus kids are sensitive, and their coughs will be brought on by talking, coughing, lying down and moving from a warm to a cold environment or vice versa. There will be a sensation of tightness in the chest, and they will be thirsty for cold water. 

Pulsatilla

This indispensable children's remedy is prescribed as much on the mental and emotional picture as on the physical symptoms. When he or she is ill, the Pulsatilla child will be tearful, clingy and whiny. They will not leave you alone and will constantly want cuddles and love. Characteristically their cough will be productive in the morning, bringing up yellowy-green mucus. The Pulsatilla child feels much worse cooped up in a stuffy room and perks up out of doors. 

Spongia 

Picturing the sea sponge from which this remedy is prepared will help you to remember the kind of cough that it will help. The Spongia cough is very, very dry, barky and croupy. It is the second stage croup remedy to think of if you haven't got in there quickly enough with the first stage remedy Aconite. The cough is often deep and may sound like wood being sawed, which can be a very frightening sound to be coming out if your child's body. The Spongia cough is generally helped by warm food and drinks. 

If one of those remedy descriptions matches your child's situation, give the appropriate remedy in the 30th potency every 2 hours for severe coughs, or 3 times a day in milder cases, each for 3 days maximum. Visit www.helios.co.uk for your remedies.

Croup

I'll finish with a few words regarding croup and identify how it differs from a bog standard cough. Croup is a frightening sounding cough affecting children who are usually under the age of 4. The usual process is that a child gets a fever with hoarseness, which then turns into a loud barking and harsh cough. To make things harder for an already sleep deprived parent, the croup is invariably worse at night.

As previously described, Aconite is the first remedy to think of at the very first stages of croup, when your child wakes at night feeling anxious and restless with a cough and perhaps also a fever. 

If it's too late for Aconite and the cough is already established, Spongia is generally a very good bet. If the cough is becoming rattly but your child is unable to expectorate, then reach for some Hepar Sulph. 

In addition to these remedies, make sure you consider other factors. As the temperature is dropping at this time of year, radiators are coming on and drying out the atmosphere in your child's bedroom. Consider putting a humidifier in their room if their cough is croupy or dry.

Steam can bring immediate relief to a child with a croupy cough. Bring your child into to the bathroom with a hot bath running, or consider boiling the kettle in an enclosed room. Obviously ensure your child is not near enough to the source of the steam to hurt themselves. 

Temperature changes can bring on a lot of coughs, so try to keep the temperature consistent. If your child's cough is worse for lying down, consider putting a pillow under their mattress. 

Finally, plenty of fluids will help loosen up the mucus, allowing your child to expel it. 

I hope this has been of some help. Please feel free to get in touch if there is anything that I can clarify. Thank you for reading, and I wish you and your children a cough free Autumn.

Autumn coughs and homeopathy – Part 1

So Autumn is upon us, and though as John Keats once wrote it is "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness", the charm of those mists may understandably pass you by if you've been up most of the night with a coughing child. 

Change of season is a classic time for coughs and colds, and so this week and next we'll look at how to manage your child's cough using homeopathy and natural methods. 

Before we start, it's important to state that the following advice applies only to straightforward coughs. Coughs that are very persistent or that affect breathing require professional help. If your child has a bluish tinge to their face, mouth or tongue, or if they are abnormally drowsy or limp, seek medical help immediately. 

It can be tricky to prescribe for your child's cough, as unless you are a homeopathic geek, then one cough can sound much like another. However, to help you choose the right remedy, think about when your child got their cough (did they go out on a cold, windy day?), are there times of the day when their cough is better or worse, and are there other factors which either make the cough better or worse, such as drinking, fresh air or warmth? Lastly, is your child's cough dry or do they cough up a lot of phlegm?

If the onset of your child's cough seems to coincide with a vaccination, consult a practitioner. 

So below I'll describe the first few remedies from those which are most commonly prescribed for children's coughs. The second half I'll detail in next week's post. 

Aconite (Monkshood) 

The Aconite cough hits a child pretty fast. The classic scenario is that after being caught in a cold, dry wind during the day, the child wakes around midnight with a dry, croupy cough which makes them anxious and restless. They are often thirsty. Aconite is the number one remedy for first stage croup. (I'll go into greater detail about croup next week.)

Bryonia (Wild hops) 

This remedy suits a cough which comes on when a cold that has been hanging around for a while moves down to the child's chest. The cough is dry and painful. Because this kind of cough is exacerbated by movement, your child might hold their chest when they cough to limit the motion. The child will be sensitive to drafts, and the cough may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting or headaches. 

Hepar Sulph

This would be the remedy for a barking cough, when mucus in the chest is starting to loosen up but is still hard for your child to expel - you can just hear it rattling around. The child who would benefit from Hepar Sulph will be very sensitive and irritable, they will also be chilly and feel much worse for cold drinks, drafts or cold air.

If one of those remedy descriptions matches your child's situation, give the appropriate remedy in the 30th potency every 2 hours for severe coughs, or 3 times a day in milder cases, each for 3 days maximum. 

Visit helios.co.uk for all your homeopathic remedies. 

If you need further advice please get in touch, and I'll see you for the remaining cough remedies next week. Thanks for reading. 

Self-help your baby's colic with homeopathy and traditional techniques - Part 2

Hi to all

This week's post follows on from my post last week regarding colic. Here we'll identify the top 4 homeopathic remedies to help deal with this often exhausting ailment.

Chamomilla (Chamomile)

This is a remedy par excellence for a wide range of childhood illnesses. The child needing this remedy will react very strongly to the pain she is suffering: she will be cross and will make you feel as if the pains she is experiencing must be unbearable. It is possible that the colic will be concurrent with teething, and might be accompanied by some pretty disgusting smelling, green diarrhoea. The child might be placated by being rocked quite vigorously, but that will only provide temporary relief. She will be made even angrier if her abdomen is touched.

Colocynthis (Bitter Cucumber) 

The baby who would benefit from Colocynthis will be very restless and irritable. He will bring his knees up, double up with the pain, and will cry out if you try to move him out of that position. His pain will ease if pressure is placed on the abdomen, so an older child may press their fists into their belly; babies will feel better if lying over your shoulder.

Dioscorea (Wild Yam) 

The baby this remedy suits will assume the opposite position of the Colocynthis baby: she will be outstretched, lie flat or might throw herself backwards. The stretch clearly eases her discomfort.

Lycopodium (Club Moss)

Lycopodium is a very gassy, bloated remedy with more than its fair share of flatulence. The baby's abdomen may well be full of air and possibly be gurgling away. The baby will feel better for a good fart, which it may well do very frequently. The Lycopodium baby will often be in a hurry to feed, which will result in taking in too much air and putting himself (and you) in a vicious circle.

If one of these remedy pictures sounds like the experience of your child, give that remedy in the 30th potency 3 times daily for up to 3 days. Visit www.helios.co.uk for all very high quality homeopathic products.

Please note that there are specific remedies to deal with colic that seems to stem from a traumatic birth. Please see a registered practitioner if you think that might be your child's situation.

I really hope that's been of use. Please feel free to get in touch if you have anything you'd like to ask. 

Self-help your baby's colic with homeopathy and traditional techniques

Colic can present a significant challenge for many parents; it's not easy to know what to do for a child who is in pain but unable to say what's wrong and what's going to make things better. Colic is caused by trapped wind and varies a great deal from child to child in terms of intensity and frequency, but there is much that homeopathy and traditional wisdom can do to ease both your baby's and therefore your own suffering. 

Below I'll detail the traditional wisdom and some general points to consider, and in my post next week we'll see the principal homeopathic remedies that you can prescribe for your colicky child. 

• If you are a breastfeeding mother, please first consider your own diet, as there are a number of foods which are known to affect babies through the milk. The following are the usual suspects: dairy, brassica, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, spicy food and citrus. As you can see, the very things that the exhaustion of nursing a colicky baby will lead you to reach for, can in fact compound the problem. 
• Staying on the subject of diet, if you're weaning your child, ensure that you eliminate any suspect foods from your baby's diet.
• A major cause of colic is taking in air while feeding. This can be an issue in bottle-fed babies when the teat is not of an appropriate size. It can occur in breastfed babies if the flow of milk is too strong. This can be eased by ensuring regular feeding or trying different positions. 
• Consider giving your child fennel seed tea. Simmer a teaspoonful of seeds in a pint of water for 5-7 minutes, strain the seeds and leave to cool. Give your baby the cooled tea in a bottle or on a teaspoon. 
• Gentle abdominal massage in a clockwise direction can help your baby to poo, which may ease things.
• Cranial osteopathy can do wonders for colicky babies or unexplained crying in very young babies. Give cranial osteopathy especial consideration if your labour was long or traumatic.
• Last but absolutely not least, look after yourself and make sure you're having enough fluids and eating regularly, and take a break if that's an option. It's all too easy to lose sight of your own needs when managing the needs of a baby. 

I hope that has been of help. We'll look next week at homeopathic remedies for colic but in the meantime, if you have any queries, be sure to get in touch. Thanks for reading.

Morning sickness: how to self-manage it with homeopathy

As many of you will know from bitter experience, though morning sickness is usually associated with the first trimester, it frequently extends way beyond the twelfth week and is by no means confined to mornings only. As homeopathy is safe for use during pregnancy, there is no need to put up with the symptoms when they get too much.

As what is written here is intended for self-prescription, we will not deal with those more severe cases of morning sickness which involve a lot of actual vomiting. In such situations, professional help is advised.

Before looking at the principal homeopathic remedies for morning sickness, there is a simple trick which many mums to be have sworn by. Keep a dry biscuit by your bedside, and eat it lying down when you first wake up in the morning. Sit up in bed and have a drink of water, then get up. Following this, try to avoid caffeine, and have ginger tea (ginger is an age old cure for nausea) or honey and milk instead. In general, eating and drinking little and often throughout the day is advisable.

In addition to these measures, take the remedy from the list below which most closely resembles your symptoms. Use the remedy in the 6c potency, and take one dose three times a day for up to 4 weeks. Seek professional help if the nausea extends beyond this time frame.

Sepia (Cuttlefish Ink) 

This is the first remedy to consider when you have nausea at the sight, smell or even the thought of food. Eating or drinking a little alleviates the nausea. The symptoms can be associated with backache, and feelings of being very easily irritated or depressed.

Nux Vomica (Poison Nut) 

The person who would benefit from this remedy would suffer a lot of nausea and retching without much vomiting. They are likely to also be constipated and bloated but be craving caffeine and other stimulants.

Pulsatilla (Wind Flower) 

Nausea for this person will be worse if eating or smelling fatty food. The nausea will ease when out in the fresh air and be worse in a warm stuffy room. The typical Pulsatilla person is tearful and much in need of kindness and understanding.

As ever, excellent homeopathic remedies are to be had from www.helios.co.uk. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any queries. 

DIY homeopathy: Managing anxiety

What follows is some advice on how to deal with one-off periods of anxiety using homeopathy. It is not meant as a guide to coping with persistent and longstanding feelings of anxiety, for which help from a professional is certainly required.

If you are experiencing a brief period of anxiety such as before taking a flight, interview, exam or other important event, or after hearing bad news, then there is much that homeopathy can do to restore calm and help you through these trying times.

Before considering which remedy from the list below might match your feelings most closely, take a look at your diet, and make sure you reduce your intake of caffeine and other stimulants to an absolute minimum. Also, you can use Rescue Remedy, which is a combination of five Bach Flower remedies, alongside any homeopathic remedy.

Aconite

Aconite is for high-pitched feelings of anxiety that can even reach a sense of terror, where there might be a fear of dying. Whatever the source of anxiety, the person needing Aconite will be convinced that disaster is ahead. Take Aconite before and after any experience you know will result in these feelings.

Argentum Nitrate

This remedy suits feelings of anxiety rather than outright terror, and this anxiety can sometimes bring on diarrhoea. The person requiring Argentum Nitrate can often experience feelings of claustrophobia, perhaps in relation to flying or going on the tube.

Arsenicum

The person who may benefit from Arsenicum will be prone to feeling unduly anxious and to experiencing extreme responses which are best calmed when given TLC and far worse if the person is left alone. The worst time for these people is around midnight, when the fear and restlessness is at its most extreme. Arsenicum suits those who are neat and tidy and who have a strong streak of perfectionism; anxiety will only serve to exacerbate their fastidiousness.

Gelsemium

This remedy suits those with anticipatory anxiety in a stage fright kind of situation. The Gelsemium person gets the shakes and may feel like they have lost control of their extremities, which can result in feelings of weakness and tiredness. Gelsemium people can suffer anxiety in open spaces, when they’ll need company to allay their fears.

Phosphorus

People requiring Phosphorus are characteristically extremely nervous and sensitive. Their anxiety may be heightened when alone in the dark or twilight, and are very afraid of storms. Their anxiety is greatly alleviated by sympathetic company. 

If one of the remedies above matches your own situation closely, then take it in the 30th potency twice a day for no longer than ten days or until the period of anxiety has subsided, whichever comes first. The remedies can be easily obtained from www.helios.co.uk.   Please feel free to get in touch if there is any other information you need.  

Nappy rash and homeopathy

Despite the best hygiene and preventative measures, most babies suffer from nappy rash from time to time. In some children it can come as a response to changes in diet, washing powder or nappy brand, while in others it is connected to teething or being generally under the weather. As ever, there is much that homeopathy and natural medicine can do. 

Before looking at natural solutions, it's important to identify between straightforward nappy rash and thrush. If a breastfeeding mother or the child her or himself has received antibiotics, thrush can be a knock-on effect. Unlike nappy rash, thrush can spread above the belly button. 

If your child develops nappy rash, consider the following measures:

• Replace wipes with water to which a few drops of calendula tincture have been added.
• Dry the area thoroughly.
• Once dry, add calendula ointment if the skin isn't broken.
• If you're not using disposable nappies, ensure that the cloth nappies have no soap residue, otherwise consider switching to disposables temporarily.
• Let your child be nappy-less for as long as your nerves and your carpet can stand.
• If you're breastfeeding avoid spicy food and citrus, which can irritate the nappy area. Also, cut citrus out of your child's diet as it makes the wee acidic. 

In addition to these measures, give your child the remedy from the list below which best matches their symptom picture. 

The child needing Apis, or homeopathic bee sting, will have a rash which is hot, red, swollen and angry looking. It is worse for washing and better for open air.

Rhus Tox, homeopathic poison ivy, often has sore spots or blisters which are better for washing and covering.

Homeopathic Sulphur suits a dry, red raw nappy rash that might be bleeding. It is much worse for heat and better for being uncovered, and is likely to be concurrent with teething. 

Take the remedy that best suits your child's rash in the 30th potency 3 times a day for 3 days. If this doesn't crack it, or if the rash is recurrent, seek professional help. All things homeopathic are available from www.helios.co.uk.

I hope that's been helpful. If it has, you might also want to take a look at my blog entry from last week about how homeopathy can help with teething. 

Teething and homeopathy

It takes the average child from around 6 months old till they're about 2 and a half to cut their full complement of 20 teeth. That can add up to a lot of sleepless nights and frayed nerves for parents of children whose teething causes them a lot of pain. Homeopathy can really help ease the pain for your child and therefore for you too.

Chamomilla, homeopathic Chamomile, is the remedy numero uno for teething. The child who could do with a dose or two of Chamomilla is extremely cross and stroppy, will demand one thing then throw it to the ground and will only be appeased when carried or rocked. Being a parent to a child in a Chamomilla state will stretch your patience and forbearance to their limits. The child's cheek may be very red on the side where the gum is inflamed, and their teething might well be accompanied by some pretty obnoxious smelling nappies. Should this description rings any bells, give your child Chamomilla 30 hourly if the symptoms are intense, but for no more than 6 doses at a time.

The child requiring the remedy Pulsatilla, homeopathic wind flower, is an entirely different kettle of fish. This child will be whinging and clingy, crying pitifully, and will often be very snotty while teething. Similarly to Chamomilla, the Pulsatilla child will want to be cuddled, but will also be appeased by being in the fresh air. In such circumstances, give Pulsatilla 30 3 times daily over 3 days if required.

A third remedy to consider is Belladona, homeopathic Deadly Nightshade. The teething child in a Belladonna state will be very restless and may well quickly develop a fever with burning red cheeks and gums. Their symptoms are likely to be at their worst in the middle of the night, right when you least want them to be. Give your child Belladonna 30 every half hour till the fever subsides for up to 6 doses.

As ever go to www.helios.co.uk for the remedy you need for your child's teething pains and for your sanity! If you have any queries please get in touch. 

Travel tips and homeopathy - Sunburn

Hello again. As a nation, we are brilliant at getting sunburnt; when the sun finally comes out, we go a little nuts and our skin pays the price. In this instance, as in so many others, prevention is far better than cure, but if you find yourself impersonating a lobster, homeopathy can do much to ease the pain and repair the damage. 

A note of caution first: if your burns are extreme, i.e. covering 5% or more of the body, if you have a fever over 40 degrees Celsius, if you have a fast pulse or feel dazed and confused, you need to seek medical help immediately. Be especially careful with children, whose skin is thinner and more sensitive. Take Cantharis 30 (see below) half hourly till you get medical help. Whether severe or not, there will be a loss of fluids as a result of burnt skin, so stay hydrated. 

If your sunburn can be self-managed, apply Calendula lotion (one part Calendula tincture to 10 parts water) to skin that is unbroken, and repeat regularly until the pain and redness subsides. Cantharis, the Spanish fly, is a major remedy for burns and burning pain. It has been used medically at least since Hippocrates, and was used by the Marquis de Sade (though not medically...), and whatever was good enough for the Marquis de Sade is definitely good enough for me. Take Cantharis 30 hourly till the symptoms lessen. 

Now here's an interesting remedy: Sol is potentised sunlight and can be used for any ill effects of the sun such as sunburn, sun headaches, prickly heat and so on. Take Sol 30 up to 4 times a day for 3 days. Sol can also be taken prophylactically: if you or your children are very fair skinned and you're off to much warmer climes, take Sol twice a day for the first few days of your holiday to help your skin get used to the sun. 

Go to www.helios.co.uk for all the remedies mentioned above, and I wish you very happy and healthy holidays. 

Travel tips and homeopathy - hives and insect bits and stings

Hi all. Here are some more recommendations for a pharmaceutical-free summer using homeopathy plus some traditional naturopathic wisdom. You'll get to find out how bee sting, stinging nettles and poison ivy can be your new best friends when homeopathically prepared. 

With insect bites or stings, if there is a severe reaction with a lot of swelling, urgent medical help will be required. Otherwise, try firstly to remove the sting with tweezers if the insect left it behind as its calling card. Then bathe a wasp sting in diluted vinegar or lemon juice, and a bee sting in a solution of bicarbonate of soda to help neutralise the effects. If you have Calendula lotion to bathe the area in, then that may well be enough. If not, consider the following internal homeopathic remedies. 

Arnica does wonders especially if you have a child who is in shock, or if that's all you have handy. The remedy Apis is made from bee sting, so no surprises for guessing that it is used for any kind of bite or sting which becomes hot, red, puffy and swollen and which feels better for cold applications. Urtica Urens is a remedy made from stinging nettles, and surprise surprise it is what you need if a nettle-like rash or hives appear following a bite or sting. 

The recommended dosage should be one dose of the best-suited remedy in the 30th potency every 2-4 hours on the first day depending on the severity of the symptoms. This should drop to one dose once a day for the next two days. 

Hives, also known as nettle rash or urticaria, with their itchy, angry real weals, are usually the result of an allergic reaction to food, plants, drugs or stress. If the mouth, tongue or throat becomes swollen, or if there is any difficulty breathing, seek immediate medical help. However, in normal circumstances, the same remedies as above apply here also. 

Apis will be the remedy to consider if the hives are hot, red, puffy and itchy, especially if the person wants the area kept cool. The more swollen the area is, the more likely it is that Apis will be your remedy, particularly if there is puffiness around the eyes and the person develops a fever. Urtica Urens is used when the rash looks as if the person has been stung by stinging nettles (or if they actually have!), when there is itching and burning, and the person can't stop rubbing the affected area. A third remedy, Rhus Tox (poison ivy), is your best bet if the rash becomes water-filled blisters, and if it comes on after becoming chilled. 

The best-suited remedy should be given in the same manner as described above. www.helios.co.uk is a trusted source of all things homeopathic. 

Thanks for reading. Next week – sunburn – ouch! 

Travel tips and homeopathy - Travel sickness

As school holidays are around the corner, I thought it might be the right time to look at how to deal with the complaints that can so easily take the edge off your summer break.

This week, we'll consider how to manage travel sickness and I will describe the two principal homeopathic remedies used.

Cocculus Indicus, or the India Berry, is for someone who suffers nausea and vomiting, dizziness, headaches or diarrhoea when travelling. The person who would benefit from taking this remedy needs to lie down still when their symptoms come on, feels much worse for fresh air and the sight or smell of food.

Tabacum, the homeopathic preparation of tobacco, is for someone with nausea and vomiting while in motion, and who might feel cold and dizzy. Differently to the previous remedy, the person who needs Tabacum feels better for fresh air and much worse for stuffy rooms. They will feel worse if they encounter any strong smells, especially tobacco.

If either of these symptom pictures match yourself or someone you know, then take the appropriate remedy in the 30th potency (potency refers to the strength of the remedy) in the following way: one tablet the day before a planned journey, another tablet just before leaving, and a third while travelling. After a few journeys using the best indicated remedy, the motion sickness often lessens and can sometimes stop entirely. A trusted stockist of homeopathic remedies is www.helios.co.uk.

In addition to these homeopathic remedies, Ginger is known to bring relief for symptoms of nausea and vomiting, not only while travelling. Crystallised ginger is not everyone's first choice of treat, but 2-3 pieces before a journey, and then the same amount at half hourly intervals while travelling can prove very helpful.

Happy homeopathic holidays!

Hayfever blues

If you were unlucky enough to live in Narnia under the rule of the White Witch, you'd always suffer the chill of winter and never have the joy of Christmas. This is a little like having hayfever: you endure gun-metal grey skies for months then finally get the sun but you can't get out there and frolic because your eyes itch and you can't stop sneezing. Not fair is what I'm saying.

The underlying principle of homeopathy is "like cures like", so my hayfever patients take a homeopathic dose of the pollen that they are allergic to in the morning, and a homeopathic preparation of histamine in the afternoon during the hayfever season. I treat them constitutionally during the winter to address the susceptibility, and Bob is your uncle - Christmas comes to Narnia.

There is also a lot you can do yourself. I'll tell you the less painful stuff first to keep you reading. Local honey is delicious, and cunningly contains the pollen local to the sufferer. If you were really clever you'd add some to nettle tea, which is a natural antihistamine. Vitamin C is another natural antihistamine, so make sure you're getting it down you. Echinacea is a fabulous anti-inflammatory, which could give you another line of defence at this tricky time of year. And if you read my previous blog entry, you'll remember the flower Euphrasia or Eyebright, which works wonders for all manner of eye complaints. 10 drops of its tincture in cooled boiled water used as an eye bath is very soothing.

That was the good news; you know what's coming next. Much of the food and drink you crave works against hayfever sufferers. Caffeine puts stress on your adrenals, which are already working like a dog to produce the cortisol to counter the inflammatory effects of the histamine that your body is experiencing. Alcohol is, guess what, rich in histamine, so that's the last thing you need. Finally, dairy is one of the biggest food allergens, and can stimulate the production of mucous, exacerbating blocked noses and ears. It's a bummer, I know, but the agony of withdrawal is worthwhile.

Put this all together, and what I want to say is that there is no need for summer to be synonymous with suffering.

Doctrine of signatures

I've always been intrigued by how obscure substances have been found to contain medicinal properties. Who, for example, thought it might be an idea to see whether the morbid secretion of a sperm whale might just work a treat to help women who are acutely sensitive before their period? The mind boggles. 

Less obscure is the ancient Doctrine of Signatures. The doctrine states that natural objects which resemble a particular part of the body contain properties with the ability to cure illnesses occurring there. 

The homeopathic pharmacy is full of beautiful examples of this doctrine. The remedy Euphrasia is made from a flower whose common name is Eyebright and which looks like a bright blue eye. And guess what? It's used for all sorts of eye issues from the red, itchy eyes of hayfever, to eye injuries. My scrap-loving cat has had Euphrasia countless times; he swears blind that homeopathy is just placebo though (pun intended). 

The indispensable flower Calendula with its ragged leaves works wonders for the similarly jagged grazes on your child's knee. Ginkgo Biloba (see image), which is famed for its use in addressing many of the symptoms connected with the ageing process, is the oldest living tree species and is known as a living fossil. 

It's a great reminder, I think, of how nature provides all the answers, if only we'd let it speak. Having said that, as a modern day homeopath, I'm extremely grateful that my esteemed predecessors have done the hard yards, and it's not down to me to discover that the cracked and ulcerated nipples of breastfeeding mothers can be greatly relieved by Castor Equi, the thumbnail of a horse. 

Bye for now and thanks for reading.

Arnica moment

Hello and welcome. 

It is only right and proper that a homeopath's first blog entry should be about the Arnica Moment. The Arnica Moment is homeopathy's equivalent to the Eureka moment, happily minus the bath water and nudity, and it often goes something like this. 

One minute you're helping a friend shift some furniture, the next you've seriously thwacked your head and you are the proud owner of a boiled egg style swelling. That's the bad news. The good news is that your friend legs it upstairs, firstly to have a silent, sneaky laugh at your expense, but also to fetch some Arnica (see image). One tablet of homeopathic mountain daisy and you're looking in the mirror, watching the egg literally disappear before your very eyes. You take a few more doses over the next two days and that daisy has saved you from some seriously technicolor bruising. It's at this point that homeopathy shifts from the periphery of your awareness to take its place in your life as real way of getting better. 

My Arnica Moment wasn't actually with Arnica but with another indispensable homeopathic remedy called Natrum Muriaticum, or table salt. A homeopath friend of mine prescribed it for me when I was at one of life's crossroads and was struggling to find my way. The remedy's effect was to help me cut through a lot of doubt and confusion. It was a powerful catalyst: I wanted to find out more about how homeopathy works, so much so that 5 years later in 2006 I obtained my homeopathic license, and have been in practice since.

Thank you for reading, and though I don't wish you a bump on the head, I do wish you a very happy Arnica Moment.