Have you ever been in a situation where painkillers haven't helped? Paracetamol, anti inflammatories and co-codamol are all poisons which must be processed by the liver requiring long gaps between doses. If you have just broken a toe for example the pain can be excruciating and that 4 hour wait can be impossible to contemplate.
Homeopathic remedies can provide enormous relief from painful symptoms. Below is a table of the keynotes for using homeopathy in the home - these are symptoms to look out for:
Belladonna
Hot, red, throbbing. Can feel a real pulsing of the injury.
Rhus-tox
Very stiff at first but eases with gentle movement, better for heat. Give hot baths and hot water bottles to this patient. They are also very restless.
Bryonia
Little pain when completely still but agony to move even a millimetre. Known as the bear with the sore head because often very grumpy because they don’t want anyone to come near them in case they make the pain worse.
Ruta
This is useful for injuries to small bones from elbows and knees down and to ligaments.
Arnica
Says they’re fine when they’re not.
These pointers help you to differentiate between remedies. In the case of most injuries Arnica can speed up the process of healing. It’s initial action is to take away the shock, settling the heart rate and allowing the body to get on with fixing itself. I have found wounds heal more rapidly after Calendula has been given, meaning the associated soreness and risk of infection is gone quicker.
Have you ever had to change good plans to go to the doctor or hospital for something not life-threatening? Administering a homeopathic remedy can relieve symptoms while you make arrangements - often to the extent the trip then becomes unnecessary and you can carry on with your normal day.
Do you or a member of your family have recurrent inconvenient ailments? (Cold sores, thrush, PMT, styes, headaches, earache, rashes, reactions to insect bites, colds, sore throat, nose bleeds, burns, cuts). Learning which remedy works best for you in this acute situation means you can relieve the symptoms and get on with your day. If it recurs often it might be an idea to consult a homoeopath because these are often patterns which are set up by the body and a constitutional remedy can rebalance the body so you are no longer so prone to them.
When we are used to using one painkiller like paracetamol for everything, we tend to use the same words for describing the pain - like “sore”. With homeopathy in order to find the right remedy we are matching the pain you have with the pain that would be caused by the substance in the remedy if it were not diluted.
In order to do this we find the specific symptoms that are making you different now to how you would be if you were well.
Here are some pointers for reading symptoms:
Colour - is blood bright or dark? Face pale, red, blotchy? Mucus yellow, white, clear, profuse?
Eyes - are they wild, bloodshot, pupils dilated?
Rash - size of spots, number, raised or flat, colour?
Aetiology - what happened that day that doesn't normally happen - usually significant. Is it always during menses? What's the weather doing? Whereabouts did it happen - inside/outside, seaside, mountains, season?
Mental/emotional state - what is noticeable, different? How are they? What are they doing - body position, eating, drinking, fresh air, clothes, seeking/avoiding comfort, weepy angry, restless?
If anything stands out this is most often one of the keynotes of a remedy. For instance I have seen patients with symptoms from a cold, to anxiety, to stomach pains to shellfish poisoning all get instant relief from Pulsatilla after noticing they wanted the window open despite the cold and having their head stuck out of it. Desire for fresh air is a keynote of this remedy.
Miranda Castro’s "Complete Guide to Homeopathy" is immensely useful for helping you to learn how to differentiate symptoms or you could send an e-mail to me if you would like help selecting a remedy. I recommend getting a kit containing some of the most often used remedies. Helios make a handy one containing 18 remedies and you can call them to order the basic kit with 36. Then you can start looking after your own physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
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