Pneumonia and Homeopathy (Cough, Cough)

On the chance that you have completely turned off the news in order to avoid election coverage, you may not have heard that former Secretary Hillary Clinton had to leave a 9/11 memorial event because she was suffering from pneumonia.

With the advent of antibiotics, the number of fatalities from pneumonia have fallen dramatically.  Before the introduction of sulfa drugs in the 1930’s, 30-40% of people who got pneumonia died from it, according to the National Institutes of Health.  Now, the percent who die from pneumonia is 14.8%, according to the latest statistics (2013) put out by the CDC and the American Lung Association.

So clearly, it is still a serious disease, especially when one ignores it or doesn’t take care of oneself when afflicted by it. Regardless if the event is as significant as a 9/11 memorial, if you have pneumonia, STAY. IN. BED!  REST!  You can still die from pneumonia, even though the likelihood has decreased significantly.

According to news reports, Clinton was up to date on her pneumonia vaccines.  Given how ineffective it was for her, thought I would do some research to see exactly how effective the pneumonia vaccine is.

Because pneumococcal bacteria can adapt and change, what used to be only 2-4 serotypes is now 90.  The Pneumovax vaccine has 23 of the serotypes that most commonly cause illness.  How effective in preventing vaccine is this popular vaccine? According to Johns Hopkins Medical Center, “It should be noted that vaccination does NOT reduce pneumonia.”  Wait, What??? “A meta-analyses shows no decrease in pneumonia incidence as a result of vaccination, however it has been shown to be about 60-70% effective in preventing invasive disease (meningitis, bacteremia).”  Only one study shows decreased mortality from pneumonia.  You can read this for yourself right here:  http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gec/series/pneumococcal_vaccination.html

Get your rest if you have pneumonia.  Don’t go to work as this gentleman did.

According to the CDC, once you are vaccinated, you will likely never need to be revaccinated.  No kidding.  I should add that this is a controversial statement.  The vaccine manufacturers, of course, think you should have it more often than just once.

Enter homeopathy.  There are 179 remedies for pneumonia in the homeopathic Materia Medica.  It even gets specific, such as right lobe, left lobe, lower lobe, upper lobe.  There is a wealth of experience helping people who have pneumonia by using the correct homeopathic remedies.  Notice I made that plural.  Often with a serious acute illness that have phases, such as pneumonia, you need more than one remedy over time to help heal the lungs.  If you or someone in your family is prone to getting respiratory illnesses, you may want to consider having some higher potency (200C or 1M) doses of the most common pneumonia remedies around.  These include Aconite, Belladonna, Chelidonium, Ferrum Phos, Ipecachuana, Veratrum Veride, Phosphorus, etc.  You can even take homeopathy along with the antibiotics, although it may be nearly impossible to assess the effectiveness of the remedy if you do that.  One of the benefits, however of adding the correct homeopathic remedy to a case of pneumonia, even if you are taking antibiotics, is that you have less of a chance of getting a repeat case, or falling into the cycle of repeated doses of antibiotics.

Homeopathy also can be used to reduce your chances of getting pneumonia. Homeoprophylaxis includes a remedy made from pneumococcal bacteria and can be taken as directed to educate the immune system about this germ.  It is a part of the homeoprophylaxis program for children, but can be taken by adults.  I’m guessing it is more effective than the vaccine.  And BONUS! the homeprophylaxis version is not filled full of additional ingredients that have not really been safety tested with a true placebo.

If your lungs are a common source of dis-ease, i.e., frequent bronchitis, colds, coughs, pneumonia, you should definitely see a classical homeopath to help strengthen your respiratory system. That is probably the best way to reduce your chances of getting pneumonia. According to Chinese Medicine, the lungs and skin are related, so a good constitutional remedy will also help your skin.

Call me if you need help.

Kathryn
651-748-1556

 

What Can Homeopathy Do For You? Homeoprophylaxis

The term Homeoprophylaxis has been around for at least a century.  Basically, it means lessening the likelihood of getting some acute illness by taking certain remedies associated with that illness.

Really, any type of homeopathy can do this, but this concept is focused on acute illnesses that may be “going around” or could go around in the future.

Belladonna, commonly known as deadly nightshade, is a remedy for Scarlet Fever.

Lets first take an historical look at homeoprophylaxis.  As early as the time of Samuel Hahnemann, the German physician who founded and developed the principals of homeopathy in the early 1800’s, homeopathy has been used to prevent people from getting sick.  According to his series of books Materia Medica Pura, when Scarlet Fever was at epidemic levels in Europe, Dr. Hahnemann recognized that Belladonna was a common remedy for those who were suffering from this life threatening affliction.  So he decided to try to prevent others from getting scarlet fever by giving them a pre-emptive dose of Belladonna.  It was so successful, that in 1838 the Prussian Government ordered its citizens to receive a dose of Belladonna due to the Scarlet Fever epidemic going on there.  There is a reason it was called Scarlet Fever.  Today it is rare due to Anti-biotics when people are diagnosed with a strep infection.  But when someone needs Belladonna with a fever, their face turns red, they are warm to the touch except for their hands and feet–you can even feel the heat above their body, and they have a high fever.

Since the time of Hahnemann, homeopaths have tried to determine the genus epidemicus for the current acute illness. Many times I have recommended to families to take a dose of Arsenicum, for example, if that is the remedy that others in the family have needed when a stomach bug is the current affliction du jour.  This is why it is so important to call when you get sick.  Often I may already have a good idea what you need.  Or, you could help yourself, and others, including family members, when you call.  When it is recognizable, I do try to post suggestions either on Facebook or through emails.  (Like my Lotus Homeopathy Facebook Page if you haven’t done so yet. I did a quick search in my electronic books (over 800) on the word “prophylactic”.  There were 1355 hits.  Many come from homeopathy journals of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

You can see that preventing illness with homeopathy has long been an effective strategy.  In the late 1900’s, Dr. Isaac Golden studied the effectiveness of using Homeoprophylaxis to prevent childhood diseases as an alternative to conventional vaccines.  His results from a study of nearly 2500 children in Australia over more than 15 years showed them to be as effective or more effective than conventional vaccines.  And not only that, but the unvaccinated children who participated in in the program were generally healthier than the unvaccinated children who did not participate in the program.  For more information about Homeoprophylaxis, please click here.

This past winter I had an interesting experience.  I took a dose of a remedy which I was unfamiliar with.  I just never thought to recommend it (it doesn’t always come up when searching for acute remedies).  So I took it to see what it was about.  I developed the same set of symptoms I always seem to get when I get sick, only not as intense or long lasting.  The end result was that I did not get sick this winter.  I didn’t even feel like I was going to get sick.  (I may have an exacerbation of chronic symptoms, but that is not acute illness, as was disgusted in earlier sections of this series.)  This is what is called the Complementary remedy.  That is, the remedy you need when you get an acute illness, which often has symptoms opposite of what you need when for you chronic state.  For example, a high energy person may need a remedy such as Gelsemium, which is wiped out, flat on his back, when he gets an acute illness.

I have decided that next November, I will take another dose of that complementary remedy just to see if I can use it as a prophylaxis for all things acute.  Hopefully I will remember to let you know how that goes.  But it is hard to determine what your complementary remedy is without a constitutional consult.

Now that you know about the potential of homeopathy to prevent disease, you can feel safe venturing out during an outbreak, with the comfort of knowing you can lessen your chances of getting sick.

Kathryn
651-748-1556
www.lotushomeopathy.com

Emergency Medicine: What Homeopathy Offers–Part 2

Yesterday I wrote my post and forgot to push the Publish button, so I didn’t get it published. OOPS!  But I did write it yesterday, I promise.

Heat Stroke and Heat Exhaustion can quickly become medical emergencies if not tended to quickly.  The problem is that the person who is suffering from it may not notice that they have it.  Confusion, fatigue followed by disorientation are some of the symptoms. In addition to the homeopathy, be sure and get someone who is experiencing heat stroke to a doctor as soon as possible.

Here are some remedies to have on hand to help out.

BTW, I know we are moving away from Heat Stroke season, but if you take  a warm weather vacation, it would be a shame to miss it laying in your hotel room recovering.

Belladonna has symptoms that are common no matter what the pathology.  Think RED, Think HEAT.  Also, the Belladonna plant is a source of atropine which is used to dilate pupils, so that is also a symptom that will help you remember this remedy as well.  Throbbing Head Pain from becoming heated.  Bright Red Face.  The skin feels warm, even if you hold your hand above the surface.  They may become violent and want to leave, but they are generally fearless.

Carbo Veg has a headache which is accompanied by vertigo and nausea.  The person who needs it seems lifeless and very depleted.  Not the energy you would see with Belladonna.  They want to be fanned.

Glonoine or Glonoinum is homeopathic nitroglycerine.  It also has head pain from becoming over heated.  There is a surging of blood to the head and pulsations through out the body.  Heavy head, cannot lay it down.

Natrum Muriaticum - Salt - is a remedy for heat stroke

Natrum Muriaticum is homeopathic sodium chloride.  It is the one I have most commonly recommended.  Very fatigued, dizzy, faint, sleep.  Vision is unsteady and will see fiery zigzags around objects and sparks in front of the eyes.  Also the fingers and extremities will feel numbness and tingling.

There are many others to consider as well.  These are just the most common.  It is nice to know that there are additional tools in the toolbox rather than just Gatorade and ice.

Kathryn

651-748-1556

www.lotushomeopathy.com