The Truth About Homeopathy, Part 2–Exciting Cause versus Root Cause

Exciting Cause versus Root Cause

How many times have you felt like you have discovered the cause of a particular health problem?  You have finally gotten to the bottom of it.  This is the root cause, the source of all troubles.

The solution may look something like this:

If I stop drinking bubbly water, my bladder problems will go away.

OR

If I become a vegetarian, that will solve my digestive issues.

OR

If I just eat chocolate a little less often, I can keep my anxiety under control.

OR

If I sleep on my right side, I will sleep better because then I won’t hear my heart beating as I am trying to fall asleep.

OR

If I diffuse Lavender, my anxiety is lessened. (This suggests that you have a deficiency of Lavender currently.)

There are an unlimited number of possibilities we can concoct in our mind as solutions to make our lives better and seemingly improve our health.

In homeopathy, all these “solutions” are referred to as modalities.  We ask our clients a number of questions about what makes symptoms better and what makes them worse.  They are important in determining the correct remedy.

However, they are a “cause” of sorts.  Chocolate could be a cause of your anxiety. Eating meat could cause your digestive issues.

That sort of cause is what is referred to as an “exciting cause.”  Moving out of a damp basement when you have asthma, removes the exciting cause. But what it doesn’t address is why do you have the propensity to develop asthma in the first place.  THAT is the root cause.  The damp basement is the exciting cause.

We can spend the rest of our lives removing exciting causes and chasing down the next one that pops up.  When we have surgery to remove an ovary because of ovarian cysts, that removes the exciting cause of ovulation from that ovary.  But, the next problem will arise later.  It is like a game of whack-a-mole.  My experience over and over is that removing exciting causes where we can is an important contribution to long term healing, but does not solve the problem.

Examining the root cause requires an in depth intake interview.  Examining how you feel about certain events in your life, how you react to other people, dreams, food cravings, sleep positions, and many other questions help get to the bottom of your problems.  Symptoms of your problems come in many forms, some unrelated to what you think your chief complaint is.  Signs of the right remedy may arise in an off-hand comment, or a box you check in the intake form.

Homeopathy helps get to the root of the problem.  It is a profound form of healing.  Anything that only tackles the exciting causes is just a management technique.

If you would like to know more about how to get to the root cause of your problems, click here to book a Complimentary Consult today!

Kathryn
651-748-1556

The Truth About Homeopathy, Part 1

 

This is a multi-part series about the Truth About Homeopathy, spiritual and practical.  This series sprung from questions asked by others and dreams and thoughts that have appeared in my head in the early morning hours, before the hustle and bustle of the day has had a chance to obscure my the workings of my mind.

I awakened one morning with two distinct ideas in my head.  They weren’t dreams.  They were born of lucid thinking.

“Second-hand thoughts.” The phrase ran through my mind repeatedly.

Accompanying this thought was an image of a gardening truck full of people, men really, coming to my yard in the dark of night to plant my garden.  They had shovels and dirt and seeds and plants.  Why were they coming in the dark of night? Why was someone else planting my garden?

Were these people arriving in the middle of the night with shovels and dirt and a gardening truck planning to plant ideas into my head during the wee morning hours.  Or during my sleep hours?  Am I allowing someone else to plant my garden, or am I planting it myself?  What am I planting in my garden?  Rich, luscious vegetables and fruits that will nourish the body?  Sustenance free from toxic substances that will poison the body?  Or am I allowing weeds to grow and take over that which is good for me, not allowing it to thrive and see the sunlight?  Are toxic delusions seeping into the soil, causing whatever grows there to be harmful rather than helpful?

The gardeners who come in the dead of night to dig around and put things in the ground to sprout and grow roots may look like they are taking care of me.  That they are giving life.  But are they really?  Are they taking their plants and planting them in my garden?  Is this life giving botany or is it a weed, ready to take over that which gives life?  Is the truth about life that it is a weed?  Or is the truth about the life sustaining, nourishing?  Which am I living?

Are second hand thoughts also second hand truths?

Am I borrowing these truths from someone else?

Where do I find my own truth?

Were the gardeners planting Second Hand Thoughts?

---

What does homeopathy have to do with the truth and second hand thoughts?

Everything.

We cannot find the truth in a patient with second hand thoughts—that is, my thoughts about the patient or another’s thoughts about the patient.  How can I help those who come into my practice to find their own truth?  What questions can I ask?  How shall I ask those questions?

Homeopathy is a way of finding the truth about an individual, ourselves or another, reflected in nature.  A very specific piece of nature for each person.  It is also necessary to find the untruths that are mistakenly believed by the person in front of me as a homeopath. The second hand thoughts that they believe due to some freak occurrence, or perhaps something someone told them in a moment of cruelty.  Some people are simply born believing things about themselves which are not true.  I’m no good, I can’t live up to expectations, everything I do is wrong, no one loves me.

Every form of spirituality makes use of the concept of a mirror to display the truth.

In the Gosho by Nichiren “On Attaining Buddhahood”

It is the same with a Buddha and an ordinary being. When deluded, one is called an ordinary being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha. This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished. A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality. Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night.

Also in First Corinthians 13:12

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even also as I am known. KJV

Homeopathy and Mirrors

In Homeopathy, the remedy is the mirror.  It isn’t you exactly.  It is a reflection of you.  It is similar to you.  Just like a map isn’t the road, the remedy isn’t you.  It is a representation of you.  A remedy often polishes the mirror of one who takes it.  They see a part of themselves that they hadn’t seen before.  This is true whether the remedy is the “similimum” or not.  A remedy will only allow you to see that which is true for you.  It is a vital piece of the picture of the remedy which holds more of the truth than the previous one did.

When we look in the mirror as we ready ourselves for the day, what is reflected back at us is a message of what we need to adjust.  The tie gets straightened, the shirt gets changed, the hair gets combed, the buttons get buttoned properly.  But do we always notice the deeper lessons that can be gained by looking in a mirror?  Am I haggard looking?  Is that a new wrinkle?  Is the energy reflected in the mirror one of health or dis-ease?

This is true of a remedy as well.  Any remedy we take offers us a reflection.  Are we open to noticing what that reflection is telling us?  Is there just a change in our digestion, or are we ridding our body of “shit” that no longer serves our purposes, untruths about ourselves that no longer serve us.  Perhaps we are we eliminating those second hand thoughts that really belong to someone else.  They aren’t true about us.

A homeopathic remedy is a lesson to the body, a reminder, of how to heal oneself, to help you find your truth, not someone else’s idea of who you are.  You get to plant your own garden of healthy seeds.  You will not allow someone to come into your mind in the dark of night to sow seeds of untruth, second hand thoughts, which don’t nourish the soul.

According to Dictionary.com, Remedy means:

Something that cures or relieves a disease or bodily disorder; a healing medicine, application, or treatment.

OR

Something that corrects or removes an evil of any kind.

To remedy something means:

To restore to the natural or proper condition; to put right.

Are you ready to learn the truth?  Will you take the remedy?  Will you remedy your life?

Kathryn
651-748-1556
www.lotushomeopathy.com

 

What Homeopathy Cannot Help

As a classical homeopath, I frequently get asked what homeopathy can help with.  I think an equally important question is what homeopathy cannot help.  But first, a story.

A while back, I was at an event at a local OT/PT clinic which serves a number of children with autism.  In talking with the president of the center, she shared with me that they had recently changed their waiting area at the entrance of the building.  Patients, siblings and parents would wait there for appointments to begin or be completed.

A pattern was developing that while the children were waiting, they would become quite rambunctious and loud, sometimes interrupting sessions, disturbing others who were waiting, etc.  They assessed the situation and recognized that they had not created a quiet, peaceful environment.  They had movies on the TV, toys for the kids to play with and almost no books.

In order to create a more calming setting, they decided to get rid of all the toys and increase the number and type of books available.  The TV monitor would only show nature videos rather than children’s movies.  It took a couple of weeks of adjustment, but soon, the waiting area at the center became the more tranquil place for which they were hoping.  Now children come in and go straight for the books.  Parents are reading to their children rather than talking on their phones.

What does this story have to do with What Homeopathy Cannot Help?  In homeopathy we would refer to the situation in the waiting area of the OT/PT Clinic as a Maintaining Cause or an Obstacle to Cure.  As long as the environment encouraged certain behaviors in the children, no matter how much shhh’ing went on, it was a never ending battle with an outcome that was certain.  But when the environment was modified to encourage a different outcome, it was possible for that outcome to actually come to fruition.

An equivalent situation might be a client who seeks homeopathic care for their asthma but continues to live in the damp, moldy basement apartment.  Or perhaps a child who has ADD/ADHD, but eats a diet high in sugars and carbohydrates.  Sorry mom, but homeopathy can’t help that.  Homeopathy isn’t about living an unhealthy lifestyle and expecting the body to be able to heal itself.  What goes in, comes out, whether it is environmental stimuli, food or microbes in the air.  It is a simple example of the laws of cause and effect.  Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Sometimes when a parent brings their child in for homeopathy, it becomes clear that the parent is the first person who should receive a remedy. That is one way to tackle the maintaining causes. Healthier parents lead to healthier children. Homeopaths aren’t the first people to recognize this.  Frequently homeopathy helps someone get motivated to change their environment.  A person who craves sugar, for example, can be helped to not crave sugar quite so much, so they can get a handle on the cravings and change their diet.  Often homeopathy can help remove the obstacles to cure, but sometimes removing the obstacles is the only cure.

A Remedy for Donald Trump

Ever since Donald Trump declared his candidacy for President of the United States, he has been dropping symptoms all over the place.  For a classical homeopath, it is a gold mine, a veritable treasure trove.

Up until today, I thought I pretty much knew what remedy he could take to get over his germaphobia and become a less egotistical, pompous leader and grow a little thicker skin.

Then a story came out on the internet that British Prime Minister Theresa May held Donald Trump’s hand when going down the stairs and down a ramp because he is afraid of falling or going down ramps.  Assuming this is true, this is a great homeopathic symptom.

Let’s look at some symptoms for him.  But first, a note on the symptoms.  These aren’t judgments.  They are simple observations.  Just as occurs in a homeopathy appointment.

And now, the symptoms:

• Dictatorial–he is, without a doubt, an authoritarian.
• Egotism–need I say more?
• Boaster–a YUUUGE symptom
• Liar–alternative facts
• Ambition
• Want of moral feeling–grab ’em by the p***y, cheating on his wives.
• Sensitive to the criticism–Trumplethinskin
• Disobedience–the rules don’t apply to me
• Intolerant of contradiction–^^^
• Pompous–inflated sense of self importance
• Fear of contagion–germaphobe
• Fear of downward motion–needing to hold a hand while walking down the stairs. There is actually a symptom of fear of falling down the stairs but there aren’t enough remedies in it to utilize.  Many people actually have this fear, so we need to use a bigger symptom.

Repertorization of Donald Trump Symptoms

This screen shows the top 19 remedies but there were 346 remedies that showed up in the repertorization.  So we need to add some other characteristics in with the knowledge we already know about him, that cannot be repertorized.  Knowledge of remedies is equally important.

We know he is very ostentacious, likes flashy buildings, beautiful women, etc.  How he looks and how the people look who are with him is important.  All of his wives were models. (F)

We know that he is obsessed with building a wall. (F)

We know that he cannot maintain a relationship, as he is on his third wife.  They are likely very superficial relationships as well.  (F)

He likes to fire people. (F)

He’s overweight. (C)

The remedies in the 17th column of the periodic table are the halogens.  All of the remedies in that column have issues with making and breaking bonds, and the actual elements do as well.  Fluorine has that issue and is also very flashy and concerned about appearance.  So we will focus on Fluorine.

The flagship Fluorine remedy is Fluoric Acid.  (This is the remedy Ted Danson’s character, Sam Malone, in Cheers needs.)  All the symptoms above, marked with an (F) are symptoms of Fluorine.

There is a connection between building the wall and his germaphobia.  Walls help to keep germs out.  Unfortunately, they also keep people out, which is a struggle for Fluorine.

Firing people also breaks bonds between people. There is a symptom in the homeopathic repertory which is Mind, Delusion, Servants, he must get rid of.  One remedy.  Fluoric Acid. And interestingly, the remedy for Arnold Schwartzenegger, who replaced Trump in The Celebrity Apprentice, is Fluoric Acid as well!

I was willing to accept Fluoric Acid as the remedy Donald Trump needs (without having looked it up, but just thought it a good fit), until I heard this symptom of fear of falling down the stairs.  So I decided to take a look.  That symptom is not covered by Fluoric Acid and neither is the symptom of germaphobia.  (See the repertory above.)

But Calcarea (Calc) does cover those two symptoms, and many others that aren’t covered by the fluorine.  It covers his sensitivity to what others think, his boasting and lying.  As you can see, Fluoric Acid fills in nicely where Calc doesn’t cover the symptoms.

So I would give Donald Trump Calcarea Fluoricum. Calc Fluor. Many people who need this remedy wish they could keep a relationship going.  It is often the first time in their lives that they can, after a dose or two of Calc Fluor.  They would like to be thicker skinned, and feel less sensitive to the opinions of others–this is true of all Calcarea remedies.

It is important to point out that homeopathy isn’t a simple math problem.  It doesn’t always work this easily.

Another aspect of Fluorine to bring up as it relates to the general population is that Fluorine is a superficial element (thus the concern about appearances).  It acts on the surface of things. So Fluoride treatments, while not completely safe, are administered to the surface of the teeth.  Compare that to Fluoridated water, which is administered internally.  This is where the true problems arise. For example, fluoride causes soft tissue tumors in women.  It also used to be used to suppress the thyroid function when patients were diagnosed with Hyperthyroid.  (Ever wonder why no one’s thyroid is functioning properly anymore?)  Luckily with homeopathic remedies the Fluoride is potentized so it is safe.

So if anyone knows Donald Trump and if he wants to get over his germaphobia and fear of falling down stairs, have him get ahold of me.  If you know someone like him, have that person call as well.

Kathryn
651-748-1556
www.lotushomeopathy.com

The Body Wants What the Body Wants!

The Cliffs of Moher

In May last year, my husband and I took a trip to Ireland.  We did a good deal of hiking.  While hiking near the Cliffs of Moher, my high ankle, just above the ankle bone, became excruciatingly painful, without explanation.  The tighter I tied my hiking boots, the worse it became.  I managed to find a handful of tissues to stuff in the boot and I made it through the hike.

It was a mystery to me because I didn’t sprain my ankle, the hiking boots were broken in, and, well, there was just no explanation, except perhaps overuse from all the hiking we had done. So,  I tried Arnica, which helped a bit.  I tried Bryonia, and it did nothing.  I managed to get through the rest of the trip, with one more big hike scheduled to the top of a mountain.

Upon returning home, the swelling receeded a bit and I could see a large bump under the surface of the skin.  I determined I had a ganglion cyst on my ankle.  I had never had a ganglion cyst, so I was surprised to see it.

Apparently Ganglion Cysts can be caused by irritation to the joint or tendons, according to many medical websites. A previous injury makes one susceptible to forming a ganglion cyst. (I had sprained that ankle several years prior.) It is a fluid filled cyst that contains the same lubricant found around tendons.  Not wanting to irritate it anymore, I didn’t do any hiking in the summer.

There is a remedy, Ruta Graveolens, that is a specific for Ganglion Cysts.  There are 32 other remedies, but I really didn’t have many symptoms to go by.  Since I didn’t want to confuse a new constitutional remedy, I chose to NOT take Ruta.  I did some experimenting and used an essential oil, Frankincense, mixed with a carrier oil.  I rolled it onto the Cyst several times per day.  It eventually disappeared by mid to late July.

The Cliffs of Moher

In September, I started to develop plantar fasciitis.  It seemed to get worse every time I did any serious walking.  I had hoped a different constitutional remedy would help.  It didn’t.

There was a study published in the British Journal of Podiatry in August of 2000 which showed a significant improvement using homeopathic Ruta Graveolens for plantar fasciitis versus a placebo.  Ruta is a go to remedy for any injury or irritation of connective tissue.  First sprained ankle (didn’t take Ruta), then the tendon with the ganglion cyst and now the inflamed fascia on the foot.

Twice in a short time and three times within several years, my body was displaying symptoms of Ruta in the same area of the body.  Had I taken it the first time with the sprained ankle, or later with the ganglion cyst, rather than using the Essential Oil, I may have been able to avoid the pain of the plantar fasciitis.  There are several remedies for plantar fasciitis, but the symptoms matched those of Ruta, i.e., pain and irritability worse from movement, and the symptoms are particularly worse from stepping on the foot.

The lesson here is to listen to the body, and take the appropriate remedy, sooner rather than later.  The Body Wants What the Body Wants!

Kathryn
www.lotushomeopathy.com
651-748-1556

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

The Twelve Days of Christmas song—it seems you either love it or you hate it.

Now that the Twelve Days of Christmas are upon us (from Christmas to Epiphany), it seems timely to ask:  Have you noticed how many birds are gifted in that song?

• Seven Swans a swimming
• Six Geese a laying
• Four colly Birds
• Three French Hens
• Two Turtle Doves
• And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

Half the days’ gifts are birds.

What Does This Have To Do With Homeopathy?

There are homeopathic remedies made from many of these birds—usually their feathers or shells.  Sometimes the blood.  There is even a remedy from seabird excrement.

Maybe you need a bird remedy.  If some of the following symptoms fit you, you may want to consider getting a homeopathic consultation to find which feathered creature fits you.

Freedom and Independence:  The desire and urge to travel are a strong part of people who need bird remedies.

Intuition and Spirituality:  Their thoughts originate from a deeper level of wisdom.  They have a sense of inner clarity.

Perfectionism:  The urge to do everything right rather than true conscientiousness.

Relationships:  People who need bird remedies are connected through their feelings.  They are by nature family-oriented, caring, and helpful.  They have a protective instinct.  If the birds live in a flock, they tend to care more about the group or society, whereas birds that tend to be loners are more concerned about individual relationships.

Physical Symptoms:  Oversensitive to noises, inner restlessness, aimless agitation and irritability, eating too much or not enough (the expression “eating like a bird” comes to mind).  They have sharp, stabbing pains.

They have headaches, pressure on the cheekbones or jaws, and many teeth symptoms.  Eyes are dry and can have blurred and fuzzy visions and fear of becoming blind.  Their nose may be blocked, sneezing, hay fever, dryness like the eyes.

People who need bird remedies often find a sensation of their throat being blocked, especially in remedies from birds that eat their food whole.  A lump sensation is also common, as if something was stuck in the throat.  Think about birds that have long narrow necks.

In women, their periods are especially painful.

In the chest, they have a difficulty inhaling deeply enough.

In the back, they have tension and stiffness in the neck, upper back or dorsal area.

The limbs have numbness, tingling, weakness, especially in lower limbs.  They tend to be clumsy, exhibited by dropping things, stumbling, knocking into furniture.

Remedies Made From The Six Birds of the Twelve Days of Christmas:

Seven Swans a Swimming:  There are at least two remedies made from swan.  The most well known is Cygnus Cygnus, a whooper swan.  This remedy is well known for experiencing deep grief over the loss of a loved one.  It could be death or it could be a break up.   If you have seen the movie The Notebook, think about the main character

Six Geese a Laying:  The most well known of the goose remedies is Branta Canadensis, or the Canada Goose.  This remedy was proven by the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy, in Minnesota.  This remedy notable for its hypervigilance, need for neatness and order, and self-righteous intolerance of contradiction, incompetence and injustice.  They are mentally scattered, their physical symptoms are ameliorated by being outdoors, and they are very sensitive to noise.  Physically, some of their symptoms include headaches, canker sores, and a number of skin symptoms usually accompanied by itching.

Four Colly Birds:  Although I grew up thinking it was “Calling Birds”, the correct word is “Colly” birds. According to every source on the internet, this is another word for Blackbirds.  There is a remedy made from European blackbird feathers.  It is called Turdus merula.  Unfortunately I cannot find out anything about the remedy.  There are, however, remedies from Crows and Ravens.

Three French Hens:  This is a bird called Poulet de Bresse.  It is carefully raised in a small area of France and is well known for its blue feet.  It dates back to the days of King Henry IV.  When raised for eating properly, it is considered a gastronomic wonder.  Gallus Domesticus is the common chicken, which has had a proving.  People who need chicken remedies are deceived, trapped, conned and now live their lives, meaninglessly, for the financial benefit of others.  Chickens are strong cancer remedies, as are other domesticated bird remedies. Routine traps and deadens those that need chicken remedies.  They love to gossip—this should not surprise us, as there are many analogies about hens clucking.

Two Turtle Doves:  (Doves mate for life, so there would only be two doves given in this gift).  Pigeons and doves belong to the same family.  The best known dove remedy is Columba palumbus, not a turtle dove.  The person who needs this dove remedy is a peace maker, trying to resolve difficulties between individuals.  They have great sadness and they repress these feelings of grief and anger.  They are always acting in service to another.  They are good at consoling others and they have the ability to love their enemies, thus the symbol of a dove for peace.

If any of these remedies or birds in general sound like you or someone you know, give a call and get healthy!

Kathryn
www.lotushomeopathy.com
651-748-1556

Five Things To Keep In Mind About the US Government and Homeopathy

 

Recently homeopathy has been in the news, thanks to statements by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Some of you may remember that in 2015 I sent an email asking you to send a statement to the FTC about your experience with homeopathy.  They were concerned about claims on labels of OTC homeopathic remedies.  Specifically, products that contained multiple remedies in one bottle and claimed to be effective for a particular condition, such as allergies, colds, teething, etc., were in their sites.

Then in the second half of 2016, Hyland’s “voluntarily” removed their Teething Tablets from the stores in the United States.  There were claims that they caused seizures in some children who took them and that 10 children died.  (I know this sounds shocking, but keep reading.  There is a likely explanation.)  The FDA harassed them until they discontinued sales in the US.

These two events have given the homeopathy deniers fodder to write about.  [Just a side note, the pharmaceutical industry pays a few individuals to troll the internet for stories and posts about homeopathy and then challenge people who may be writing stories or experiences in which homeopathy has helped.  This isn’t a conspiracy theory.  The names of these individuals are known to the community.  What a career. Why would someone want to be so negative all the time? But I digress.]

So after doing much research (biased indeed), the FTC issued a ruling.  The summary of the report by the FTC can be read here:  https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2016/11/otc-homeopathic-drugs-established-ftc-proof-standards-apply

If you wish to read the entire workshop report, it can be found at the bottom of the same page.

Here is the outcome of the ruling:

“To address concerns that many consumers are likely being misled by current marketing claims, the Commission is issuing an Enforcement Policy Statement, making clear that marketers of OTC homeopathic drugs must either have adequate substantiation for their efficacy claims or effectively communicate the lack of scientific evidence backing them and that their claims are based only on theories of homeopathy from the 1700s that are not accepted by most modern medical experts.”

This ruling is biased and contains untruths.  The entire report contains incorrect information and a good deal of the research, and the conclusions they draw are unimportant or incorrect.

The following are five things to keep in mind when it comes to the FDA/FTC and Homeopathy.

1. The FDA and FTC are biased against homeopathy.

There is a long history of this bias, with the American Medical Association being formed, in part, to “rid the world of the scourge of homeopathy.”  So it is safe to say that they are not hoping to help homeopathy in anyway.

One can also see this bias in the language used in the report.  For example, “To address concerns that many consumers are likely being misled by current marketing claims….” assumes that the companies that make the homeopathic remedies are being misleading.  Their customers are being misled only if the statements are not true.  There is an assumption that the statements are not true.

PolyPharmacy Remedy

The other bias that appears in this report is the non-acceptance of homeopathic provings as scientific evidence that a remedy works in a particular way.  Any two people with the same diagnosis will more than likely NOT need the same remedy.  So it is hard to say whether a remedy will help or not.  It might help one person but not another.  Largely, this report and ruling is addressing poly-pharmacy remedies.  These are remedies that contain many remedies in one bottle, usually X potencies.  They may or may not work, but the idea is if there are enough different remedies in the bottle, one of them ought to work.  And when dealing with X potencies, you don’t need to get an exact remedy in order to get a positive response.   These may work fine for acute, self limiting situations, but for chronic dis-ease, it is not a good choice, as it likely will not make a permanent change.

But lets be clear.  There are hundreds of well-designed studies that show that homeopathy works, even though doctors don’t like to admit it.  Do these poly-pharmacy remedies have a similar study?  Probably not.

Finally, the new labels will have to say that homeopathic remedies are “not accepted by most modern medical experts.”  Experts who KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HOMEOPATHY, so therefore, are NOT experts.

2. The FDA and the FTC do not understand homeopathy.

Because homeopathic remedies are considered “drugs” in the FDA world, it is required that the bottles indicate what the remedy is used for.  So when you are looking at the blue tube Boiron remedies in the store, you may see some indication of usage on the labels.  So if you pick up a tube of Sulphur 30C, the bottle will say Acne on it.  A quick search in the Homeopathic Repertory shows over 200 remedies for facial acne.  So the likelihood that Sulphur is going to help is less than 0.5%.

Another search in the Homeopathic Repertory that I use most often shows that there are 17,634 symptoms that are known to be associated with Sulphur either in clinical settings or through a proving.  And the bottle says “Acne.” The bottle displays 0.005671% of the symptoms known to be helped by Sulphur.  How useful is that?

If they really understood homeopathy, they wouldn’t put anything on the labels other than the contents.  Or they would explain that this is just one thing it may help and that other remedies may be a better option.  They would suggest that consumers check with their trained homeopath for assistance.

And yes, the obvious conflict between the FDA requiring the label indicate usage and the FTC requiring certain types of evidence was brought up in the Workshop Report.

The full workshop report did not include any information about the new research which is identifying how homeopathy works, and that it isn’t on a chemical basis, but rather on an energetic basis.  They also did not explain that many pharmaceutical drugs work on the basis of Like Cures Like.  It is just that they are using crude doses, rather than energetic doses.  The fact that many things in our lives are homeopathic does not register to them.  Do you ever watch a sad movie when you are feeling down?  That is homeopathic.  Have you ever had a cup of coffee to calm yourself down?  That is homeopathic as well.  People who have cigarette to calm themselves are engaging in homeopathy.  For most people, nicotine causes anxiety, but for some, it is homeopathic, albeit crudely so.

3. The FTC Ruling and the Workshop Report have misleading statements.

How ironic is that?  The FTC makes a ruling that they are concerned that homeopathic remedies are misleading on their labels.  But in the report of their workshop and in their ruling, they are engaging in misleading the public.

The first misleading statement is that homeopathy is based on an idea from the 1700’s.  While he did experiment in the 1700’s, the time he produced his best work was from 1804- 1811.  The late 1700’s produced rich data, but the theories were cemented in the 1800’s.  The suggestion in their ruling and label requirements is that these ideas are old and discarded because they are from the 1700’s.  This is not only false, it is purposely misleading.

In addition, the FTC felt that anything other than rejecting homeopathic remedies would be considered misleading.  The fact that someone might be willing to take a remedy was inherently misleading, because of their bias towards western medicine.

4. The FTC felt that didn’t think people really understood that the remedies weren’t “approved” by the FDA and didn’t know the difference between homeopathy and naturopathy and other natural modalities.  Therefore, anything on the label is misleading.

No kidding.

I wish they had given me the money that they spent to do that research project.  This is an ongoing problem with classical homeopaths:  people don’t know the difference between all the modalities.

And you know what?  They don’t care.

Several years ago, the Minnesota Homeopathic Association did a focus group study on its own about what makes people decide to do homeopathy.  The most important factor was that it worked.  They wanted to know it worked.  They didn’t care how it worked or why it worked, or what it was called.  They didn’t want an explanation.  They just wanted to get better.  My personal experience as a homeopath in fielding calls shows that people don’t trust the FDA, so if a remedy was “approved” by the FDA, many people are less likely to be interested than if it is natural medicine which the FDA has not gotten involved with.

As clients continue to use and trust homeopathy, they are more interested in the what’s, why’s and how’s.

The section of the Workshop Report which outlines the focus group reported this:  “These results suggest that many consumers may choose homeopathic products based on incorrect and incomplete information about them. When given additional information, however, they looked more critically at homeopathic treatments and had a better basis on which to evaluate them in comparison to other remedies.”  P 15.

I can only imagine what they told them and how they told them.  Please see section number 1 above on bias.

5. Hyland’s Teething Tablets: A logical explanation.

In October 2016, Hyland’s voluntarily discontinued selling their Teething Tablets in the United States.  The FDA issued a warning that homeopathic teething tablets and gels were not safe to use.  In spite of what you might have heard, there was NOT a recall of Teething Tablets.  Undoubtedly, Hyland’s was harassed by the FDA into discontinuing their product in the US market.  Here is their letter regarding teething tablets.  http://www.hylands.com/hylands-discontinues-teething-tablets-and-gels

The story is that it caused seizures and death in children.

That’s a pretty serious accusation, with not a lot to back it up.  There were no studies, and there was no causal relationship made between whatever tragedy struck families and Hyland’s teething tablets.

Babies begin showing signs of teething pains from 3 months old throughout their first year of life.  What else happens to babies at that time of their lives?  Vaccinations!

Seizures as a result of vaccinations is so common, that the Vaccine Court will not even pay a parent for vaccine damage resulting in seizures.  And death?  Oh yes.  Vaccines do kill babies.  The Vaccine Court does pay for death as a result of vaccinations.

I felt that the FDA would not have been able to forcibly stop Hyland’s from selling Teething Tablets in the US because there may have been a light shown on the vaccinations as the potential cause of the problem.  This would have stopped them from doing anything other than issuing the warning.

So what is a mother to do when her baby is teething in pain?  Teething Tablets are a poly-pharmacy product.  They contain several of the most common teething remedies.  There are many remedies for teething, and choosing one based on the symptoms your baby is showing is really the best way to help a baby get through a difficult time of life.

If you need help choosing a remedy for your baby while he or she is teething, please contact me.

What’s Next?

This ruling does not apply to the remedies my clients get from me, and I do not believe it applies to the single remedies that many people buy in the blue tubes.  It applies to the poly pharmacy remedies.  There will be a label explaining that there is no information on its effectiveness and that the remedies are based on an idea from the 1700’s and that modern medicine does not think they are valid.  They will still be available.

Regardless of the opinion of the FDA and/or the FTC, homeopathy works in amazing ways.  And it will continue to do so.  The remedies are still safe (GRAS), and will still continue to help you and your family.

What Can Homeopathy Do?

Just an update on this post from five years ago. The boy in these photos is a teenager. He has continued with homeopathy. His last two annual appointments showed no amblyopia detectable. So his eyes have continued to improve over the years.

Lotus Homeopathy: Health News You Can Use

I am often asked exactly what homeopathy can do.  For a longer list, I recommend going to my website at www.lotushomeopathy.com and click on Can You Help Me.  Don’t click on any of the submenu items just yet.  By clicking on Can You Help Me, the website will display a list of categories of things that homeopathy has been known to assist with.

It isn’t very often that I can actually SHOW the effects of homeopathy.

After he received the correct remedy, the eye improved rather drastically within 3 days or so and continued to improve regularly after subsequent doses of the remedy and after different remedies.

No surgery needed.  This is a good thing, because those surgeries don’t always work, in spite of their long history.

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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

 

Can The Weather Make You Sick?

In a word:  Yes.

Many medical professionals will say things like, “You can’t get a cold by being cold.”  Or, “There is no evidence that the weather can make you sick.”  Wrong and Wrong.

Anyone who says that weather has no influence on whether you get sick or not, hasn’t studied homeopathy.

The most obvious symptoms arise when someone is anxious about the weather.  Stormy weather can cause a good deal of anxiety in some people, which can lead to physical symptoms.  Warm weather can make people apathetic and not want do their work.  And of course, Seasonal Affective Disorder, wide spread in Minnesota in the winter, can cause the blues on cloudy days.

Physically, there are many weather related illnesses.  Everyone probably has an aunt or a friend who can predict the weather due to physical pains that pop up just before the rain or other damp conditions.  Skin conditions such as eczema can get worse in summer or winter, depending on the constitutional homeopathic remedy a person needs.

Children often get ear infections, or pain in the ears if their heads aren’t covered properly in the winter. People get tooth aches if the weather is damp or cold.

There are countless homeopathic symptoms that are weather related.  Well, not really countless.  There are 1027  homeopathic symptoms with the word “weather” associated with them.  There are 144 remedies which cover the General symptom of Becoming Cold Aggravates.  There are 110 remedies in the General symptom of Change of Weather Aggravates.

Here are a few of the more helpful, weather related acute care remedies that you might need.

Dulcamara:  Minnesota has the perfect fall weather to create conditions under which Dulcamara will be required.  Illness that comes around with warm days and cool nights, such as we are experiencing now (Fall, 2016) frequently need Dulcamara.  This is especially true when the weather is also damp, such as we have had this fall as well.  This could be coughs, croup, general cold symptoms, illnesses involving the mucous membranes. in particular.  Dulcamara, along with several other remedies, also covers the symptom of diarrhea in autumn.

You could also use Dulcamara prophylactically.  Since it is a common remedy that people are needing this fall, a couple 30C doses just might help ward whatever is going around.

Aconite:  When the weather gets bitter cold in the winter, make sure you have some Aconite 30c and 200c handy. (You might need to get the 200c from a homeopathic practitioner.)  If you get exposed to the bitter cold Minnesota winter winds, and then rapidly develop a high fever or a cold, Aconite will help.  This fever or cold is generally accompanied by a great deal of fear and anxiety, that something akin to death will occur…soon.  Aconite won’t be the last remedy needed in a situation like this, but a few doses will get you through the worst of it.

Rhus Tox:  This remedy has so many weather related symptoms, that it would be nearly impossible to write about all of them.  Rhus Tox is an arthritis remedy, among other things.  The symptoms are generally better in the summer, when the weather is warm and sunny.  On the other hand, when it we are experiencing cloudy, overcase or foggy weather, symptoms may appear or may get worse. Rhus Tox symptoms come on often in autumn. Rhus Tox headaches, for example, may appear with damp weather, before or during a storm, or when the weather changes.  A confirmatory symptom would be that the headache (or any symptom) is better with motion.  Most of us prefer to lie down with a headache.  But if you feel better moving around, consider Rhus Tox.

If the weather is literally getting you down, consider homeopathy.  Give a call.

Kathryn
651-748-1556