For many of us, the colder temperatures, autumnal and winter weather often bring a variety of unpleasant & debilitating health problems. Herbs, supplements, diet and lifestyle changes are very useful indeed, but homeopathy can deliver a rapid relief response alongside these precautions.
Many acute health problems can be SAFELY and conveniently dealt with at home. Treating yourself with homoeopathic remedies during an acute illness is easy, as long as you know which remedy matches your symptoms as below.
Following on are symptoms of some of the more common winter ailments and a few homeopathic remedy suggestions for their relief. Most of the remedies can be used in a 30C potency once daily, or a 6C three times daily.
Order from Helios Homeopathic Pharmacy, Ainsworth’s or Nelsons: www.helios.co.uk; Ainsworth’s tel 0207 935 5330; www.nelsonspharmacy.com. [Or simply ask your homeopath!]
ACHES & PAINS
- For pain in small joints, worse for weather change, cold, touch or motion: You need Actea spicata.
- For bruised pain anywhere, better for rest, while lying down, from wine. Worse from pressure, contact or motion: Arnica
- Tearing pains that are better for warmth, continued motion, stretching of affected parts and worse during rest, cold or rainy weather: Your remedy is Rhus tox
CHILBLAINS
- Symptoms better for warmth and rubbing, worse for cold: Rhus tox should help.
- Better for dry warm weather or scratching, worse for warmth: Take Sulphur
COMMON COLDS (treat each stage of your cold separately to help symptoms pass through quickly ~ colds act as a detox or a clear-out)
- Colds that occur suddenly from cold, dry weather or cold winds, better in open air, worse at night, in warm room or in cold air: Aconite is your remedy
- Colds with sneezing and burning of mucus membranes, better from heat and worse from cold or wet weather: Arsenicum album will be helpful.
- Chronic colds with thick, ropy, greenish-yellow discharges better for heat and worse in the morning: Kali bic is good.
- Colds associated with much thin, watery discharge which begins with sneezing, better for open air, worse for heat: Take Nat mur.
COUGHS
- Coughs that are dry at night but loose in the morning with large volumes of sputum, better from open air and cold, worse for warmth: Pulsatilla helps here.
- Dry, ticklish cough in pit of throat which is worse in the evening and from inhaling cold air: Rumex crispus is very useful.
FLU SYMPTOMS
(Prevention is better than cure, so make sure your immune system is at optimum level throughout the winter months!)
- Flu with sore throat, fatigue and aching muscles, worse from open air and cold winds: Baptisia tinctoria
- Flu of sudden onset with sore, dry throat, high temperatures, better for rest and worse for draughts: Belladonna
- Flu with pains in muscles or bones and profound weakness: Eupatorium perfoliatum Eup perf
- Most useful in the initial stages of influenza, for symptoms better for lying down and worse for cold air: Ferrum Phos
- Flu with shivering, better for open air, worse for damp weather or before a thunderstorm. Also for ailments from influenza: Gelsemium.
For deeper, longer-lasting relief & in severe cases, ALWAYS consult a qualified homeopath. Your own, individual constitutional remedy will put you and your health back on track, permanently. If you do self-treat, than remedies can either be obtained from your local independent health shop or by post from Homeopathic Pharmacies such as Helios (www.helios.co.uk tel: 01892 5372540), AInsworths (www.ainsworths.com tel: 01883 340332) or Nelsons (www,nelsons.com tel: +44 20 70791288).
Hints for a Good Night's Sleep
Sleep or a lack of quality rest are areas of heath that can affect the rest of the body. Sleep deficiency is associated with heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure, so making sure that the quantity and quality of your sleep time are right is important for your general health and wellbeing. Sleep is the body & mind's rest & repair time.
Sleep hygiene is vital ~ ideally sleep in a dark room, without any electronic devices, including & especially your mobile phone ! No blue light interference can make all the difference to your sleep quality and rest. Put your phone/tablet in anither room if possible, and well away from your head at bedtime, Reserve your bed for rest!!
But for those who still struggle, there are supplements which can also help. The minerals zinc and magnesium are both required to convert tryptophan to serotonin and then to melatonin, which controls our circadian rhythm (body clock). Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland in the 'third eye' area of the brain and is guided by the action of the lack of light upon it, making it even more helpful for you to sleep in a room that is as dark as possible.
Sour cherry is a good natural source of melatonin and may help reduce time taken to fall asleep and improve sleep quality. Vitamin B6 also affects serotonin as well as increasing GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter needed to facilitate dropping off. Herbal supplements such as 5HTP to improve serotonin; adaptogens (to reduce stress) and chamomile, which mimics the sedating effects of some medications are also helpful for those struggling with lack of sleep.
As with all supplements however, making sure you purchase a reputable brand will ensure that you get the most effective form of nutrient you need, so please ask your homeopath or local independent health store for recommendations.
The Vaccination Issue
Before considering whether you or your family should have a seasonal ‘flu or any 'booster' jab, or indeed any 'of the recommended' vaccines doiung the rounds, remember there are other much SAFER & NATURAL (and certainly painless!) options to prevent you from getting ill:
1) You can take a homeopathic 'flu prophylactic ~ like many of my patients do;
2) You can use homeopathic remedies to help your overall constitution and/or herbal remedies & supplements to boost your immune system, especailly Vit D3 and D3 with Vit K2;
3) Make sure your diet contains plenty of Vitamin C, Zinc and Omega 3 and 6;
4) Get as much sunlight as possible. In winter months, its is advisable to supplement with s good brand of Vitamin D3 with K2;
5) If you do decide to go ahead with a vaccine and have made an informed decision, then its advisable to consult a qualified homeopath who will be able to prescribe remedies to counteract any side effects.
Remember that ALL vaccinations contain potentially toxic chemicals like aluminium, mercury and formaldehyde, amongst other substances such as animal by-products, as well as the live disease microbe or virus. These substances often skew our immune systems, so there is absolutely no guarantee that you won’t get the disease that you’re trying to avoid in the first place, and the risk of an adverse reaction to the jab itself is increased. There are various websites which detail the (quite startling) ingredients of various vaccines that are well worth checking out. Travel vaccinations are (mostly) only recommended and NOT compulsorary, so do think twice about these too.
Once again, it is important that you make a WELL-INFORMED choice for yourself about having ANY vaccination and don’t feel bamboozled or pressurised into having this potentially damaging cocktail of chemicals needlessly introduced into your system. Remember too, that the seasonal flu jab contains the previous year’s strain of flu as its active ingredient, and so vaccinations will NOT offer any protection whatsoever against the current year’s mutated version of the virus. Over-use of the flu vaccine and other anti-flu drugs applies genetic pressure on flu viruses themselves so that they are more likely to mutate into a more resistant strain.
You are frankly, better off without travel vaccinations. If you are concerned, consult your homeopath for advice. Vaccines and prescription medicines are huge business for the major pharmaceutical companies who are quite shameless in their tactics to boost 'big pharma' sales.
