Ruminating on Remedies, My thoughts on homeopathy

7/25/2026

Book Review: "Homeopathy: Harnessing Nature's Pharmacy"

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First off, let me tell you that I am an absolute sucker for a little book. Make it hardcover and I’m hooked even more. Gild the edges and you have me judging a book by its cover and I’m in love with it!

As I write this on my laptop, the image of the cover is actually bigger than the book itself. It appears this book is part of a series of little hardcovers (Sirius Hidden Knowledge*). ISBN: 978-1-3988-4465-0/$12.99

Emma Van Hinsbergh** (2024) wrote this very pleasing little book. It’s like those lovely little books that are on display in the bookstores around Mother’s Day or Christmas. A perfect little gift.

All the pages are illustrated with a gentle shade of green. The introduction says, “By using this book as a handy tool to delve more deeply into this fascinating healing system, you can learn how to improve your mind, body and soul. From getting a better night’s sleep to boosting your immune system, homeopathy can set you on the road to a healthier, happier life.”

Chapter 1: A Gentle Healing Tradition, explains the history and principles of homeopathy.

Chapter 2: Why Choose Homeopathy? The author explains how “homeopathy is often sought for chronic conditions, where conventional medicine might not help in providing long-term relief. It aims to stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities, addressing the root cause of the imbalance and promoting overall well-being.” She lists a couple of pages of the benefits of using homeopathy (gentle, individualized, safe) and gives a little case study showing how homeopathy was “absolutely life changing” for one teenager.

Chapter 3: Your Health explains how homeopathic remedies are made, what to expect during a homeopathic consultation and ten helpful questions to ask a potential homeopath.

Chapter 4: Daily Healing begins by explaining how to use homeopathy at home, followed by materia medica of few remedies and remedies one might want to include in a homeopathic home kit and then a few remedies for some mental/emotional symptoms and rounds out the chapter with a very quick description of the top 50 homeopathic remedies.

Chapter 5: Be Your Own Homeopath tells you how to do just that — how to match the symptoms and choose the best remedy and potency. This is the bulk of the book — a mini (and pretty) homeopathic handbook. This chapter ends with a very short list of common conditions and possible remedies.

The acknowledgements page thanks the team at Homeopathy UK (“the UK’s leading charity for the promotion of homeopathy”) and lists a few websites to get you on your way to your next step in using homeopathy.

In short, this little book is an excellent gift for the homeocurious person in your life. The idea of homeopathy can be a hard sell for a lot of people. This book is a non-threatening (welcoming even!) introduction for homeopathy newbies.

Julia Coyte, CHom

Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

*ABOUT THE SERIES: Sirius Hidden Knowledge Series explores some of the most fascinating subjects in modern alternative thought and practice. Written by experts and renowned practitioners in their respective fields, this series brings the latest in developments in everything from spiritual development to alternative health. These delightful hardback editions are presented with gold embossed cover designs and gilded page edges.”

**Emma Van Hinsbergh is not a homeopath, according to the page cited above. She is a reporter/editor, specializing in health and wellbeing. Not that it matters, I’m just dotting is and crossing ts. In fact, this might be a selling point of the book - it is truly written for the absolute homeopathic greenhorn.

1/31/2026

Potency Books, part 1

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A quickie look at what is in each of these books.

Margriet Plouvier-Suijs’ About Potencies

It says in the forward: “Suijs has created an extremely workable overview of the functioning of different potencies by systematically and logically arranging her observations of the therapeutic effect after prescription. This is a great support when we try to choose the appropriate potency for a case.”
She then works through the potencies. For example, she begins with the heading, “3x-6x, 3c, 4c” and talks about the effects of these low potencies (they have a stimulating effect) and how they are used in organotherapy.
For each potency group, we learn “characteristic words or language related to these potencies” and then followed by various cases which follow each characteristic word.
- she provides the words for 9c, but says, “Unfortunately I have no example…” fortunately for us, the rest of her sections do have examples.
She also, interestingly, equates C/K potencies to LM potencies.
This book is unlike any other I have used and though it has been sitting on my shelf for a long time, mostly unread, I am going to be digging in a little more frequently from now on.

Select your Dose and Potency by Dr. P.S. Rawat

I found the introduction to be the most useful — it’s short, but full of information.
The bulk of the book is a list of homeopathic remedies and which historical homeopaths (denoted by initials) used which potency, plus any notes of relevance. Sometimes a potency is tied to a specific condition, but more often not. For example, Eupatorium perforliatum says: “1. Tincture, to third attenuation (WB). 2. 20th and 200th potencies are generally used. 3. Bears repetition well (KNM). 4. Allen recommends it to be applied locally in sore nipple and sore mouth.” This entry continues through number 12, and I won’t be putting it all here, but I wanted to give a flavor of the book.
Some entries are much more fleshed out and more useful than others. Magnesia Phosphorica, for example, goes on for a couple of pages, with 35 entries, most with specific uses and potencies.
- Irksome, but not a big deal: not all the initials line up with the abbreviation list. The first entry for Abies Canadensis attributes point 1 to (WB) and point 5 to (BW). However, in the list, BW = A.C. Blackwood but there is no WB. There is a WKB (W.K. Bond), but we can only assume this is the same as WB.

The Potency: Advanced Prescribing in Homeopathy by Dr. Joe Rozencwajg (I have more coming soon using this book)

Dr. Rozencwajg begins this book talking about various methods of potency, but what it is mostly about is the Fibonacci Potencies: “a unified theory and practice of modern homeopathic posology.”
I have not completed this book yet, but I look forward to learning this system. So intriguing! But, this is not what my upcoming article is about.

Michelle Shine’s What About the Potency: (A Comprehensive Guide to Homeopathic Potency and Dosage)

I found this book the most helpful out of the four for my purposes. The first half of the book is a series of the author’s cases and what happened with each. Interspersed are short write-ups of various topics, such as:
- the constitutional remedy v prescribing for the disease
- what is homeopathic potency
- changing potency
- depths and layers
- plussing remedies
The second half of the book (and what I found most interesting) are transcripts of her interviews with 10 well-know homeopaths and their thoughts on potency selection.
- Mike Bridger, Ian Watson, Jeremy Sherr and others

Happy Reading!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

1/10/2025

Book Review: Homeopathy at Home: Everyday Treatments for Common Complaints

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My copy of Homeopathy at Home: Everyday Treatments for Common Complaints by Marcus Fernandez has arrived and it is every bit as good as I expected! (See here and here for a little about Marcus.)

Let me begin by saying how much I enjoyed his introduction. Following his own story of finding homeopathy (I love to hear how people have found their way to homeopathy! -- see below), he states:
“My aim is to enhance the health and wellbeing of humankind through the use of homeopathy.” What a wonderful goal!

He continues: “I wanted to write a simple and accessible guide to managing common acute and minor complaints using homeopathic remedies at home. I want people to feel empowered. We all have innate health. Homeopathic remedies act like keys to a lock — choose the correct key and it turns the lock, stimulating the body to heal itself. It’s good to remember that the body has a natural healing wisdom; we just need to turn the key and remind it what it needs to do.” I told you I enjoyed reading his introduction!

What follows is a simply organized A-Z list of common complaints with a page or so describing each condition suggesting possible causations, as well as some “actions that might help” to relieve symptoms. Then, a nice selection of (mostly) commonly available remedies to choose from with clearly written descriptions of each to help the reader differentiate between them. This book is just what the beginning homeopath/mom/family/student needs in their life!

In addition to his well chosen homeopathic remedies for each symptom, he also offers suggestions for other home remedy ideas. For instance, since we’re in the middle of the flu season, he suggests a couple of lovely sounding drink blends to soothe sore throats and reduce inflammation.

If you are ready to take the next step in helping yourself and your families, Homeopathy at Home is the perfect place to start.

But wait, there’s more!

I have a copy to give away. Write in the comments below how you were introduced to homeopathy and I will put those names in a hat and choose one commenter at random and ship the book to you, free of charge.
(I will be picking the name at random on 1/16/25.)

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

* I have no affiliation with Marcus Fernandez or this book. I’m just a big fan!

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12/2/2023

Book Review: The Homeopath in Your Hand

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The Homeopath in Your Hand by Lisa Strbac

The Homeopath in Your Hand is a brand new book that I did not realize was missing from the world of homeopathic books!

In just a few short pages at the beginning of this book, homeopath Lisa Strbac gives a short, (but nice!) overview of the basics of homeopathy: symptoms; the history of homeopathy and the theory behind it; how remedies are made; potency; how to choose remedies and specifically how to choose remedies based on her own HEALS™ technique.

HEALS™ stands for:
   Helps or Hinders
   E for Event
   A for Accompanying symptoms
   L for Location
   S for Sensations

Following this, she has a couple pages on how to dose the remedies and some frequently asked questions to round out the introduction.

Then, we get to the good stuff. Lisa has a 2-page spread for 77 common remedies, making for a very handy household materia medica.

At the top of each page is the name of the remedy with one quick line to sum up the remedy. On the left hand side, she lists the key symptoms and some fun little graphics that I find very helpful in getting to the remedy you need quickly. At the bottom of the page are her Hindered/Helped by symptoms (what homeopaths refer to as modalities -- what makes the person better or worse).

The Homeopath in Your Hand pages reprinted with permission from the author.

The right hand page provides a little more information on the remedy… the full name of the remedy, other names by which we may know the substance and where the substance may be found in nature.

This materia medica is simple enough, (and, the pictures make it engaging enough!) to be useful for everybody, including children. If you are a homeschooling family learning to use homeopathy, this would be a terrific book to have around.

At the end of the book is a short list of “essential combination remedies” including:

ABC
Injury mix (see here, here and here for previous articles on this combo)
various Narayani mixes

The final few pages are dedicated to symptoms, or, in homeopathic terms, a repertory. For each heading (e.g. Burns, Cramps, Headaches, Mastitis, Wounds) listing a handful of remedies which might be indicated.

The Homeopath in Your Hand is a great little book that I certainly wish I had when I was just starting out with homeopathy.

Stockists can be found on her website, or, better yet, ask your local bookseller to carry it: ISBN 978-1399964906. Also on her site, Lisa offers courses and you can even pre-order her exclusive remedy kit to accompany the book. Now that would be an amazing present for somebody this upcoming holiday season!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

12/8/2021

Book Review: Asteraceae

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“Those radiant flowers of the sun, plant of our central star: daisies, marigolds and chamomile have become vital remedies in homeoapthy. … The Asteraceae are remedies for ruptures of the mind and body, when boundaries have been broken by accident, violence, abuse or invasion. Invasion can take many forms, such as blood poisoning, parasitical worms, insect-borne diseases, viruses, bacterial infections or hay fever. But it can also mean injuries, surgery, physical and emotional abuse, or malevolent psychic invasion. … They are remedies for restoring a sense of wholeness and integrity to lives fragmented by trauma, and include some of the oldest plant medicines known to humanity.”

Asteracea: remedies of the sunflower family by Jo Evans.

Asteracea by Jo Evans is a beautiful book full of stunning full-page color photos and illustrations of the various plants that make up this very large plant family including more than 23,000 species found everywhere except Antarctica (Funk et al. 2004).

This nicely sized tome is divided into two parts. Part 1 is Plant Portraits: 35 photographic portraits opposite full-page descriptions of plants as homeopathic remedies, along with a small box at the top of each page with some key notes as well as botanical details and its traditional uses.

The quick overview of Echinacea angustifolia describes this pink coneflower as a good homeopathic remedy for “Post-viral fatigue syndrome. Coughs, cold, flu. Blood poisoning. Bites, stings, boils. Acute illness that becomes chronic.” [gosh. This sounds like it could be a useful remedy these days!] Echinacea was “originally known as a medicine for blood poisoning and septic states” and primarily acts "on the blood, lymph and lungs" and "has become known as the herbal antibiotic.” Noting various other plants containing cichoric acid “which has been found to have strong anti-viral properties” (Evans 2020, p. 29).

Every page is simply stunning and the descriptions are short enough to keep the interest level high and full of enough information so that the reader gets an excellent understanding of each plant’s homeopathic benefits.

Part 2 provides us with a comparison of remedies, beginning with The Anthemideae, the aromatic herbs which are “some of the oldest medicines known” (Evans 2020, p. 75). Remedy themes and history are interwoven with differentiations and case studies.

A deeper dive into Millefolium comes next, followed by “Bitter Foods: Thistles and Lettuces,” a chapter which follows much the same structure as the Anthemideae section.

“Earthing the Sun: the alchemy of sunflowers.” Similar to the earlier sections, Evans gives us a comparison of remedies within themes. For instance: spleen and wound healing and fevers.

Calendula, Bellis perennis and Arnica each get their own well-deserved separate chapters. The final chapter is The Sundial, based on the remedy Espeletia grandiflora and is followed by a one-page overview of the Asteraceae themes.

This gorgeous book is well researched and heavily cited and worthy of many repeat readings. Though it is presented in a highly readable format, there is so much information contained in these pages it is impossible to absorb it all and thus deserves a prime spot on your shelf for the many return visits you will want to make to it.

Did I mention how beautiful this book is?

For more information, visit: Asteraceae.

Evans, J., 2020. Asteraceae: remedies of the sunflower family. Harlem, NL: Emryss.

Reference list
Funk, V. A., Chan, R., and Keeley, S. C., 2004. Insights into the evolution of the tribe Arctoteae (Compositae: subfamily Cichorioideae s.s.) using trnL-F , ndhF , and ITS. TAXON [online], 53 (3), 637–655.

Plant Portraits, 2021. Plant Portraits [online]. Plant Portraits.

11/11/2021

Homeopathy in Dystopia

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Dystopian fiction used to be one of my favorite genres… until 2020 happened and we found ourselves living in an actual dystopia! A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to return to normal and re-visit this type of fiction.

One Second After by William R. Forstchen came to me via an enthusiastic recommendation and it turned out to be a well-written, plausible scenario of the after effects of an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) being dropped on the United States. The result? All electronics ceased functioning: no phones, no running water, no refrigeration, no cars. Supply lines stopped. Stores looted and emptied in the first days. Medical help was dependent on the knowledge of the local doctors, nurses and veterinarians and whatever supplies they happened to have on hand.

You know what was missing in this scenario? Somebody with some homeopathic knowledge! Homeopathy is an essential skill to have if you are living off the grid, whether by choice … or through a fictional EMP being dropped.

The main character got a life-threatening infection after cutting his hand. A number of remedies come to mind for a really bad infection*: Calendula (Parente et al. 2012; Givol et al. 2019; Preethi and Kuttan 2009), Gunpowder (Casey 2011) or, the Banerji protocol of Hypericum 200c mixed with Arsenicum album 200c (Banerji and Banerji 2013).

*This article is based on a fictional situation. If you find yourself in any of these situations in real life, seek medical attention immediately!

His daughter had Type 1 diabetes (NOT a good thing to have when the supply lines are cut and there is no more insulin to be found) and though homeopathy may help control some of the symptoms, it isn’t going to do much to help that situation. There are certainly medical conditions for which pharmaceutical drugs are absolutely necessary to keep people alive. But, this dystopian novel made me think about all the people dependent on pharmaceutical meds for non-life-threatening conditions. You don’t want to be dependent on these things when this fictional EMP is dropped (or even if there is a breakdown of the supply chain)!

The coming to grips with their new reality? Ignatia could certainly help with that. It is so good at addressing emotional shocks and for those suffering ill effects from hearing bad news or from fright and "disorders of the mind, particularly if actuated by grief, sadness, hopelessness, hysterical variableness, fantastic illusions" (Murphy 2006, p. 973).

The diarrhea that spread through town? Arsenicum album (Rafferty and Kayne 1994), Veratrum album (Banerji and Banerji 2013) or Camphor (Banerji and Banerji 2013; Leary 1997; Perko 2005). [An interesting read on the use of homeopathy in cholera epidemics.]

The psychiatric patients in town who no longer had their meds… Homeopathy has a good track record for helping mental and emotional conditions of all sorts and certainly could have helped to keep some of these conditions at bay, but these are better suited to an individualized classical homeopathic remedy. (Check out Homeopathy and Mental Health Care by C. K. Johannes for a place to start.)

Another beautiful aspect of homeopathy is it doesn’t require much of a supply chain. It is completely possible to make your own homeopathic remedies as long as you have either the raw materials or the homeopathic remedy itself. If you have blank pellets, you can create more pellets as needed, or, you can make essentially limitless liquid remedies from a couple of pellets and treat the whole town at once!

What else could these people have used? A good First Aid Kit** and the knowledge of how to use it. When your local hospitals and clinics are no longer of any use to you, a medium-sized accident can leave you in a world of hurt. Remember, in this fictional account, there was no electricity, no internet, no phones to help you figure out how to use your first aid kit. It does you no good to have something downloaded on your now defunct tablet; you need to have good, old-fashioned books to guide you, like US Army First Aid Manual or Herbal medic : a green beret’s guide to emergency medical preparedness and natural first aid.

I know some people find these catastrophic topics disturbing. I like the problem solving that comes along with reading these kinds of books; to think about the worst case scenario and figure out ways to tackle the problems — being prepared (in my mind, at least) brings me a sense of calm.

I’m happy to have this genre back in my life. I wonder what the next dystopian scenario coming my way will be? Regardless of what it is, I bet homeopathy would be a useful skill to have!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

** I have no affiliation with this company or any products listed here, I just like their products.

‌Forstchen, W. R., 2009. One Second After : John Matherson, Book 1. New York: Forge.

REFERENCES

Anon., 2020. Instructions For Turning Pills Into Liquid Remedies [online]. Homeopathy Plus.

Banerji, P. and Banerji, P., 2013. The Banerji protocols : a new method of treatment with homeopathic medicines. India: Pratip Banerji.
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Camerlink, I., Ellinger, L., Bakker, E. J., and Lantinga, E. A., 2010. Homeopathy as replacement to antibiotics in the case of Escherichia coli diarrhoea in neonatal piglets. Homeopathy [online], 99 (1), 57–62.
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Casey, S., 2011. Gunpowder! Little-Known Remedy Packs a Wallop Against Wounds - Shirley Casey [online]. Hpathy.

Coyte, J., 2021. Homeopathic potency briefly explained [online]. CLASSICALLYPRACTICAL.COM.

Givol, O., Kornhaber, R., Visentin, D., Cleary, M., Haik, J., and Harats, M., 2019. A systematic review of Calendula officinalis extract for wound healing. Wound Repair and Regeneration [online], 27 (5), 548–561.

Jacobs, J., Jiménez, L. M., Gloyd, S. S., Gale, J. L., and Crothers, D., 1994. Treatment of acute childhood diarrhea with homeopathic medicine: a randomized clinical trial in Nicaragua. Pediatrics [online], 93 (5), 719–725.

Johannes, C. K., 2010. Homeopathy and Mental Health Care. The Netherlands: Homeolinks Publishers.

Leary, B., 1997. The homoepathic management of cholera in the nineteenty century with special reference to the epidemic in London, 1854. Medizin, Gesellschaft, Und Geschichte: Jahrbuch Des Instituts Fur Geschichte Der Medizin Der Robert Bosch Stiftung [online], 16, 125–144.
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Murphy, R., 2006. Nature’s materia medica : 1,400 homeopathic and herbal remedies. Blackburg, Va.: Lotus Health Institute, November.

Parente, L. M. L., Lino Júnior, R. de S., Tresvenzol, L. M. F., Vinaud, M. C., de Paula, J. R., and Paulo, N. M., 2012. Wound Healing and Anti-Inflammatory Effect in Animal Models of Calendula officinalis L. Growing in Brazil [online]. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Perko, S. J., 2005. The homeopathic treatment of influenza : surviving influenza epidemics and pandemics past, present and future with homeopathy. San Antonio, Tx: Benchmark Homeopathic Publications.

Preethi, K. C. and Kuttan, R., 2009. Wound healing activity of flower extract of Calendula offlcinalis. Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology[online], 20 (1).

Rafferty, A. and Kayne, S., 1994. The use of Arsenicum album 30c to complement conventional treatment of neonatal diarrhoea (“scours”) in calves. British Homeopathic Journal [online], 83 (04), 202–204.
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FIRST AID BOOKS

Coffman, S., 2021. Herbal medic : a green beret’s guide to emergency medical preparedness and natural first aid. North Adams, Ma: Storey Publishing.
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Pareek, R. S. and Pareek, A., 2012. Homeopathy for Acutes and Emergencies. Kandern, Germany: Narayana Publishers.

Ratera, Dr. M. M., 2016. First Aid with Homeopathy.

Schmukler, A. V., 2006. Homeopathy : an A to Z home handbook. Woodbury, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications.

United States. Department Of The Army, 2009. U.S. Army first aid manual. New York: Skyhorse Pub.

Wiseman, J. and Britain., G., 2014. SAS survival handbook : the ultimate guide to surviving anywhere. New York: William Morrow, An Imprint Of Harpercollins Publishers.
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9/21/2021

Minuteness

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Shephard, Dr. D., 1989. The magic of the minimum dose : experiences and cases. Saffron Walden: Health Science Press.

Widely available in printed form as well as e-book or PDF downloads.

I’m going to take just a moment of your time to share Dr. Dorothy Shepherd’s thoughts, word for word from her book, Magic of the Minimum Dose (first published in 1938). She makes an important point about minuteness. Very good food for thought for the skeptics amongst us.

“He found in fact that the lesser became the greater. A vital and most important truth.… ‘Can this be possible?’ you say. To the man steeped in materialism, this seems foolish to say the least; the lesser cannot be the greater. And yet this same man, this same doctor who laughs at the possibility of being able to cure with doses one millionth of a grain, or even a smaller quantity, this doctor shakes in his shoes at the thought of smallpox and passes on his fears to all the rest of credulous mankind. At the mere breath of the word smallpox, all rush off to be vaccinated as a preventative, even though smallpox may be miles away at the other end of the county. And the causative agent of small pox is a virus, an agent so small that even the strongest lenses of the most powerful microscope cannot make it visible*; it is an invisible ultramicroscopic organic cell. Do you understand what that means? A bacillus which shows up moderately plainly in a microscope, is so small that it would take 400 millions of bacilli, lying side by side, to cover an ordinary postage stamp. And a virus is infinitely smaller than one bacillus. The doctors are afraid of smallpox and so is every sensible person, and with reason; for a severe case of smallpox is a truly awful spectacle and extremely fatal as well. And is not everybody scared of diphtheria, of the minute bacillus causing this disease, so deadly to so many children, which is prevalent everywhere; all the health officials rush about and are so busy getting everybody protected against it, they do not laugh or sneer at the minuteness of this organism; they have felt the power of these minute germs. Yes, they are all disease-minded, they fear diseases and their causes, the minutest cells. But they do not follow up this argument to its logical conclusion; if the infinitesimal organism has so much power for evil, why cannot an infinitesimal quantity of a drug have as much power for good? [emphasis added]

… there are viruses causing disease in animals and others causing diseases in plants. We do not know how they act, but we are content to accept the fact that they do act and cause serious harm. And these same people who acknowledge the power inherent in these minutest of living forms, the viruses, will not recognize the radio-active power, the dynamic forces residing in and brought about by the special method of preparation of the potentised drugs [homeopathy]."

Magic of the Minimum Dose is a highly readable book retelling her experiences of treating patients during the war in England.

* this book was originally published in 1938

‌

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9/18/2021

Ammonium carbonicum

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I first learned about the homeopathic remedy Ammonium carbonicum when I was just beginning my adventure into the world of homeopathy. It was taught to me as part of a Banerji Protocol for menopausal symptoms: Brainfog, moodiness & irritability and abnormal menstrual bleeding. (See bottom of article for the Banerji Protocol.)

I next stumbled upon Ammonium carbonicum when I had flu-like symptoms. I remember the headache very well. It was like I had eaten ice cream too fast except time was not helping the pain to go away. I was thumbing through a book that had been sitting on the shelf, waiting for this very moment to prove its usefulness. The Homeopathic Treatment of Influenza: Surviving Influenza Pandemics Past, Present and Future with Homeopathy by Sandra J. Perko. This book has since earned a prized location on my bookshelf.

Headache Symptoms: Am-c (Ammonium carbonicum):
Headache with fever. Headache centered in the forehead at the root of the nose. Headache with nausea. Better with pressure and in a warm room (Perko, 2005, p. 211).

This description was by far the closest listed for my headache that day, though the words alone didn’t fully describe the pain I was experiencing. When I learned that Ammonium carbonicum is a homeopathic remedy made from smelling salts, that’s when the penny really dropped. If you have ever had a good whiff of ammonia, you know where that odor concentrates — right at the root of the nose — right where an ice cream headache settles in.

I took one dose of homeopathic Ammonium carbonicum 200c and I was on my way back to engaging with the world.

Perko’s book is formatted in such a way that even if it is you who is trying to figure out the best remedy for yourself when you’re feeling rotten, it is totally do-able. Following interesting information about influenzas throughout history (which you can marvel at later, when you’re feeling better), page 138 jumps right in with Predominating Symptoms: “Fever Predominates: High Temperature - Severe Sweating” and lists 54 short descriptions of homeopathic remedies and the types of fever symptoms they address.

There are not chapters, per se, but headings: Fever, Perspiration, Chill, Respiratory symptoms, Catarrhal (mucus) symptoms, Cough, Throat, Larynx, Tongue & Mouth symptoms, Nasal, Sneezing, Eyes, Musculoskeletal, Headache & Face symptoms, and Vertigo. Each subheading is followed by dozens of 2-4 line entries of clear symptomatic descriptions of each homeopathic remedy as it relates to the specific Predominating Symptom.

Following the Predominating Symptoms is the “Influenza Differential Reference” listing the remedies and how they each relate to the flu. Unlike most Materia Medicas, this one first lists “Influenza Keynotes” and then provides a paragraph from noted homeopaths (current and historic) and their thoughts on each homeopathic remedy in regard to its connection to influenza.

The end of the book closes out with a section on “Complications of Influenza” and homeopathic remedies which may help and also includes a special Bird Flu section.

You may now be wondering how menopausal symptoms relate to a remedy for an ice cream headache. Good question. Most homeopathic remedies relate to all/most parts of the body in their individual ways.*

Let’s look at Ammonium carbonicum on a very surface level and think back to the old movies and novels where we would see women of a certain age taking a little whiff of their smelling salts.

We learn in Tasca’s article, (2012) Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health that “During the Victorian Age (1837-1901) most women carried a bottle of smelling salts in their handbag: they were inclined to swoon when their emotions were aroused, and it was believed, that, as postulated by Hipocrates [sic], the wandering womb disliked the pungent odor and would return to its place, allowing the woman to recover her consciousness.”

I posit that it wasn’t the “wandering womb” that was causing the problems and nor were her problems to be considered "hysteria," but various menopausal symptoms were in play and that the smelling salts were helping to address.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classicallypractical.com

#homeopathycanhelp #wellnessawaits

Menopausal Syndrome, Banerji Protocol:
Menopausal symptoms, in general, including brain fog, moodiness & irritability as well as heavy menstrual bleeding:
Ammonium carbonicum 200, once every 10 days.

Note: this is one part of the protocol and other remedies would be employed to address further menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, racing heart, etc.

If you are experiencing a difficult time as a result of peri-menopause, menopause or post-menopause,
book an acute appointment now.

* Keep an eye out for an upcoming article on homeopathic “provings” which will bring a little clarity on how we know how homeopathic remedies affect individuals. You can sign up to have the latest articles delivered to your email here.

Banerji, P. and Banerji, P. (2013). The Banerji protocols : a new method of treatment with homeopathic medicines. India: Pratip Banerji.
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Tasca, C. (2012). Women And Hysteria In The History Of Mental Health. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, [online] 8(1), pp.110–119. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480686/.

Perko, S.J. (2005).
The homeopathic treatment of influenza : surviving influenza epidemics and pandemics past, present and future with homeopathy. San Antonio, Tx: Benchmark Homeopathic Publications.

Image borrowed from:
Anne Brontë. (2017). Smelling Salts: A Link Between Anne and Maria Bronte. [online] Available at: https://www.annebronte.org/2017/10/15/pass-me-the-salts-anne-and-maria-bronte/ [Accessed 11 Sep. 2021].

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7/14/2021

Book Review: Homeopathy: An A to Z Home Handbook

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Homeopathy: An A to Z Home Handbook by Alan V. Schmukler

This was my first book on homeopathy. All those years ago, this felt like a book of magic spells that I didn’t have the ability to access. I read through it many, many times. I turned down corners and marked up all sorts of pages. I may have even tried a remedy or two, but I’m thinking I probably didn’t. I was too nervous. It felt completely forbidden and a little scary.

In reality, it’s a straight forward book with good, useable information.

Maybe the introduction scared me off. Way back in 2006, Schmukler says, “I call this a handbook for survival, because in the coming years we may find ourselves in survival situations for the following reasons:

1. Natural disasters
2. Terrorism
3. Antibiotic-resistant infections
[Where he writes, “The medical system could easily be overwhelmed by thousands of cases of untreatable infections.” That sounds familiar now that we have lived through 2020!]
4. Exotic diseases
5. Chemical or drug sensitivity
6. Genetic engineering
7. No medical insurance"

Maybe this list was too heavy for my relatively young and naïve self when I first found this book and homeopathy was completely foreign to me. I’ve made it to 2021 and am a little wiser to the ways of the world now. But, even before the nightmare of the last 18 months I had discovered the full importance of homeopathy in all these potential scenarios as well as every day life.

Chapter 1 is a nice explanation of homeopathy, why you would choose it, what it does and a brief history. Chapter 2 dives right into the rules for using the remedies and taking the case.

Chapter 3 starts the nitty gritty. Beginning with “Abscess” and closing out with “Yellow Fever,” he doesn’t quite make it all the way through the alphabet (that's because Zika wasn't widely known in 2006!) but the ailments he includes are meatier than other, similar books (as one might expect when one is writing a book for survival situations).

For each ailment he includes a brief description, followed immediately by a list of suggested remedies, each described in just a few lines. He keeps it simple and succinct. He also suggests a few starred remedies which are highly indicated for each condition.

Example from Homeopathy: Ailments A to Z, pages 198-199:
“Sprains
A sprain is an injury to the ligament around a joint. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and sometimes bruising.
* Arnica: Immediately after the injury.
* Rhus tox: Stiffness and pain, which is worse after rest and better from continued motion. Must keep shifting position.
Bryonia: Worse from any motion, better from pressure, better from lying on the affected part.
Ruta: Tendons, especially the ankle, heel and wrist. Repetitive motion syndrome. Worse after rest.
Hypericum: When nerves are damaged and there is much pain.”

You can’t get much clearer than those quick descriptions to get you on your way to healing.

Chapter 4 is a nice addition of “Organ Remedies” not often found in most “consumer” homeopathy books. Chapter 5 is “Remedy Description,” also known as a Materia Medica in homeopathy-speak.

“Pregnancy and Birth,” “Preventing Illness with Homeopathy,” “First Aid Remedies for Specific Occupations and Activities,” “Economizing: Making Your Remedies Last Forever” are chapters that definitely separate this book from its neighbors on the book shelf.

Schmukler rounds out the book with “Homeopathy Around the World” and “How to Use a Repertory” (which is basically a book of symptoms) and includes a mini-repertory. He finishes the book up with “Remedies for Your Home Kit,” which of course has a nod to some unusual remedies for when the survival situations get tough.

Schmukler, A.V. (2006). Homeopathy : an A to Z home handbook. Woodbury, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications.

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