Ruminating on Remedies, My thoughts on homeopathy

9/12/2026

Here comes the crud

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Fall must be approaching. It doesn’t feel like it here in the desert southwest; we are still seemingly in the throes of straight summer with temperatures remaining 10+ degrees above average. In fact, it almost feels like we have hit the breaks on moving toward fall and reversed into actual summer. You see, we had a relatively humid summer. (See "12 Angry Homeopathic Remedies” if you care to know a bit more about our summer this year.) And, today, September 10th, 2026 (and 11th, I didn’t quite get everything finished yesterday), we finally have our normal sky — cloudless and bright blue. Boy, have I missed seeing that!

A New Mexico 9% humidity sky. 😍

Even though we have been humid (for New Mexico), we have had no rain worth mentioning. Our trees are dying 😫. Rivers are just beds of stones. The monsoons never developed this year.
Despite this lingering heat, autumnal bugs are beginning their march into town. The internet tells me October is the month where things really get going. However, this morning I saw in my email that Stanford University-run WastewaterSCAN program indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is currently “high” nationwide, with a significant upward trend in the last 3 weeks. I checked the WastewaterSCAN Dashboard and New Mexico doesn’t appear. However, a Today show article claims it is increasing nationwide.

Cold, Flu, Covid, the Crud, the Suds** — whatever seasonal ailment is getting you, homeopathy is a good place to start. It’s important to remember that homeopathy doesn’t care the name of what ails you — homeopathy is (for the most part) only interested in your symptoms.
With that, let’s look at a few remedies to have handy. As Benjamin Franklin taught us, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure! All of these homeopathic remedies work really well when taken at the first sign of any symptoms. Repeat every few hours, or, follow the manufacturer’s direction.

Aconite + Bryonia
- This is my first stop. In fact, I saw this Banerji combination work it’s magic just today. This person was feeling really lousy: run down, cold-like symptoms — this person was fading fast, actually. One dose and about 20 minutes later, feeling much better. Fixed? Not quite, but on the way.
Boiron’s Cold Calm* (see also, Calming the Cold)
- If you get on this one with the first few sniffles, nastiness may be avoided!
Narayani Flu Pack (see also, Pre-Winter Bugs)
Ferrum phos 6x is a beautiful little thing. Don’t underestimate the power of a little cell salt to turn the bugs around as soon as they make themselves known. (see also, On the 4th day of cell salts… Ferr phos)
Oscillococcinum*. A lot of people swear by this one to keep well. It can be used if the bugs have taken hold, or, for prevention if you believe you have simply been exposed. (See also, Ho Ho Ho (not, Ooooooh no!)

So far this month, I’m seeing a bunch of throat stuff and huge fatigue, in addition to milder cold-like symptoms and one person with some stomach issues thrown in for good measure. For what it’s worth, Gelsemium has been helpful for a couple of people I have encountered. Why Gelsemium?

Gelsemium symptoms (keynotes from Morrison are bolded):

may creep up on you rather than appearing out of the blue
a lot of weakness and fatigue; heavy limbs; may be some trembling; may feel too weak to move
- Oddly, despite the overall weakness, symptoms may improve a little bit with continued movement or exertion.
  - Perhaps relatedly… Gelsemium is also in a one remedy rubric for: Heart - ANXIETY, heart region , in - fears, that unless constantly moving heart will cease to beat, fear of death: (1) GELS.
a strong desire to lie down and sleep
- heavy eyelids; can’t keep them open
sore throat; difficulty swallowing
- pain may extend to the ears
stuffy nose with watery discharge; especially on the left side
a dull and heavy headache; may start in the back of the head and move up to the forehead
- keynotes of a Gelsemium headache:
  - feels like there is a band around the head
  - headaches improve when passing a fairly large quantity of urine
vertigo with vision issues; sensation as if falling
if there is a fever, there may be a lack of thirst
- feels hot but no desire to drink water
- sticky perspiration over the whole body
- chills run up and down the spine; there may be shivering
concentration is difficult; dullness; and, maybe even confusion

When the stomach plays a larger role, consider Arsenicum album.
A quick comparison between Gelsemium and Arsenicum for cold/flu symptoms:

These early days of flu/cold-like symptoms mark the beginning of what could be a long season of yuckiness. Homeopathy may just be able to set things right before they are able to take hold.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

*I have no affiliation with this or any other company — I just like their stuff!
**Spongebob Squarepants gets the suds — Good stuff!

11/22/2025

Coinkydink Quickie

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When one is a homeopath, one sees a lot of [ahem] coincidences.

One evening someone slips and falls and can barely move and they are expecting to need x-rays the following morning and they take a dose of Arnica and coincidentally, they wake up pretty much back to their old self.

A nasty burn on the forearm, and they say — “that’s going to be there for a while.” They take Cantharis and when you see them the next day, they are absolutely amazed that the burn no longer hurts.

Someone ate something off — the resulting gas and tummy pain is bad. They take some Arsenicum album and all those bad things vanished.

A young person scheduled for a tonsillectomy and they take some Silica and they shortly thereafter spit tonsil stones out of their mouth by the spoonful. Surgery cancelled and years later they still have their tonsils.

A young person with frequent, gushing nosebleeds and each time they take the Ferrum phos, the nosebleeds stop (sometimes almost instantly). In fact, not only do they stop when taking the Ferr phos, the following nosebleeds become a little lighter and they show up a little less often.

Surgery is completed and a full schedule of pain meds has been provided (including the big guns, you know what I’m talking about!), and, after taking the first dose of the indicated homeopathic remedies, not one single pain killer has been used.

The dog that is pacing and panting and totally not behaving like his normal self and a few minutes after a dose of Ignatia, he is sleeping peacefully.

All these situations could absolutely be chalked up to coincidence… UNTIL, you see them happen over and over and over again. That’s exactly what you see when you use homeopathy… things that seem too good to be true; things that seem totally coincidental, happening over and over again.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

6/29/2025

Quickie: Kits

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“Wellness Box” image created by AI, with my help. Everything else was done by lil’ old me.

Do you have a homeopathy kit yet?

If not, why not?

It doesn’t take anything fancy. Any old box or bag will do.

You could purchase a kit, ready to go. (See here and here for some ideas.)

Or, you could make your own kit by purchasing remedies as you need them. Start with one. Add another couple and put a rubber band around them to keep them together. Add a few more and put them in a little ziplock bag. Add a few more and put them in a shoebox.

Once you have them, you are then good to go. As long as you keep them safe and together, then you have your kit.

I could give you a list of suggested remedies. Would that help? (Almost all of these Ruminating on Remedies articles are written with common, easily sourced remedies in mind. Read through and find a few remedies that might serve you and your family well.

It’s actually one of the hardest things to do — narrowing down to just 10, but here goes!

Top 10 — in no particular order:
1. Arnica

trauma; bruising; muscles soreness; injuries; flu; emotional shock/trauma

2. Hypericum

nerve injuries; following dental work; wound healing; following bites; emotional distress

3. Rhus tox

joint and muscle pain, stiffness; skin conditions; flu; sprains; post injury recovery; restlessness/anxiety

4. Arsenicum album

tummy troubles; diarrhea; food poisoning; burning pains; coughs; skin conditions

5. Bryonia alba

flu; headache/migraine; aches/pains; coughs; joint pain (worse moving)

6. Hepar sulph

infections, with pus; sore throat; respiratory; skin eruptions

7. Belladonna

acute conditions: fevers, infections; pain relief; headaches; nervous system

8. Aconite

sudden onset of illness; anxiety/restlessness; fever; respiratory; pain relief

9. Nux vomica

digestive troubles; flu; overindulgence; irritability/stress; sleep disturbances

10. Ferrum phos

first stage infections/illness; bleeding: nosebleeds; fever; sore throat; colds; coughs; headache/migraine

Two people have independently spoken to me about their homeopathic kits in the last two weeks. The first one purchased a Narayani kit and there is no other way to say it — she is over the moon with it. (She didn’t purchase the little one mentioned in the link above, she went for the whole kit and kaboodle!) The second person, just this morning, told me how much she loved her little kit of 50 remedies. She said she wants to carry it around with her everywhere. The other day her son was feeling a little off — Nux took care of that. She slammed her finger tip in a drawer and Arnica and Hypericum took care of that. Done. Easy.

Return the remedies to where they belong after you have used them and your kit is once more ready to go for the next thing that comes along.

What are you waiting for?!?

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

3/14/2025

For the Birds

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Not a photo of the bird that adopted us, but this one looks almost as good as he did.😂

The flu is for the birds and the bird flu, well…

I was asked about homeopathic remedies the other for backyard chickens. We used to have chickens (and a peacock and a Chinese pheasant adopted us for a while, too) and I can tell you that homeopathic remedies work beautifully for birds. (See Homeopathy to the Rescue.)

Let’s start with giving remedies to the birds. Some say to put the remedies directly in their water. If you have a large flock, this might be the only way to do it. But, if you have a small backyard flock and it’s easy to see if only 1 or 2 birds are sickening, I like to put the pellets in a little water (or bone broth) and add some rice to the small bowl because I knew they would always go for the rice, even if they weren’t going to go for the water. (See also Making a Water Dose.) This way, you can isolate the sick chickens and make sure those who are most in need are actually getting the remedy. Another reason I like to give the remedies in a small bowl of water is that when you put the remedies directly in the birds’ waterer, it’s important to remember that every sip is a dose. However, if you have a large flock and you already have some sick birds, “dosing” the entire flock is probably the best way to approach this problem.

As for the bird flu that is going around, the first thought that comes to mind is Oscillococcinum. (“Oscillococcinum 200 actually a patent property of Boiron Laboratory, France” (Julian 1980)).

Well, that’s a bit simplistic, isn’t it… just to suggest using a major homeopathic flu remedy for the bird flu?

Well, no, actually. The main ingredient in Oscillococcinum* is Anas barbariae which is made from the heart and liver of wild duck.

Pierre Schmidt (Schmidt 2025), a homeopath of the 20th century (1894-1987), says “Oscillococcinum is for ‘influenza at the beginning as a preventative, as well as during convalescence.’” “This is the remedy at the beginning of influenza, of rhinitis and otitis. Given early it is very efficacious. To obtain good results in a case which begins and to cut short the manifestations of influenza, it is necessary to use one dose of Oscillococcinum 200c every 2 to 3 hours or repeat only if necessary” (Murphy).

See here and here and here and here and here for some studies and here* for a review of Oscillococcinum trials. (Note: I think it is fair to say that at this point in history, there are not many fans of homeopathy in the mainstream medical system, and that includes researchers. Finding positive research on homeopathy is tough going for a couple of reasons: The main one, in my opinion, is that mainstream medicine has not been educated about homeopathy and therefore dismiss it as quackery. The other important reason why it is hard to find good research on the efficacy of homeopathy is that at its core, homeopathy is individualized medicine — a remedy that works for one person’s symptoms may not necessarily work for the next person’s symptoms. (See also: What to Expect.)

Could Oscillococcinum work for birds and bird flu? I would certainly be willing to try it if I still had my backyard flock and if I was worried about bird flu.

Apparently, bird flu is in my area (said my chicken-keeping neighbor), so I looked up what to look for in the flock.

According to the Australian Government (2023):

coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, lack of appetite, ruffled feathers, fever, weakness and staggering
combs and wattles may look swollen, enlarged and discolored (purple or blue)
hens may lay soft-shelled eggs before ceasing to lay

The Scottish Government (2025) says to look for:

respiratory distress, diarrhea, loss of appetite or a drop in egg production of more than 5%.

So, what I’m seeing in these government documents, other than the combs and wattles and egg laying, are signs of the flu, but in chickens. With that in mind, symptoms are symptoms and remedies are remedies… meaning… it doesn’t matter if it’s a bird or a dog or a human, the symptoms will be noticeable and those symptoms can be addressed through the same homeopathic remedies regardless of showing up in a bird or a dog or a human. Sneezing is sneezing. Watery eyes are watery eyes. Fevers are fevers. Weakness is weakness.

The only difference here, though, the chicken can’t tell us if the watery eyes or the diarrhea are acrid or bland. They can’t tell us if they they ache. Chickens run hot compared to humans (106 F) (Hobby Farms 2019), so telling if they have a fever could be a little tricky to begin with.

My last article, When you have to get up… has a nice, long list of flu symptoms and possible remedies. I would say any chicken symptoms you could match with that list would work fine and dandy. The trick is translating what you’re seeing in your birds into human language.

A more severe form of this disease which “presents suddenly, often with very high mortality, with affected birds developing swollen heads [emphasis mine], a blue coloration of the comb and wattles, dullness, lack of appetite, respiratory distress, diarrhea and significant drop in egg production” (2025) is another matter.

Looking back in time a bit, The Poultry Doctor (Chambers 2018) originally published in 1891, mentions a swelled head:

“From some cause not clear, the heads of hens will often swell greatly and be very hot. Exposure to draughts of air, however, is a fruitful cause of both swelled heads and swollen eyes. Spongia has given relief in many cases but Belladonna is the indicated remedy for this trouble; Bryonia also will relieve.”

All three of these remedies are excellent flu remedies, in general.

What else may help ward off the bird flu in your flock? This article has a short list of possible flu preventatives which may be applicable:

Aconite 200c + Bryonia 30c at the first sign of anything.
Ferrum phos also at the first sign.
Nat mur, especially if you can catch that first sneeze.
Narayani Flu Pack, Mix 79 could also be considered.

Prior to any symptoms showing up, Hyland’s Bioplasma* (or any other source of the combined cell salts — this is just the easiest to come by in most natural food stores in the US) is another good option. A couple of pellets of this combination of the twelve cell salts could easily be dropped in the flocks’ waterer for a while to help shore up their immune systems.

We birds of a homeopathic feather need to flock together to keep sharing information on homeopathic remedies for humans and fowl alike!

— if you would like to schedule a consult with me, drop me a line at [email protected].

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

* I have no affiliation with this company, I just like their products.
** This review is not really in favor of Oscillococcinum, however, I think it’s very important to note that in the “Authors’ conclusions” that it “could have a clinically useful treatment effect but, given the low quality of the eligible studies, the evidence is not compelling. There was no evidence of clinically important harms due to Oscillococcinum.” [emphasis mine]

Reference list

Australian Government, 2023. Bird flu (Avian influenza) - DAFF [online]. Agriculture.gov.au.

Beghi, G. M. and Morselli-Labate, A. M., 2016. Does homeopathic medicine have a preventive effect on respiratory tract infections? A real life observational study. Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, 11 (1).

Boericke and Tafel, 2018. The Poultry Doctor: The homeopathic treatment and care of chickens, turkeys, gees, ducks and singing birds. 2018 ed.

Colombo, G. L., Di Matteo, S., Martinotti, C., Oselin, M., Bruno, G. and Beghi, G. M., 2018. The preventive effect on respiratory tract infections of Oscillococcinum®. A cost-effectiveness analysis. ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research [online], Volume 10, 75–82.

Dutta, A., Manna, A., Ghosh, S., Mundle, M., Saha, M., Kumar Gourav, Sukhdeb Maiti and Chattopadhyay, B., 2024. Prespecified Homeopathic Medicines in the Prevention of Confirmed and Suspected Cases of COVID-19: A Community-Based, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Prophylaxis Trial. Complementary Medicine Research, 31 (2), 140–148.

Hobby Farms, 2019. Chickens & Body Temperature: What You Need to Know [online]. Hobby Farms.

Homeopathy Plus, 2024. Bird Flu: Are We at Risk [online]. Homeopathyplus.com.

Julian, O. A., 1980. Treatise on Dynamised Micro-Immunotherapy. First Indian Edition, 1980. New Delhi - 110055 (India): B. Jain Publishers (P.) Ltd.

Mathie, R. T., Frye, J. and Fisher, P., 2015. Homeopathic Oscillococcinum® for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like illness. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Murphy, R., 2006. Nature’s materia medica : 1,400 homeopathic and herbal remedies. Blackburg, Va.: Lotus Health Institute, November.

Schmidt, P., 2025. Pierre Schmidt [online]. Remedia-homeopathy.com.

Scottish Government, 2025. Avian influenza (bird flu): how to spot and report the disease - gov.scot [online]. www.gov.scot.

UCHealth, 2024. The bird flu has spread to dairy cows. Do you need to worry about another pandemic? [online]. UCHealth Today.

Vickers, A. J. and Smith, C., 2004. Homoeopathic Oscillococcinum for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like syndromes. Cochrane Database System Review.

12/9/2023

Ho Ho Ho, (not ooooh, no!)

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Flu season has returned. Well, colds, flu, Covid, influenza, whatever you want to call it — it’s back.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - homeopathy doesn’t give a hoot what you call it. Homeopathy only cares about the symptoms you are experiencing.

Here is a short and sweet list of remedies to keep handy - to take at the first sign of feeling unwell; whether that be cold symptoms or fatigue setting in or aches or sneezing.

The Banerji Protocol of Aconite 200c mixed with Bryonia 30c is a marvelous place to start for when any kind of symptoms kick in. This combination remedy can be purchased from certain pharmacies and distributors, but there is no need for that… just put a dose (whatever the manufacturer suggests as a dose) of each remedy in your mouth at the same time.
Boiron’s Cold Calm is a marvelous little remedy. (For previous article with detailed information on this remedy, see Calming the Cold.) Boiron’s instructions say to take 2 tablets every 15 minutes for 1 hour and then back off to every 6 hours.
Ferrum phos, either in potency (30c, for example) or as a cell salt (6x, for example). I have seen this one turn around those early symptoms right before my eyes, especially sore throats.
Natrum muriaticum, Nat mur, is another cell salt/remedy which can nip things in the bud. If you have sneezing that comes out of the blue, this one might be for you.
Eupatorium is one of my favorites. If there is a lot of fatigue and aching that shows up out of nowhere, try some Eupatorium. (This one is a good one if the virus has already taken hold, too.)
Oscillocinum, also from Boiron. Their packaging says: “At the onset of symptoms, dissolve the entire contents of 1 tube in the mouth every 6 hours, up to 3 times a day.”

This remedy can be used preventatively — if you have been exposed to the nasties, take 2-3 doses every 4-8 hours and cross your fingers.
This remedy can also be used preventatively throughout the flu season… take one dose per week during the winter months, says homeopath Jacques Jouanny, MD.

Not homeopathic but pretty impressive… Last December while traveling in England, everyone around me was coming down with whatever it was everybody was coming down with. I was in Helios pharmacy picking up some remedies and I saw A. Vogel Echinaforce tablets on the shelf. I took these, as well as Ferrum phos 6x and never had so much as a sniffle. I would use that combination again in a heartbeat.

If you don’t get there in time with the above remedies and the yucks have made themselves at home, see Flu Remedies to Consider.

With all of these remedy suggestions (unless otherwise noted), take a dose at the first sign of feeling unwell. Repeat every 3-12 hours. When feeling better, stop the remedy. If the symptoms return, start the remedy again.

Now, go out there, make merry and celebrate the joyous season like you used to!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

12/11/2022

Tis the Season for… Sore Throats

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Sore throat complaints are keeping me busy this month! Some people have the dreaded Covid, some have the flu, some may have strep throat and some people just have a sore throat.

What to do about this pharyngitis? (Pharynx is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity and “itis” for inflammation.)

Well, at the first sign of feeling unwell, I like the Banerji protocol of Aconite 200c mixed with Bryonia 30c. Taking this right away can often nip things in the bud and send the yucks away before they can settle in.

Another option for those who are quick on the draw is Ferrum phos 6x. This, too, can often turn things around in short order.

Once the yucks have made themselves at home and one is definitively feeling unwell, let’s look at a few homeopathic remedies which may help. (Note: There are many remedies which can be helpful for sore throats, these are just a few of my favorites.) See also: Calming the Cold; Some Flu Remedies to Consider and Tis the season for the crud.

Baptisia
Extremely painful, dark red throat, where swallowing liquids is the only option and even that is very difficult, despite being thirsty; tiny bites of food gags them. They may have swollen glands and/or bad breath.

Belladonna
The sore throat appears suddenly and generally hurts more on the right side with burning or throbbing pain. The throat and the tip of the tongue may be red. Pain is worse from turning the head, touching the throat and swallowing, especially liquids. Face will often be red and hot but the hands and feet tend to be cold.

Gelsemium
Burning and rough sore throat with pain that extends from the throat to the ear. May feel like there’s a painful lump in the throat that cannot be swallowed. Pain in the sternocleidomastoid — the long muscles on either side of your neck. Paralysis of the vocal cords. Swallowing solid foods is difficult.

Hepar sulph
Homeopathic Hepar is known for a sticking sensation in the throat, like a splinter or a bone. Pain extends to the ear on yawning and swallowing. May hawk up thick, yellow, sticky mucus. Wrapping up the external throat feels good. Cold drinks or becoming cold makes them feel worse but warmth in general and warm drinks can help. There may be a pulsation felt in the throat and they may feel worse in the evening and at night. Very sensitive to the pain and sensitive to everything else, too, actually and they may be irritable and impatient.

Lachesis
A purple throat, often on the left side (or starts on the left and moves to the right) and feels worse when swallowing liquids — even saliva is difficult — empty swallowing makes the throat hurt even worse (though they may have a constant desire to swallow). Swallowing solids may be easier. May have a disturbing constricting sensation, causing them to loosen clothes around the throat. Ear pain with sore throat. There may be a sensation of breadcrumbs or a painful sensation of a lump or plug which is not relieved by swallowing. They may choke easily, especially on falling to sleep and may have a suffocative feeling. Often feel worse on waking.

Lycopodium
Often on the right side with a dryness in the throat and they may not be very thirsty. A stitching pain on swallowing which is better with warm drinks and worse with cold drinks. Choking on swallowing. They may feel like there is a lump or a plug in the throat. They are chilly but they also want fresh air but are worse becoming cold or eating/drinking cold things. May have digestive issues at the same time as the sore throat.

Mercurius sol
Lots of saliva and a raw, rough and burning feeling in the throat. Lots of slime gets stuck in the throat and there may be drooling while sleeping. Swollen glands. A bad or metallic taste in the mouth and may have bad breath. The throat may be copper colored. Throat pain on coughing. The throat may be worse at night and they may also experience night sweats. Finding the right temperature is often difficult.

Rhus tox
Body aches and restlessness may accompany the sore throat. The tip of the tongue may be red. The throat becomes irritated and the voice becomes hoarse and is often worse from talking. The pain is worse from swallowing at first, but improves with more swallowing. Warmth is helpful and moving around may help, too — feeling worse when they are resting. Like the swallowing, they may feel worse when first moving around but better as they keep moving.

When to see a doctor?
According to the Mayo Clinic, see a doctor if:

sore throat is accompanied by tender, swollen lymph glands
sore throat lasts longer than 48 hours
a fever
sore throat is accompanied by a rash
there are problems breathing or swallowing
if strep has been diagnosed, a lack of improvement after taking antibiotics for 48 hours

TONSILLITIS
A few quick notes relating to tonsillitis. (Note on type: Most highly indicated, highly indicated and indicated.) Again, there are many homeopathic remedies for tonsillitis and I am just focusing on the throat remedies already mentioned for sore throats.

Tonsillitis, in general — in order of importance: Belladonna, Ferrum phos and Mercurius. Hepar & Lachesis. Baptisia and Lycopodium.
Tonsillitis with pus: Hepar, Mercurius. Belladonna, Lycopodium, Lachesis
Hardness of hearing with tonsillitis: Hepar, Lycopodium and Mercurius
Chronic or recurring tonsillitis: Hepar, Lachesis and Lycopodium
Painless tonsillitis: Baptisia
Burning pain in tonsils: Belladonna and Mercurius
Purple tonsils: Hepar and Lachesis
Bright red tonsils: Belladonna and Ferrum phos
Dark red tonsils: Baptisia and Lachesis
Tonsillitis in children: Ferr-phos, Lachesis, Lycopodium and Mercury
Sharp pain in tonsils: Belladonna, Lachesis, Lycopodium and Mercury
Tearing pain in tonsils: Belladonna
Throbbing pain in tonsils: Belladonna

STREP THROAT
Strep throat is another possibility and can lead to long term problems in rare cases. Unlike most sore throats, strep is caused by bacteria. Strep A is big in the news this year, especially in the UK, but there are other strains of strep which can cause throat problems, too (A, C & G are the primary throat culprits).

I never messed around with strep throats when my kids were young because I know two people who suffered terribly as a result of untreated strep. “Untreated strep throat can cause an autoimmune reaction in which the body attacks its own tissues and may lead to rheumatic fever, chorea and kidney damage” (Berkow et al. 1995).

How can you tell the difference between a sore throat and Strep throat?
Ultimately, for a full diagnosis of strep throat, you need to see a doctor and get a throat culture.

According the the Merck Manual and the Mayo Clinic, strep throat symptoms typically appear suddenly and include:

sore throat
- throat is “beefy” red
- tiny red spots on the area at the back of the roof of the mouth (soft or hard palate) (see photo above)
lymph nodes in the neck may be enlarged and tender
tonsils are swollen
- sometimes with white patches or streaks of pus
general feeling of being unwell
- chills
- fever
- headache
nausea
vomiting
rapid heart beat
rash

A cough, laryngitis and stuffy nose are not common in strep infections.

In very young children (under 4), the only symptom may be a runny nose. (When my kids were little, I learned that strep infections in littles may present with only stomach problems, so keep that in mind.)

“People with strep throat generally get better in 2 weeks, even without treatment. … antibiotics can shorten the duration of symptoms in young children and prevent serious complications such as rheumatic fever” (Berkow et al. 1995). (Note: There are homeopathic remedies which can be helpful in strep throat, but that is beyond the scope of this article.)

If you are suffering from a sore throat, try one of these homeopathic remedies so you can get back to some painless Fa La La-ing before the festive season is behind us.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

Reference list:
Berkow, R., Beers, M. and Fletcher, A., 1995. The Merck Manual Home Edition. Merck Research Laboratories.

Mayo Clinic, 2018. Strep throat - symptoms and causes [online]. Mayo Clinic.

10/7/2022

Bloody Noses

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Bloody noses are a bloody bother.

Thankfully, that’s only what they are, generally speaking. Rarely are bloody noses an emergency. According to verywellhealth.com and NHSinform, you need to seek medical assistance for a nosebleed when:

Non-stop bleeding for 20 minutes
Significant blood loss
Caused by severe trauma
You have high blood pressure
You can taste blood
You swallow a lot of blood and are vomiting as a result
You're having difficulty breathing

If you take blood thinners or are anemic, or the nosebleed is in a very young child (under 2), those, too might be reason enough to seek professional assistance for a nose bleed.

Some people have chronic bloody noses*. All 3 of my sons have experienced periods of regular bloody noses and homeopathy has been amazingly helpful in dealing with this, especially in the moment.

I have seen nosebleeds stop shockingly quickly with a few of the appropriate little homeopathic pellets.

What are the appropriate remedies?
Dr. Andrew Lockie (1993) recommends using the appropriate homeopathic remedy (he says in a 6c potency) every 2 minutes for up to 10 doses. (In my experience, nosebleeds stop much faster than 10 minutes when using homeopathy. If the bleed hasn’t stopped in a few minutes, try another remedy.)

I present to you here, in alphabetical order, some of my favorites:

Arnica, especially for nosebleeds following an injury. Nosebleeds with a cough or from blowing the nose. Nosebleeds from exertion or from washing your face. (I have never seen this one, but I do know of people for whom nosebleeds occur while in the shower and Arnica just might be their answer.)

Ferrum phos, either as a cell salt (6x) or in potency (6c or 30c). Nosebleeds in children; nosebleeds accompanying a fever; bright red blood.

Hamamelis — with dark and thin blood. Nosebleeds in the morning.

Ipecac — bright blood, clotted or coagulated.

Phosphorus — bright red blood, bloody nose as a result of blowing the nose; in children; noses that bleed easily.

What else can help?
Once upon a time, long before I knew about homeopathy, I read that cayenne pepper (a pinch in a glass of water, then drink it) can help. Well, a visitor, an adult, was experiencing a bloody nose. I got out the cayenne pepper and I was getting the water and the person took a little dab of the cayenne pepper and put it right up their nose. The bleeding stopped immediately and though they had been experiencing regular bloody noses, one didn't return again for many years after that! (Be forewarned, though -- this person had quite a shocking experience with that jolt to the system!)

Another little tip I’ve learned with my boys… paper towels are much more effective than tissues.

I leave you with this joke, simply because I couldn’t resist.

A British man says, “I’ve got a bloody nose!!!”
His friends reply, “yeah, we all do.”

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath (and re-teller of bad jokes)

#wellnessawaits

classicallypractical.com

* If you or your child suffers from regular nosebleed, it might be worth considering a consult with a homeopath to see if you can get to the bottom of the issue.

Reference list:
Lockie, Dr. A., 1993. The Family Guide to Homeopathy. USA: Simon & Schuster.

NHS Inform, 2019. Nosebleed causes and treatments [online]. Nhsinform.scot.

Perko, S. J., 2008. The homeopathic therapeutic subject reference : a homeopathic practice guidebook for physicians and health care practitioners. San Antonio, Texas.: Benchmark Homeopathic Publications.

Ratera, Dr. M. M., 2016. First Aid with Homeopathy. Kander, Germany: Narayana Verlag.

Upjoke.com, 2022. The 20+ Best Bloody Nose Jokes - ↑UPJOKE↑ [online]. upjoke.com.

Weintraub, S., 1999. Natural healing with cell salts. Pleasant Grove, Ut: Woodland Pub.

Photo by Brittany Colette on Unsplash

9/4/2022

What goes up…

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… must come down. Our evening on the mountain, part 2.

While we were waiting to board the tram for our return trip down the mountain, there was a woman who was absolutely terrified. She made the trip up, so I thought maybe she was playing things up a bit. She was really over the top in her demeanor.

We were on the tram together on the way down and it turned out that she was not putting on a show. I was next to her as she buried her head into her husband’s shoulder and held on tight to him.

I asked her if she would like a homeopathic remedy for fear.

To my pleasant surprise, she did. So, I reached in my purse and gave her 2 pellets of AAA.

AAA — a combination of three really excellent fear Remedies: Argentum nitricum, Ambra Grisea and Anacardium.

In an ideal world, I would have been able to ask the person what she was afraid of. I didn’t know if she was afraid on the way up. I didn’t know how she felt walking around up there. Is she generally afraid of heights? Is it the tram, suspended over nothing that worried her? Was she afraid for her safety or her family’s safety?

In a regular homeopathic consultation, I would have inquired about an awful lot of things: where did she feel the fear? What else brings about such terror like she was experiencing? If it’s heights that freaks her out, is it a fear of falling? Or just a general fear of high places? Or, was she fighting an urge to throw herself from the edge?

Does she experience vertigo when at height? If so, is it a falling sensation? If so, which direction does it seem she is falling? Does she experience vertigo in other circumstances?

Back to the fear: does she feel the fear in her stomach? Does she get chattering teeth with the fear? Does she experience panic attacks? Does she shiver with the fear? Does she get heart palpitations? Does she have trouble breathing when in this state?

Is it being in the small, enclosed tram car that troubled her? Is it being in a crowd that troubled her?

These are just the first things that come to mind — there were a lot of questions that could have been asked, if the situation had allowed for such things.

As it was, I didn’t know anything else about this woman except that she was completely freaked out.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I keep a few remedies in my purse and just through happenstance, I still had AAA with me (and, I think it will now forever live in my little bag of goodness).

Why was AAA a good fit for this lady?

Homeopathic Argentum nitricum — Fear of:

heights as well
fear of falling from a height
claustrophobia
impending danger
accidents
anxiety in a crowd

Homeopathic Ambra grisea for:

fear of impending danger
anxiety felt in the stomach
vertigo

All three remedies are indicated in:

trembling
lacking in confidence
feelings of despair
nervous people

Homeopathic Anacardium, in addition to the symptoms listed above for “all three remedies” is also indicated for anxiety with fear as well as lack of emotional control.

Yep. AAA was a really good remedy choice for this poor woman. By the end of the short trip, she thanked me and said that this journey was better and easier than the trip up.

In the end, I forgot to bring my homeopathic Coca, but that would have been a decent choice, too: fear of accidents, fear of downward motion, fear of falling and fear of heights.

What else happened during our little excursion to 10,000 feet? My youngest son, who is prone to nosebleeds, could feel one coming on, or, rather, he could taste one coming on. He could taste blood in his mouth like he said he gets when a nose bleed has started. The other thing I keep in my little bag is Ferrum phos. One dose of Ferr-phos 3x and a few minutes later, the taste and the feeling had passed -- no nosebleed ever arrived.

Other than that, it was a delightful evening out with a beautiful sunset shown above.

I truly hope our frightened fellow traveler heard the word “homeopathic” and decided to investigate further what this marvelous medicine can offer her.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

1/16/2022

Perfect is the enemy of good

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I learned this trick on Pinterest years ago.
It is the bomb-diggity!

The crud has hit my house. It entered surreptitiously on New Years Day and didn’t let itself be known for a few days after that. I helped my son through it, homeopathically speaking, and then it was my turn.

In general, it is much harder to help yourself, homeopathically speaking, than it is to help someone else. When you are helping someone else, you are logically interpreting symptoms. When you are trying to interpret your own symptoms when you’re not feeling your best, you’re lucky to have logic still involved in the process at all!

Anyway, I am unofficially on day 8, though I didn't test positive until 2 days ago. I don’t feel terrible, but I don’t feel great. I certainly have felt much worse in my life. The low-grade fever doesn’t want to budge. I have a terrible smell/taste in my nose. (I didn’t lose my sense of smell/taste — in fact, they have become highly sensitized.) I do not love the lack of energy, mental or physical. I know people who currently have “it” or just had “it” and they took the Ivermectin or the HCQ and some felt better immediately and some are still struggling to feel better.

It was this last piece of information that made me realize that I’m doing pretty well with my remedies. I have not had the “painful shivers” or the loss of smell; I have been sleeping like a baby. I don't have a painful, rib-breaking cough. Aches have been minimal and are now completely gone. I have a lot of snot but I don’t have that bursting headache that some people are getting. (My left eyeball was tender when I moved it for a couple of days, but it was annoying, not unbearable.) I am now coughing a bit, but it feels like a forward movement — clearing that stuff out. I can breathe just fine and my lungs aren’t involved. (I did turn into a mouth breather for a couple of days, but that’s gone now, too.) Everything has stayed from the neck up and I appreciate that fact!

What remedies have I used?

I’ll be completely honest — everything! If a symptom appeared, I tried a remedy. Sometimes the remedies felt futile (like for the fever that won’t budge) and sometimes they seemed to help pretty quickly.

To keep this article brief — and so I can get back to the business of getting well and kicking this garbage to the curb! — I will list a few remedies that have been very helpful for me and for my son and friends.

My son started out with extreme restlessness and low/mid back pain: Nux vomica. (In hindsight, Rhus tox could have been helpful here, too, but it wasn't presenting that way at first.)

He had the painful shivers and very painful skin. Fortunately, his skin wasn’t so painful that he couldn’t have anything touch it (Krajewski et al. 2020), but it was uncomfortable for him. He found great relief from hot water: Rhus toxicodendron.

He had some dizziness for a quick minute but an old bottle of Heel’s “Lightheadedness” quickly cleared that up.

We used a few other remedies for him here and there, but these were the big movers for him.

That’s the thing with acute diseases — you have to chase the symptoms. A symptom shows up, a remedy helps it and another symptom moves in to take its place. It’s not like clearing up a chronic condition where you want to stick with A remedy or a group of remedies for a while. You have to react quickly with the changing symptoms of an acute.

My yucks started out with severe dizziness and nausea and vomiting: Ipecac.

After 2 days, everything was very much improved and I thought I was good to go and then the new version of symptoms set in a few days later.

Oscillococcinum — the Flu remedy.

I literally have not yet figured out the low grade fever thing. (Very frustrating!) But, it’s not terrible and I guess I have to let my body do what it’s doing and trust that it knows what it’s doing. Generally speaking, though, Ferrum phos is an excellent remedy for low-grade fevers. I have also tried fever combination remedies, to no avail.

Eyeball that hurts when moving it: Bryonia. Bryonia on its own wasn’t doing the trick, but mixing Aconite with the Bryonia did do the trick. [Aconite/Bryonia is a Banerji Protocol to ward off the yucks of any kind, but homeopathic legend has it that when you add Aconite to a remedy that should be working, but isn’t, it’s like a power boost and it certainly seemed to be for my painful eyeball.]

That moment when the bed felt too hard to get comfortable: Arnica. This, too, can be Bryonia, but given that I wasn’t having the eyeball luck with that remedy, I moved on to Arnica.

Last night, when the coughing started in the middle of the night: Boiron’s Chestal Cold and Cough. I haven’t had to repeat it yet, so that must have done the trick. [note: having combination remedies available are extremely helpful in the middle of the night when you can’t get your brain to figure it out!]

Nux vomica helped with my stuffy nose and gas.

Arsenicum album helped early on with a burning sensation deep in my nose.

For the most part, however, I have now accepted that perfection really is the enemy of the good. I don’t feel great, but I am thankful that I have a lovely husband and sons who are keeping the home fires burning, literally and figuratively.

On that note, my husband has yet to succumb. Hopefully, he is that rare breed that is not susceptible to this virus. Or, it could be that he has religiously stepped up his supplement routine — he said he feels better than he has in a while as a result! — and, at any little hint of anything, he turns to his tried and true: Boiron’s Cold Calm.

Who knows? They say children experience positive growth after an illness — we certainly noticed that when our little fellows got sick — maybe that can be true for old homeopaths, too! I have come to the conclusion that my body just needs to experience this sickness for whatever reason. I’m not sick in bed. I can even still beat my husband in gin rummy, and he's no slouch at the game! I am tired and don’t feel great, but I am not down for the count and I believe it is homeopathy that is responsible for this small blessing. It just is what it is. I haven’t been sick in many years! I guess it was just my time!

It was Voltaire who proclaimed, “Perfect is the enemy of good.” It has been so very many years now that I have avoided getting really sick. My remedies have always stepped in and fixed everything right up for me in very short order. I now expect perfection and that’s not a reasonable goal.

I will keep on keeping on and I know one day soon, this will all be behind me and I can get back to the business of life!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

Krajewski, P. K., Szepietowski, J. C., and Maj, J., 2020. Cutaneous hyperesthesia: A novel manifestation of COVID-19. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity [online], 87, 188.

11/14/2021

Cough cough!

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Before I started learning homeopathy, I thought a cough was a cough. Well, I guess I knew croup* had a different sound (a bark)… but I never thought about all the many different kinds of cough: wet coughs, dry coughs, productive coughs, croaking cough, hacking cough (I guess I had heard of that one, too), rattling coughs. Coughs that wake you from sleep, coughs that keep you from falling to sleep. Coughs that are worse when your standing; coughs that are worse when you’re lying down. Coughs that are worse from eating and coughs that are better from eating. Coughs that are better from drinking and coughs that are worse from drinking. Explosive coughs. Exhausting coughs. The list goes on! Robin Murphy's Repertory, version 3 lists 2,672 entries under "cough."

As usual in homeopathy, the closer you can match the specifics of the cough to the remedy, the more likely the remedy is to work its magic.

Dr. Saptarshi Banerjea does a nice job mimicking the various coughs in his 4-1/2 minute video (Banerjea 2017) and is well worth a listen to learn the difference between these cough sounds.

If you have a non-specific cough and are not sure where to start, Boiron’s Chestal Cold & Cough** nicely addresses a variety of coughs. Below is an incomplete overview of these remedies and the primary coughs they address.

Dulcamera: particularly good for a cough made worse by damp, cold air and coughs worse following exertion. Coughs that leave you hoarse. A forcible, violent, hard cough.

Ferrum phos: Dry coughs. Coughs during fever. Coughs with a runny nose. Coughs with irritation in the chest or trachea (windpipe). Tickling coughs. Coughs with blood streaked expectoration (the coughing up of phlegm).

Hydrastis canadensis: A cough which is better when lying down. A rattling cough. An incessant cough, day and night. Coughs with a bursting headache pain.

Kali bich: (“Bich” rhymes with “thick” and that’s a handy thing to remember with this remedy.) Back pain or pain in the sternum (breastbone) when coughing. A croupy* cough. A cough from eating. A hoarse cough (as opposed to hoarseness caused by coughing mentioned above, Dulcamera). A cough when you wake up in the morning. Cough with mucus in the chest or larynx (voice box) or a cough with pain in the larynx. Coughs which are better for expectoration.

Nux vomica: Coughs with pain in the abdomen or stomach (either during or following the cough); or, a painful cough, in general. Cough with breathing difficulty. Coughs made worse by cold air or by being cold. Coughs with catarrh (excessive mucus). A distressing cough. A dry cough during a fever (more specific than Ferrum phos’ cough during fever). Coughs occuring after midnight. A cough from eating (like Kali-bich above). An irritable cough. Paroxysmal (sudden, periodical) coughs, especially while still in bed in the morning. Coughs during teething.

*Croup is an acute viral disease, usually occurring in children from 6 months to 5 years and marked by a resonant barking cough, (sounding like a seal), and varying degrees of respiratory distress (Venes and Clarence Wilbur Taber 2013).

Boiron's Chestal Cough and Cold is a good place to start. If you need further help kicking a cough, book an acute appointment and we'll see if we can get you some relief.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

** I have no affiliation with this company, I just like their products.

REFERENCES

Allaert, F.-A., Villet, S., Vincent, S., and Sauve, L., 2018. Observational study on the dispensing of cough syrups to children with acute cough by community pharmacists in France. Minerva Pediatrics [online], 70 (2).

Banerjea, Dr. S., 2017. Listen the Cough Sounds & Diagnose the Remedy (Part 1) [online]. www.youtube.com.

Murphy, Robin, Repertory Version 3, accessed through RadarOpus 2.2.16.

Venes, D. and Clarence Wilbur Taber, 2013. Taber’s cyclopedic medical dictionary. [22nd ed., ISBN: 9780803629776]. Philadelphia, Pa.: F.A. Davis.

Voß, H., Michalsen, A., and Brünjes, R., 2018. Efficacy and tolerability of a complex homeopathic drug in children suffering from dry cough-A double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial. Drug Research [online], 68 (08), 444–449.

Zanasi, A., Cazzato, S., Mazzolini, M., Ierna, C. M. S., Mastroroberto, M., Nardi, E., and Morselli-Labate, A. M., 2015. Does additional antimicrobial treatment have a better effect on URTI cough resolution than homeopathic symptomatic therapy alone? A real-life preliminary observational study in a pediatric population. Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine [online], 10 (1), 25.

Zanasi, A., Mazzolini, M., Tursi, F., Morselli-Labate, A. M., Paccapelo, A., and Lecchi, M., 2014. Homeopathic medicine for acute cough in upper respiratory tract infections and acute bronchitis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Pulmonary Pharmacology & Therapeutics [online], 27 (1), 102–108.

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