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Julia Coyte, CHom
My thoughts on a few of the many thousands
of homeopathic remedies available.
Where, when, how they may be applied in everyday life.
#wellnessawaits
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Resources used in this article: Morrison, M.D., R., 1998. Desktop companion to physical pathology. Nevada City, Calif.: Hahnemann Clinic Publ. Pareek, R. S. and Pareek, A., 2012. Homeopathy for Acutes and Emergencies. Kandern, Germany: Narayana Publishers.
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 We have a really good dentist. I've never been so pleased with a dentist -- at least not since our kids were little and the new dentist at the time had TV screens running whatever show they wanted to see. I found our new dentist after learning about tongue ties. I knew vaguely what they were, of course. But, I never dreamed that I might be suffering from ankyloglossia until some relatives discovered that was the problem with their children. It all tied in for me then and I investigated the subject for myself. That's when I discovered I had the Eiffel Tower Type tongue tie. (I also had the lip tie and the buccal tie. I had the lip released but they left the buccal alone). As I do with everything, I investigated the heck out of what this could mean to me. It tied into my jaw issues and the fact that my tongue absolutely ached after reading out loud to my kids, my many wakings during the night, neck pain, etc. I researched dentists in town who deal with this sort of thing. I went to see her, the tongue tie was confirmed and the Myofunctional Therapy followed straight away. (In adults, the tongue muscle needs to be exercised before this procedure is done.) Then the day came for the procedure. You can look the procedure up on-line, but essentially, they slice down the center of the frenulum (thus the term frenectomy for the procedure). I have to tell you… I read reports of people saying they could feel their neck muscles "ping" as they let go. While I did experience a bit of that, the biggest thing for me was the sense of freedom I felt when the frenulum was cut loose. I literally felt like I was flying free, soaring. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. Then, they sewed it back up again. My Eiffel Tower is gone, my tongue has much more freedom, (I never understood how someone could ever swallow their tongue in an emergency situation -- now, I see that it is possible!), and, I felt like I was getting full breaths of air. An amazing amount of oxygen was entering my body for the first time in my life! As you can imagine, a frenectomy can be uncomfortable. Homeopathy can and did help! My dentist gave me a local phone number to purchase an aftercare kit. This kit included a salve made of coconut oil mixed with Bach Original Rescue Remedy and Vitamin E. It turns out the woman who makes the kits was once upon a time a classical homeopathy student but never finished her schooling. The salve was the bomb-diggity, I tell you. In addition to the salve, I kept a little glass of water with Hypericum in it. I sipped from that, as needed the first night. It was a very fast recovery, actually. It got a little achy when resuming the tongue exercises, but nothing a little Arnica couldn't help. If you think tongue tie may be an issue for you or your child, I encourage you to investigate the issue. And, if you decide to have the procedure, remember the homeopathic remedies Hypericum, Arnica and Rescue Remedy -- along with coconut oil -- for a fast recovery. Links to learn more: Tongue Tie; Frenuloplasty; Myofunctional Therapy. (I did not use the services of this doctor, I only used his site for research purposes.) Photo by Kreshen on Unsplash The before picture was immediately after the injury. The after photo was taken about 6 weeks later. Graphic content warning. If you’re squeamish, you can start at the 3rd paragraph.
Back in February of this year, I did a doozy. In hindsight, I perhaps shouldn’t have been handling a knife. I was having an “off” day. But, life goes on and I was preparing dinner and slicing a sweet potato. Turns out I sliced a nice hunk off the pad of my left ring finger! That was shocking, I tell you. The blood was profuse. My finger was throbbing with pain. Part of my finger remained on the blade of the knife. My husband happened to be on the phone with his cousin/doctor who informed him that there was not much that could be done since there was no skin left to reattach. I paced around with my arm straight up over my head to hopefully staunch the bleeding, but it didn’t help much. Start here, if you're squeamish. I am happy to say we have a good first aid kit at home* and my husband and son went to work to get me bandaged up. Meanwhile, I went to my cupboard and took Hypericum 30x which happened to be sitting in the kitchen cupboard from the last time one of us had some dental work done. The pain very quickly abated. Hypericum is well known homeopathic remedy for its positive effect on nerve rich areas and “lacerations with intolerable pains.” That fit the description of what was happening for me, I assure you. I also right away took a dose each of homeopathic Aconite and Arnica to address the shock and some Phosphorus for the bleeding. With my finger wrapped up well and propped on a pillow for the night and a couple of doses of Hypericum 200c in me, I miraculously got a pretty good night’s sleep. I took very good care of myself and my poor, sore finger for the next few days, but I still managed to develop an infection. I did an on-line call with a physician who prescribed both an antibiotic and a silver ointment. I filled the prescription for the antibiotic (just in case) but I chose to first treat the infection using only homeopathy, which I successfully did. (I did use the silver ointment for a couple of days because it needed something between the wound and the bandaid.) I continued with the Hypericum 200c and then I added Arnica routinely after learning about a study showing the positive effects of Arnica on tissue development and healing. Once the skin had grown back, I used Helios’ Healing Cream for a few more weeks. This cream is made from tinctures of Calendula and Symphytum with Thiosinaminum 6x and Vitamin E oil. Calendula has a long history of wound healing in the herbal world. (Follow these links for a review of Calendula’s wound healing properties in canine dermatology and a study on Symphytum’s beneficial effects on human skin fibroblasts.) And here for a 1910 article talking about the fact that “thiosinamine is not a new drug” and has been used in treating scars since way back when. It’s been 6 months and I am happy to say that with the help of homeopathy, the skin grew back on my finger — you really have to look at it in the right light to see the circle of scar tissue. It is tender now and again if I knick it or pinch it but, all in all, I am pleased with how this potentially disastrous situation turned out. NOTE: This is how I decided to treat my injury. I am not recommending anyone who suffers a similar fate to do it this way. Emergency rooms are there for this very reason. * If you don’t have a good first aid kit at home, I suggest you get on that. Most of the readily available kits are pretty lame, in my opinion. The big kit we have at home I created over the years after researching what may be needed in an emergency. Recently, I found really good kits from My Medic. I keep one of these in the RV and have been very pleased with it. I do not have any affiliation with this company, I just like their products. https://mymedic.com  Rufus is a big dog and he most likely suffers from the hip joint problems these big fellows are known to endure. He’s been slowing down for a while now and we dare not take him on a long off-road walk because there would be no carrying him back home if he decided to sit down and be done with the walk.
The other day, poor old Rufus couldn’t (or wouldn’t) get up to get his breakfast. He had to have his back end lifted for him to get him on his way. He seemed fine the day before. Fine is relative here. It always seems an effort for him to stand up. There is almost always a groan and a sudden drop when he tries to make himself comfy. Having no idea what happened to Ruf — did he injure his leg or back or is it just the old age aches of a big dog — I wasn’t sure where to start and he wasn’t helping me figure it out. After being helped up, he had his breakfast and took himself outside for a bit and plopped back down in his cool room. I brought him a homeopathic T-Relief spiked treat*. T-Relief used to be known as Traumeel and was one of the first homeopathic remedies that I began using on my own. It’s a homeopathic mix which covers a lot of ground: Arnica — Joint, back, muscle pain Calendula — pain reliever Hamamelis — a good remedy to think of when Arnica didn’t act. Bellis Perennis — joint and muscle soreness Belladonna — pain reliever Hypericum — nerve pain (see “Poked by a Branch” blog) Ruta — tendons and ligaments And a few more remedies thrown in for good measure. A lot of homeopaths don’t like the combination remedies. Could an injury or pain be more specifically addressed through a targeted remedy? You bet. But, in a pinch and when you don’t have the working knowledge to guide you to the “correct” remedy, combination remedies can often quickly get you the relief you need. And, for Rufus, it did just that. He lounged most of the day, as usual, and he was able to get up for his dinner, albeit slower than usual. A few more doses of T-Relief put him back on track. If you or your loved one or beloved pet is suffering from aches and pains, contact classicallypractical.com to see if homeopathy can help. [In writing this article, I see Medinatura also offers a line of Pet products. I have not tried them. The ingredients and price appear to be identical to the people version.] * I crush the tablet with the back of a spoon or the flat part of a knife and pick up the powder on a piece of meat or cheese and give it to him that way. They can also be put directly in the mouth, between the gum and cheek. ** Follow the manufacturer’s recommendation. While hiking this weekend, I stepped on a twig. Actually, it was bigger than a twig. Does that make it a small branch? Regardless, it snapped and poked 4 holes into my calf. It was less than pleasant.
I cleaned it out with soap and water and it no longer looked as bad as it did when I was in the woods. Nothing appeared to be stuck in there. I then applied Boiron's Calendula cream and put a band-aid over it. The pain stopped pretty quickly. If it had been worse, I would have considered either homeopathic Ledum palustre or Hypericum perforatum. Both of these homeopathic remedies are the "go-to" remedies for puncture wounds. How to decide between them? Hypericum is particular for nerve rich areas (finger tips, toes, tailbone). Ledum is greatly relieved by cold. Hypericum has shooting pains. Ledum has bruising and swelling. This is not to say a Hypericum wound can't have bruising, but that would be a secondary consideration after shooting pains and nerve-y pains. I got off easy with my twig snap, but having a good homeopathic remedy kit with me meant I was prepared for most eventualities. If you have experienced an injury and are looking for relief, contact classicallypractical.com to see if homeopathy can help you. |
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October 2021
Julia Coyte is a classically trained homeopath who is well versed in the practical application of homeopathic remedies.
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