April 2009 : Volume 11 : Number 3

Welcome to the April Newsletter,

There's always so much to tell you and sometimes I have to roll things over until the next time I write!!

This issue I was going to write about Remedies for Winter as the cold weather is fast approaching, but with whooping cough once again doing the rounds, I have included some information on this illness and a website link, which families may find of help.

Just a reminder that if you have children (or adults!) in your family who suffer winter illness such as ear infections, tonsillitis or asthma, now is a really good time to organize a consult to strengthen the immune system and prepare a winter program.

Whooping Cough Epidemic

Whooping cough vaccination seems to be one of the greatest failures in conventional vaccination and once again there are outbreaks around the country. Not only is protection from the current vaccine short-lived and unreliable, but side-effects are common. While advocates of vaccination would argue that it is unvaccinated children who transmit whooping cough, it is more often the multi-vaccinated children who succumb and who suffer the worst, whilst the unvaccinated children have a short-lived and relatively mild version.

The homeopathic approach to this problem offers a safe and sensible solution. Homeopathy has a two hundred year history of treating and preventing epidemics and childhood illnesses generally, without the risk of dangerous side-effects. It is so safe it can even be used as a second line of defense should a vaccine for whooping cough already have been given.

If you are concerned about protecting your child further, whether or not you have vaccinated, or if you have a child who has contracted whooping cough and it is not resolving, contact me for information. If you are interested in more information, see the link below.

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/hplus/hp-newsletter/whooping-cough---homeopathic-prevention-and-treatment.html

Below is some information on remedies for the first line of treatment, but do read my comments at the end of this item.

Remedies for Early Treatment or Prevention

Drosera Prolonged coughing fits. Paroxysms follow each other rapidly. Persistent deep barking or choking cough. Retching and vomiting with cough, can barely breathe. Chest pain from coughing. Must hold chest while coughing. Worse after midnight, for warmth, talking, on lying down.

Drosera and Pertussin (in homeopathic form) are major remedies for either the treatment or prevention (Pertussin only) of whooping cough. If used during the first stage of whooping cough, where symptoms indicate they can either reduce the frequency of attacks or rapidly clear them.

Frequently Used Remedies for Treatment

Antimonium Tartaricum (Ant-t)Suffocating cough. Rattling mucous that is difficult to cough up. Weakness and need for support when cough in sitting position. Gagging and vomiting of mucous or food with the cough. Child stiffens and becomes blue. Wants to be fanned. Fear of being left alone, but doesn't want to be looked at or touched. Worse for warmth, lying down. Better for coughing up mucous.

Belladonna (Bell)Hard, barking cough. Suffocating cough with pain in the larynx, waking after midnight. Violent cough.Whooping cough with expectoration of blood. Pain in stomach before onset of cough. Child cries out before the cough. Fever with red, hot face, swollen, glassy, red eyes. Worse around 3pm, for touch or jarring.

Carbo Veg (Carb-v) Early stage of whooping cough. Cough triggered by itching in larynx. Racking, spasmodic cough with blueness around the mouth or face generally. Wheezing respiration, wants to be fanned. Gagging, retching and vomiting of mucous with cough. Worse for warmth. Better for: cool air; being fanned.

Ipecac (Ip) Incessant, violent coughing with every breath. The child stiffens with each paroxysm of the cough, may become blue in the face. Violent gagging and vomiting from the cough, with or without nausea. Chest sounds full of mucous which is not better for coughing. Worse for warmth, dampness.

Kali Bich (Kali-bi) Violent, exhausting or choking cough, with expectoration of sticky, thick, yellow mucous which can be drawn out into strings (Coc-c. for clear strings). Mucous is difficult to cough up.

Phosphorus (Phos) Dry, hacking, exhausting cough. Tightness of chest with racking cough. Trembling with cough. Hoarseness and almost total loss of voice. Cough triggered by strong odours. Mucous may be clear or tinged with blood. Worse for cold air; talking.

This is a few of the remedies which you may have in your kit or have easy access to. However, I would not recommend treating whooping cough yourself, but contact your homeopath for assistance. It can be tricky to treat and generally requires constitutional treatment for successful resolution.

Homeopathy Awareness Week is just around the corner, appearing at a venue near you in early May. This year the homeopaths in Hobart are buzzing with excitement as we prepare for an information stall at Salamanca Market, reputedly the best market in Australia. Here is a photo of us all (Erica Gustavsson on the right, Angela Baker and myself) at the Tulip Festival in The Royal Botanic Gardens last October - yes it was very cold!! The picture at the top of page one is of the same event and shows the beautiful display of tulips.
Homeopaths Australia-wide provide a variety of activities to promote homeopathy and provide information to the public. Look at the Australian Homeopathic Association website for more details.

EMFs (Electric and magnetic fields) are invisible lines of force associated with the production, transmission, and use of electric power such as with high-voltage transmission lines, secondary power lines, and home wiring and lighting. Electric and magnetic fields also arise from the motors and heating coils found in electronic equipment and appliances, as well as wireless internet, digital phones and mobile phones.

Because the use of electric power is so widespread, humans are constantly exposed to electric and magnetic fields. Studies conducted in the 1980s showed a link between magnetic field strength and the risk of childhood leukemia, and it is now suspected EMFs produce other effects on the human body.

Personally if I use my mobile phone too much or sit too long at my computer I feel a bit woozy and unwell. My long suspicion has been that our children may feel like this quite often when they play computer, etc, but do not realize it.

Effects can include difficulty in concentrating and studying, depression, lethargy, low energy, weakness of the muscles, insomnia, as well as buzzing of the nervous system, of the brain and the electric system. In our house we have recently re hard-wired our modem (previously wireless) and have already noticed a change in the energy, including better sleep patterns.

I have written about this problem in previous newsletters, but can finally offer some practical solutions both homeopathic and non-homeopathic.

The Colour Blue - in a homeopathic remedy or in a light globe - seems to negate the effects of EMFs and it has been suggested that to put a blue globe in a lamp near your work space or TV (plasma or LCD) is very helpful. Where an individual seems to be quite strongly effected by EMFs the homeopathic remedy is probably a more effective solution. This can be given as the homeopathic remedy Blue on its own, or as the homeopathic remedy Spectrum, which contains all the colors of the rainbow.

Another homeopathic which is good in situations where electricity has been an issue is Electricitas, which treats similar symptoms to the above, but also covers digestive complaints and skin rashes resulting from over exposure.

For the workspace, an even better option than a blue globe, is a daylight globe. These are made mainly for use during craft work or where natural light is important. They generally produce the colours blue, green and red. Green is helpful with the energy emitted by middle electrical frequencies such as battery appliances and Red helps with geopathic stress, so you get bonus effects!

There is also a full spectrum daylight globe available out of Germany, which will soon be available in Australia via a company in Queensland. Keep watching this space!

Do read up on the effect of EMFs on health and make an effort to safeguard your children as much as possible during their young lives.

Homeopathy in Literature

I was watching Cranford on the ABC some weeks ago and was interested to see the doctor using Belladonna (in a material dose rather than homeopathically prepared) to treat Typhoid. This was a relatively new (or perhaps rediscovered) practice and was risky when we consider that Belladonna in the material form is actually highly poisonous. However, given in a minimum dose it fits the Law of Similars, ie matching the symptoms of the typhoid with those of the medicine.

Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888), author of Little Women, was another longtime homeopathic patient and appreciator of this new system of medicine. At one point in Little Women, Beth was ill with scarlet fever, and Jo prescribes homeopathic Belladonna to treat her. Later, Jo finds Beth looking through the medicine cabinet where she finds a bottle of camphor and takes it to bed with her. Sadly, but not surprisingly, Beth succumbs to the typhoid. I say "not surprisingly" since we know Camphor is an antidote to homeopathic medicines and would have interfered with the action of the Belladonna.

There are two other references to homeopathy in Little Women. The first incident occurs early in the book when Jo hurts her ankle so she chooses to "Bound up her foot with arnica" (in Chapter 3). Arnica is a well-known homeopathic remedy for sprains and strains. The second incident occurs shortly after Beth's scarlet fever episode when Jo gets a severe head cold and takes Arsenicum (homeopathic dose of arsenic).

Homeopathic Immunisation in History

While many people are skeptical about homeoprophylaxis (homeopathic immunization) here are some past examples of homeopathic immunisation being used for protective purposes during serious epidemic diseases:

1. Nurses and patients protected by homeopathic immunisation at the London Homeopathic Hospital remained disease free during a three-year period in which they were regularly exposed to diphtheria.
2. During a poliomyelitis epidemic in Buenos Aires, practitioners (homeopaths and doctors) distributed the homeopathic remedy Lathyrus Sativus to over 40,000 people. Not one of the recipients developed polio during the epidemic despite repeated exposure.
3. An Indian study showed that only 6.5% of people immunised homeopathically contracted influenza compared to the 20% who had not received the preventative. Those immunised homeopathically recovered more quickly and lost significantly less working hours than those who were not.
4. The Indian government and their Public Health Centres distributed the homeopathic preventative, Belladonna, during an epidemic of Japanese encephalitis. A rapid decline in fatalities followed.
5. Records from a smallpox epidemic in Iowa, USA, show that of 2806 individuals protected homeopathically, 547 had a known exposure to the highly contagious disease. Of those, 97.5% remained disease free.

Users of Homeopropylaxis (Homeopathic Immunisation)

If you have purchased a kit to use with your family, please ensure you keep me updated of any changes in your email/contact details. Sometimes there are changes to the program and I may need to get in touch with you.

You can contact me at: melanie@elementsofhealth.com.au or phone 0409 089965

Please note the clinic is closed on Thursdays. Call the mobile for details of the Homeopathic Help Line which provides emergency covers for me on this particular day. Fees apply.

Until next time,
Warmest wishes

Melanie Creedy