May 2010 : Volume 12 : Number 4

Welcome to the May Newsletter

Autumn is here, the leaves are nearly gone and the apple picking is finished for another year. I've redesigned my vegie garden into terraces after the heavy rains of last winter washed any small seeds down the hill into one patch, and we're just waiting on our next order of heritage apple trees to expand the orchard.

We've finally realised our dream of a real glass house to grown on our seeds and plants during the winter, constructing it from a combination of salvaged windows and new weatherboards. We've attached it to a north facing wall so that any extra heat it produces can be channelled under the bedroom floors via a small door which opens under the house. Next job is to finish the outside dunny!!

The ducks are already fully grown and very fat!! They've moved into the chook house, having outgrown their own little house and now happily tag along behind the chooks. They've all had a great time investigating the vegie garden for bugs and seeds before they get shut out in the orchard again.

The wombat is back and not only have we spied scats leading across the top of our property towards the old burrow, I actually watched the big fella cross the road in front of me one dark night in April!

April has been a busy month in the clinic and on the website as people start to prepare for winter. Colds, Flu, Sinus kits and Anas Barb have been our top sellers and we've also done a lot of acute consults for people who've succumbed to the viral illness that's been doing the rounds of the country.

Homeopathy - vs - Naturopathy

I do find people are frequently confused by the difference between homeopathy and naturopathy. Sometimes people think they have seen a homeopath but have actually been to a naturopath. Here is my short explanation of the two as I feel it's important to know what treatment to expect:

Naturopathy covers what I refer to as a basketful of therapies (no offence meant to any naturopaths out there!). Each practitioner is different, but generally modalities might include nutrition, supplements, herbs, flower essences, acupuncture, massage and perhaps a little homeopathy. In general, naturopaths only spend a very brief time studying homeopathy and frequently dispense combination over-the-counter homeopathics. Their interest is more in the physical or mechanical workings of the body and what products or dietary advice will help, so the consultation will be very much in the moment.

Some naturopaths go on to do additional study in homeopathy and specialise, in which case you will have a different style of consultation and a single remedy rather than a combination.

Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine dating back over 200 years with strong underlying principles. It is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a valid form of healthcare and is the second most frequently used system of medicine in the world. Training requires three to four years of study in homeopathy alone.

A consultation with a registered homeopath undertakes to identify what homeopathic remedy the patient matches in a whole host of areas, and takes into account not only the patient's physical health but also mental/emotional state, life history and unique personality. The remedy is chosen on the basis of "like cures like" (see my comments under Coffea below) and since this way of choosing the remedy is actually what makes a prescription "homeopathic", any other way of prescribing remedies is not homeopathy. A registered homeopath will not connect you up to a machine for a diagnosis or to choose a remedy.

A well selected homeopathic remedy strengthens a person's health on all levels, acting as a catalyst to stimulate and direct the body's ability to fight infection as well as resolving any underlying susceptibility to disease. The consultation is very detailed and homeopathy views many symptoms in its quest to treat our tendency to ill health. In this context, the mental and emotional symptoms often play an important part in the homeopathic consultation.

Generally at the first appointment with a homeopath you will receive only one remedy, as the homeopath seeks to treat the whole person with this single well directed homeopathic medicine.

Sometimes your homeopath may have additional training and recommend naturopathic supplements or diets, or they may refer you to another practitioner if you require this form of support alongside your treatment.

I hope this helps clarify the difference but do contact me if you are still unclear.

Gum Health

I have covered the subject of teeth a couple of times in relation to surgery, abscess, etc, but have noticed a large number of people having issues with their gums. This is actually more of a problem than bad teeth. My dentist tells me that these days they can fix bad teeth, but not bad gums, so I thought I'd share my own experience of quite serious gum disease.

I have always had excellent teeth with few fillings and little other work required over the years, so was surprised to find out two or three years ago that my gums were deteriorating quite badly; not due to dental hygiene but as a result of - my favourite cause - an inherited tendency from my father!

I tried a few remedies over the next year but eventually my new dentist in Hobart insisted I go to the Periodontist. Much to my dismay he told me some parts of my mouth were in a terrible state and I might have to sacrifice some teeth to keep the rest!! Luckily for me I visited a holistic dentist in Melbourne who gave me some good advice, but also reminded me that Propolis is a great mouth wash - being antibacterial.

I decided that to save my teeth I needed to undertake a program of deep cleaning with the Perio, at the same time mouth washing daily with Propolis and taking a tissue salt combination plus Merc 6c. Through this period I was also undertaking constitutional treatment with my homeopath.

At my final visit nine months later the Perio proclaimed the pockets of infection had disappeared, my gums had grown back (which is unheard of apparently) and my oral health was brilliant - all without taking the high potency antibiotics he prescribed! I think this a good example of never believing what you are told but looking for other options which the conventional medics may not be aware of.

Food Remedies

This is a subject I've been meaning to write about for sometime just because it's interesting! Those of you who use homeopathy regularly probably realise that a lot of the acute remedies are made from plants, with a few mineral remedies included in there such as the tissue salts and things like Arsenicum and Hepar Sulph.

Homeopaths are pretty interested in what substances can cure what and are continually undertaking "provings". This is the process of giving a new homeopathic remedy to a healthy person to see what symptoms are produced. Because "like cures like", we know that the symptoms produced in a proving are the symptoms that can be cured in a sick person.

Food is a big subject these days; what we can eat and what we can't, what we love and what we hate, and what we are allergic or intolerant to. Consequently there are many homeopathic remedies derived from everyday foods and here are a few of them just for fun!

Coffea (unroasted coffee) - Anything an overdose of caffeine can cause (insomnia, excitability, oversensitivity), homeopathic Coffea can help and this is a remedy I use as an example of how homeopathy works. My favourite symptom is "ailments from excessive joy" which usually results in all of the above - like the euphoria after giving birth where you can't sleep for excitement but really need to!

Saccharum Officinale (cane sugar) - This is a great children's remedy (although I've also used it in adults). These are irritable, whingy individuals who underneath feel unloved and are sensitive little souls. They are worse when they are hungry and alternate between wanting to be cuddled and aversion to being touched. Children have little appetite, just want to snack and crave sugar strongly, with a tendency to hypoglycaemia. They are prone to candida infection and dryness on all levels.

Chocolate (made from ?? chocolate of course!!) Another remedy I use a lot particularly in hormonal cases where there is irritability, desire to have space from the family and craving for chocolate. It is very similar to Sepia but I feel deeper acting like Saccharum. It has a similar underlying feeling of not being loved (nourished) but in a different way.

Lac Defloratum (skim milk) - Interestingly, like Saccharum and Chocolate, with which there is obviously a connection in our society, Lac D also has a feeling of neglect which originates from the early years and the relationship with the mother, and then extends to feeling neglected by friends and community. Confidence is very low in this remedy and they feel they have no voice. There is allergy and aversion to milk and it is used by some homeopaths to desensitise people to milk.

Natrum Muriaticum (table salt) - One of my all time favourite constitutional remedies, which is really just a layer the patient has built up over time to protect a sensitive soul. Like the hard salt pans from which it comes, the patient is walled off and hard to get to know, and often the only strong symptom or experience that comes up is a deep grief far back in the past. The Natrum Mur patient can manifest a very wide variety of symptoms, but key is usually craving for salt or salty foods, a strong thirst, deep grief and a responsible nature.

Oriza Sativa (organic brown rice) - This is a relatively new remedy and one I haven't used often, but find interesting because of the rise in allergies and digestive complaints in recent years. Rice in its natural state contains an impressive array of vitamins and minerals, some protein and the amino acid lysine, but when milled to make it white, loses so much of its nutritional value. Brown rice is easily digested, high in insoluble fibre and therefore helpful in gastric and intestinal care - although I do come across people who find it hard to tolerate. Homeopathically it works on the whole alimentary canal, calming inflammation , cleansing the blood and lymph, and aiding in balancing nutritional needs. It's a big remedy for people who are comfort eaters and helps with hormone imbalance. Again there is an issue of abandonment, loneliness and fragility in this remedy.

Homeopathy Under Attack; is it just placebo?

One of the often repeated attacks on homeopathy is that it is nothing more than placebo and while there is sometimes an element of this (as in any form of medicine) particularly in relation to mental/emotional issues, I thought I'd list a few of the situations which could not be put down to placebo.

• Acute tonsillitis with pain and pus, where a few doses of the correct remedy can turn things around in hours.
• Boils - I remember a case some years ago where recurrent and ongoing boils had failed to respond to a variety of antibiotics. Homeopathic treatment reduced the problem significantly in the first month of treatment and resolved it in a further month, never to return.
• Glue ear - one of my specialities - is a fantastic example of the non-placebo effect of homeopathy! Take a child who has had multiple courses of antibiotics, multiple sets of grommets with continual ear discharge and general poor health; give them homeopathy for three to six months (but more often only three) and see the glue ear resolve, behaviour improve and hearing come back to normal.
• Dry socket - this non-placebo comes from a mum at my son's school. After a tooth extraction for which homeopathics were used with good success for pain etc, the patient developed infection and a dry, painful socket. After two courses of antibiotics in two weeks there was no change. Two doses of Nat Mur and the next day the dry socket was completely resolved.
• Post natal depression - this is a serious condition which is hard to treat conventionally and new mums often want to avoid antidepressants if they are still breast feeding. There are so many cases where a few doses of remedies like Sepia, Bamboo or homeopathic Chocolate bring back joy almost immediately, help bonding, and enable a new mum to cope with the lack of sleep and other new baby issues!

I'm sure many of you have your own great experiences with the benefits of homeopathy and how well and quickly it can work when the right remedy is prescribed. I get emails every week about these experiences and some of them can be found on the website!

Colds & Flu (including Swine Flu) & Flu Vaccinations

Well the cold season is upon us with a very nasty throat/chest infection going around all states. Something that came across my desk this month stated that independent research has shown that if you had the Swine Flu shot you are 247 times more likely to get the flu. Another expert on pandemics claims that flu shots are only 50% effective (I've also seen 30% claimed in the over 65's and no better than placebo in the under 2's). One has to wonder if this sudden and virulent virus is connected to the mass vaccination push around the country for a flu which the above expert says is much less serious than the usual strains of flu.

I would also suggest that if you have chosen to vaccinate against the flu, you don't rely on it as your sole means of protection while there is some doubt as to its effectiveness. In addition, you will all be aware of the high number of reactions in children to the new Seasonal Flu Shot (three flu strains in one) which has been rolled out recently! One has to stop and wonder if they have actually trialled this vaccine in such a short time.

If you need information on Remedies for Winter take a look at the April newsletter which had a page on this subject. Now is also a good time to consider a constitutional appointment to address winter ailments such as asthma, recurrent colds and ear infections.

SPECIAL for the month of May

For e-newsletter subscribers only we're offering 10% off the price of our Cold, Flu, Sinus kits and vials of Flu Combination and Anas Barb 200c. Type "Newsletter Offer" in the shopping cart comments box and the discount will be calculated when your order reaches the clinic. All kits and remedies come with full instructions.

What's new on the Website

Yoga Essences by Dean

Time, focus, peace...these are some of the things that we never have enough of and are often the reason we feel stressed and anxious, and unable to live our lives as we would like.

I have been a yoga practitioner and teacher since the early 1990s and now I no longer teach, have found time to consider what tools could further enhance the student and seeker's practice.

Towards the end of 2009 I was inspired to create a range of essences that would help not only the aspiring Yoga student/teacher to live their lives in alignment with Patanjali's 8 limbs of Yoga (astanga), but would be applicable even to non-yogis living life day to day.

These sprays are all 'intentionally selected' (ie chosen with the intention for their future action), produced as a combination botanical, mineral, crystal and sacred space essence. Their effect is enhanced with mantra, ritual and meditation, with each essence addressing one aspect of life. They are presented in an organic floral water base, either Patchouli or Cedarwood.

The Yoga Essences set includes Abstinences (Yamas); Observances (Niyamas); Postures (Asana); Breath control (Pranayamana); Sense withdrawal (Pratyahara); Concentration (Dharana); Contemplation (Dhyana); Self-realization (Samadhi). There is more detailed information on the website.

The Yoga Essences are available on the website and retail for $14.95 each or the 8 Essence set for $99.95.

Clinic Hours

I currently consult in Hobart all day Tuesday, Friday morning (note this is a change from the afternoons) and some Saturday mornings. Consults (including phone consults) are available at Mountain River all day Wednesday, Friday afternoon and some Mondays if I have time.

Homeoprophylaxis (Homeopathic Immunisation)

Please remember to keep me updated if you change your email address as any changes to programs come out via email.

Vaccination Issues

I have a separate database for people interested in some of the information that comes across my desk from a variety of sources on vaccine testing and other issues. I also recommend you subscribe to AVN.org for regular information on the subject whichever side of the fence you sit on.

Until next time,
Warmest wishes

Melanie Creedy