For treating ailments that come on from time to time, it is prudent to keep remedies available at home or with you on vacations. It can be most frustrating when you finally decide on a remedy to find you don't own it. Sometimes it takes the beginner trying a few different remedies to get the right one. Even an expert doesn’t always get the correct remedy the first time. Purchasing a kit in a 3oth potency (30C or 30X) is an affordable way to begin. Kits come with remedies at a fraction of the cost of what you would pay if you were to purchase the remedies individually. Here is a list of the top 31 remedies.
Aconitum napellus Acon
Allium cepa All-c
Antimonium tartaricum Ant-t
Apis mellifica Apis
Arnica montana Arn
Arsenicum album Ars
Belladonna Bell
Bryonia alba Bry
Calcarea phosphorica Calc phos
Cantharis Canth
Carbo vegetabilis Carb veg
Chamomilla Cham
Ferrum phosphoricum Ferr phos
Gelsemium sempervirens Gels
Hepar sulphuris calcareum Hep
Hypericum perforatum Hyp
Ignatia amara Ign
Ipecacuanha Ip
Ledum palustre Led
Magnesia phosphorica Mag phos
Mercurius vivus Merc
Nux vomica Nux-v
Oscillococcinum Oscill
Phosphorus Phos
Podophyllum Podo
Pulsatilla Puls
Rhus tox Rhus-t
Ruta graveolens Ruta
Spongia tosta Spong
Sulphur Sul
Veratrum album Verat
The use of Latin names in homeopathy is used because Latin represents the universal language and was used by scholars in Samuel Hahnemann’s day. It allows for no mistaken identity from language to language and country to country. Since homeopathic preparation is a precise science, not a folk medicine, common names which vary regionally, are not utilized.
Gastro-intestinal disorders can sometimes be relieved by simple kitchen cupboard methods.
Indigestion, for example, can be quickly eliminated with a teaspoon or more of baking soda in 4 ounces of water to which the juice of 1/2 lemon is added.
Often raw vinegar can be the catalyst for relief when a splash of it is added to 4 ounces of water.
When using homeopathics it is useful to know that the remedy doesn’t have to be digested to be effective; it just needs to be dissolved in the mouth.
Three Leading Remedies for Gastro-Intestinal Complaints
1.) Arsenicum album
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Abdominal pain
Exhausted by illness
Restless, changing position
Anxious about illness and being alone
Fears illness could be fatal
Very thirsty
May be fever
Often chilly and craves being under blankets
Worse at night
Drinking even a little causes vomiting
Cramping in abdomen
External warmth is soothing
Burning in rectum from diarrhea
Good for food poisoning
2.) Nux vomica
Use when illness brought on by stress or over-indulgence
Heartburn
Nausea
Dry retching
Headache
Irritability
Worse in morning
Bloating
Gassiness
Desires vomiting for relief
Urge for bowel movement with little excretion
3.) Sulphur
Complete loss of, or excessive, appetite
Food tastes too salty
Drinks much, eats little
Desire for sweets
Weak and faint about 11 AM
Water fills patient
Abdomen sensitive to pressure
Internal feeling of rawness or soreness
Abdominal movements as of something alive
Morning diarrhea drives patient out of bed
Other Remedies to Learn and Consider for Further Study:
1.) Veratrum album
Violent and voluminous diarrhea with vomiting, may be simultaneously
Watery stools with greenish color
Cramps in abdomen relieved by diarrhea
Motion aggravates
Chilly
Very weak
Very thirsty for cold water
2.) Aloe
Aversion to meat
Flatulence after eating
Nausea with headache
Pain around navel, worse with pressure
Abdomen is full and heavy, hot and bloated
Weak feeling as if diarrhea will come on
Stool passes without effort
Constipation pressure in lower abdomen
3.) China
Vomiting of undigested food
Slow digestion
Hungry and longing for food which stays undigested
Flatulence
Belching of bitter fluid with no relief
Worse eating fruit
Internal coldness of stomach and abdomen
4.) Phosphorus
Much vomiting
Diarrhea
Restlessness
Thirsty for cold drinks
Better to use Arsenicum first unless vomiting triggered by smallest amount of liquid
Warm water immediately aggravates
Weakness in abdomen
Feels hungry
Involuntary stools
5.) Pulsatilla
Symptoms from poor diet or excess of rich foods
Look also for general symptoms of remedy
Symptoms not too severe
Heartburn
Heaviness after eating
Coated tongue
Cold drinks relieve
6.) Ipecac
Extreme nausea possibly with no diarrhea
After vomiting, still no relief
Not that ill, but maybe a fever and weakness
May be caused by excessive eating
Vomiting can be almost nonstop
Pains in abdomen
Lots of gas
Green stool
7.) Bryonia
Digestive symptoms are aggravated by motion
Small amounts of liquid may cause vomiting
Pressure on abdomen helps
Diarrhea worse after waking
Desires to be still
8.) Podophyllum – this remedy is not commonly found in remedy kits and is of immeasurable value during a bout of severe diarrhea. It would be prudent to purchase it separately to keep in your stock.
Sore throats are best treated by giving a dose of the correct remedy every 4-8 hours for 1-3 days until relief is obtained. Gargling with warm salt water is a good way to help keep the throat clean and move towards completion. Strep throat sounds threatening but is often quickly relieved by sound homeopathic treatment (in one to three days). I am not a proponent of antibiotic use and find them to be suppressive and dangerous. If, however, you have already begun, I urge you to continue for the entire duration prescribed. Otherwise, the infection will often return with a vengeance. In my experience, the infections usually return at some time in the future if suppressive methods such as antibiotics are employed. Homeopathics can still be used successfully in conjunction with antibiotic treatment and will minimize in the recurrence of the disease.
Five Remedies for Sore Throat
1.) Belladonna
First remedy to consider with sore throat
If pain has sudden start with fever and red skin, then likely Belladonna will work
Very red throat
May be swollen but little or no pus
Swallowing is painful … even liquids
Throat is dry
2.) Hepar sulph
Used when sore throat is accompanied by severe infection
Pus is in throat with very swollen tonsils
Feeling of something stuck in throat
Irritability
Chilliness
Aggravated by exposure to cold
Warm drinks are soothing
Pain may extend to the ears
3.) Arsenicum album
Chilliness with fever
Restlessness
Fatigue
Burning throat pain
Warm drinks help, but cold drinks aggravate
4.) Rhus tox
Painful throat helped by warm drinks
Worse pain in the morning
Pain caused by throat strain
Worse after first swallows but easier after more swallowing
Very restless but not as tired as for Arsenicum patient
Weepy
5.) Gelsemium
Comes on slowly over a period of days
Chill up the back
Desires to be alone
Limbs heavy, eyelids droop
Body is hot with cold hands and feet
Other Remedies to Learn and Consider for Further Study:
1.) Phytolacca
Much aching in the body with fever
Sore throat worse with cold drinks
Appearance is dark red or purple
Swollen glands
Pain in ears, especially with swallowing
Drawn to swallowing even though it is painful
Cold and need covers but still chilled
Body aches cause restlessness
2.) Lycopodium
Worse on right side and may spread to left
Drinks of any temperature relieve
Pain into ears
Slow onset of pain
Not very sick otherwise
Desires fresh air
Worse in late afternoon
3.) Ferrum phos
Tonsils red and swollen; mouth is hot
Sore throat of singers
4.) Mercurius
With fever and weakness
Red, swollen throat with pus
Sensitive to temperature, hot or cold
Liquids of any temperature aggravates
Worse at night
Drooling (evidenced by wet pillow or increased swallowing)
Colds can be left to cure on their own. In fact it’s an opportunity to “clean house” and as long as the loved-one experiences colds infrequently, it’s an opportunity to gain better health on many levels. My clients often report that their children have made physical, emotional and mental leaps after a completed cold. I have noted this in my own children. Unless there is a strong justification for treating colds I generally don’t treat them homeopathically. Instead, I resortto enforced rest, good bone stocks, plenty of water, raw garlic, raw milk and homeopathic cell salts.
Influenza is another concern. It, too, can be left to cure itself, however for many people the flu is a more trying illness and has the potential for greater discomfort and/or danger. Sometimes the flu can be cured with the use of one well-chosen remedy. Other times one following another is a better course. In any event, when there is an epidemic, the community at large begins to represent an entity as a whole and often a remedy that is useful to one member is the best suited for the whole. In other words, if one finds Gelsemium curative during a flu epidemic for one member of the family, it is likely it will be curative for the others. This includes neighbors and friends, too; watch for similar symptoms. In fact, the curative flu remedy can be used prophylactically for those not yet affected. Give a dose of the chosen remedy to those who might contract the flu 1x/week until the threat is eliminated.
Nine Leading Remedies for Colds and Influenza
1.) Aconitum
Use when symptoms come on quickly, especially after exposure to cold weather
Use for first 24 hours of illness
Very ill within a few hours
Anxiety
Sensitivity to light
Thirst
Feverish but not delirious
Watery, runny nose
Strong headache
Use when illness has suddenly appeared as cough in early stages, especially croup
Cough with sensation of choking, causing panic
Dry cough or with some watery mucous
2.) Oscillococcinum
Quick onset of influenza or cold
Best utilized during cold, damp weather
Aches and chilled
3.) Gelsemium
Symptoms come on gradually
Low energy for several days while experiencing tickling in back of mouth
Runny nose with watery and irritating discharge
Lots of tiredness and heaviness
Chills in back
Headache above the neck
4.) Bryonia
Common for coughs
Indicated by cold that has moved into the chest
Cough is dry and with spasms
Worse with deep breathing and after eating and drinking
Open air is relieving, as is warm water
Cough is painful, resulting in soreness throughout the body
Pain from coughing can trigger the instinct to restrain head or chest during coughing
Putting pressure on sore areas is relieving
Desires to breathe deeply but pain prevents this – short, panting breaths
Little mucous, but what there is, is yellow or with some blood
Often thirsty and can’t find the right temperature
Likely to look sick with dusky complexion
Irritable and want to be alone
5.) Nux vomica
Good for colds brought on by cold, dry weather
Symptoms have slow onset (opposite of Aconite)
Dry tickling sensation in nose
Later, stuffy nose with watery discharge and sneezing
Stuffy at night, runny in the day
Eating aggravates symptoms
Cough can be worse in morning
Warm drinks help coughing
Body is chilly and has hard time getting warm even with lots of covers and in warm room
Personality is irritable and over-sensitive
6.) Rhus tox
Stuffy nose with thick yellow or green mucous
Red throat
Dry cough
Hoarseness
Cold room aggravates
Worse at night
Cough prevents sleep or triggered by sleep, causing awakening
Movement is relieving
7.) Eupatorium
Coryza, with sneezing
Hoarseness and cough with numbness in chest; must support it
Soreness of muscles and bones
Chronic loose cough
Worse at night
8.) Arsenicum
Used for head colds and coughs
Lots of watery, nasal running that burns
Nose is runny but feels stuffed
Lots of sneezing that does not bring relief
Mucous becomes thick and yellow over time
Dull headache in forehead
Good for all kinds of coughs: throat or chest, loose or dry
Worse at night (midnight to 3 AM)
Cold air aggravates
Cough is better with warm drinks
Sometimes has wheezing and burning chest pain
Very chilled but can be relieved more easily than Nux Vomica patient
Restless temperament with anxiety
Even though ill, sensitive to messy areas
9.) Belladonna
Symptoms come on suddenly
Important to take early in illness
High fever
Red, dry face
Hot skin
Pounding head with visible pulse in head and neck
In early stages, easily aggravated
Sensitive to light
Mentally dull from illness
Delirious and anxious about imaginary things
Differs from Aconite, in that patients are not as sharp mentally
Fever is not always a cause for a remedy. In fact it is often better left to complete itself because it is a valuable cure. Fever “cooks off” a viral or bacterial infection more effectively than any external means. When we reduce a fever via medications it keeps the body from healing properly. The body has the additional burden of processing the unnatural drug. Although advised by medical doctors for years, aspirin is a particularly dangerous drug when given during fever. It is only recently that doctors have shied away from this practice. Now Ibuprofen is prescribed, and again we are learning of the toll this practice takes on our families.
Throughout history, homeopathy has maintained the same position: let a fever run its course, augment the nutrition and fluids and make the person comfortable. This is a rather sweeping statement and circumstances will determine the strength of this guideline. Yet there are occasions when it may be valuable to treat fever. When a high fever, of approximately 103-106° continues for days without interruption, the concern generally is not for fever but for dehydration. To minimize dehydration, coat the palms of the hands and bottoms of feet with olive oil and insist on fluids. Homemade popsicles are considered fluids and are more accepted by children. Dehydration can be dangerous, and if it goes too far, may require immediate hospitalization for treatment with an IV. In any case, long lasting high fevers should be treated homeopathically as well as painful or spasmodic coughs with accompanying fevers.
If you give the chosen remedy and the patient falls asleep, consider this a good sign. The best healing is done during sleep. If in the morning the fever and its accompanying symptoms are gone, you have chosen the correct remedy. If the same symptoms return, repeat the same remedy. If this does not result in increased health then it is time to try another remedy. A useful sign is to see vitality returned to a languid sufferer and peace restored to an agitated one. When a crying child who is clinging and feverish stops crying yet the fever and clinging remain, consider this a move in the right direction. Do not repeat the remedy until a positive direction ceases. The mental or psychological presentations are often our most accurate indications of pathology.
Homeopathy requires the art of observation and hones skills of interpretation. Finding the right remedy is a crucial step in healing someone, but what to do next can be perplexing if these rules are not adhered to.
Three Leading Remedies for Fever
1.) Belladonna
Best remedy to try first
Give during early stages
Most commonly given for fever
Red face
Hot skin
Glassy eyes and dilated pupils
Restless and agitated
Can be a bit incoherent
Nervous excitability
2.) Nux vomica
Extremely chilled – worsened by moving or removing blankets
Symptoms can be triggered by overindulgences
Can be accompanied by digestive symptoms or heaviness in head
Can be worse in morning and in the open air
3.) Pulsatilla
Give when fever is the only symptom
For persons who have classic Pulsatilla emotion symptoms – weepy, clingy, craving affection … changeable moods, whiny-type irritability
Do not like external heat and do not like to be covered
I designed it especially to provide a framework to guide you through your remedy choices. It is perfect for busy mothers and others who love curing their families themselves.