School Blues Beat the Back-to - National Center for Homeopathy

Autumn 2013 • $4.95NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMEOPATHY

NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

TODAYTODAYHomeopathyHomeopathy Your Guide to

Health through Homeopathy

Display until November 30, 2013

Research Round-upfrom Barcelona

Tracing Homeopathy’s Historic Roots

A Good Dog’s Life

Research Round-upfrom Barcelona

Tracing Homeopathy’s Historic Roots

A Good Dog’s Life

Beat the Back-to-School BluesEase the tears & fears

Beat the Back-to-School Blues

Hope & Help forKids with Autism

When the bodyattacks itself,

what to do?Homeopathy arrests an

autoimmune disorder

Answers forArthritis

9 remedies for relief

Outfox the Flu this Season

How not to go viral…

Hope & Help forKids with Autism

When the bodyattacks itself,

what to do?Homeopathy arrests an

autoimmune disorder

Answers forArthritis

9 remedies for relief

Outfox the Flu this Season

How not to go viral…

Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out Search Issue | Next PageFor navigation instructions please click here

Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out Search Issue | Next PageFor navigation instructions please click here

http://www.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

Instructional WebinarsHomeopathy at Home: An NCH Introductory SeriesJoin us for a sound introduction to using homeopathy for you and your family!

Each webinar is a stand-alone presentation about treating family members with a particular condition or group of conditions.

Free for all members!

Instructional WebinarsHomeopathy at Home: An NCH Introductory Series

Free for all members!

Announcing a Great Member Benefit

Webinar archives available at www.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

Webinar archives available at www.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

Tuesday,September 24Lisa Samet, ND

Infants & Babies:Homeopathy for

Common Ailments

Monday, October 7

Robert Ullman, NDRitalin-Free Kids

Monday,November 11

JudythReichenberg-Ullman, ND

Homeopathy forAnxiety andDepression

Wednesday,December 11

ChristinaChambreau, DVM Puppies, Kittens &

Holiday Stress

Tuesday,September 24Lisa Samet, ND

Infants & Babies:Homeopathy for

Common Ailments

Monday, October 7

Robert Ullman, NDRitalin-Free Kids

Monday,November 11

JudythReichenberg-Ullman, ND

Homeopathy forAnxiety andDepression

Wednesday,December 11

ChristinaChambreau, DVM Puppies, Kittens &

Holiday Stress

All webinars begin at 8 pm Eastern Time.All webinars begin at 8 pm Eastern Time.

Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page qqM

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Qmags®THE WORLD’S NEWSSTAND


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34

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TODAYHomeopathywww.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

Your Guide to Health through Homeopathy

DEPARTMENTS 5 WHAT IS HOMEOPATHY? 6 FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

45 CONTRIBUTIONS 46 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Featured Articles14 When Her Body Turned on Her,

She Turned to HomeopathyHalting a crippling autoimmune disorder: relief from rheumatoid arthritisby Sybil Ihrig, LAc, HMA, CCH (Cand)

24 Beat the Back-to-School BluesEase the tears, fears, & anxietyby Amy Rothenberg, ND, DHANP

34 Navigating Autism’s Swirling WatersHomeopathy offers hope for children with autismby Jamie Oskin, ND

7 NCH Board of Directors: Call for Nominations!

8 Homeopathic Research Matters: Barcelona Meeting Sparks Enthusiasm & International Collaboration

10 A Precious Gift of Books Touches Hearts & Minds

12 Tracing Homeopathy’s Historic Roots: Constantine Hering

16 Birds Love Pokeweed: Phytolacca’s Long History of Healing

22 Answers for Arthritis, Especially If You Treat Early

29 Mark Your Calendar! 9th Annual Joint American Homeopathic Conference • April 4–6, 2014 • Long Beach, CA

30 Beloved “Centenarian” Dog Gets Extra Time

33 Outfox the Flu: How Not to Go Viral This Season

42 Book Review: Organ–Conflict–Cure Series

44 Book Review: Natural Medicine Pediatric Home Health Advisor

Autumn 2013Volume 33, Number 3

ISSN: 0886-1676

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4 Homeopathy TODAY • NationalCenterForHomeopathy.orgAutumn 2013

The National Center for Homeopathy is an openmembership organization that supports and promotes the cause of homeopathy in the UnitedStates through: • educating about homeopathy • pub-licizing the effectiveness and therapeutic benefits ofhomeopathy • supporting legalization of the practiceof homeopathy and ensuring that access to homeo-pathic medicines is protected • serving as a unifyingforce for all who are interested in homeopathy.

is published quarterly by the National Center forHomeopathy, a not-for-profit membershiporganization. Please direct inquiries to:

National Center for Homeopathy1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 500 McLean, VA 22102 Phone: 703-506-7667Fax: 703-506-3266Toll-free: 877-624-0613info@NationalCenterForHomeopathy.orgNationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

Editorials, articles, and letters appearing inHomeopathy Today do not necessarily reflectthe opinions or policies of the National Centerfor Homeopathy or its Board of Directors. Inclusion of an advertisement does not consti-tute an endorsement of the advertiser, product,or service.

Information offered in Homeopathy Today isfor educational purposes and is not intended toreplace the individualized attention of a quali-fied healthcare professional. Homeopathic self-care can be appropriate for simple first-aid oracute illness. Those with more serious orchronic illness should seek the services of acompetent healthcare professional.

We welcome articles, letters, and reviews pertaining to homeopathy. We reserve the rightto edit or decline submissions. For more information, please see the writer’s guidelinesat NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org. Emailsubmissions preferred, sent to: info@National -CenterForHomeopathy.org

Subscriptions: $55 per year (outsideUS/Canada $75). Includes NCH membership,online searchable access to HomeopathyToday archives, monthly NCH e-Newsflash,online Practitioner Directory & ResourceGuide, online searchable remedy & symptomdatabase, discounts, and more.

Call toll-free: 1-877-624-0613

Subscribe online:www.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

E-mail:[email protected]

©2013 National Center for Homeopathy. Allrights reserved. Reproduction in whole or partwithout permission is prohibited.

Homeopathy is a safe effective system of natural medicine used by millions of peopleworldwide for more than 200 years to achievewellness. The medicines are prepared fromnatural sources, are nontoxic, and are recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Admin-istration. There are hundreds of peer-reviewedbasic science, pre-clinical, and clinical studiessupporting homeopathy. Learn more atwww.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org

O f f ic e Sta f f

Executive DirectorAlison Teitelbaum

Mary Cutts

B oa r d o f D i r ec to r sPresident

Ann E. Jerome, PhD, CCHDeland, FL

Vice President

Edward P. Conway, Jr, MBADelmar, NY

Secretary

Loretta P. Butehorn, PhD, CCHBoston, MA

Treasurer

Joseph Lillard, Jr.Berkeley Springs, WV

Tina Quirk, RN, MS, PCHNew York, NY

Abby Marks-Beale, BA, MAWallingford, CT

Director Emeritus

J.P. BornemanBryn Mawr, PA

E d i to r i a l Sta f f

Editor, Homeopathy TodayMitzi Lebensorger

Editorial AssociateAnn E. Jerome

Editorial AssistantTeresa Kramer

ProductionSerelda Elliot

Editorial AdvisorMiranda Castro

TODAYTODAYHomeopathy Join NCH!

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� Homeopathy Today Online& Searchable• Access 15 years of back issues• Find the exact info you need 24/7• Email articles to friends, relatives

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Act NOW!Complete the card in this magazine

or visit nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org

or Call toll-free 877-624-0613!


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Homeo-Speakacute illness: A condition that is usually brief in duration and self-limiting; that is, either the illness runs its course or the patient dies—as opposed to chronic illness that usually develops more slowly, lasts indef-initely, results in deterioration of health, and does not resolve withoutsome sort of healing intervention. Examples: acute illness—colds, flu, ear infections; chronic illness—arthritis, hyper tension, diabetes.

characteristic symptom: a symptom of an unusual nature—strange,rare, peculiar—that gives the case a pronounced individ uality (i.e., “characterizes” the case). For example, chilliness with desire for ice colddrinks, or dizziness that is better from motion. Such a symptom oftenpoints directly to the curative remedy.

chronic illness: (See acute illness.)

common symptoms: Symptoms that are commonly found in a particular disease, for example, spots in measles or swollen glands inmumps.

constitutional treatment: Treating the whole person, rather than thesymptoms alone, thereby attempting to enhance the general level ofhealth rather than just getting rid of the symptoms.

materia medica: Latin for “materials of medicine.” A reference book listing homeopathic medicines and their therapeutic actions/indications.This information comes primarily from the provings of the medicines;also from clinical observation.

miasm: a block to health, usually left by a disease. This can be inher-ited or acquired and is an obstacle to cure.

Organon: The Organon of Medicine, by Samuel Hahnemann, founderof homeopathy, is the book in which he set down the fundamental principles of homeopathy. He wrote 6 editions, the last in 1842; currenthomeopaths refer primarily to the 6th and sometimes the 5th editions.

potency: The strength of a homeopathic remedy according to the num-ber of times, during preparation, it has been diluted and succussed (i.e.,potentized). Potency is represented as a number attached to a remedyname (e.g., Aconite 30c or Arnica 6X—the letter c or X refers to two different methods of dilution during remedy preparation).

proving: The testing of a substance, either in crude form or in potency,on healthy volunteers to discover the symptoms it is capable of pro ducing,and therefore able to cure. Participants in a proving record their symptoms;the symptoms are collated and used as therapeutic indications for prescribing that substance.

repertorize: To look up symptoms in a repertory, in order to determinewhich remedy or remedies is common to the presenting symptoms.

repertory: An index to the materia medica; an index of symptoms(based on the materia medica) with a list of remedies indicated foreach symptom.

rubric: A symptom listed in a homeopathic repertory.

simillimum: The “most similar” remedy corresponding to a case; theremedy that most closely matches the totality of the symptoms of the patient, and therefore, is curative according to homeopathic principles.

suppression: The driving inward of disease symptoms, so that a personexperiences more serious symptoms than they originally had.

vital force: Term used by Hahnemann to describe the energy that animates all living beings. The vital force is stimulated by the homeopathic remedy to enable the body to heal itself.

The above definitions were largely adapted from the following excellentreferences: The Complete Homeopathy Handbook (its glossary), by Miranda Castro, FSHom, CCH, and Yasgur’s Homeopathic Dictionary andHolistic Health Reference, by Jay Yasgur, RPh, MSc.

What is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a safe, effective system of natural medicine,

used by millions of people worldwide for more than 200

years to achieve wellness. Homeopathic medicines are pre-

pared from natural sources, are used in extremely small amounts,

and are recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

They are non-toxic and, when properly administered, can be

safely used with infants, children, adults, and animals.

How does homeopathy differ from conventional medicine?Homeopathy is based on the principle that “like cures like.” That

is, if a substance can cause symptoms of disease in a healthy

person, then it can cure a sick person suffering from similar

symptoms. Suppose a person has hay fever, with watery eyes and

a burning nasal discharge. Instead of giving an antihistamine to

dry up the discharge, a homeopath might prescribe Allium cepa—

a tiny dose of onion, specially prepared by a homeopathic

pharmacy in accordance with FDA-approved guidelines—

because onion is known to cause watery eyes and a burning nasal

discharge.

Homeopathy regards symptoms as the body’s healthy attempt

to restore itself to balance. A homeopath will choose a remedy

that supports the symptoms—rather than opposing them or sup-

pressing them as in conventional medicine.

Homeopathy recognizes that each person manifests illness in a

unique and slightly different way. That is why two people with the

same illness will not necessarily receive the same homeopathic

remedy. A cold sufferer with a stopped-up nose and dry eyes

would receive a different remedy than a cold sufferer with a runny

nose and watering eyes. Unlike the “one size fits all” approach

often used in conventional medicine, a homeopath chooses a

remedy that matches a person’s unique symptom profile—includ-

ing physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.

What is homeopathy’s history?The principles of homeopathy were developed into a system of

medicine by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann

(1755–1843). Homeopathy spread quickly throughout Europe

and the rest of the world, including the U.S. The exact mechanism

by which homeopathy works is unknown, but 200 years of clinical

experience along with hundreds of peer-reviewed basic science,

pre-clinical, and clinical studies confirm homeopathy’s

effectiveness.

5NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org • Homeopathy TODAYAutumn 2013


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M E S S A G E F R O M T H E N C H B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

The Joint American Homeopathic Conference , presented by NCH, is a rare and exciting opportunity to meetin person with scores of other homeopathy enthusiasts fromaround the world. Compelling presentations, invigorating

networking, and great creature comforts make it an essential partof many NCH members’ travel plans each year. Those of you pres-ent last year may recall the “high” we all experienced hearinghomeopaths from around the world recall memorable momentsfrom their practice. We walked away having not only new ideasbut renewed enthusiasm.

Looking ahead to 2014As the Board began to think about the 2014 JAHC, we saw allkinds of opportunities. For one thing, 2014 marks the 40thanniversary of NCH’s founding. We have so much to celebratefrom those 40 years! Throughout 2014 we’ll be commemoratingNCH’s accomplishments in a variety of ways, and the JAHC willbe a perfect venue for festivities.

It also seemed a great time to move the conference location.We’ve been in the Washington, DC area for the past few years, andwe thought folks would welcome a new location, especially all

those West Coasters who have been traveling East. After reviewingcosts and logistics of several venues, we chose Long Beach, Cali-fornia, a family-friendly place to enjoy sunshine and waves afterthe long winter.

With an eye toward making the conference better than ever, wecarefully reviewed evaluations from conference participants overthe past few years and identified several themes. Everyone likes tohear from the “superstars” in homeopathy—and the conferencewill continue to be a prime venue for that—but how do we supportand develop the “hidden stars” in the homeopathic community?

Who are some of our colleagues that are taking home-opathy into unique clinical settings and showing usnew possibilities?

Gems on the cutting edgeSamuel Hahnemann and his second wife Melaniespent their mornings treating those who could affordto pay, and in the afternoons they offered clinics for

the poor and sick in Paris. There are many places in the U.S. wherehomeopaths are helping folks who need homeopathy but eitherdo not have the financial resources to pursue it or are so impairedthat homeopathy is not on their radar: the mentally ill, theaddicted, the homeless. We know there are some wonderful pro-grams underway internationally, including Homeopaths WithoutBorders’ Haitian program and Jeremy Sherr’s Homeopathy forHealth in Africa that have inspired us with reports at previousconferences. All these programs are adapting homeopathy suc-cessfully to new settings that demand new approaches and shine

Loretta Butehorn, PhD, CCH, RSHom(NA), is a licensed psychologist, consultant, and nationally certified homeopath. A member of the National Center for Homeopathy’s Board of Directors, she serves as Board Secretary as well as Chair of the Conference Committee. She is a Fellow of the British Institute of Homeopathy and one of the founding members of Teleosis Homeopathic Collaborative, which offers continuing education inhomeopathy to licensed health care professionals, introductory homeopathic programs, and collaborative researchand community-based projects in integrative medicine. She can be reached at www.lorettabutehornphd.com.

Meet the Leaders & Hidden StarsSee you in Long Beach, April 4–6, 2014

Debby Bruck, CHom, founder, HomeopathyWorldCommunity.com, and Nancy Gahles, DC CCH RSHom(NA), NCH Past-President, at the Friday evening reception.

Melanie Climis (West Virginia), Allyson Burden, CCH RSHom(NA) (Vancouver), and Elizabeth Kmetz, CN CCH (Massachusetts)

like to meet at the JAHC every year.


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new light on our craft—they are a cutting edge, a growing edge ofour field. The JAHC is an ideal place for us to meet the leaders ofprograms like these and to benefit from all that they’ve learned.

To that end, we will host a panel at the 2014 JAHC about howto provide access for those within our North American commu-nities who need homeopathy so desperately. Various leaders willshare how their local programs serve homeless populations,returning veterans, people struggling with addiction, and othersunderserved by homeopathy—in hopes of spreading this worthymovement. We still have some space on the panel, so if you’reoffering a low-cost or free clinic to a particularly underserved orimpaired group, please let us know. We’d love to have you join us!

Focusing the telescopeThose we think of as “superstars” began their homeopathic workthe way every homeopath does: seeing clients, noticing trends,gathering data, and formulating approaches and theories. Theconference is a great opportunity to learn from a whole constella-tion of these folks, all in one place. It’s also a chance for rising starsto share the work they are currently passionate about. To encour-age members of our community to come forward and presentwhat they’re thinking about, discovering, and developing, we circulated a request for proposals to the homeopathic communityfor possible presentations. We were amazed and excited whenmore than 75 proposals came in! We’re using a blinded system to review them all and choose the most promising prospects forthe conference.

Come one, come all!So this year’s conference promises to be brilliant! We’ll have notonly a slate of exciting and eminent presenters, but also a fertilefield for sharing experiences as well as tapping into some of thepassion of our sister and brother practitioners.

Come join us April 4–6, 2014 in Long Beach, California and beinspired, encouraged, and humbled by what our community isoffering… and think about how you might want to participatelocally, nationally, or internationally in the wonderful work ofhelping people access the gift of homeopathy.

Mark your calendar!April 4–6, 2014 • Long Beach, California

2014 Joint American Homeopathic Conference

Presented by the National Center for Homeopathy

NCH Board of Directors: Call for Nominations!

NCH is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors(from 3 to 11 members), which, since its inception,has traditionally maintained a balance of consumers,health care professionals, and industry representatives.

The directorship terms are staggered to assure continuity ofthe Board. The term of directorship is three years.

The NCH Board is a “working” board, which means thatin addition to governance, members also contribute theirtime and skills toward various projects and committees.Board members are not compensated for their time orservices, but are reimbursed for their travel and lodgingexpenses to attend Board meetings. Currently, the Boardholds two in-person meetings a year and communicates via e-mail, conference call, and phone throughout the year.

At this time, we are calling for nominations for bothimmediate and future consideration from the generalmembership for the position of Board member. Anyonewho has been a member of NCH for at least one year iseligible for nomination. There are no other prerequisites tobe an NCH Board member.

If you, or someone you know, is interested in gettingmore involved with NCH and in helping to support the homeopathic community in general, we stronglyencourage you to submit a nomination.

Nominations should be sent to [email protected]. This message should include a statement as to why the person is being recommended,what his/her qualifications are, and the email address ofthe person recommended. Self-nominations are allowed.The deadline for nominations is 5:00 p.m. EST, October 31,2013. The NCH Nominating Committee will then contactnominees to request additional information, such as ashort biography and reasons for wanting to serve on theNCH Board.

The final slate of candidates will be prepared by theNominating Committee and approved by the ExecutiveCommittee. Voting will take place in late 2013 or early2014. The current Board members whose terms will expireare Edward Conway and Tina Quirk.


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HomeopathicResearch

Matters by TINA QUIRK, RN, MS, CCH

Barcelona meeting sparks enthusiasm& international collaborationCutting Edge Research in Homeopathy Conference Wrap-up

Researchers enthusiasticallyaddressed these questions and more forthree days in Barcelona, Spain last May31–June 2 at the 1st Homeopathic ResearchInstitute International HomeopathyResearch Conference. More than 40 peer-reviewed and selected presentations byhomeopathic researchers from 20 coun-tries plus 25 poster presentations declaredthe vigor and vibrancy of homeopathicresearch around the world. Homeopathicscientists showed they are rigorouslyinvestigating the field from multi-facetedangles—pathogenetic trials (provings),experimental laboratory and animal stud-ies, comparative clinical research with“real-world” application, epidemiology,health economics, qualitative studies,research methodology for systems-basedtherapies, homeoprophylaxis, and themechanism of action of ultradilutions.

The Director General of Health Serv-ices of the Ministry of Health ofCatalyuna, Spain, officially welcomed over180 delegates from 30 countries, voicinghis support for scientific evidence toencourage inclusion of alternative medi-cine in health services. Following was anoverview of recent cutting edge researchby Dr. Peter Fisher, UK researcher and edi-tor of Homeopathy, the primary journal ofhomeopathy research, citing nanoparticleinvestigations and techniques to reducethe blurring of homeopathy and placebothat often occur in placebo-controlled trials. According to Dr. Stephan Baum-gartner (Switzerland), homeopathy prac-titioners and researchers are systematicallybuilding an “evidence base” while experi-menting with the best methodology for

maintaining and evaluating its holistic (or systems) integrity. Challenges theresearchers face are an undefined mecha-nism for the way ultradilutions behaveand affect human physiology and inade-quate lab methods for detecting the fullrange of activity of ultradilutions. Despitethese hindrances, both speakers verifyhomeopathic research is progressing andholds much promise for the future.

Fascinating reports from around the globeAs a practitioner in the U.S. who is limitedto independent practice, I found it hearten-ing to hear Dr. Elio Rossi describe the effectsof integrating homeopathy into the publichealth system in Lucca, Italy. Along withhomeopathic treatment and education, this13-year program has been able to conductobservational research on the incidence ofadverse effects (only 2%), homeopathicaggravations (14%), cost effectiveness (adecrease in cost), and improvements inpediatric atopic conditions (e.g., asthma,eczema, hay fever), respiratory illnesses, anda wide variety of cancers. Dr. Rossi asked,“Have you ever wondered why some ofyour patients didn’t come back for follow-up?” The clinic did a telephone survey ofpatients who did not return for follow-upappointments, and found that about 50%gave the reason that the treatment workedand health improved!

Some research was refreshingly simpleand effective: Dr. Ramona Jurcau fromRomania found a clear effect of Aconite onboth anxiety levels and salivary cortisol ofpeople who experienced a short-termstressful situation. Dr. Jurgen Pannek and

Swiss researchers showed successfulresults in preventing urinary tract infec-tions in spinal cord injury patients. Atten-tion Deficit Disorder patients treated in aFrench study used fewer psychotropicdrugs and had a lower rate of anxiety anddepression than those treated with con-ventional medicine, according to Dr. Lau-rence Terzan. Dr. Shaik Shamsur Rahman(Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) stud-ied the response of men treated homeo-pathically for lipoma to observe forimprovements (92 out of 106 patientswere cured or had moderate to markedimprovement) and to determine whichremedies were most successful (42 out of62 patients who were treated with Thujaoccidentalis improved).

Animals aren’t biasedAnimal research challenges any criticismof placebo response or consultation bias.Mr. David Eyles, a UK farmer, did a statistical and photographic study thatdemonstrated the amelioration of painand distress in lambs that were givenAconite, Arnica, and Hypericum during anecessary but painful procedure. ProfessorLeoni Villano Bonamin of Brazil re -counted his team’s experiment of using anultradilution of thymulin to reduceinflammation in mice that had beeninfected with the protozoa, Leishmaniaamazonensis. One of the more fascinatingpresentations of animal research was Dr.Christian Endler’s (Austria) 20-year labo-ratory study of the effect of ultradilutedthyroxine (Thyroxine 30X) on the meta-morphosis of frogs. A meta-analysis, confirmed by 7 independent researchersfrom 4 universities, concluded that devel-opment of the frogs was slowed by the thyroxine preparation as compared tothose that received similarly-preparedplain water. What is remarkable about the

Is there good research on homeopathy?

Is there a plausible theory for how homeopathy works?

Is there an evidence base for using homeopathy?


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result of this study is that a solutiondiluted beyond Avogadro’s numbershowed interference in biological activity.

Provings & homeoprophylaxisHomeopathic provings (also known ashomeopathic pathogenetic trials or HPTs)are clinical studies initiated by SamuelHahnemann and form the foundation forhomeopathic prescriptions. Studies havebeen done to confirm the reliability ofsymptoms by re-proving remedies. How-ever, Jeremy Sherr’s (Tanzania) study wasunique as homeopathic practitioners weregiven the raw data of a remedy provingand asked to identify the remedy. By a sig-nificant number of practitioners recogniz-ing the correct remedy, it was confirmedthat HPTs produce recognizable symptomprofiles and that provings are a validmethodology to obtain these symptoms.

Five years ago, Professor Gustavo Bra-cho (Cuba) electrified the homeopathiccommunity with the success of his large-scale homeoprophylaxis study preventingan outbreak of leptospirosis. Here he pre-sented a follow-up analysis and a proposalto treat other epidemics with homeopro-phylaxis within the hospital. Homeopro-phylaxis was the topic of Dr. GaduguSrinivasulu’s (India) study of the success-ful prevention of Japanese Encephalitisusing doses of Belladonna, Calcarea car-bonicum, and Tuberculinum.

U.S. participationRepresenting the U.S., Dr. Iris Bell mesmer-ized the audience with her well-supportedtheory for understanding the mechanismof action of ultradiluted substancesthrough the emerging research on thebehavior of nanoparticles. She correlatedhomeopathic reactions with nanoparticlephenomena and emphasized homeopathyas a practical use of “integrative nanomed-icine.” (If you attended the Joint AmericanHomeopathy Conference in April 2013 inVirginia, you will remember Dr. Bell’sexciting presentation.) Dr. Joyce Frye (U.S.)presented a case review of 16 respiratorypatients on mechanical ventilators in a hos-pital ICU treated with Kali bichromicum,based on an Austrian randomized con-trolled trial. She reported on the challengesof “real world” use of homeopathy and thefavorable observations of the hospitalphysicians. In a poster session, Ms. KateBirch (U.S.) discussed the results to date of

an ongoing 10-year observational study ofhealth outcomes and effectiveness ofhomeoprophylaxis in children receivinghomeopathic nosodes compared to con-ventional vaccination schedules. Ms.Miranda Castro (U.S.) reminded us thateven if we don’t have the opportunity toparticipate in a full-scale clinical study, wecan use research in our own practices. Prac-titioners can conduct audits to track theirpatients’ chief symptoms, responses totreatment, the remedies most used, and theoverall success of homeopathic interven-tion. Having this data allows practitionersto adapt and improve their practice.

Homeopathic Research InstituteFor me to mention here just some of thehighlights of the three-day conference isto omit dozens of worthy presentations.Every presentation was seminal and note-worthy. Fortunately for those who wantmore information, abstracts will be pub-lished in the Autumn 2013 issue of Home-opathy (www.homeopathyjournal.net),and DVDs of the entire conference areavailable from the organizers, Homeo-pathic Research Institute (HRI).

Based in the UK and headed by home-opaths Dr. Alexander Tournier and Ms.Rachel Roberts, HRI is an internationalnon-profit organization created to addressthe need for high quality scientific researchin homeopathy. Its goal is to foster newprojects and improve the quality ofresearch being carried out in the field. Thisconference was the first meeting of so manyhigh caliber homeopathic researchers in adecade. Clinicians, academic researchers,and students gathered together as col-leagues to learn, discuss, share their find-ings, and engage in respectful scientificdebate. Collaborations and partnershipsbetween clinicians, researchers, and HRIwere begun that will kindle new research.Plans are already progressing for the nextHRI research conference in 2015. Visit theHRI website, www.homeoinst.org, to learnmore about the organization and to sub-scribe to their quarterly newsletter, whichdiscusses and analyzes research studies in a“reader friendly” way.

One sentence about the conference venue,Barcelona: Mediterranean beach, tapas,classical guitar, sangria, Gaudi, Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, blue skies, palmtrees, Gothic quarter, plaza sitting—ahhhh!

Tina Quirk, RN, MS, CCH, apractitioner and educator inNew York City, is a member ofthe Board of Directors of NCHand is the Liaison for Homeo-pathic Research. She is the

Academic Dean for the Centre for HomeopathicEducation New York, which offers diploma and BScprograms in homeopathy. She also is the ProjectDirector for Homeopathy for Health in Africa. She welcomes any inquiries or discussions aboutresearch. Email her at [email protected]

A B O U T T H EA U T H O R

Homeopathic Research Institute’s management team: Rachel Roberts, FSHom

and Alexander Tournier, RSHom.

Dr. Elio Rossi (Italy) engages in lively debate.

Plenary session—Dr. Thomas Peinbauer (Austria) and Dr. Helene Renoux (France).


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Rare and Precious GiftsBooks find their way into the right hands, touching hearts and mindsBy VATSALA SPERLING, MS, PhD, PDHom, RSHom, CCH

Back then, I was just beginning to sink myteeth into the English language with thehelp of the Oxford English Dictionary. Everyevening, my brother would gather our fam-ily together after dinner and read to usfrom Brunton’s books. He would explainnuances of phrasing, grammar, andspelling, and elaborate on the exquisite corecontents of these spiritually charged books.In our modern times of a thousand TVchannels, I have yet to experience eveningsmore entertaining than those from myzero-electronics childhood in India. Iremember noticing that the volumes werepublished by Weiser Books and asking mybrother, “What does ‘publish’ mean?” “Pub-lishing is an endeavor that turns the dreamsof authors into the physical reality of booksand places these books into the hands ofthe readers,” my brother replied.

SynchronicityYears later, I learned that my husband,Ehud Sperling, worked in the 1970s as aclerk and salesman in the New York antiquarian book store of this very samepublisher, Donald Weiser. “Who knows?”Ehud told me, “I might have even handledthe very books your brother was readingto you. We used to send parcels to overseasreaders all the time.” Eventually, Ehud cre-ated his own book publishing company,Inner Traditions, and through him I cameto enjoy the company of his good friendDonald Weiser.

Fast forward to 2013. Donald Weiser,now in his late eighties, still keenlyinvolved with books old and new, askedme one day, “Would you like me to sendyou some old homeopathy books?”

As a homeopath, I have learned to welcome homeopathy books with an openheart, believing that each book can be asource for inspiration. “Sure. I would lovethat,” I answered, hardly knowing whatmight ensue.

Special momentsWhen the parcel arrived at Ehud’s office,his assistant called me with the breathlessexcitement of a kid in a candy store. ”Yourbooks are here! They are old!”

Old indeed! Here is what the treasurechest contained: 1. Condensed Materia Medica by C. Her-

ing, 2nd edition, Boericke and Tafel, NY,1879, 883 pages

2. Hering’s Condensed Materia Medica, 4thedition, Boericke and Tafel, PA, 1894,968 pages

Birthday gifts come in all shapes and sizes. In the early 1970s, my brother gave me a set

of books by Paul Brunton about Ramana Maharishi, a well-known sage from India.

“Wow, homeopathy has

been around… since

before my grandparents

were born…”

Vatsala, Ehud, their son Mahar, and niece Rinacelebrating the arrival of antiquarian homeopathybooks, a gift from their friend Donald Weiser.


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3. Materia Medica Pura, vol. I, by SamuelHahnemann, Hahnemann PublishingSociety, UK, 1880, 718 pages

4. Materia Medica Pura, vol. II, by SamuelHahnemann, Hahnemann PublishingSociety, UK, 1881, 709 pages

5. A Repertory of Hering’s Guiding Symp-toms of Our Materia Medica, by CalvinB. Knerr, F.A. Davis and Co., PA, 1896,1232 pages

6. New Warren’s Household Physician,Enlarged and Revised, Being a BriefDescription in Plain Language of All theDiseases of Men, Women and Children,Boston, A.I. Bradley and Co., 1901, 986pages

7. Materia Medica by James Tyler Kent,Boericke and Tafel, PA, 1905, 965 pages.

The evening Ehud brought the bookshome was full of special moments. Ourson Mahar held one in his hands very gen-tly, and while turning its pages, said rever-ently: “Wow, homeopathy has beenaround for over a hundred years, or more… since before my grandparents wereborn…”

These are huge, serious-looking aca-demic books bound in cloth or darkleather and printed in black. New Warren’sHousehold Physician has color picturesthat are hand drawn. Here and there, the

prior owners of the books have scribblednotes in ink and cursive letters.

Standing the test of timeThese venerable books now occupy aplace of honor in my study, among scoresof volumes by contemporary authors. We homeopaths do know that ever sinceSamuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) devel-oped homeopathy, it has been in use andhas spread to the whole world. But turning the yellowing pages of theseover-a-century-old books proves thisknowledge like nothing else does. Myfavorite is New Warren’s HouseholdPhysician in which chapters on allopathicand homeopathic approaches indicate thatthere was a time when these two disci-plines existed side by side, complementingand supporting each other for the benefitof the patients. What a golden time thatmust have been!

Though I reach for contemporary vol-umes for my day-to-day reading simplybecause they’re less fragile, I am filled witha deep sense of awe every time I see thecentury-old books in my study. They haveendured and, luckily for us, homeopathyhas endured. And now when my sonreceives homeopathic remedies, he ismore respectful of what he is being given,knowing in his heart that homeopathy isnot some passing breeze or the fashion-able health fad of the moment, here today,gone tomorrow. It is an art and a sciencethat has stood the test of time and is get-ting stronger with age.

In humble gratitudeAs for me, I am simply astounded as tohow these books from Donald Weiser havefound their way into my hands, first in the1970s when I was just a kid learning toread English, and now in 2013, when I am

a wife, mother, and homeopath. To saythat a book somehow always finds itsreader is to say the very least about thepower of books and their inherent abilityto touch hearts and minds while makingtheir way in this world.

Hopefully, these books will live manymore hundreds of years and keep findinghands that will hold them with love, awe,and a sense of wonder, just as my son did,and as I find myself doing from time totime. And for this I am full of gratitude toDonald Weiser and his wife Yvonne, whosaw fit to give me these precious books as a gift.

Vatsala Sperling MS, PhD,PDHom, RSHom, CCH, wasChief of Clinical Microbiologyservices in a children’s hospitalin Chennai, India. Growing upin India, she fondly remembers

the sweet taste of homeopathic remedies from her local homeopathic doctors. Enrolling in MishaNorland’s School of Homeopathy in 2004, she hasever since been immersed in homeopathy. A pub-lished author of eight books (InnerTraditions.com)and several essays, she practices classical homeop-athy in Vermont, where she lives with her family.www.Rochesterhomeopathy.com

A B O U T T H EA U T H O RI have learned to welcome

homeopathy books withan open heart, believingthat each book can be asource for inspiration.


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http://www.InnerTraditions.com

http://www.Rochesterhomeopathy.com






At the same time, we are deeply groundedin the past. We examine every word ofHahnemann’s Organon and The ChronicDiseases, finding again and again that hisadvice from nearly two centuries ago isstill dependable. What worked for Hahne-mann and his students continues to workfor us today, and we might sometimes feelas if the masters from our past are lookingover our shoulder—in fact, we might evenhope so.

A center of living historyRecently, I had a chance to meet home-opathy’s history first-hand whenrenowned Belgian homeopath HennyHeudens-Mast came to the U.S. to teach.Since her seminar was in Philadelphiawhere homeopathy took root in this coun-try, we set aside a day to go back in time.

Our first stop was the Legacy Center,the archives of the Drexel University Col-lege of Medicine. This college is descendedfrom the first homeopathic medicalschool in the U.S., which ConstantineHering and others founded as the Allen-town Academy in 1835 and soon moved toPhiladelphia and renamed. It operated asHahnemann Medical College for over 150years and offered homeopathy courseswithin the conventional medical curricu-lum until the 1950s. Now HahnemannUniversity Hospital is the site of clinicaltraining for Drexel University College ofMedicine, and Drexel maintains the for-mer Hahnemann Medical Collegearchives, including publications, letters,documents, photographs, and artifactsthat scholars can use to bring the historyof homeopathy to life.

Face to face with HeringThe archivists at Drexel prepared gener-ously and meticulously for our visit, creating a private exhibit focused on Constantine Hering, who lived andworked in Philadelphia for over fourdecades. As a founder of HahnemannMedical College, Hering donated signifi-cant parts of his library, personal papers,and possessions to the school.

We could have stayed for a week, butwe had only a few hours. The archivistswalked us through a stunning array ofartifacts including books (Hering’s copyof the Organon among them), journals,pictures, and remedy kits, then set us looseon boxes of letters, photographs, andother personal effects. We traced the pro-fessional career of a celebrated master:correspondence from his tenure as facultymember and dean, honorary degreesbestowed on him, and photographs with other promi-nent figures of histime. We wit-nessed the innerworkings of abrilliant mind,traceable in themarginalia hepenned into hism u c h - l o v e dcopies of Para -celsus’ writings.

Tracing Homeopathy’s Historic Roots in PhiladelphiaUp close and personal with Constantine HeringBy ANN E. JEROME, PhD, CCH, RSHom(NA)

Homeopathy is constantly renewing itself. Our radically individual

approach means that, to paraphrase Hahnemann, we homeopaths have to

consider each case to be the first one of its kind that we’ve ever encountered.

Each person is a whole new universe to us.

Samuel Hahnemann’swax seal on an

envelope mailed to Hering from

Koethen, Germany.

Vial donated in anenvelope marked“Some of Father’sfirst medicines” and signed by Hering’s son.

As a founder of Hahnemann

Medical College, Hering

donated significant parts

of his library, personal

papers, and possessions

to the school.


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Ann E. Jerome, PhD, CCH,RSHom(NA), was a college professor for almost 20 yearsbefore graduating into a career in homeopathy. She isDirector of the Academy of

Classical Homeopathy and can be reachedthrough its website at www.academyofclassical -homeopathy.com. She currently serves as President of the NCH Board of Directors, Dean of NCH Education, and editorial associate forHomeopathy Today.


Undaunted by the fact that these writingswere in the neighborhood of 300 yearsold, Hering noted interesting paragraphs,created cross-references among thoughts,and doodled here and there, perhaps as hemulled over Paracelsus’ wisdom and itsapplications in his own practice.

We also saw the man Hering in lettersand family photographs. We learned toidentify the flourish of his flamboyanthandwriting, and we saw its beginnings ina note from the very young Constantine tohis mother.

The stuff of legendsFrom the Legacy Center we traveled down-town to the Academy of Natural Sciences,a natural history museum founded in1812. Now owned by Drexel University, theAcademy continues to produce importantresearch in environmental science whilemaintaining its distinguished collectionbuilt over the centuries. As a scientificexplorer, Hering indicated his support for

the Academy’s mission bydonating his prize specimenof Lachesis muta, the Bush-master snake from which hemilked the venom to createone of the greatest remediesin our homeopathic materiamedica. It’s a measure ofHering’s renown that thestory about his acquisitionof this snake took on epicproportions over time; it’ssaid that he asked to see oneof these much-feared snakesduring his travels in Suri-nam in 1827, and whensome natives brought himone in a box and ran awayterrified, he opened the box and knockedthe snake unconscious by hitting its headwith a stick, then milked the venom fromits glands.

The actual story is probably less color-ful, as Julian Winston notes in The Faces of Homeopathy (Great Auk Publishing,1999): “According to Hering’s account, hewas living in Paramibo, Surinam, and hadbeen looking for a good snake specimen.The natives brought him one that hadbeen run over by a cart at the edge oftown. Hering untied the snake andnoticed it was still alive. He extractedsome venom and began to triturate it withmilk sugar. He accidentally ingested some,and the first proving began.” In fact, aclose-up look at Hering’s snake showsmore signs of a run-in with a heavy wheel than with a stick. Nevertheless, themeeting of the great Hering and the greatLachesis has become a highlight of home-opathic history.

Final reposeFinally, we headed to West Laurel HillCemetery to visit the Hering family plot.Hering’s grave was moved and a new

headstone erected to match the rest of thefamily’s, but his is still the largest and thecentral stone among several generations of his descendants. We especially enjoyedthe specimen of Rhus toxicodendron trail-ing up a tree at the edge of the plot, afaithful old cornerstone of the homeo-pathic materia medica perhaps payinghomage to the master.

Note: Drexel makes its archives availableto serious scholars only, by appointment.Hering’s Lachesis specimen is occasionallyput on display at the Academy of NaturalSciences. See a photo and description ofthe specimen on the Academy’s websitewhere it is called “Homeopathic Snake”:w w w . a n s p . o r g / e x p l o r e / o n l i n e -exhibits/stories/homeopathic-snake/

Left, Hering’s copy of the Organon.

Right, the Hering family plot at West Laurel Hill

Cemetery, Philadelphia.

Hering’s Lachesis muta snake.


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http://www.academyofclassicalhomeopathy.com

http://www.ansp.org/explore/online-exhibits/stories/homeopathic-snake/






Halting a cripplingautoimmune disorder:relief from rheumatoid arthritisby SYBIL IHRIG, LAc, HMA, CCH (Cand)

Thirty-five-year-old Frankie (not her real name)

first crossed my path in January 2012 when she

responded to an online coupon offering acupuncture

at a discount. A tall, large-boned, attractive, blonde

woman with expressive eyes and a sweet yet dignified

demeanor, Frankie sought help for acute arthritis.

When Her BodyTurned on Her,

She Turned to Homeopathy

When Her BodyTurnedon Her,

She Turned to Homeopathy


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The pain and swelling had begun morethan a year earlier in her left elbow, dis-turbing her sleep. “I ignored it for sometime, as I’ve always been pretty healthy,”she said, but when the pain became moresevere and progressed to her toes, feet, andhands, she could no longer block it fromher consciousness. A visit to her doctor ledto a referral to a specialist. To Frankie’sdismay, the rheumatologist diagnosedrheumatoid arthritis—a chronic, progres-sive autoimmune disorder.

Too young to be so illUnlike simple wear-and-tear osteoarthritisfrom overuse or aging, rheumatoid arthri-tis is an inflammatory process in which the

immune system mistakenly attacks thebody’s tissues—inflaming joint linings andcausing painful swelling. It tends to appearbetween ages 30 and 50, and to strike morewomen than men. Rheumatoid arthritis ischaracterized by periods of flare-up whenpain and swelling are more intense, andfever and fatigue are present. Over time,bone erosion, deformity, and immobilityresult, especially in the small joints of thehands and feet.

Conventional medicine, which offersno cure, focuses on controlling symptomsand reducing joint damage. To this end,Frankie had been receiving a mountingcascade of heavy-duty drugs—startingwith narcotics to control pain, escalatingto methotrexate to slow the progression ofthe disorder by decreasing immune sys-tem activity, and then adding golimumab(a biological medicine given as a monthlyinjection) to suppress the immune system.While these treatments had decreased herswelling and provided some relief, she stillexperienced substantial breakthroughpain. Frankie also had become concernedabout the number of medications she wastaking and their potential for severe sideeffects, such as liver damage, lung damage,bone marrow suppression, congestiveheart failure, lymphoma, and life-threat-ening infections. This led her to seek alter-native approaches to treatment, and that’show she landed in my acupuncture clinic.

Acupuncture or homeopathy?Sometimes it’s a blessing to practice twoforms of complementary/alternative med-icine, and sometimes it’s a curse. It’s ablessing to have more than one tool inyour toolbox, but deciding which specialtyis likely to deliver the best and most pro-found healing for an individual is no easytask, and requires judgment and experi-ence. When couples are concerned aboutfertility issues, for example, I usually optto treat with acupuncture and herbs,because I get reliably good results withthis method. When patients come in withrecent-onset autoimmune disorders orsevere pathology, however, I often recom-mend homeopathy because I find it to be

a deeper-working option; or I might askthem to try a set number of acupuncturetreatments first and then switch to home-opathy if they don’t begin to see results. In my experience with such cases,acupuncture can palliate and even slowthe progress of symptoms, but it does notreliably lead to cure or full arrest of theunderlying disorder.

As I listened to Frankie’s story, I feltintuitively that homeopathy would be thetreatment of choice. Her relatively youngage and recent onset of illness argued infavor of it. She wanted to try acupuncturefirst, however, so we embarked on a seriesof four, once-weekly treatments. From anOriental Medicine perspective, she showedsigns of Phlegm-Damp, extreme Spleendeficiency with Stomach heat, and Kidneydeficiency, together suggesting a congested,inefficient lymphatic system and a weakimmune system. Along with acupuncture, Igave her a digestive enzyme formula tocounteract the systemic inflammation towhich all her symptoms pointed. (Numer-ous studies over the past 15 years haveshown beneficial anti-inflammatory effectsof pancreatic enzymes against symptoms ofrheumatoid arthritis.)

After four weeks, blood tests performedby her rheumatologist showed that allinflammatory markers had decreased, butFrankie was still experiencing nighttimepain severe enough to wake her, particu-larly in the right hand and left foot. Break-through pain still occurred at other times,too, in spite of her taking strong conven-tional medications. She had made someprogress, but not enough. It was at thispoint that Frankie agreed to homeopathictreatment, and we made an appointmentfor a full homeopathic interview.

It’s all about the painFrankie described her physical symptomsin excellent detail. Her left elbow pain hadbegun roughly a year earlier and was char-acterized by great stiffness that was worsefrom bending; she had to stretch out theelbow for relief. The pain was worse atnight, waking her from sleep. Within ashort time, she had also begun to experi-


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ence cramping, debilitating pain in hertoes radiating into the balls of her feet,which made it impossible for her to wearhigh heels at work any longer. A third areawhere severe discomfort occurred was herright hand, particularly in the fingers, withshooting pains radiating towards thewrist. All painful areas were characterizedby swelling and stiffness.

As soon as Frankie began takingmethotrexate and getting golimumab injec-tions, the swelling (but not the pain)decreased everywhere except in the hand.Although no deformation had yet occurred,she was already experiencing decreasedstrength in her right hand and found it dif-ficult to open jars or carry grocery bags. Shealso felt physically exhausted around theclock, which was highly unusual for her.“I’m always busy. My job is demanding andI have to travel a lot, nationally and interna-tionally,” said Frankie, so she was especiallyalarmed at her loss of energy.

“What else was going on a year agowhen you started having the pains?” Iasked Frankie, in order to find outwhether any big stressors or crises mighthave predisposed her to getting sick. Sheremembered unusual exhaustion duringthe months prior to the onset, but thatwas all. She also reported having her ton-sils removed a few months after herarthritis symptoms began. She explainedthat from childhood onward, she had suf-fered repeated bouts of right-sided strepthroat and tonsillitis that always devel-oped quickly into a severe episode. Thefrequency of her throat infections hadbeen increasing before the arthritisappeared, so on the advice of her doctors,she had had her tonsils removed. The sur-geon required that she go off all rheuma-toid arthritis medications two weeksbefore the scheduled surgery. “I havenever been in so much pain as duringthose two weeks,” Frankie said. Even her

knees swelled up, and she had so muchdifficulty walking that the sight broughther mother to tears.

As Frankie described the history of herillness, she continually flexed and fidgetedwith her painful right hand in a claw-likemotion. When I drew her attention to thisgesturing, she said, “It feels better when Imove it,” and that she often did this atwork with little conscious attention. Thesame was not true of her feet, however; ifshe attempted to flex her toes on theaffected left foot, the toes would cramp,causing even more pain. Even before herillness, the need to move her limbs wasprominent: “I can’t sit still,” she said. “IfI’m in a meeting, I may be fidgeting withmy hands or feet… I’m so conditioned toconstantly be doing something, that I’mnot used to having downtime and notdoing anything. The norm is being busy. IfI’m not busy, I don’t know what to do withmyself. I don’t know how to relax.”

P hytolacca decandra, also known as pokeweed or red ink plant, is a perennial that’s native to much ofNorth America. It is especially striking in late sum-

mer and fall when the stalks turn crimson red and theberries turn a deep purple. While young leaves in spring aresometimes boiled and eaten like asparagus (“poke salad”),mature plants are toxic to humans if eaten in any quantity.The berries are a favorite of songbirds and other animalswho eat them and distribute the seeds far and wide. Theroot and berries have a long history of herbal use, with earlyNative Americans having used them as a poultice for tumors and as a salve for chronic rheumatism. According to theAmerican Cancer Society, pokeweed contains a compoundthat appears to enhance the immune system, and animalresearch has shown that it has some anti-cancer effects..

The homeopathic remedy, Phytolacca, is prepared anddiluted from the fresh root. Provings and clinical experienceshow it is useful for glandular swellings and musculoskeletalpain, and especially in these three spheres:◆ Throat: Tonsillitis, glandular swellings, mumps. The throatinside appears dark red or bluish red. On swallowing, asevere shooting pain can be felt at the root of the tongue tothe ear. The throat feels rough, hot or burning, and puffy.There may be an irresistible desire to clench the teeth.◆ Breasts: Pain before and during menstrual periods.Inflammation of the breast (mastitis) in nursing mothers,

with thebreast veryhard andsensitive;cracked nipple; painradiatesfrom nippleto the restof the bodywhen thebaby nurses.HomeopathGeorge Guess, MD, has found Phytolacca to be helpful inabout 50% of mastitis cases.◆ Arthritis/Rheumatism: Pains fly like electric shocks andabruptly move around. Pain forces the person to move, butthe movement doesn’t relieve symptoms. Stiffness withinflammation and swelling of joints. Aching of heels, relievedby elevating feet. Tendonitis when inflammation occurs atthe site where the tendon attaches to the bone.

In general, a person needing Phytolacca tends to feelworse from motion (even though they want to move), worse from cold, wet weather, worse at night, and worse on the right side. They feel better from warmth, better fromdry weather, and better from resting.

Birds love PokeweedPhytolacca: a long history of healing

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http://www.countrycaptures.blogspot.com






Filling in the pictureWhat other clues about Frankie’s lifecould lead us to a remedy that might helpher? She always wore sunglasses outdoorsbecause bright light disturbed her eyes.The whites of her eyes were “always red,”which she attributed to the dry Arizonaclimate; the redness was relieved withover-the-counter eye drops. The color red,in fact, appeared in the décor of everyroom in her home. (Later on, this detailassumed greater importance in my analy-sis, though I did not give it much weight atthe time.)

She liked to drink coffee in the morn-ing, even though it often gave her heart-burn. She also liked bread and pizza, andfrequently ate out because of her busyschedule. “I need to eat healthier,” she con-fessed. Frankie smoked about 10 cigarettesa day in private to relax, saying, “My bossdoesn’t know I smoke.” And, despite herclaim that she had “always been prettyhealthy,” she had suffered severe illnessesas a child beyond the repeated bouts ofstrep throat and tonsillitis. At age 3, sheunderwent knee surgery to relieve severeswelling (“they called it ‘football player’sknee’ and scraped out the debris”).Between the ages of 5 and 8, she had beenhospitalized several times because ofunexplained bleeding from the bladder (“Ipeed blood clots and passed out”). Shealso had outbreaks of psoriasis on thehead and ears until age 12 or 13. Now, asan adult, the only complaints she couldthink of, other than the acute arthritis,were plantar warts on the soles of her feetand severe menstrual cramps on the firstday of her period.

But what about hermental/emotional state?Contemporary homeopaths tend to placegreat emphasis on prominent mental andemotional characteristics of a patient,and this case had me puzzled becausesuch clues were initially vague. Frankiehad an endearing, sweet demeanor butvolunteered very little about her innerlife other than repeated references to howbusy she was and preferred to be. “WhenI go on vacation I can relax, totally shutoff work. But even then, I can’t just lie onthe beach and do nothing. I want to bestimulated a little bit.” Being busy was

something she had become accustomedto even as a young girl: her life, alongwith her older sister’s, revolved aroundsports, and her mother, a coach, ensuredthat she participated in three differentathletic teams. The sports “kept me out oftrouble,” she said, and she remainedinvolved because she enjoyed playingwith her sister, not because of any com-petitive drive. In her senior year of highschool, despite the offer of an athleticscholarship to college, Frankie suddenlyquit all sports. “I was just worn out.” Herdescription of this exhaustion soundedlike a parallel to her state prior to theonset of the arthritis.

Frankie was not currently in a relation-ship, and no wonder, given the responsi-bilities and demands of her work. She wasextremely close to her family, however,especially to her sister and nephew, andshe saw her parents regularly even thoughthey lived some distance away and hadlong been divorced and remarried to newpartners. She disliked scary movies andpreferred children’s films and comedies.Her home was always beautifully organ-ized and in order. “I like organizingthings,” she told me.

One feature that stood out was hergreat dislike of change. “I’m a person wholikes routine,” she said. “I function betterthat way…I don’t do well with last-minuteplanning. If we go on a vacation, I will planeverything in advance.” She also liked to bein control. “I like to drive when I’m in agroup. I don’t want someone else driving,and I like to make the plans. I like to knowwhat’s happening. I don’t like to be throwninto situations that I don’t know about.”Curiously, that was exactly what happened

when she was 12: her parents divorced, andFrankie was taken completely by surprise,even though in retrospect there were manysigns that something was amiss. “I justburied my head in the sand,” she said,which is also what she reported havingdone when first diagnosed with rheu -matoid arthritis. Control was an issue pertinent to her illness as well. For exam-ple, she described working hard to open ajar with her affected right hand becauseshe was “determined not to get to a place in life where I can’t do things.” After a 10-minute struggle, she finally managed toopen that jar.

The need for control manifested in aslightly different way at work, whereFrankie sometimes felt overwhelmed bythe sheer number of tasks to complete butdidn’t want to “freak out” like some othercolleagues. “I don’t want to be like that…I don’t want to be the person who’s cryingor arguing with people or wearing myemotions on my sleeve,” she told me.

Because fears and dreams arise fromthe unconscious, they can sometimesshow us important aspects of a person’smental-emotional state. Frankie rarelyremembered dreams, and the few she didrecall had to do with humdrum aspects ofwork, so there was little data to minethere. Her sole stated fear involved snakes:“I’m terrified of them,” she said. “Growingup on a ranch, there are snakes all around.They are gross, they have soulless eyes, Iam petrified of them. One got into mycrib when I was a baby, though I don’tremember anything about it.” This narra-tive didn’t seem particularly relevant tome at the time, but I did notice that shetold the story with strong emotion.

Rheumatoidarthritis tends to

appear betweenages 30 and 50,

and to strikemore women

than men.


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Finding a remedy for FrankieIn order to find a suitable homeopathicremedy for Frankie, I used MacRepertorysoftware and chose the following rubrics torepertorize the outstanding features of hercase. Because her physical symptomsseemed more prominent and well-described than her mental-emotionalcharacteristics, I gave more weight to themin the repertorization. (The number inparentheses after each rubric indicates thenumber of remedies listed in that rubric.)Mind; Change; Aversion to (11) Mind; Fear; Something will happen to

family or to him (9) Mind; Restlessness, nervousness; Drives

him from place to place, must move(132)

Mind; Surprises aggravate (25) Mind; Occupation, diversion; Ameliorates

(103) Mind; Fear; of Snakes (25) Mind; Dreams; Work (37) Generalities; Food and drinks; desires

salty food (117) Throat; Inflammation, sore throat; Tonsils

(196) Eyes; Redness (375) Eyes; Photophobia (321) Female; Pain; Menses; beginning of (48) Extremities; Warts; Feet (26) Extremities; Inflammation; Fingers (164) Extremities; Pain; Rheumatic; fingers (74)

As a result, my top remedy candidateswere Causticum and Rhus toxicodendron.Causticum was evenly represented in themental and physical rubrics, and it fitFrankie’s physical restlessness, preferencesfor salty foods, red eyes, photophobia,menstrual cramps, rheumatic pain in thefingers, and concern for family. In addi-tion, this remedy is known to have anaffinity with the throat, tonsils, and upperbody, and with rheumatic conditions ingeneral. Causticum is a member of the Kali(potassium) family of remedies because itderives from a processed form of potas-sium hydroxide; interestingly, anotherremedy from that family, Kali carbonicum,best matched Frankie’s mental symptoms(aversion to change and aggravation fromsurprises). Rhus tox, on the other hand, aquintessential remedy for arthritic condi-tions, was especially pertinent to Frankie’sneed for constant movement and dreamsof work, and also fit her red eyes, photo-

phobia, and stiff, inflamed fingers. Weighing the two choices, I decided

Causticum was a better fit for Frankie thanRhus tox, especially because it matched herhistory of tonsillitis. So I asked her to take one dose of Causticum LM 1 from adropper-bottle solution (7 drops with 4succussions). I chose a gentle LM potencybecause of Frankie’s concurrent use ofstrong conventional medications andbecause the severity of her symptoms sug-gested that her vital force was alreadyquite compromised. I monitored herclosely during the first week after receiv-ing this dose to make sure she wasresponding well. After that, I asked her totake a dose every three days.

Close but no cigarTwo months later, when Frankie came forher first follow-up visit, she reported somenotable improvements. For the first timesince her diagnosis, the severity of her painhad decreased in intensity. Though the painhad not disappeared, it no longer woke herat night and only disturbed her when shewoke in the morning. Even on a long trip toAsia and Australia, she had experienced nostiffness during her travels. She was having

more frequent dreams (suggesting that hervital force was trying to communicatesomething), though she still couldn’tremember their content. Her elbow feltokay; the only two areas where she experi-enced significant discomfort were her righthand and the toes of her left foot, with jointswelling, breakthrough pain, and stiffnesscontinuing on a daily basis there.

Although I was pleased with theseimprovements, I had expected more… Isurmised that Causticum might be a“close” remedy (a simile) rather than thebest remedy (the simillimum). Still, I hadno clear indications for another remedyyet, so I chose to stay with the Causticumbut bump it up to a slightly higher potencyto see whether Frankie might make furtherimprovements. I prescribed one dose ofCausticum LM 2 (7 drops, 4 succussions),monitored her for a week, and then askedher to take a dose every three days.

Four months after Frankie’s initialcasetaking, she was once again able towear high heels to business functions, andher feet no longer disturbed her withacute flare-ups—she was pleased withthose results. Still, she continued to expe-rience swelling, breakthrough pain, andstiffness in her right hand, and recentlyher left knee had briefly erupted intoswelling and pain. Feeling that the effectsof Causticum had plateaued, I revisitedFrankie’s case and health history in searchof a more fitting remedy.

The second prescription: “Never Well Since…”The onset of Frankie’s arthritic flare-upshad coincided with the worsening of herstrep throat and eventual tonsillectomy, soI decided that recurrent tonsillitis andstrep throat should be given greater weightin my analysis and repertorization. Thetonsils play an important role as the firstline of defense of the lymphatic system,and when the tonsils are removed, theimmune and lymphatic systems carrygreater burdens. Also, adults typically havemore difficult recoveries after tonsillec-tomy than children do, so these stressorsmight have contributed to the maintainingor worsening of her rheumatoid arthritis.

Looking in the repertory, I found arubric, “Generalities, Pain, Rheumatic;inflammation of tonsils, after,” which con-

She remains completelyfree of the disabling pain,swelling, and stiffness in

her limbs that kept herawake by night and made

her miserable by day.


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tains only four remedies—Echinacea, Gua-iacum, Lachesis, and Phytolacca. I quicklyeliminated Lachesis from consideration, asit did not seem to correspond to Frankie’sother symptoms. Guaiacum, though asso-ciated with a history of tonsillitis, failed tomatch the general symptoms of Frankie’scase and usually has an affinity to largerjoints in rheumatic conditions. Echi-nacea has an affinity to the lymphatic sys-tem and shares the theme of systemicexhaustion, but I did not see evidence ofthe septic conditions or fetid secretionsthat can be typical for people needing thisremedy. This left Phytolacca…

Made from pokeroot, a traditionalNative American herb, Phytolacca is ahomeopathic remedy that has a strongaffinity with throat, tonsil, breast, andgeneral upper-body pathologies. In itsherbal form, it is used for mastitis andbreast tumors, and also for chronicrheumatism.1 Although the homeopathicremedy is made from the root of the plant,the stalks and juice of Phytolacca’s berriesare a deep crimson red (much like thecolor found in every room of Frankie’shome and in the whites of her eyes).

As I explored the fit of Phytolacca toFrankie’s case, the pieces of the puzzlebegan to fall into place. The remedy’s indi-cations matched her photophobia and redeyes, as well as the menstrual cramps,aggravation from coffee, plantar warts,

nighttime pain, and aggravation or ame-lioration from stretching that had been anearly feature of the arthritis flare-ups. Phy-tolacca is especially indicated for weaknessin the affected limbs, and Frankie’sunusual degree of fatigue before and dur-ing the arthritis flare-ups—which I hadnot repertorized previously—now madeperfect sense using the rubric, “Generali-ties, weariness, excessive,” which containsonly 27 remedies including Phytolaccca.

I now created a revised rubric set forthe case, in which Phytolacca figuresprominently (Figure 1):

Mind; Change; Aversion to (11) Mind; Fear; Self-control, losing (32) Mind; Occupation, diversion; Ameliorates

(103) Mind; Delusions, imaginations; Snakes; in

and around her (19) Mind; Restlessness, nervousness; Drives

him from place to place, must move(132)

Generalities; Pain; Rheumatic; inflamma-tion of tonsils, after (4)

Generalities; Food and drinks; Coffee;aggravates (147)

Generalities; Weariness; Excessive (27) Eyes; Redness (375) Eyes; Photophobia (321) Throat; Tonsils; Right (71) Female; Menses; Painful, dysmenorrhea

(400) Skin; Eruptions; Psoriasis (143) Extremities; Pain; Shooting; fingers (39) Extremities; Cramps; Toes (77) Extremities; Weakness; Upper limbs (285)

Extremities; Warts; Lower limbs (30) Extremities; Weakness; Hands (126) Extremities; Pain; Stretching out; aggravates

(79) Extremities; Pain; Night (234)

I added the symptom, “fear of losingself-control,” based on Frankie’s statementabout not wanting to be seen “freakingout” as some of her co-workers had donewhen overwhelmed with work. And Ireplaced the symptom, “fear of snakes”with the symptom, “delusions of snakes inand around her” to reflect her emotionallycharged statements about snakes, which I

had discounted earlier.(Many modern homeo-pathic authors say thatdream- and delusion-related rubrics can beadapted to reflect emo-tional expressions.)

Breakthrough: No morebreakthrough pain!I asked Frankie to take one

dose of Phytolacca LM1 (7 drops, 4 suc-cussions) every other day for about 10days. After determining that she toleratedit well, I allowed her to take a daily dose.Three weeks after beginning Phytolacca,Frankie reported that the intensity andfrequency of her nighttime pain had beendecreasing steadily. So, I awaited her two-month follow-up visit with great anticipa-tion…and was not disappointed.

“Since I saw you last,” Frankie began,“I’ve been feeling overall really good. Ihave no more breakthrough pain. It’sfinally not bothering me, and my fingersare now almost not swollen at all. Myrheumatologist will be taking me offmethotrexate in a couple of weeks, thankgoodness. I have no pain at all anymore.”She was still going to continue with hermonthly golimumab injection, but sincestarting Phytolacca, the breakthrough painthat usually occurred a few days before theinjection failed to make an appearance.

She reported that she had experiencedslight swelling of her salivary glands (sub-maxillary—below the jaws) around thesecond week of taking Phytolacca (perhapsa healing aggravation or a return of oldsymptoms), but this disappeared after oneweek. And a sore throat that she had been

Figure 1

Pokeweed contains a compoundthat appears to enhance theimmune system.


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fighting for months suddenly disappeared,too. “Now, other people are getting sick atwork, and I’m not getting sick at all.”

Benefits of the remedy extended to herfemale cycle as well. “I always know whenI’m starting my period because I havecramps,” she said, “but I had no cramps tospeak of this month and didn’t knowwhen it was coming. This period wasalmost pain-free.”

Frankie did continue to experienceweakness in her right hand: “I can use itjust fine, but it’s not quite as strong as itused to be. The other day I was writing fora while and noticed my hand getting tired.”

A new lease on lifeIt’s been more than a year since then, andFrankie continues to do very well. She isthrilled that her arthritis symptoms havefully resolved and grateful that homeopa-thy came to her rescue. She no longer has totake the immunosuppressive methotrexatenor the monthly golimumab injections,with all their potentially severe sideeffects, yet she remains completely free ofthe disabling pain, swelling, and stiffnessin her limbs that kept her awake by nightand made her miserable by day. The onlysymptom that remains is the slight residual weakness in her right hand. Thiscould indicate that a certain amount oftissue damage had already occurred beforethe disease process was arrested. (Cases of degenerative illness like Frankie’s giveus pause to consider the limits of what iscurable, even with our amazing homeo-pathic art.)

A recent corporate reorganization atwork had everyone else flummoxed, butFrankie was able to meet it with resilience:“We went through something similareight years ago, and I was not accepting ofchange; I used to resist all kinds of change.But now, it’s much easier for me. No anxiety, because I realize it doesn’t alter

the outcome at the end of the day.” When one’s vital force rebounds after a

deep-acting homeopathic remedy asFrankie’s did, hormonal vigor and capac-ity for deep human relationships oftenincrease right along with improvements inphysical health and mental outlook. A fewmonths after her rheumatoid arthritissymptoms subsided, Frankie rekindled aserious relationship with a past partnerand expressed a desire to prepare for aneventual pregnancy. It occurred to me thatPhytolacca, being a remedy known for use-fulness in infertility, might help easeFrankie’s path towards motherhood in thenear future. Just how near, even I didn’trealize! In July 2013, Frankie joyfullyannounced that she and her partnerwould be expecting a baby next February.(Thankfully, she has been off methotrex-ate for more than a year, as that drug cancause serious birth defects and pregnancycomplications.) Frankie has quit smokingand remains well and strong, with little tono morning sickness and, most impor-tant, no rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.

The disappearing mentalsymptoms, revisitedThe contemporary Italian homeopath,Massimo Mangialavori, has said of peopleneeding Phytolacca that they often exhibita striking paucity of mental symptoms,despite the tendency to have severe,destructive physical pathologies.2 Thiscontrast, from the very beginning, struckme as an essential feature of Frankie’s case.When one searches the repertory for allrubrics containing Phytolacca, symptomsof the Mind are poorly represented indeedwhen compared with other categoriessuch as Throat, Larynx & Trachea, Eye,Urine, and Skin (see Figure 2 above).

Why the relative lack of mental symp-toms? I pondered this question extensivelywhen reviewing Frankie’s case. If we look atthe homeopathic literature on Phytolacca,we see that one of the oft-quoted symp-toms is “Mind, Indifference, apathy.” That“indifference,” for someone needing Phyto-lacca, might originate from a state of beingtoo busy, utterly exhausted, and so burnedout as not to care anymore. This wasFrankie’s state when she quit the demand-ing sports activities in high school andagain at the onset of her arthritic flare-ups.

The other side of silenceIn my “previous life,” when I was a studentof comparative literature and then a bookdesigner, one of my most beloved authorswas the Victorian novelist George Eliot. Aparticular passage from Eliot’s late master-piece, Middlemarch, has always hauntedme and is particularly pertinent to thehomeopathic calling:

“If we had a keen vision and feeling of allordinary human life, it would be like hear-ing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heartbeat, and we should die of that roar whichlies on the other side of silence.”

As homeopaths, we are constantly lis-tening for the nuances within the roar ofillness that will sort out the true soundfrom the cacophony of meaningless noise.When we find those nuances, the chaotic“roar” becomes an intelligible harmony:the sacred music of healing.1 Vermeulen, Frans, Prisma: The Arcana of Materia

Medica Illuminated. Haarlem, The Netherlands:Emryss, 2002, pp. 1062–1064.

2 Seminar notes, Boston, MA, October 2008.


Sybil Ihrig, LAc, HMA, CCH(Cand), is a licensed acupunc-turist and classical homeopathand the owner of Lotus Well-spring Healthcare in Surprise,Arizona. She is on the faculty ofboth American Medical College

of Homeopathy (AMCH) and Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture (PIHMA). Her mentors in homeopathy include Dr. MassimoMangialavori, Todd Rowe, MD(H), and Dr. A.U.Ramakrishnan, among others. She can be reachedat (623) 444-2878 or through her website,www.lotuswellspring.com.


Figure 2

In July 2013, Frankie joyfullyannounced that she and herpartner would be expecting ababy next February.


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http://www.lotuswellspring.com







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http://www.1800homeopathy.com






In some instances, however, the localarthritic symptoms alone (those lim-ited to the joints themselves) point tothe curative homeopathic remedy.Below are some of the more frequentlyused remedies for such localizedsymptom indications.*

There are, of course, incurablecases of arthritis, instances where thedamage to joints is too substantial tobe reversed. These unfortunatepatients usually must rely on surgicaljoint replacement for relief. The besttime to initiate homeopathic treat-ment of arthritis is very early in thecourse of the disease before jointdamage occurs.

Treating yourselfFor self-treatment of chronic condi-tions, I recommend individuals pro-ceed slowly and carefully bybeginning with a low potency of theindicated remedy, namely 6c takentwo or three times daily. Continueyour regular allopathic medications ifneeded. Observe your response overthree to four weeks; it may take thatlong to begin to notice improvement.

As long as improvement is continuing andno new symptoms appear, continue takingthe remedy. Should you reach a pointwhere all symptoms have subsided, stopthe remedy. Resume taking it if and whensymptoms begin to return.

Should you notice the development ofnew symptoms or a worsening of existingsymptoms while taking a remedy, it is bestto discontinue it and wait to see if thesymptoms subside; if they do subside,resume taking the remedy. Should the

same symptoms recur, again discontinuethe remedy. This means either that theremedy is wrong for you or that the multiple daily dosing is inappropriate inyour case. Often the answer lies in takingthe remedy in a higher potency less fre-quently; for example, you could take a single dose of a 30c potency and observethe impact over a few weeks. If the remedyis correct, benefit will often be forthcom-ing within that time frame. (Occasionally,you will experience a brief worsening ofsymptoms after this dose, followed byimprovement; if but a single dose is taken,such an aggravation of symptoms willtypically be brief—a few days—and harm-less.) If improvement does not occur, consider trying a different remedy. If atany time a lengthy flare-up of symptomsoccurs, please see your physician.

Remedies for arthritis relief• Rhus toxicodendron (poison oak): Painand stiffness. Stiffness is very characteris-tic. The pain is worse when at rest, withweather changes, especially to cold, damp;by cold; and by initial motion (e.g., risingfrom a bed or a seat). The pains are helpedby warmth and continued motion (once“warmed up”). Restlessness with the pain.Complaints are often left-sided. • Bryonia (wild hops): Pains are worsefrom the slightest motion, better after rest.Pains are also better from pressure or bylying on the painful side.• Ledum (marsh tea): Painful swellingrelieved by cold applications and madeworse by warmth. Areas especially affectedare ankles, feet, ball of the first toe, and leftshoulder and right hip together. “Rheuma-tism” starts in the legs and extends upwards.

The best time to initiatehomeopathic treatment of arthritis is very early in the course of the disease before jointdamage occurs.

Answers for Arthritis Homeopathy can help, especially if you treat earlyby GEORGE GUESS, MD, DHt

Rhus toxicodendron

The homeopathic treatment of chronic arthritis—whether osteoarthritis,rheumatoid, or another form—can be quite effective. It is typically a complicated affair thatrequires the expertise of a professional homeopath to assess the whole person—aspects of personality, stressors, general metabolic makeup, family history, other chronic health conditions,and so forth.


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• Kali bichromicum (potassium bichro-mate): Periodic arthritis and arthritisalternating with other complaints (e.g.,sinusitis, asthma, digestive disorders).Periodicity is often fixed (e.g., every springor autumn, etc.). The pain is often in onesmall spot, and may wander to differentsites and come and go suddenly; pain mayoccur every day at the same time; pain isworse between 2 and 4 a.m.• Ruta (rue): Periosteal (lining of thebones) involvement is typical. It is espe-cially useful for arthritis beginning after

trauma (fracture, sprain, bruise). A “lame”feeling in the joints. Ankle and wrist areoften involved. Someone needing Rutacan appear similar to someone needingRhus toxicodendron with marked restless-ness and frequent change of position. Legpains on rising from sitting (as if broken).Back pain better lying on the back. Pains

are better from motion, like Rhus tox, butsomeone needing Ruta can becomeexhausted after walking. • Caulophyllum (blue cohosh): Arthritis inwomen, of the small joints, particularlythe fingers, hands, toes, and sometimesthe ankles. Pain and stiffness can alternatefrom one joint to another every minute.Small joint problems plus uterine difficul-ties are often seen in women needing thisremedy.• Colchicum (meadow saffron): Arthritisworse during warm, wet weather,although sometimes cold, damp weathercan cause complaints. Worse with thechange of seasons. The hands and fingersare mostly affected; the pains are worsefrom slight motion (like Bryonia). TheColchicum arthritis is often associatedwith other ailments (e.g., nephritis, bloodin the urine, pericarditis). Aversion to theodor of eggs and fish is a strong symptomnot infrequently seen.• Rhododendron (rhododendron): Allsymptoms are worse before a storm. Thisremedy also has indications similar toRhus toxicodendron. Restlessness of thelegs. Crosses legs in sleep.• Guaiacum (gum guaiacum): Rheumaticaffections of the small joints, especially thewrists and fingers, worse from warmth,and better from cold applications.

* The listed remedies are but a few of those thatmay be useful in arthritis cases. Additionally, anumber of nutritional and dietary measurescan be extremely helpful, but that is a subjectfor another article.


George Guess, MD, DHt, is afamily physician and has prac-ticed classical homeopathicmedicine for more than 30years. He maintains a privatefamily practice in Crozet, VA.

He is Vice-President of the American Board ofHomeotherapeutics (a national homeopathic specialty board) and past editor of the AmericanJournal of Homeopathic Medicine (a professionalhomeopathic medical journal). He can be reachedat: 434-823-1021 or [email protected] orwww.drgeorgeguess.com


Arthritis: Different types?Arthritis—painful joint inflammation—is not a monolithic illness; more than 100 different varieties exist. The most commonare osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout—but can also include lupus, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, ankylosingspondylitis, and others. Here’s how to identify the most typical forms of arthritis:

◆ Osteoarthritis is the “wear and tear”joint pain that many of us experience aswe age. It tends to affect big joints likehips and knees, and to develop overtime from injury and overuse. Cartilage around a specific joint wears down,and bone spurs may grow. Except for pain in the joint, you don’t feel sick orhave associated fatigue. Swelling and redness may or may not be present.

◆ Rheumatoid arthritis is very different. With this chronic, inflammatory, auto -immune disorder, the body mistakenly attacks itself. Small joints in the handsand feet are usually affected first. The synovial membrane that lines the jointsbecomes inflamed, painful, and swollen. Bone erosion and joint deformity caneventually result. (Such deformity usually does not occur in osteoarthritis.) Flare-ups often occur, during which joints are more painful and inflamed, and systemicsymptoms such as fever and fatigue may be present. Joints are usually affectedsymmetrically (whereas in osteoarthritis, joint damage is typically more one-sided). The illness tends to strike women three times more often than men andto come on more suddenly and at an earlier age than osteoarthritis (30s to 50s).

◆ Gout results when uric acid crystals form and collect in the joints. Usually, pain is felt in the big toe, though other areas can be affected. Most medicalauthorities say that highly acidic diets (including frequent consumption ofprocessed meats and alcohol) are a major risk factor for gout, so modifyingthe diet accordingly can reduce symptoms.

—by Sybil Ihrig, LAc, HMA, CCH (Cand). See her bio on page 20.


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http://www.drgeorgeguess.com






Back to school: for some it’s an adventure, but for many children

and teens, the start of a new school year is fraught with worry and anxiety.

Leaving home or saying goodbye to parents can be stressful. Fear over what

may happen at school—or what might happen to loved ones at home or work

during the day—can be paralyzing. Dread over fitting into new social circles,

whether on the playground or in P.E. class, can be agonizing.

Beat the Back-tBeat the Back-tEase the tears, fears, & anxiet

by AMY ROTHENB


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I recommend children who experienceschool anxiety be treated with homeopa-thy. This can help reduce a child’s overallanxiety level, making mornings easier andleading to more success, both academi-cally and socially.

First, do your homework!In a child with mild school anxiety, it isfine to go ahead and seek homeopathiccare without a psychiatric workup. Chil-dren who are severely anxious or whohave slipped into school refusal, however,should first have a complete diagnosticworkup with a mental health counselor orpsychiatrist who has experience workingwith children and the assessment of anxi-

ety. As caregivers, parents, or doctors, weneed to understand what drives a child’sbehavior as the first step to being able tohelp. Some children do not want to go toschool because there is something badhappening at school, whether bullyingfrom other children or a very stressfulenvironment in the classroom. There aretimes when a particular school setting isnot ideal for the child and an alternateplacement should be sought if at all possi-ble. In any event, understanding thedynamics of your child’s school, class-room, or unique social circle will go a longway toward understanding what they areexperiencing and toward providing relieffrom back-to-school stress.

A trio of homeopathic helpersThere are many remedies that could behelpful for a child who suffers from schoolanxiety. The ones that I most frequentlyprescribe in my office are Baryta carbon-ica, Silica, and Pulsatilla. In this article, I’m focusing on these remedies as theyrelate to school anxiety (keeping in mindthat there is much more to say about eachof these remedies as they relate to othercomplaints).

Baryta carbonica: Young for their ageThe child who needs Baryta carbonicaseems younger than their age. These chil-dren do not have a strong sense of who

to-School Bluesto-School Bluesty with homeopathic treatmentBERG, ND, DHANP


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they are, so it can be difficult for them toknow how to act in a group. They mayfind it challenging to make basic decisionssuch as what to wear, what kind of note-books to buy, or what to write about for anessay. They have a desperate need to fit in,so they may well act like others and followalong, but deep down, big classroom set-tings are a nightmare for this child, andthe anxiety can mount.

Times of transition can be especiallyanxiety-ridden for the young person whoneeds Baryta carbonica. Moving from pre-school to kindergarten, for example, orfrom middle to high school can make themfeel overwhelmed, worried, and anxious,even reaching the point of school refusal.The child who needs Baryta carbonica maystart to talk about the coming school yearearly in the summer; they may evendevelop physical symptoms as a response tothe stress and anticipation of the comingschool year. Sore throats with swollenglands and tummy aches with constipationare common complaints in these children.

It’s no wonder that school is a difficultplace for the young-for-their-age Barytacarbonica child. If you think about it,school is all about being part of variousgroups, making choices, and putting for-ward who you are. It is not that Barytacarbonica is unintelligent—these childrenare often quite bright—but their under-standing of the world around them tendsto be small and focused on the littlethings, and may result in obsessing onminutiae like how they pack their back-pack, how they do their hair, how they setfood on a plate, and so on. No matter thetopic under discussion, the homeworkassignment, or whatever the experience,the child needing Baryta carbonica willnaturally want to keep the focus small and

narrow, making things more manageable.Rather than being wide-eyed and curiousabout their environment, Baryta carbonicachildren are very concrete in their think-ing and want to know everything ahead oftime. In addition to whatever therapy aparent might choose for the Baryta car-bonica child, taking pains to explain thingsfully, visiting the new school ahead oftime, and parsing it out for the child willhelp. It is not so much that the parent ismicromanaging every detail (thoughsomeone needing this remedy would lovethat), rather, the parent or other caringadult is helping to acclimate the child orteenager to a new setting.

The tendency for the Baryta carbonicachild to be more concrete can lead to akind of rigidity in their thinking andactions. For example, once they’ve settledon a particular school outfit, these chil-dren may wear that same outfit every dayand be quite upset if forced to make achange. Walking the same route betweenclasses or getting the same school lunchevery day for years is easier for these chil-dren—they don’t have to think about itand don’t have to make any decisions. Thisrigidity also manifests as excessive concernwith “the rules,” as these provide a feelingof safety for the Baryta carbonica individ-ual, who can become overstressed whenothers choose to treat rules as optional.

Young people who need Baryta carbon-ica are not our “big picture” thinkers.Rather, they are only able to digest the big-ger task, idea, book—or even the compli-cations of friendship—in smaller parts,one piece at a time. This is another reasonthat school causes anxiety for Baryta car-bonica children and teens. For example,during the high school years, much ofwhat is required of teens relates to their

ability to infer, both in the academic and,most certainly, in the social realm—andthis not a great strength of our Baryta car-bonica youngster.

Growth = change for the whole family For the child or teenager who needs it,Baryta carbonica confers a kind ofstrength: more confidence, more opin-ions, more clear likes and dislikes. Theanxiety lessens, the physical complaints(such as frequent upper respiratory infec-tions or low muscle tone) should improve,but most notably, the person him- or her-self comes to the forefront, “growing up”in a very real sense. In some families thiscan present different kinds of challenges.Parents who are accustomed to an obedi-ent, almost docile child may suddenly findthemselves with a youngster who is morechallenging, with more overt needs andopinions. On occasion, I have had toremind parents that this growth is ahealthy sign, something we shouldapplaud and not resist. Of course, whenparents get the help they need to navigatethis evolution, it helps the child, andindeed the entire family, to grow.

With homeopathic treatment, theBaryta carbonica child or teen retains hisbasic nature and tendencies but is muchless impacted by external stressors, andreduced school anxiety results. The health-ier and more balanced children become,the less the external world impacts themnegatively (and this applies to childrenwho need other remedies as well). Withour Baryta carbonica child, for example,we wouldn’t expect homeopathic treat-ment to result in a loud, outgoing, groupleader. They will still hold back, still tend tothink more narrowly, still conserve someenergy, but much less so. After treatment,such a child might well find one thing tograsp onto and really pursue, makinghealthy strides in understanding, ability,performance, and the like.

Silica: Weak and oversensitiveIt can be difficult to distinguish the childwho needs Silica from one who will dowell on Baryta carbonica. There are, how-

Starting school can makethem feel as if the parentsare trying to get rid of them.


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ever, clear differences and unique presen-tations in children needing each remedy.For the Silica child, the underlying issue isweakness, whereas immaturity is the hall-mark of the Baryta carbonica child. Theweakness of the Silica child can be seen onthe physical level, certainly, but also in thecognitive sphere. Owing to this inherentweakness, the child who needs Silica,when stressed, can become quite oversen-sitive, both to other people and to the sur-rounding environment. It’s easy to seehow the entire school experience can bean affront to the sensitive Silica child. Thenoise, light, and general chaos that is typi-cal of most school settings, simply doesnot work for a kid who needs Silica.

Their school anxiety manifests as need-ing to control everything they can (whichmay be confusing with Baryta carbonica).These are the children who can easily get into “what if” mode, where the imagi-nation runs wild and they cannot stopthinking of every bad thing that mighthappen. The child who needs Silica willseek protection from parents or perhaps ateacher, not wanting to leave mom or dador be left alone at school. This is the childwho sticks to the teacher’s side in theyounger grades, who may become the“goody-goody,” so as to stay in theteacher’s good graces and within theteacher’s sphere of protection.

Naturally, children and teens who needSilica can develop physical ailments inresponse to their anxiety, and true to theirSilica nature, worrying about the ailmentsthemselves can make these youngsterseven more anxious! They may haveheadaches, sinus troubles, chronic ear-aches, or upper respiratory tract infec-tions, often with swollen glands and lots ofperspiration. They may be small in statureand have difficulty gaining weight. Lowstamina and a general sense of weaknessunderlie much of their pathology.

In healthier states, where the stressorsin their lives are not as severe or constant,

or their physical symptoms are not as per-vasive, these Silica-type children may dofine in school. Rather than exerting them-selves on a different sporting team eachseason or joining many clubs, these youngpeople will instead find a small group ofgood friends and stick to doing one thingthat they love. They will not socializewidely and may be known as shy. Withhomeopathic treatment, as their anxietylessens, they will be able to shine in what-ever they have chosen. They will evenseem quite confident, while knowing theirlimits, and consistent with their natural,underlying weakness and fragility, theywill be careful not to over-do.

Pulsatilla: Clingy and afraid of abandonmentChildren who need Pulsatilla have anunderlying fear of being abandoned,which can trigger school anxiety. This fearof being forsaken can relate to parents,teachers, friends, or siblings—it does notreally matter. The core feeling is that some-one the child loves and needs will not bethere for them. So, starting school canmake them feel as if the parents are tryingto get rid of them. The child who will ben-efit from Pulsatilla cannot understand why

they have to go to school when theiryounger-than-school-age siblings get tostay home.

The neediness of the Pulsatilla-typechild is well known. When younger, theymay cling to the parent’s leg or skirt, refus-ing to let go. They can cry pitifully andcarry on as if they are being physically tor-tured. Even the older child will offer bigemotional displays when they have toleave the parent or separate from the per-son they are with at the moment. Theseare the children who seek consolation,affirmation, and reassurance at every turn.

If the child’s teacher is able to addressthis need for attention and be a surrogatewho loves and adores the child, everythingat school can work out fine. But in theyounger grades, if the child has a teacherwho is not “warm and fuzzy,” things willprobably not go well, making the drop-off-at-school time difficult. The child willwrap themselves up in the parent, ask forone more story, or insist on one more triparound the classroom to show the parent“just one more” picture they drew or note-book they wrote in—they are using uptime, all the while keeping the parent closeat hand. There will typically be lots of cry-ing, perhaps even tantrums. This behavior


Over the past 28 years of practice, I have witnessed so many kids and teens whose fear, anxiety, and apprehension around school have improved greatly, thanks to homeopathy.


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may be confusing to parents, as the child isabsolutely fine at home. That’s because athome, the child’s system is not beingstressed! We all respond to stress in pre-dictable and patterned ways, according tothings like genetics and our environ-ment—and also in accordance with ourconstitutional homeopathic remedy type.So, if you make the stress big enough, thePulsatilla-type child will react with anovert emotional display, with much weep-ing and carrying on.

What this child or teenager needs whenthey are under stress (in this case, from theschool situation) is consolation, support,and encouragement. They need to be rein-forced and cajoled, reminded of how muchthey are loved. This is not the child whoneeds “tough love.” When we know theconstitutional type of our children andwhat kinds of things make them better orworse, it can guide the way we parent andthe way we support a child in need.*

Children who need Pulsatilla can some-times seem to have no opinions of theirown. Their strong need to please others, tofeel loved and not abandoned, may makethem just “go with the flow” on everything.(The child who needs Baryta carbonica canseem that way too, but that’s because theyactually lack opinions. The Silica-typechild can manifest this way as well, but thatis because it just takes too much energyand effort for them to express and carryout an opinion. Rest assured, however, thatthe Silica child has a strong opinion, evenif it’s not overtly expressed.)

Even though the Pulsatilla youngsterwants and seeks lots of attention, affec-tion, hugs, and so on, if they get too muchof that, sometimes they get overwhelmed,feeling suffocated in a sense. They can getirritable and have outbursts. Parents may

say, “There is no pleasing this child,” andat some moments, that seems especiallytrue. As the remedy Pulsatilla begins totake action, however, we can see the childor teenager become more self-reliant, lessclingy, and less dependent on the parent.At the same time, we will see an easing ofthe typical Pulsatilla physical symptoms,such as upper respiratory infections,asthma, or skin issues.

Consider the whole child—physical & emotional Under times of stress, a person can mani-fest symptoms of most any kind, affectingany bodily system, so it is always impor-tant to recall the physical general symp-toms for each of the remedies you areconsidering. General tendencies that applyto the whole person like body tempera-ture, appetite, or thirst, for example, canhelp us distinguish these three remedies. Achild needing Pulsatilla is nearly alwaysvery warm, whereas kids needing Silica orBaryta carbonica are more commonlychilly. Someone needing Pulsatilla prefersopen and moving air while a Silica-typekid prefers to be indoors, wrapped up niceand cozy. A child needing Pulsatilla tendsto have little thirst while one needing Sil-ica tends to be more thirsty. In otherwords, while the physical particular symp-toms (like swollen glands, an earache, or astuffy nose) are important, remember topay attention to the physical generalsymptoms—while also seeking to under-stand what drives the child in the moreemotional realms. When we understandwhat underlies the child’s behavior, whatdrives their fears and anxieties, that willhelp us find the best possible remedy withthe widest sphere of influence.

School, with the academic, social, and

other stressors it holds, is a major insti -gator of anxiety for many kids. Homeopa-thy offers a wide-reaching, effectiveapproach for this population—withoutthe unwanted side effects of psychotropicdrugs. Over the past 28 years of practice, Ihave witnessed so many kids and teenswhose fear, anxiety, and apprehensionaround school have improved greatly,thanks to homeopathy. With appropriateconstitutional homeopathic care, schoolanxiety can be reduced, enhancing learn-ing, growth, curiosity and the ability tointegrate new information and knowl-edge. The child’s distracting or recurringphysical issues are addressed simultane-ously, revealing the beauty of homeopa-thy: we treat the whole person, regardlessof complaint, and improvements occur onmany levels.

Thank you to Paul Herscu, ND, DHANP, myperceptive, prolific (and wonderful!) husbandfor his ongoing ability to articulate nuanceddifferences among closely related remediesand his ongoing commitment to sharing thatinformation. Much of the above materia medica of these three remedies is drawn fromhis teachings. If you’d like to read more, see hisfirst book, The Homeopathic Treatment ofChildren, or subscribe to the Herscu Letter, his online lecture series that includes philoso-phy, cases, and extended materia medica(www.nesh.com/the-herscu-letter/). My ownunderstanding and prescribing for patients isalways improved by my ongoing work withand learning from Paul.

*See my article on constitutional types and parent-ing: “Some Thoughts on Homeopathic Family Practice: Does Parenting Impact ConstitutionalTypes? Should Constitutional Types in ChildrenImpact Parenting?” The New England Journal ofHomeopathy, Spring/Summer 1997, Vol.6 No.2/3,http://preview.tinyurl.com/lu4nr9m

Amy Rothenberg, ND, DHANP,practices in Enfield, CT(www.nhcmed.com) andteaches through the New England School of Homeopathy(www.nesh.com). A Two Year

Course on the East Coast will begin in 2014. She is currently the president of the MassachusettsSociety of Naturopathic Doctors working on legislation to license naturopathic doctors in thatstate. You can follow her blog at www.huffington-post.com/amy-rothenberg-nd/. Her book, The A Cappella Singer Who Lost Her Voice & Other Stories from Natural Medicine can be found onAmazon or at www.amyrothenberg.com.


Withhomeopathictreatment, astheir anxietylessens, theywill be able to shine inwhatever theyhave chosen.


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http://www.nesh.com/the-herscu-letter/

http://preview.tinyurl.com/lu4nr9m

http://www.nhcmed.com

http://www.nesh.com

http://www.amyrothenberg.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-rothenberg-nd/






Here at NCH we’re already inhigh gear planning for the 9thannual Joint American Homeo-pathic Conference (JAHC), Advanc-

ing Practice: Approaches for Acute andChronic Care (April 4–6, 2014). The HyattRegency in Long Beach, CA, will provide abeautiful and peaceful backdrop for thisexciting gathering open to all who areinterested in homeopathy. Whether you’veattended before or this will be your firsttime, the 2014 JAHC promises to be anevent that you won’t want to miss.

And this year, in addition to our usualstellar line-up of speakers and educationalsessions, we’re changing things up to giveyou, our attendees, more of what youwant. You spoke and we listened. You toldus you wanted:● More networking opportunities● More educational sessions● More time with the exhibitors● More chance to hear from your peers

and have the opportunity to submit yourown proposals for conference sessions.

Well, the 2014 JAHC will offer all of theseopportunities and more.

Learn & celebrateFriday’s all-day preconference workshopswill feature some of the most recognizednames in homeopathy, with two tracksdesigned to enlighten and inspire you,whether you’re a short-time enthusiast ora long-time practitioner of homeopathy.

Then the conference will officially kick-off that evening with an opening reception

in our packed exhibit hall, followed by theNCH annual meeting and 40th birthdaycelebration! All NCH members are invitedto attend this special celebration markingour 40th anniversary, enjoy a bite of birth-day cake, and share in the memories.

Saturday and Sunday will be packed witheducational sessions featuring internation-ally known speakers, practical and inspiringpanel sessions, and presentations from yourpeers. More than 75 session proposals weresubmitted by members of the homeopathiccommunity in our first-ever request-for-proposal process, and we’re thrilled to beable to highlight some of these up-and-coming stars at the conference.

Network & rememberBoth Saturday and Sunday lunches will bereserved as dedicated networking spaces.A regional networking lunch on Saturdaywill allow you to get to know others in thehomeopathic community who live in yourarea. This will be a unique opportunity tocreate local connections and share knowl-edge and advice, challenges and solutions.

In honor of NCH’s 40th anniversary,we’re dedicating Sunday’s networkinglunch to a walk down memory lane—anNCH Summer School Reunion! Althoughthe NCH Summer School program endedseveral years ago, the memories live on. PastSummer School attendees are invited tocome and reconnect with peers and teach-ers during lunch on Sunday to share memories and stories, and be inspiredabout the impact that Summer School hashad on the lives of so many. And if you didn’t attend Summer School, we’d stilllove to have you! Use this networking spaceas an opportunity to meet some of theleading minds in homeopathy and broadenyour connections within the community—

and probably hear a funny story or two.After sessions are over on Saturday, join

us for a special social event on Saturdayevening. The details for this fun, relaxingevening are still being finalized, so staytuned for more information.

And if you’d like to wake up and getenergized in the mornings before sessionsstart, then don’t forget your walking shoes!Our fantastically energetic NCH BoardSecretary, Loretta Butehorn, will be leadinga sunrise walking group each morning ofthe conference around beautiful LongBeach. Join in to meet new people, spendquality time with friends and colleagues,and get energized for a day of learning.

Register early!Conference registration opens in earlyNovember, so be on the lookout for moredetails about how to register for this one-of-a-kind event. And anyone who registersfor the conference before January 15, 2014will be automatically entered into a raffleto win a free conference registration andtwo nights of accommodation for the2015 JAHC—a prize worth almost $1000!

The 9th annual JAHC will be a confer-ence unlike any other, and you will leaveinspired, strengthened, and energized tocontinue practicing, supporting, andspreading the word about the healingpowers of homeopathy.

Mark Your Calendar!Mark Your Calendar!9th Annual Joint American Homeopathic ConferenceApril 4 –6, 2014 • Long Beach, California

2014

Left, renowned homeopaths Bill Gray, MD DHt (California)and Alize Timmerman (The Netherlands) at the JAHC.

Right, the NCH team hard at work setting up: Executive Director Alison Teitelbaum, Sarah Fischetti,

Mary Katherine Saladino.


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A Beautiful Life—and Homeopathy Extends ItBeloved “centenarian” dog gets extra time with familyby MARTHA DeMARCO, CCH(cand)

Using the standard human-life-to-dog-life age ratio, my friend is a centenarian. Iknow I won’t have the pleasure of hiscompany much longer. As his caretakerand his homeopath, I’m always payingattention to the quality of his life. Is hehappy? (It may seem crazy, but he actuallysmiles.) Is he eating well? Sleeping? Is hestill able to be productive in his life? Shel-ties are a working breed, and he reallyenjoys herding the birds and squirrels inour yard.

A willing guinea pigSeveral years ago, after enrolling in home-opathy school, I honed and practiced mynew skills on my sweet dog. Biscuit taughtme a lot about homeopathic prescribing.You might say my dog has been my“guinea pig.” Biscuit has generally beenhealthy, happy, and active, but from timeto time I have treated him homeopathi-cally for minor upsets such as vomitingand diarrhea, bee stings, eye infections,and kennel cough.

One incident that made me especiallygrateful for homeopathy was when Biscuitwas hit by a car and required hip surgery.Immediately after the accident and thenagain after surgery, I treated him withArnica, the premier homeopathic traumaremedy. He recovered more quickly thanexpected and was soon back to runningand herding small animals in our yard.

Some years later, however, that previ-ously injured hip became arthritic, caus-ing him to limp with discomfort. Whenthe vet’s pain prescription made Biscuitsick, I discovered that a single dose of thehomeopathic remedy Phosphorus 30c tookaway Biscuit’s pain for about a month at atime—without any side effects. After a fewmonthly doses, Biscuit was so much better

that I discontinued the remedy—he nolonger seemed to need it. I don’t think ofPhosphorus as a typical “arthritis remedy.”Rather, I’ve come to consider Phosphorusto be Biscuit’s constitutional remedy (i.e.,a remedy that matches the individual sowell that it addresses many different ail-ments for that individual). Biscuit hasmany of the general traits that we see inhumans who respond to Phosphorus: hetends to be fearful (especially of thunder-storms), he is very thirsty, he loves atten-tion and company, and he has always beenon the thin side.

No kisses this morning…Normally Biscuit is a “morning person,”waking me enthusiastically for his break-fast. But one morning not too long ago hedidn’t wake me—it turned out that hecouldn’t get up from his bed. I carried himto his food dish. He was able to stand, buthe didn’t want the food. Whoa—that hadnever happened before! He’s always had avoracious appetite, even when sick. Iopened the door, and he couldn’t move togo outside. Now I was worried. I carriedhim outside. He stood in one place anddidn’t move. He seemed confused and dis-oriented, as if he didn’t recognize hiswhereabouts.

I carried him inside and put him on hisbed. He just lay there, staring at the wall,breathing but not moving. When it wasBiscuit’s time to pass, I wanted him to beat home and comfortable. I wondered if itwas his time. With great sadness, I sensedhe was giving up. He didn’t even look myway. I called my husband and suggested hecome home from work.

I reached for a couple of books onhomeopathy for animals. In A Healer inEvery Home, Dog & Cat Edition by Lenni-

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I’ve been fortunate to have a gentleman friend for many years.He is completely devoted to me, loves me unconditionally, follows me every-where, and asks for nothing in return. My Shetland sheepdog is 151⁄2 years old.Biscuit is my devoted companion.

I put my forehead to

my buddy’s forehead

and let him know

I would understand if

his time had come.


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NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org • Homeopathy TODAYAutumn 2013

31

han, Roman, and Moore, I opened to thepassage on “Calming a Dying Animal.” Ididn’t know if Biscuit was truly dying, butI was interested in keeping him comfort-able. It read, “Arsenicum will relax the ani-mal, reduce its anxiety and make thepassage easier. Even better, alternate itwith Rescue Remedy®.” I dissolved a fewpellets of Arsenicum 30c in water and gaveBiscuit a dose with an eyedropper; a fewminutes later, I gave him a dose of RescueRemedy®. I alternated the two remediesvery quickly, as indicated in extreme situations. After about 10 minutes and 3 or 4 doses each of Arsenicum and RescueRemedy®, I noticed that Biscuit started tofocus on me instead of the wall. I felt asthough he had come around mentally: heknew where he was.

Time to say goodbye?I turned to the section on “Euthanasia” inHomeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs, inwhich author Don Hamilton, DVM,weighs choosing euthanasia against allow-ing the dog to pass in his own time. Ofcourse, the animal’s degree of suffering isparamount in making this decision. I wasn’t ready to consider euthanasia at thispoint, but I was interested to read whatHamilton had to say. Biscuit was still notwalking, but he seemed peaceful.

Hamilton writes, “It is also important

to verbally give the animal permission tolet go, as they often hold on to the con-nection with the guardian. It is equallyimportant that you truly let go when yougive permission to your companion.” I putmy forehead to my buddy’s forehead andlet him know I would understand if histime had come. In retrospect, I may nothave truly meant it, but I tried to be as sin-cere as I could.

Hamilton also discusses using remediesthat will help ease the transition to deathif the animal is afraid to let go. Of course,these remedies don’t cause death; theyease the fear and anxiety that may beexperienced during the process. In addi-tion to suggesting Arsenicum for the fear-ful, restless animal or Tarentula cubensisfor the animal that is in great pain andstruggling, he reminds the reader that ananimal can find peace of mind from anyremedy, if it is a remedy that suits him(i.e., the constitutional remedy). The lightbulb went on over my head. I had nottried Phosphorus, Biscuit’s go-to remedy! Itucked a Phosphorus 30c pellet inside Bis-cuit’s upper lip so it would dissolve on hisgum. Almost instantly, he stood up, wentto his food dish, and started eating. I wasastonished! I repeated the remedy a few

times that day, whenever I saw him beginto stumble with his footing. By the end ofthe day, he was taking himself down stepsand out to the driveway to bark at the cars.He had recovered 100%!

Roller coaster weekA couple of nights later, Biscuit awakenedat 1 a.m. with vomiting and diarrhea. Iremembered I had given him sardines theday before. He enjoys them but hadn’t hadthem in about five years, and his stomachis very sensitive. Arsenicum is a great rem-edy for vomiting and diarrhea, especially ifthey occur at night, between 12 midnightand 2 a.m. It’s good for food poisoning orsimply to mitigate the effects of eatingsomething disagreeable. Arsenicum is sucha specific choice for these symptoms that Idecided to try it instead of his constitu-tional remedy, Phosphorus. Although it wasthe middle of the night, I cleaned up themess, got my kit of remedies, and tucked apellet of Arsenicum 30c inside Biscuit’s lip.That one little pellet did the trick—thevomiting and diarrhea abruptly ended,and we both went back to sleep.

Biscuit had a few good days, and then Inoticed he was shuffling instead of walk-ing. His back legs started collapsing again.He couldn’t stand. He could bear weighton the rear left leg, but the right was com-pletely lame. This time I knew what to do.I gave him another dose of Phosphorus!

He trotted down the hall,

completely oblivious to

the fact that he couldn’t

stand minutes ago.

Martha’s husband, Jeff DeMarco, giving a remedy to Biscuit.


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Unfortunately, the remedy did not helpthis time. His leg was still lame.

Since his usual go-to remedy wasn’teffective, I went back to the books to see ifI could find a new remedy. I picked Biscuitup, put him on my lap, and opened thehomeopathic software program on mycomputer. Working in a hurry, I selected afew rubrics that described his currentsymptoms: “Generalities, paralysis, right;”“Extremities, legs, right;” and “Extremi-ties, arthritic, lower limbs.”

Causticum and Rhus tox both came upvery strong in this analysis. I took a quicklook at Roger Morrison’s Desktop Guide toKeynotes and Confirmatory Symptoms andpicked Causticum. It described Causticumas addressing a “history of slowly progres-sive debility, stiffness, and—if the pathol-ogy is strong—paralysis.” This descriptionseemed to fit Biscuit’s current situation: hewas suffering from the long-term conse-quences of that old hip injury. I tucked apellet of Causticum 30c inside his lip, took him off my lap, and gingerly set himon the floor. He trotted down the hall,

completely oblivious to the fact that hecouldn’t stand minutes ago.

GratitudeThat was one roller coaster ride of a week.There were times when I thought I wouldlose him for good. If Biscuit couldn’t standor eat, I wonder how much longer itwould have been before I did considereuthanasia? I am so thankful that I didn’thave to wrestle with that issue just yet. Igave Biscuit a weekly dose of Causticum30c for the next month, and then repeatedit monthly after that. It kept him on hisfeet! Because of some very simple homeo-pathic treatment, Biscuit’s ailments liter-ally seemed to disappear—as if they werenever there. And he has gone on to enjoy agood quality of life.

I don’t know what tomorrow willbring. I know I’ll eventually have to saygood-bye for good. Having the extra timeto get used to the idea has been reallyhelpful, probably for both of us. In themeantime, I continue to be amazed at howwell homeopathic remedies work. There is

no placebo effect with an animal. It eitherworks or it doesn’t. And thankfully, itworks for Biscuit! We are so fortunate tohave at our disposal a system of medicinethat is effective, free of side effects, non-toxic, and safe for everyone—includingour precious pets!

Postscript: Biscuit lived for another yearafter this article was written and passedpeacefully last spring. Martha is currentlyenjoying her new Sheltie puppy, Sasha.

Martha DeMarco graduated withhonors from the “ProfessionalHomeopathic Healer Program”at Teleosis Homeopathic Collab-orative in Newton, MA in 2012.She holds the credential CCH(cand), and is in the final stagesof completing her national certi-

fication for the CHC. She is a member of the NCHand NASH. She earned a bachelor’s degree fromSkidmore College. Martha has a homeopathic prac-tice in Norwell, MA and can be reached through herwebsite at www.DeMarcoHomeopathy.com.


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http://www.evergladesuniversity.edu






Outfox the FluHow not to go viral this seasonOutfox the Flu

As flu season rolls around each year, you’re bound tobe bombarded by news stories tracking the progressof the flu virus as it progresses around the world. Will

2012–2013 be a particularly bad season? Time will tell, butin the meantime, it’s a good time to brush up on your flustrategies. Check the NCH website for a wealth of flu preven-tion, treatment, and tracking resources, including podcasts,links, and articles from past issues of Homeopathy Today.

The following is adapted from Your Natural Medicine Cabinet: A Practical Guide to Drug-Free Remedies for Common Ailments(Green Healing Press, 2012)—a user-friendly guide for those newto homeopathy and other natural remedies.

by BEGABATI BURKE LENNIHAN, RN, CCH

Quick fix for fluIf you catch it right in the beginning, Oscillococcinum may staveit off. Get Oscillo before flu season so you have it on hand. Any health food store and many drug stores will have it. Youdon’t need a whole tube at once, though, just a few pellets.

Ongoing careOnce a flu gets going, it may be too late for Oscillo. You’ll get the best results with one of the following homeopathicmedicines, the one that matches your symptoms. Also take a good herbal immune or wellness formula (such as Zand’sInsure Formula), plus elderberry syrup. Elderberry syrup isgreat for coughs, plus it has antibacterial and antiviral prop-erties. A study done in Israel showed that elderberry extractis as effective against the flu as the prescription antiviraldrug, Tamiflu.� Gelsemium is the most common homeopathic medicinefor the flu and other viral conditions. You can recognizesomeone who needs it—drooping eyelids, so tired they can’tget out of bed, they have fever and chills, and they feel apathetic, unlike our next contender …� Arsenicum is for people who are extremely tired (likeGelsemium) but they are likely to be anxious and fretful, rest-less and uncomfortable in bed. They are especially likely to beawake and restless between midnight and 2 a.m., their worsttime. They might have a sore throat and a drippy, watery nasaldischarge. They might also have digestive symptoms, but amore likely remedy for a flu with digestive symptoms is …� Nux vomica. Doesn’t the name just sound like it’s for vom-iting? Big clue—it’s a great remedy for the digestive system,from beginning (heartburn) to end (hemorrhoids). Use it forthe flu when the person has the chills and is really sensitiveto noise and to being disturbed (they are really irritable).They can’t stand the slightest draft of cold air that creeps inunder the covers, where they will stay all bundled up.� Rhus tox, used mostly for little blistery conditions like poison ivy and cold sores, can be used for the flu when

accompaniedby coldsores, plusthe person is likely to have joint pain and to feel worse indamp weather, better with a hot bath.

Many other possible natural medicines for the flu aredescribed in Randall Neustaedter’s Flu: Alternative Treat-ments and Prevention and Sandra Perko’s HomeopathicTreatment of Influenza. It’s worth taking the time to figureout your best-matching flu medicine because it’s likely to bethe same every time you get the flu. Having it on hand couldsave you a lot of time lost from work.

Preventing recurrenceOscillo, the top-selling flu remedy in France, also works great for prevention. For some people, and for some sea-son’s flu viruses, Influenzinum works better. It may be a littleharder to find in stores but you can usually get it fromHomeopathic Educational Services (www.Homeopathic.com)and Washington Homeopathic Products (www.Homeopathy-Works.com). Usually a 9c (low potency) of Influenzinum isused for prevention and 30c to treat an actual flu. Oscilloonly comes in one potency.

When the flu season starts, take either remedy once aweek for four weeks, then once a month for the remainderof the flu season. Take an additional preventive dose everyday that you are directly and closely exposed to someonewith the flu, in your family or at work.

When you’re feeling rundown and likely to get sick, takethe “nip it in the bud” remedy, Ferrum phos. Every naturalmedicine cabinet has to have this on hand because whenyou need it, it’s too late to buy it. You use it the day beforeyou or your child gets sick. Do you have to be psychic toknow when you’re about to get sick? No! Just pay attentionto your body. You feel low-energy, laggard, and listless.Maybe you have a mild fever or a little scratchy feeling in theback of your throat, but there are no actual symptoms yet,like sneezing or coughing or a runny nose. This is the perfecttime for Ferrum phos. Suck on two tablets, three times a day.

Also take these early warning symptoms as a sign that youneed to slow down and take care of yourself. This is especiallytrue for moms who tend to care for everyone else first. But ifyou get sick, who will take care of them? So be sure to getenough rest, eat healthy food, and minimize coffee and sugar.This is also a great time to take your immune-boosting formula.

Begabati Lennihan, RN, CCH, former director of TeleosisSchool of Homeopathy, practices homeopathy at the LydianCenter in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the author(using her middle name, Burke) of Your Natural MedicineCabinet, winner of the prestigious Nautilus Silver Award for health and wellness books.

A B O U T T H E A U T H O R


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Homeopathy offershope for children with autismby JAMIE OSKIN, ND

“My 12-year-old daughter never read or understood

a book in her life. Now she’s reading a book a week! … She’s

no longer in a special autism class at school, and she’s off all

her meds!”

“I was afraid that Jordan wouldn’t make it in regular

kindergarten with his horrific tantrums, itchy eczema, and

terrible toilet habits. Fast forward 10 months: those prob-

lems are gone, he’s doing great in a mainstream classroom,

and best of all, he now hugs me goodbye every day!”

Navigating Autism’s Navigating Autism’s


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The prevalence of autism has skyrocketedin the last 20 years—from an estimated 1 in 10,000 in the 1980s, to 1 in 88 kidstoday (and 1 in 54 boys). This alarmingrise has made autism the most commonpediatric developmental disorder inAmerica. Even worse, there is no knowncause, and there are no conventional med-ical cures. Currently, scientists theorizethat it results from a genetic susceptibilitytriggered by environmental factors.

Thankfully, there is a ray of hope in thisotherwise gloomy picture. Homeopathycan go a long way toward helping kidswith autism. We homeopaths see the evi-dence in our practices every day, andyou’ll see it, too, in the stories of Sarah andJordan that I’ll share with you below.

Homeopathy is unique in that it addressesthe whole person, from physical and emo-tional symptoms to behaviors and envi-ronmental factors. This holistic approachresults in improvements in all aspects ofhealth, which is especially beneficial forthe complex nature of autism.

What is autism? Autism is shorthand for Autism SpectrumDisorders (ASDs)—a group of neurobio-logical disabilities that affect a child’sdevelopment of language, social interac-tion, and behavior. People with autismtend to handle information in their brainsdifferently than other (neurotypical) peo-ple. The autistic child has difficulty social-izing and communicating (verbally and

nonverbally), has restricted interests, anddisplays repetitive body movements orbehavior. One clue that a normal-lookingchild may suffer from autism is that theyavoid eye contact and show little interestin faces or facial expressions.

Along with these classic ASD charac-teristics, an autistic child often has a vari-ety of other symptoms such ashyperactivity, sleep troubles, tempertantrums, rigid routines, finicky eatingpatterns due to dislike of tastes or textures,and gastrointestinal problems. Many dis-play sensory over-stimulation to lights,odors, noises, and textures, and some havesevere tantrums that can lead to injuringthemselves or others by biting and hittingor striking themselves on the head.

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Each individual who suffers fromautism is affected differently, however, andpeople can vary widely on the autismspectrum with regard to the extent of theirchallenges—from severely challenged inthinking and learning abilities toextremely gifted.

Homeopathy’s roleHomeopathy tends to be most effective inhelping autistic children make improve-ments in sensory processing problems,tantrums, and speech delays. It’s importantto remember, however, that homeopathy,just like autism, is not “one-size-fits-all.”Each child may receive an entirely differentindividualized remedy based on his or herunique symptoms.

We should not expect a child withautism to become neurotypical magicallyovernight. Certainly, the brain is plasticand can change with good, ongoing home-opathic treatment from an experiencedprofessional, but we expect slow, steadyprogress over time. Autism is a deep-seatedchronic illness that often has several layers.Homeopathy will help peel away the layers,so that with each sequential prescription,the child regains a better state of overallhealth. How much improvement the childcan ultimately gain will depend, to somedegree, on the age of the child when they start homeopathic treatment, theseverity and longevity of the child’s symp-toms, and the skill of the homeopathicpractitioner. Homeopathy can be usedsafely concurrently with other useful conventional therapies for ASD, such asapplied behavior analysis, speech therapy,and occupational therapy.

Let’s take a look at two real-worldexamples of children with Autism Spec-trum Disorder—Sarah and Jordan (nottheir real names)—to see how they faredwith homeopathic treatment.

Sarah’s story: “Different since birth” Emily first brought her 11-year-olddaughter Sarah to see me in November2011. “From the moment she was born, Iknew Sarah was very different,” Emilysaid. “I’ve been to so many doctors overthe years. At first they thought she wasdeaf. Then she was diagnosed with theworst case of Attention Deficit Disorderthe specialist had ever seen. At age 4, they

told me she had the brain of a 2-year-oldand no comprehension skills.” Emilyrecited a litany of medications her daugh-ter had been prescribed, including Ritalin,antidepressants, and sleeping pills.

Autism was Sarah’s most recent diag-nosis at age 10 and an antipsychotic drug(risperidone), prescribed by her psychia-trist to address irritability, had causedSarah to gain 60 pounds over the previousyear. Even after stopping the medication,Sarah’s appetite remained insatiable andher cholesterol level was sky high. Emilywas skeptical that natural medicine couldhelp Sarah, but she had come at the refer-ral of one of her daughter’s therapists.Emily thought that I might be able to helpher daughter lose weight, never realizingthat homeopathy could address Sarah’sdeeper issues as well.

Incoherent & argumentativeEmily reported that Sarah would cry alonein her room every day since her grandfa-ther’s death three years ago. Although shewas relatively “high functioning” in rela-tion to daily self-care, Sarah could notreally converse or answer questions coher-ently. Her responses to questions weregenerally unrelated and illogical. Forexample, if I asked about her favoritefood, she would say that she liked wearingpink clothes. In addition, Sarah was obsti-nate and stubborn, frequently arguingwith Emily and others. The two problemscompounded each other, as her incoher-ent way of speaking made it even moredifficult to reason with her. Sarah wouldargue non-stop with her parents and sib-lings in this illogical manner, causing sig-

nificant distress and frustration in thehome, which often escalated to Sarah hav-ing full-blown tantrums typical of a muchyounger child. Despite many different pre-scription pharmaceuticals, years of vari-ous types of therapy, and participation inassorted social skills groups, Sarah was notmaking much progress.

Grief-stricken over grandfatherIn choosing a homeopathic remedy forSarah, I paid particular attention to hergrief over her grandfather, as it stillseemed raw after three years. I prescribedNatrum muriaticum 30c, once daily,because it addresses the symptoms of ail-ments from grief, dwelling on the past,aggravation from consolation, and desireto be alone. Within a month, Sarah was nolonger crying alone in her room anddwelling on her grandfather’s death; hermood seemed lighter overall. This was agreat start! Unfortunately, her symptomsrelated to developmental delay and autismshowed no change. Because she had madesome significant improvements, I askedEmily to continue to give her daughter adaily dose of Natrum muriaticum but nowin a higher potency, 200c.

About two months into homeopathictreatment, Sarah’s grief symptomsremained largely absent but she stillshowed no improvement in her othersymptoms, so I realized I needed toreassess her treatment plan. Autism is avery complex chronic condition, andsome trial and error is involved in findingan optimal homeopathic prescription.Emily’s patience during those first fewmonths was key to her daughter’s long-term positive prognosis.

Insatiable eating, provocativeclothingAt our March 2012 follow-up, Sarahbegan telling me about a delusion that herdead relatives would visit her at night inher bedroom and talk to her. This seemedto be a particularly noteworthy (charac-teristic) symptom that could point us to auseful homeopathic remedy. Emily wasalso concerned because Sarah was hidingher older sister’s low-cut shirts and shortshorts in her backpack and changing intothem at school. Knowing that her daugh-ter was developmentally delayed madeEmily very concerned that someone might

One clue … is that they avoid eye contact and

show little interest in faces or facial expressions.

One clue … is that they avoid eye contact and

show little interest in faces or facial expressions.


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take advantage of Sarah based on herprovocative dress.

Sarah’s insatiable appetite and weightgain continued relentlessly, with a strongsweet tooth for cookies and cakes. “Oneday I brought home four extra large cook-ies, one for each of my kids,” Emilyreported, “but before the others even hada chance to eat their cookies, Sarah hadscarfed down every last one! Anothernight, Sarah almost burned the housedown cooking eggs in the middle of thenight when she caught a dishrag on fire.”

Sarah was overly sensitive to loudnoises (diagnosed as sensory processingdisorder) and also very afraid of crowdedplaces. She was intensely affected by sadstories, and she told me repeatedly howupset she was that pop star WhitneyHouston had died. I noticed that she hadsweat beads on her forehead and nose, andwhen I asked to feel her palms I found

them quite clammy. All these symptoms—delusions of hearing voices, visions anddreams of dead people, ravenous hunger,excessive appetite for pastries, craving foreggs, excessive clammy perspiration onhead and palms, high sexual desire, sensi-tivity to noise, sensitivity to hearing cruelstories, fear in narrow places, and obsti-nate behavior fit the indications for Cal-carea carbonica, which also happens to bea very common remedy for children withdevelopmental delay. For example, Her-ing’s The Guiding Symptoms of Our Mate-ria Medica says of Calcarea carbonica:“Mind is confused, so that what is read orheard is not understood or compre-hended. …Intellect dull; unable toprogress in her studies. …Thinking is dif-ficult. …Child has been slow aboutteething and walking.” So I prescribed adaily dose of Calcarea carbonica 30c.1

Starting to read…One month later, Sarah’s mom was beam-ing when I greeted them in the waitingroom. Within the first month on Calcareacarbonica, Sarah had begun speakingcoherently most of the time and engagingin conversations with ease. Her argumentsand tantrums had significantly decreased.For the first time in her life, Sarah hadbegun reading books, albeit very slowly.Emily reported that on a recent trip to anamusement park, Sarah was able to go onrides without her former sensory problemswith loud noises and fear of crowds. Thiswould have been unimaginable only onemonth earlier. She also completely stoppedhearing the voices of dead relatives, saying,“They stopped coming to visit me.”

Off meds, losing weight, making friendsOver the course of the next year, Sarahcontinued to respond positively to severalascending potencies of Calcarea carbonica,given in daily doses as before. (When herprogress stopped on a certain potency, Iwent up a potency to keep the improve-ment going.) Over the summer vacationof 2012, we were able to wean Sarah com-pletely off Ritalin for the first time inmany years. In fact, she performed betterin the following 2012–2013 school year—off all her conventional medications—than she had in any previous year. She wasable to mainstream in many classes andhad friends that were her peer age for thefirst time in her life. Emily cried when shetold me that Sarah was having her firstsleepover party with girls her own age.Sarah even started writing her own novelsabout dragons. Within six months ofstarting Calcarea carbonica, Sarah’sappetite diminished to normal levels, shebegan to lose her excess weight, and hercholesterol levels normalized.

It’s been about 21 months now thatSarah has been receiving homeopathictreatment, and she continues to do well.This is still early in the course of treatmentfor such a complex case, and she still has aways to go, but I expect Sarah will con-tinue to make significant strides withlong-term help from homeopathy.

Gets her life back!About a year into treatment, Sarah’smother wrote: “We have been coming to

Recommendations for Parents◆ Amy Lansky, PhD, (former NCHBoard member) wrote a wonder-ful book called Impossible Curethat explains how her son recovered from autism withhomeopathic treatment. You canalso find an excellent essay onher website that offers valuableinformation for parents seeking a skilled homeopathic practitioner to treat theirchild, as well as what to expect from the process of homeopathic treatment.www.impossiblecure.com/autism.php

◆ Facing Autism: Giving Parents Reasons for Hope and Guidance for Help, byLynn Hamilton, is an excellent book for parents of a newly diagnosed autisticchild. It explains the various treatments and services available and also offersguidance on how to emotionally handle the life changes that come with a newautism diagnosis.

◆ Temple Grandin, PhD, has some excellent books based on her experience as a successful adult living with high-functioning autism. An excellent HBOmovie was made about her that is now available on DVD—see her website atwww.templegrandin.com. I especially recommend her books: Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism; The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s; and Developing Talents: Careers for individuals with AspergerSyndrome and High-Functioning Autism.

◆ Seek homeopathic treatment: Search for a practitioner who has extensivelystudied homeopathy and who has experience helping children with autism. To find a homeopath near you, visit the National Center for Homeopathy atwww.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org, or check Amy Lansky’s online referrallist for homeopaths who are experienced with treating children with autism:www.impossiblecure.com/referrals.php.


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http://www.impossiblecure.com/autism.php

http://www.templegrandin.com


http://www.impossiblecure.com/referrals.php






you since November of 2011 and haveonly been to see you once a month and mydaughter is off all her medications andonly takes your natural homeopathicremedies and fish oils and Vitamin D andshe is getting As in some subjects atschool. I never thought I would see thisday. We are so excited for her. How do Iever thank you or repay you for giving mychild her life back?”

Jordan’s story: Startingkindergarten at a disadvantageCatherine first called me in September2012, worried that her 7-year-old son“wouldn’t make it in his new kindergartenclassroom.” He was extremely restless withmany behavioral problems. His preschoolteacher had urged them to start Jordan onconventional stimulant medications, thekind used for kids with Attention DeficitDisorder, so he could better handlekindergarten. But when Jordan respondedto the very first dose of Vyvanse® (lisdex-amfetamine) with dramatic head andstomach pain, his parents decided it wasnot the right option for him.

Jordan was born two months prema-turely. He was delayed in speech and didn’t walk until he was 17 months old. Atage 3 when he was still delayed in otherareas of development, his pediatrician rec-ommended a specialist, who diagnosedhim with autism. At the time of our firstconsultation, Jordan was cognitively abouta year and a half behind the norm. Hestruggled with eye contact and didn’tunderstand social cues. For an autisticchild, he was extremely outgoing, but hewould inappropriately get in people’s per-sonal space causing children and adults todistance themselves from him. He hadtrouble making friends—not surprisinggiven that he had tried to hurt other chil-dren on multiple occasions.

Terrible tantrums & toiletingHis mom was most concerned that hisproblematic behaviors were interferingwith his social life. He had horrible melt-downs every day in school and at home.For example, when told to come in for din-ner, he would fall to the ground, screamingand yelling, “I’m not going!” He wouldthrow whatever was close by and defiantlyshout, “No I don’t want to!” Alternatively,he would run out of the house and reck-

Evidence: Homeopathy Helps Autistic Kids

Homeopaths often report that autistic children make great strides underhomeopathic treatment, and now a small but growing number of researchstudies backs them up. A 2008 pilot trial in Brazil, for example, found that

homeopathic treatment had positive effects on cognitive, motor, and behavioralperformance in children with autism. More significant improvements occurred inyounger children than in older children, reinforcing the idea that early interventionis best. Even so, teens treated with homeopathy also experienced positive effects,including lower aberrant behaviors and improved social and family integration.

A 2011 paper by Praful Barvalia also showed promising results for 60 autisticchildren treated with classical homeopathy at Spandan Holistic MultidisciplinaryInstitute in Mumbai, India. The group included a cross-section of girls and boys ofvarious ages, suffering with mild, moderate, or severe autism. ATEC (Autism Treat-ment Evaluation Checklist) scores were assessed for each child at various intervals:six months prior to treatment, when beginning treatment (baseline), and everythree months up to one year after the onset of homeopathic treatment. ATECscores improved almost 34% after three months and 60% by six months into treatment. [See footnote on page 41 for more about the ATEC assessment tool.]Most impressive was that after only one year of homeopathic treatment, 9 of the60 children were assessed as non-autistic, according to the standard autism diagnostic tool, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale.

The study also sheds light on the timeframe in which we might expect to seemeasurable improvements in symptoms; the children continued to get better at 12 and 18 months, which indicates that long-term homeopathic treatment of achild with autism reaps rewards. Additionally, the study showed that about one-third of the children needed sequentially different homeopathic remedies overtime, as their pattern of symptoms changed (this mirrors what I see in my practice,as demonstrated in the accompanying cases of Emily and Jordan).

Barvalia’s paper also identified common subtypes of children with autism whomight benefit from certain categories of homeopathic remedies. They found groupsof remedies that were valuable for autistic children with sensory problems (includingCarcinosinum, Nux vomica, China, Stramonium), hyperactive and violent behaviors(including Tarentula, Stramonium, Tuberculinum, Medorrhinum, Nux vomica),regressive or inappropriate sexual behaviors (including Hyoscyamus, Baryta carbon-ica, Bufo), problematic moods (including Phosphorus, Carcinosinum, Lycopodium),intense fears (including Opium, Borax), autistic savant abilities (including Coffea,Calcarea phos, Belladonna, Agaricus), and strong causation in the child’s history forthe onset of autism (e.g., if the autistic symptoms began after illness, vaccination,suppressive medication, or emotional trauma, a remedy appropriate to the causationmay be needed). Collating and sharing this type of clinical information can beinvaluable to the practicing homeopath, and more such research is needed. References:1. Geórgia Regina Macedo de Menezes Fonseca, et al. Effect of homeopathic medication on the

cognitive and motor performance of autistic children (Pilot study). Int J High Dilution Res2008; 7(23); 63–71.

2. Barvalia, P. Autism Spectrum Disorder: Holistic Homeopathy. Homeopathic Links Spring 2011, Vol. 24: pp. 31–38.

Evidence: Homeopathy Helps Autistic Kids


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lessly cross the street without first checkingwhether any cars were coming.

Toileting was a major problem thatwould lead to tantrums and fights. He stillwasn’t toilet trained with bowel move-ments, and he was afraid to sit on the toilet. His parents tried endless behavioraltherapy reward systems without anyimprovements—he still frequently soiledhis pants. When his mother would noticehe was starting to have a bowel move-ment, she would grab him and rush to the toilet while he kicked and screamed.This never ended well and rarely resultedin stool making it into the toilet. Jordanwas so stubborn and, oddly, he didn’tmind soiling himself. Sometimes hewould even put his hands into his pants tosmell the stool or play with it. To makethings worse, his stools were extremelyfoul-smelling.

Garbled speech, poorcomprehensionJordan’s speech remained developmen-tally delayed; he would talk hastily in gar-bled speech and often in the third personwhen referring to himself, such as “Jordangoes to school.” He frequently repeatedwords (known as “echolalia”), such as“tractor, tractor, tractor.” When excited, heexhibited hand flapping, a commonsymptom in autism. His reading compre-hension was poor, and handwriting wasdelayed. He had some sensory processingsymptoms including sensitivity to loudnoises and to odors. Jordan’s ATEC(Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist)score was 46, which placed him roughly inthe 25th percentile with regard to hisautistic symptoms (where the 0 percentile= no autistic symptoms and the 99th per-centile = severe autism).2

History of earaches & eczemaJordan’s history of physical ailmentsincluded recurrent ear infections as well asongoing eczema; the eczema rashes wereworse with a warm bath. Since he was 18 months old, he’d had an episode ofcroup (inflammation of the voicebox andwindpipe with cough, hoarseness, and dif-ficult breathing) every year; twice, he hadto go to the ER for nebulizer treatments,and his doctor put him on a bronchodila-tor (albuterol). During his last episode,however, Catherine had successfullytreated him with Spongia, an over-the-

counter homeopathic remedy well-knownby moms for helping kids with croup, andit was this success that led her to seek me out for homeopathic treatment forJordan’s autism.

Jordan was generally bothered in awarm room and preferred open air withthe windows down. He was a very sweatykid with offensive-smelling perspirationon his head, hands, and feet. He also had afew warts on his feet.

Remedy for a smelly, sweaty kidIn considering a remedy for Jordan, Ithought that Jordan’s most characteristicor distinctive symptoms were his tan -trums, his very offensive-smelling dis-charges (body odor and stool), his eczemarashes that got worse after warm bathing,and his dirtiness (e.g., playing with hisfeces). These symptoms led me to choosethe homeopathic remedy, Sulphur. Othersymptoms that helped confirm my choiceincluded his warm-bloodedness, chronicsusceptibility to croup, and developmentaldelays. Sulphur was one of the three mostsuccessful prescriptions in Swiss investiga-tor Heiner Frei’s Attention Deficit Hyper-


Kids with autism need extra help to communicate and get along in theworld, and this is where parents, teachers, and therapists can assist. Studiesshow that applied behavioral therapy can help to teach children complex

communication as well as social, play, and self-help skills (e.g., how to take turns,play in a group, eat in a school cafeteria, etc.). Speech therapy can be very usefulfor problems with language development, which are some of the main challengesthat children with autism face. A kid might also be taught sign language, for example, or encouraged to point to pictures to get their message across. Manychildren with Autism Spectrum Disorders have low muscle tone and difficultieswith fine-motor skills like writing, so occupational therapists can be very helpful toimprove these functional skills. And remember, early intervention yields the bestresults, so seek help as soon as you suspect your child might be in need of it.

When excited, he exhibitedhand flapping, a commonsymptom in autism.

When excited, he exhibitedhand flapping, a commonsymptom in autism.

Get ExtraHelp–the Earlierthe Better!

Get ExtraHelp–the Earlierthe Better!


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activity Disorder homeopathy research(along with Calcarea carbonica andLycopodium).3 This is not surprising giventhat, in the homeopathic provings, Sul-phur produces restlessness with desire tomove and many cognitive symptoms suchas difficulty thinking. It is also a remedyvery commonly indicated for patientswith skin rashes that are worse from warmapplications. The combination of Jordan’smental/emotional symptoms plus hisphysical symptoms led to this prescrip-tion, based on Hahnemann’s directions touse the totality of characteristic symptomsdescribed in aphorism 153 of the Organonof Medicine.

Getting good gradesI asked Catherine to give Jordan one doseof Sulphur 6c each day. She called oneweek later, with some excitement in hervoice: “He had a pretty good week inschool. He even went to a big birthdayparty over the weekend … and behavedhimself! I was worried that all the noiseand chaos would get him so worked upthat he’d play too hard and end up hurtingsomeone—but not this time. He seemedless restless this week, too. He actually satthrough a few meals without runningaway from the table!”

At Jordan’s one-month follow-up visit,his mother reported more positive changes.His tantrums were not nearly as intense asbefore, and he wasn’t fighting as muchabout toileting. “For the first time ever, hetold me when had to go to the bathroom tohave a BM,” she exclaimed. “And at school,he got 100% on his last 3 spelling tests.”He’d had a mild worsening of his eczema

right after starting the remedy, but then therashes completely disappeared. He hadbeen less sweaty over the last month, too.Overall, a very good report!

More mature at school & homeOver the next few months, Jordan contin-ued his daily dose of homeopathic Sulphur,but I increased the potency at a few junc-tures—typically whenever his improve-ment plateaued for more than a few weeks.The tantrums became less frequent. Jor-dan’s parents even took him on a trip toDisney World, which they wouldn’t haveattempted before. “His behavior was amaz-ing—he had only one tantrum,” Catherinereported. “We never had a vacation thatwas this stress-free! Jordan’s kindergartenteacher is amazed, too. When I last talked toher she said, ‘Wow, Jordan’s really matured!He’s not acting up, and he sits still forextended periods.’” Although he was stillusing his own name when talking abouthimself (i.e., talking in the third person), hewas speaking much more intelligibly andwith improved vocabulary and sentencestructure. “His math scores aren’t great, buthe’s excelling at English and spelling,”Catherine said. “And he came up two levelsin reading!”

Even better, Jordan’s toileting problemshad completely resolved—which was a

huge step toward family harmony. He wasnow using the bathroom on his own withno more sanitation problems. His eczemaoutbreaks had disappeared, too. He wasn’tsweating as much on his head, hands, andfeet, and the odor was barely noticeable.

Tantrums returnAfter about five months of steadyimprovement with homeopathic treat-ment, Jordan began to relapse. First, hecame down with hives all over his body, onand off for a couple of months. Then theeczema rash returned on his back betweenhis shoulder blades. Even worse, hisbehavior tanked, and he started throwingmassive tantrums over little things, evenin public places like the grocery storewhen he didn’t get something he wanted.Twice, he dumped two large soap bottleson the living room carpet just to be defi-ant. He also started wetting the bed, whichwas something he had not done since thebeginning of his homeopathic care. Andhe still had the warts on his feet that he’dhad at the start of treatment.

Because Sulphur had been working sowell for Jordan, I tried increasing thepotency a few times over the next fewmonths to see if that would have anyeffect. Unfortunately, Jordan showed noimprovement, so I knew we needed to finda different remedy.

Time for a new approachIn considering Jordan’s most troublesomesymptoms—hives, a new eczema outbreak,warts on his feet, bedwetting, tantrumsthat were easily triggered—they seemedfairly run-of-the-mill; none stood out asthe kind of “keynote” symptoms thatwould clearly point to a particular homeo-pathic prescription. In aphorism 153 of theOrganon, however, Hahnemann explainsthat the totality of characteristic symptomsshould be used to find the remedy thatproduces the most similar symptoms in ahomeopathic proving. Even in the absenceof particular “keynote” symptoms, careful

He started hugging me on his way out to school or play—for the first time in his life!

He started hugging me on his way out to school or play—for the first time in his life!


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study can still allow us to solve these casesby seeing how the symptoms all togetherform a uniquely identifying totality.

So I repertorized Jordan’s symptomsusing the The Bönninghausen Repertory,Therapeutic Pocketbook Method, SecondEdition, edited by George Dimitriadis, asyou can see in the chart on page 40.4

Because Sepia came up in the analysisas a strong possibility, I checked Hahne-mann’s Chronic Diseases and found thefollowing Sepia proving symptoms thatmatched the symptoms that Jordan wasexhibiting: He gets vexed at every trifle.Peevish and disposed to quarrel. Vexatioussensitiveness. Angry, peevish. Very moroseand violent. A trifle may produce a violentebullition of anger… He was distracted,talked incorrectly, using the wrong words.… in a disagreeable, restless mood. At nighthe dreams that he is urinating into the ves-sel, while he allows the urine to flow into thebed. Itching eruption on the back. Warts.

Big change in autism scoresJordan began taking a daily dose of Sepia6c in May 2013. One week later, I washappy to receive a positive report from hismom: “Jordan is doing really well! Hisbehavior is much better, he stopped hav-ing those terrible meltdowns, and his hiveswent away completely.”

Over the next month, the eczema rashon his back disappeared. He no longerbecame easily angered over every littlething. He made good progress in his classesand finished the school year with ease.

As of July 2013, Jordan has continuedto respond positively to several ascendingpotencies of Sepia. After 10 months ofhomeopathic treatment, his ATEC scorehad dropped 56%, from 46 to 20. This wasa significant improvement that put himroughly in the 6th percentile on the autis-tic spectrum (where 0 percentile=noautism symptoms).

Hugs & thanks!Jordan still shows some autistic traits (e.g.,narrow, restricted interests; less eye con-tact than normal; lower level of fine motordexterity, etc.) and is delayed in someareas (e.g., math), so he has a ways to goyet. But the progress he has made in tenmonths of homeopathic treatment hasmade his parents very happy! They nolonger have messy toileting problems to

contend with. Their son is much easier toget along with—he’s stopped throwingtantrums at every turn, and he’s no longerexcessively restless. His itchy, bothersomeeczema is gone. Not only did he success-fully navigate his kindergarten year in amainstream classroom (with some addi-tional tutoring), but also he made greatstrides in his academics—all without con-ventional prescription drugs (and theirtroublesome side effects) that earlierteachers and doctors had urged for him.

“What makes me the happiest as amom,” Catherine said, “is that he’s actuallybecoming affectionate! He connects withme now like he never did before. Hestarted hugging me on his way out toschool or play—for the first time in his life!And thanking me for the simplest things,like going out to eat. We are so thrilled athow far he has come!”

Great expectationsWe don’t know how much progress Sarahand Jordan will continue to make underhomeopathic treatment, but they haveclearly come a long way! For parents con-sidering homeopathy, it’s important tostick with it and give it a chance. Autism isa complex problem that affects the child

on many levels, so your child might eventake one step backward before taking twosteps forward, as Jordan did. But becausehomeopathy helps the whole person—physically, emotionally, and behaviorally—it is ideal for the autistic child, and you canexpect slow, steady progress over time.

Footnotes: 1. A note on dosing: In chronic cases, such as autism,

I typically start with a low potency like 6c or 30cevery day, and expect slow, steady improvementover an extended course of treatment. Whenimprovement plateaus, I tend to increase thepotency—as long as the symptoms have notchanged substantially. This posology method isrooted in the work of Samuel Hahnemann(Organon of Medicine, 6th edition, especially para-graph 246, footnote a), Francisco Eizayaga (Trea-tise on Homeopathic Medicine), and Douglas M.Borland (Pneumonias), and was introduced to meby Stephen Messer, ND, DHANP.

2. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist(ATEC) is a 77-point symptom checklist that canbe completed periodically by parents or practition-ers to evaluate a child’s response to any therapeutictreatment. The ATEC was not designed to diagnoseautism or to compare one child’s level to another,so it may not be valid to use it that way; rather, it ismost useful as a “before-and-after” comparisontool for an individual’s response to treatment. Fora wealth of information on autism and the ATEC(including free online access and scoring), visit thewebsite of the Autism Research Institute atwww.autism.com and search for ATEC.

3. Frei H, Everts R, et al. Homeopathic treatment ofchildren with attention deficit hyperactivity disor-der: a randomized, double blind, placebo con-trolled crossover trial. Eur J Pediatr. 2005 Dec;164(12):758–67. [Download Heiner Frei's papersat: http://heinerfrei.ch/]

4. I was inspired to study the Bönninghausen reper-tory after hearing George Dimitriadis speak at theJoint American Homeopathic Conference in Vir-ginia in April 2013. He is the foremost authorityon the repertorial method of Clemens von Bön-ninghausen (a contemporary and student of Hah-nemann), which is said to be the most accuraterepertory because all entries are sourced to pri-mary proving data. For those who would like tostudy The Bönninghausen Repertory, TherapeuticPocketbook Method, Second Edition (also known asTBR2), I recommend Dimitriadis’s book Homœo-pathic Diagnosis, Hahnemann through Bönning-hausen, which you can read about on his website:www.hahnemanninstitute.com/publications.php.

Jamie Oskin, ND, is a naturo-pathic physician with a passionfor homeopathy. He is focusedon helping families overcomechildhood developmental dis-orders. He is in private practicein Phoenix, AZ and is adjunct

faculty at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. He completed a homeopathic selectiveresidency at the Southwest Naturopathic MedicalCenter that was fully funded by a generous giftfrom Standard Homeopathic Company. Read moreat www.AzNaturalHealth.com.


Conventional Drugsfor Autism?

While conventional medicineoffers no cure for Autism Spectrum Disorders, it is not

uncommon for doctors to prescribe variousmedications for autistic kids aimed at con-trolling symptoms, such as antidepressantsfor anxiety, antipsychotics for behavioralproblems, or stimulants (e.g., Ritalin) forhyperactivity. According to a systematicreview of medical treatments for autismpublished in the journal Pediatrics, there is a general lack of scientific evidence tosupport the use of such psychiatric drugsfor children suffering from Autism Spec-trum Disorders. The study did, however,find evidence to support antipsychoticdrugs for those children with challengingand repetitive behaviors, yet because of astrong concern about significant adverseside effects, it is recommended that thosedrugs be limited to patients with severeimpairment or risk of injury. Source: McPheeters ML, et al. (2011) A systematicreview of medical treatments for children with autismspectrum disorders. Pediatrics 127(5):e1312


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http://heinerfrei.ch/

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http://www.AzNaturalHealth.com






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Reviewed by Gloria St. John

I had ordered this single book, The Kidneys and Bladder—The Basis of SelfRealization, to gain greater understandingof the underlying dynamics of several ofmy patients with serious kidney disorders.When I finished the book, I had indeedacquired significant insight about kidneydisease, but there was a much greater andunexpected benefit from immersion inthis book. I felt a sense of joy in knowingthat Rosina Sonnenschmidt lives on thesame planet as I.

As a practicing homeopath, I am alwaysinterested in what has caused my patients’health to break down. I try to go as far backas possible in their history to discover therupture in their physical or emotional lifethat brought on their illness. I must admitthat I have not been as concerned aboutwhich system or organ actually manifeststhe disease. Even though I have a workingknowledge of Traditional Chinese Medi-cine’s organ and element theory, I havesimply not brought it into my understand-ing as a homeopath. Yet I have always hada nagging sense that there might be a wayto relate these two powerful systems. EnterRosina Sonnenschmidt.

In addition to studying homeopathysince 1999, this remarkable woman earned adoctorate in musical ethnology, Indian stud-ies, and Egyptology, performed as a profes-sional singer, designed holistic therapies forbirds, lectured worldwide, and authoredmany texts on homeopathy and healing. Shealso co-directs a school of Mediumship andHealing. The creative impulse that underlies

all these endeavors informs the seriesOrgan–Conflict–Cure, which contains thefollowing twelve volumes: 1. Blood—Consciousness in Flow*2. The Liver and Gallbladder—Acquired

Authority*3. The Digestive Organs—Pathway to the

Center*4. The Respiratory System—Life and

Consciousness*5. The Kidneys and Bladder—The Basis of

Self Realization*6. The Heart and Circulation—Natural

Authority*7. The Endocrine Glands—The Basic

Power Source of Spirituality**8. The Female and Male Reproductive

Organs—Self Realization**9. The Brain and Nervous System—

Burgeoning Spirituality10. The Sense Organs—Wonders of Commu-

nication11.The Locomotor System—Progress on All

Levels12.The Skin and Lymphatic System—Basis

of Immunity*published **due in 2013

As the titles indicate, Sonnenschmidtunderstands each organ and system fromthe standpoint of its unique contributionto the evolution of the person. Conse-quently, when the organ or systembecomes diseased, we can gain a deepunderstanding of the type of developmen-tal and life challenges which may havecaused this. “The location where a diseasemanifests itself in the organ system holds a

deeper meaning.” (V. 5, p.3) “The level ofconsciousness creating thought patterns isintimately linked to emotional and cellularvibrations. That is why a disease manifestsexactly where there is optimal resonancebetween energy and matter.” (V.2, p.2)

Each volume follows the outline below: 1. Organ system from a spiritual and

physiological viewpoint2. Diseases associated with the organ3. Mental and emotional issues of the

organ system4. Organ-related conflicts and their reso-

lution5. Miasmatic, therapeutic, and constitu-

tional homeopathy6. Nutritional advice7. Naturopathic therapies

I will attempt to give an idea of thedepth and originality in each section bydrawing on information from The Kidneysand Bladder volume:• Organ system from a spiritual and

physiological viewpoint: The kidneyfunctional circuit also comprises thebones, skeleton, and teeth—the hardestelements of the organism and theopener to the outside: the ear.

• Diseases associated with the organ:Twenty-nine diseases of the urinary sys-tem are listed, including familiar diag-noses such as pyelitis and descriptiveconditions such as “nighttime bedwet-ting by children and young people.”

• Mental and emotional issues of the kidney-bladder organ system expressedas polarities:

I devoured the fifth volume (120 pages) of Rosina

Sonnenschmidt’s prodigious Organ–Conflict–Cure 12-volume series

in one sitting, and felt I had been transported to the world of a true

synthetic thinker in the healing world.


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Fear–Courage to change; Insecurity–Security; Loss–Abundance; Irreconcil-ability–Reconciliation.

• Organ-related conflicts and their resolu-tion: For example, ureter inflammation:“Not being able to draw boundaries(between) public and professional territory.”

• Miasmatic, therapeutic, and constitu-tional homeopathy: A good example isthe distinction between a bladder infec-tion (cystitis) and the irritable (neuro-genic) bladder. The former is within thesycotic miasm and will respond well tosycotic remedies. The neurogenic blad-der is within the psoric miasm, and thebest remedy for this is Oxytropis lam-berti, purple locoweed.

• Nutritional advice: Recommendationscontain standard advice as well as someunusual practices, such as not drinkingwater after 2 p.m., although green teacan be had until 4 p.m. In her practice,the author designs comprehensiveholistic healing protocols for herpatients, and these include homeopathyas well as diet, artistic expression, andnaturopathic therapies. The latterinclude plant remedies or herbal for-mulas specific for the system and organbeing addressed.

• Naturopathic therapies: These sugges-tions are quite diverse and sometimesrather sophisticated for the laypersonsince some of the substances and equip-ment would be hard to obtain. Othersuggestions are simple to use, however,such as the sodium bicarbonate treat-ment to de-acidify the system. What is missing in this description of

the book’s organization is mention of theincredible illustrations—some done byhand, others from anatomy books—aswell as the detailed discussion of the phys-iology and pathology of each area. Somehomeopathic readers, owing to their beliefsystems, may tend to discredit her wholework because of the use of Buddha statuephotos and terms such as “mesmerism” or“karma.” On mesmerism, the author goes

right to the source. In Aphorism 28 of theOrganon, Samuel Hahnemann explainshis deep respect for this system of healing:“This curative power (mesmerism) is awonderful, priceless gift of God. The lifeforce of a healthy mesmerist, gifted withthis power, dynamically streams intoanother human being by means of touch,or even without it… “

In fact, it was Hahnemann’s deeplyspiritual understanding of healing thatattracted Sonnenschmidt to the study ofhomeopathy. She writes, “What is writtenin the Organon in laconic brevity… comesfrom a spiritual image of the human beingand the world. “

On the traditional Chinesesystem of healingIn one captivating statement, Rosina contrasts the partial approach of conven-tional medicine to the power ofunderstanding life,health, and diseasethrough systematicobservation of therelationshipamong physicaland energeticdimensions: “Overthe course of 4500years, an ever-more sophisticatedview developed inwhich an organsystem/meridianand a mental/emotional issueform an insepara-ble whole… Theserealizations werearrived at withoutaid of microscopes,ultrasounds, braintomography… or dissection.Through masteryof observation…and the connection

of their findings, the Chinese created aunique law of systematic correspondence,which has retained its relevance… The lawof systematic correspondence and therelationship between organ, conflict, andresolution have formed the basis of mywork in homeopathy.” (V. 3, p. 3)

This series is both profound and acces-sible. I often find myself picking up one ofher volumes at random and just browsingthrough the text and stopping to gaze atthe photos. Easy and effortless, but deep,learning—I highly recommend it.

Gloria St John is a graduate of Hahnemann Collegeand has practiced homeopathy for 12 years. Shehas offices in Sacramento and Ione, CA. She is apopular speaker and writer and has a particularpassion for motivating people to learn the art ofself-care through homeopathy. She has reachedhundreds of students with her series “Homeopathyat Home.” Contact her at info@goldhillshomeo -pathy.com or www.goldhillshomeopathy.com



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B O O K R E V I E W

Natural Medicine Pediatric Home Health AdvisorBy Thomas Kruzel, ND

2012, softcover, 223 pages, $64.00, available at www.lulu.com. ISBN: 978-1-105-51919-2

Reviewed by Mitzi Lebensorger

Instead of turning to grandma, today’syoung families turn to the internet with itsvast amount of information—some good,some bad, some conflicting. After 30 yearsas a naturopathic physician in a busy fam-ily practice, Kruzel saw the need for abook that could become a trusted advisorto parents navigating the world of naturalmedicine.

This large-format 8.5 x 11-inch text cov-ers a broad range of common acute ill-nesses encountered by kids, includingburns, bronchitis, colic, sore throats, nose-bleeds, and the like—but also addressesmore serious or chronic complaints such aspneumonia, allergies, and attention deficitdisorder. In addition, Kruzel includes sections to help new mothers cope withpost-partum problems, breastfeeding diffi-culties, and infant nutrition. Each topic isfirst discussed and then followed by shortsections on: What to Do Until the Doctor isSeen, Homeopathic Medicines, Hydrother-apy, Diet & Nutrition, Medicines from theKitchen, Botanical Medicines, and CaseManagement Suggestions.

With Kruzel’s extensive expertise inhomeopathy (he’s also author of The

Homeopathic Emergency Guide, 1992), it’snot surprising that this modality is giventhe most space in the book. For each con-dition, he includes top homeopathic reme-dies and reliable, in-depth indications fortheir use. “Kids like them because they tastegood,” he says, which is not always true ofherbal medicines.

Hydrotherapy, a naturopathic mainstayfor increasing circulation and promotinghealing, is detailed in a special section.Although the techniques may soundstrange or messy to carry out (e.g., coldwet sock or t-shirt treatment, frictionrubs, hot-and-cold compresses, poultices,etc.), the author says they are invaluable inhis practice and can improve a person’sresponse to homeopathic treatment. Ifound his explanation of these “lost arts”especially interesting and have seen goodresults with the cold wet sock treatmentfor relieving head congestion.

The book is well indexed and the tableof contents easy to use. Its main strength isthat you are getting direct advice from avery experienced homeopath and naturo-pathic physician, who doesn’t hold backwith information; this can be very

empowering. One example: Kruzel tacklesthe thorny topic of immunizations, detail-ing homeopathic remedies that canaddress side effects. And for those parentswishing to avoid conventional immuniza-tions altogether, he even offers a “naturalalternative to conventional immuniza-tions” using a schedule of homeopathicnosode remedies given yearly until age 12;some will find this especially valuable.

I do wish the book had been laid outtypographically in an easier-to-read fash-ion; it has the feel of a self-published bookand the topics run together without muchseparation. The price is another stumblingblock—it’s expensive compared to similarbooks. (That said, if having the book savesyou one late-night trip to the ER, you’remore than even.)

I think the best audience for this book issomeone already on the path of naturaltherapeutics, who is willing to accept someof the book’s idiosyncrasies for the manygems within. Parents with little previousexposure to natural medicine might find itbewildering (and for them, I might recom-mend a more mainstream book like JanetZand’s Smart Medicine for a HealthierChild). However, if you’re already a user ofnatural medicine and you can afford thebook’s price, Dr. Kruzel’s Natural MedicinePediatric Home Health Advisor offers awealth of practical information andshould be a welcome addition to yourlibrary of home care books. Bonus: a goodportion of the information inside couldapply to adults as well as kids.

“As a culture, we seem to have largely lost what I call the ‘Granny Principle,’” says

Dr. Kruzel in the introduction to his Natural Medicine Pediatric Home Health Advisor. Of his

own childhood, he tells us: “we almost never went to the doctor. If we were ill, mom would call her mom and ask

what to do. Often the treatments would make us comfortable while the fever did its work…”

Mitzi Lebensorger, Editor of Homeopathy Today,has been a member of NCH since she firstattended its summer training program in 1982 inMillersville, PA. After volunteering for years, shebegan working with the late great historian andEditor, Julian Winston, on Homeopathy Today in1990. She is a past Treasurer and President of theNCH Board of Directors.


Prevent Side Effects from Conventional Vaccination—excerpted from Natural Medicine Pediatric Home Health Advisor, by Thomas Kruzel, ND.

◆ Ledum 30c for 2 days prior to and for 2 days following vaccination.

◆ If a fever occurs following the vaccination take:• Ferrum phosphoricum 30c if they develop a fever of 99°F to 102°For• Belladonna 30c if the temperature rises to above 102°F or greater.• Aconite 30c may also be indicated here if the fever is of a rapid onset and accompanied

by fear and anxiety.• Follow with one of the remedies suggested after the initial vaccination has been completed*• If any reaction occurs, it is important to report it to your attending physician, as

physicians are required to report adverse reactions to vaccines.* For side effects of immunizations, the book gives indications for these remedies: Arsenicum album, Carcinosin,

Hypericum, Ledum, Malandrinum, Silicea, Thuja.


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CONTRIBUTIONS—THANK YOU!

General ContributorsBetty Dean, Sterling AK Elisabeth Gibson, Huntsville AL Gary Axley OMD, Waldron AR Jesse Vetrano, San Francisco CA Margareta Richardson CHom RN, Santa Ana CA Rhianna Miller, Santa Rosa CA Norden H Cheatham, Walnut Creek CA Sally Finch, Colorado Springs CO Margaret Sheehan MD, Denver CO Susan Fincke, Evergreen CO Jeanne Stewart, Placeville CO Ronald A Grant MD, Southbury CT Veronica Roth, Stamford CT Grace Joyce, Nokomis FL Sally Rickolt RN LMT LCT, Ocala FL Jane L Scovil, Umatilla FL J L Archer, Augusta GA Kathleen A Byrnes, Richmond Hill GA Karen Matthews, Decatur IL Margaret McKenzie, Glen Ellyn IL Marilyn Mittman, Skokie IL Heidi Nelson, Boxford MA Betty A Andersen, Brimfield MA Don J Carren DVM, Annapolis MD Charlotte Landgraf, Baltimore MD Timothy Kearns, Gaithersburg MD Peter Klose, Brutus MI Donald L Symons, Coldwater MI Dennis & Carolyn Wright, Hale MI Terri Glenn , Holton MI Susan Reinhart CNE, Charlotte NC Monica Olinger, Hickory NC Beth Warren, Monroe NC Holly Manoogian CCH, Wolfeboro Falls NH Judith Joseph, Red Bank NJ Mary K Spindler PhD DOM LMT, Sante Fe NM Marina Braun CCH RSHom(NA), Ardsley NY Irene Mele, Brewster NY Frank Caiati, Brooklyn NY Debra E Morgenstern, Dobbs Ferry NY Lynn Miller MD, East Syracuse NY Andrew Christensen, Gouverneur NY Vilma Estroff, New York NY Eileen J Baker, Scotia NY Michele M Searing, Shoreham NY Richard Kulwin DDS, Somers NY Sandra Roth, Vestal NY Ilana Meyers, West Nyack NY Ivalou Bergman, New Bremen OH Mary Ellen Coulter MD, Bend OR Rosemarie Gerstner, Jacksonville OR James Applegate DC, Bensalem PA Lois Feight, Boyertown PA Joy S McQueen, Bryn Athyn PA Arrowroot Natural Foods Ltd, Bryn Mawr PA Joan Godshall, Lansdale PA

Frances Martin PhD, Philadelphia PA A Sylvia Francis, Pittsburgh PA Nancy Daniel, Wallingford PA Valerie Roux, Sioux Falls SD Sonja Allbritton, College Station TX Trish P Parrish, Dallas TX Donna R Glaser, Houston TX Deborah Warner PhD, Houston TX Jennie & Jimmy Vallance, Keller TX Lynn Cuny, Kendalia TX Susan Rash, Magnolia TX Faye Lynn Dodge, Sunnyvale TX Susan Salce ND MH CCN, Tomball TX Gertrude L Santoro, Falls Church VA Maggie Copp, Springfield VA Denice A Smith, Seattle WA Isadora Arevalo Wong MA, Seattle WA Sharleen Leonard MD, Milwaukee WI Mary H File RN MA CCH, Hurricane WV Anne-Marie Kirkoryan DSHomMed,

Oakville ON CanadaHiroko Nishimura, Kyoto JAPAN

Donors: $50–$99Jacomina Newman-Osmon, Scottsdale AZ Grace R Willis DO, Bakersfield CA Ivo Rabisson, Laguna Hills CA Deborah Olenev CCH RSHom(NA),

Mountain View CA Ashley Fisher, Newport Beach CA Stephen Reeve Blake DVM CVH CVA,

San Diego CA Margaret Allegretti, San Jose CA Lynne Girdlestone, Santa Clarita CA Sophia Smith, Santa Cruz CA Alicia Ephraim, Sausalito CA Stephen Arroyo, Sebastopol CA Manjit S Nagi DVM, Turlock CA Teresa Salvadore DC DNBHE, Aspen CO Ursula Frieman, Brighton CO Karen Ausfahl, Littleton CO Thos J Glynn, Seaford DE Craig Munson, Lakeland FL Edward Zalewski, Melbourne FL Sandy Werner, St James City FL Bernice Johnson DC, Winter Haven FL Sharon Tackaberry, Winter Springs FL Joyce Wagner, Champaign IL Iqbal Husain DIHom FIHom,

Glendale Heights IL Vipon Sarda, Plainfield IL Sandra England, Springfield IL Caryl Taylor, Howe IN Joan M Davis, Indianapolis IN Genevieve Lane, Hingham MA Cynthia Goss, Manomet MA Johnson Compounding and Wellness Center,

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Robert D Milne MD, Las Vegas NV Stacey Marhafer, Albany NY Joette Calabrese CCH RSHom(NA) HMC,

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New York NY Susan Greenberg, Beachwood OH Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Cincinnati OH Ida C Jones, Richmond Heights OH Terry Carine, Twinsburg OH Bonnie Kacher, Youngstown OHChloe Maggio, Junction City OR Kaj Swenson, Bethlehem PA Elizabeth Carapico, Bryn Mawr PA Marjorie L Davis, Gettysburg PA Sandra Itterly, Lewisberry PA Gina Snyder, McMurray PA Patricia H Shawe, Media PA Jack & Nancy Borneman, Wayne PA Elizabeth Callaway Thompson FNP, Boerne TX Crystal Cameron, Graford TX Joanne E Taylor, Red Oak TX Alison Teitelbaum MS MPH, McLean VA Louise Kaplan, Bradford VT Thom Namaya FNP CCH RSHom(NA),

Brattleboro VT Erika Butler, Williamstown VT Linnea Engstrom, Star Prairie WI Chip Chase, Davis WV Kashka Kril-Atkins HBSc DHMHS, Toronto ON

Canada

Sustainers: $100–$249Anastasia Monyahan RN BSN, Soldotna AKRobert Scherzinger DHM, Long Beach CAPaddy Canales, Los Angeles CAPerin Vakharia, Los Angeles CAMichalene Seiler RSHom(NA) CCH,

Mariposa CAJamie Kunkel Bartell, Mill Valley CAJo Simoes, San Diego CACorey W Weinstein MD CCH, San Francisco CAMartin & Cessy Agegian, San Leandro CATerri Su MD, Santa Rosa CAVinay R Ranade MD FACOG, Glastonbury CTRenee M Savage, Lisbon CTJohn Kriz, New Canaan CTDennis Burke, West Hartford CTEloise Fisher, Mount Dora FLElizabeth Reinke, The Villages FLNick McKnight, Lawrenceville GABeverly Holt MPH RD, Savannah GAJackie McFadden, Carbondale ILJerry P Gore MD, Riverwoods ILJames & Adaline Wallar, Burrows INMarcia A Prenguber ND, Goshen INErnest R Hochstetler, Nappanee INStephen Bernardi, Waltham MARobert I Orenstein DMD, Yarmouth Port MAElliott Abhau, Annapolis MDNanine Rhinelander Lac, Frederick MDDonata Dow, Indian Head MDRobin Pittman, Oldtown MDNancy B Zastrow, Silver Spring MDBeverly Sewell, Oxford MISusan R Delaney ND RN, Carrboro NCAnthony Noto, Knightdale NCSybil Kramer, Cranford NJBarbara Lowry DSH CCH, Mountain Lakes NJClaire Dishman CCH, Santa Fe NMCaren Morris, Reno NV

LaRue Shah, Hicksville NYHenry Barbey CCH RSHom(NA), New York NYLoretta Michaelcheck, New York NYKaren Bahrenburg, Poughkeepsie NYStephen J Ralston DDS, Columbus OHElizabeth Keyser, Troy OHScott Hosket DVM, Yellow Springs OHHelen A Huber, Conestoga PAJoseph A McCahon VMD, Exton PABernardo A Merizalde MD DHt, Lafayette Hill PAAlice C Dorrance, Spartanburg SCMother Marie Therese, Alexandria SDKyron K Weed, Longview TXEdith Kilchenstein, Park City UTMonte Joyce Cross, Alexandria VAMarie Steinmetz MD, Alexandria VANatalia Zavadskaya MD, Charlottesville VASherri Krohl, Great Falls VALinda Hopfinger, Seattle WAAnthony Sweeney MD, Glendale WILucy De Pieri PhD DCH, Port Moody BC Canada

Patrons: $250–$499Mountain States Health Products Inc, Lyons COLester H Holze Jr. DC DABCI, Elgin ILJames W Forsythe MD HMD CMD, Reno NVVickie Ryles RN BSN CEO, Johns Island SC

Sponsors: $500–$1000National Christian Foundation, Alpharetta GACranston Smith, Youngsville LABeth Palmgren, Free Union VA

Benefactors: $1000+Wilbur A Flucken, Denver COJudith Krueger, Washington DC

In Honor ofHomeopathy Today

by AnonymousMs. Mary L. Hayes

by National Christian FoundationThe Life of Dr. Carl Kline

by Ms. Louise Kaplan

Honor SomeoneSpecial...

Tribute Gifts are a thoughtful way to: ◆ celebrate a birthday or special occasion ◆ say “thanks for all you do”◆ remember a departed friend or

loved one.

Your tax-deductible gift to the NCH will beacknowledged here in Homeopathy Todayand with a letter informing the person ortheir family that a donation has beenmade in their honor or memory (amountnot disclosed).

Pay tribute to someone special today!

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OCTOBER 3–5 & 6–9 St. Paul, MN • Dr. Dinesh Chauhan • Sensation Seminars •www.minnesotasensation.com • 651-276-5747

4–6 New York, NY • Divya Chhabra • Leap to the Simillimum • New York School of Homeopathy • [email protected] •www.nyhomeopathy.com

11–15 North Andover, MA • Massimo Mangialavori • The Problem ofInsomnia • New England Homeopathic Academy • 978-635-0605 •[email protected] • newenglandhomeopathy.org

17–19 San Francisco, CA • Alize Timmerman • Chronic Disease andFamily Treatment: Creating Insight from the Inside • Homeopathy West• [email protected]

18–20 Toronto, ON • The Canadian Homeopathic Conference 2013 •Brain Health • 416-516-6109 • www.chconference.ca

25–27 Akron, OH • Louis Klein, FSHom • Introduction to Louis Klein'sApproach • www.homeopathycourses.com • 604-947-0757

26–27 Amherst, NY • Russell Malcolm, MD • Harnessing the Power ofBowel Nosodes • www.homeopathichealers.com • 716-566-7758

NOVEMBER8–10 Vancouver, BC, Canada • Louis Klein, FSHom • The Subtle Center ofHomeopathic Prescribing • www.homeopathycourses.com • 604-947-0757

16–17 Portland, OR • Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians Case Conference • Nourishing the Roots: Preserving Vitalism• Joe Kellerstein, ND, Will Taylor, MD • 503-552-1555 • www.ncnm.edu

DECEMBER 9–11 Beloit, WI • Dr. Farokh Master • Master Seminar • (608) 362-4940• www.krista-voysest.com

FEBRUARY 201421–24 North Andover, MA • Divya Chhabra • New England Homeopathic Academy • 978-635-0605 • [email protected]• newenglandhomeopathy.org

MARCH 7–9 Portland, ME • Louis Klein Seminar • www.homeopathycourses.com

7–9 New Orleans, LA • Prafull & Ambrish Vijayakar • Predictive Home-opathy: Case-taking, Follow-ups, Theory of Suppression • AmericanInstitute of Homeopathy • 888-445-9988 • www.homeopathyusa.org

15 Harrisburg, PA • 149th Annual Meeting of the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania in conjunction with Southern Homeopathic Medical Association • Case Conference • 703-273-5250 • drchaseonline.com/welcome/events.html

15–16 New York, NY • Dr. Paresh Vasani • Live Case Taking & AnalysisUsing the Sensation System • 646-796-3860 • [email protected]

APRIL4–6 Long Beach, CA • 2014 Joint American Homeopathic Conference •Presented by the National Center for Homeopathy • www.NationalCenterForHomeopathy.org • 703-506-7667

Calendar of EventsCalendar of Events


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School Blues Beat the Back-to - National Center for Homeopathy

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