A Healing Path with Classical Homeopathy

During the infamous flu epidemic of 1918, the ‘Spanish’ flu, large numbers of people sought homeopathic care.  The Dewey Report, published in 1920, states that:  24,000 cases of influenza were treated with conventional medicine with a 28.2% mortality rate, while 26,000 cases were treated with homeopathy with only a 1.05% mortality rate.  According to historian Julian Winston, quoted in Utne Reader Magazine (Mar-Apr. ‘06), homeopaths saved 99% of their patients during the 1918 flu epidemic.

The 1918 influenza epidemic was also a H1N1 strain, like the current swine flu.  It was caused by pigs who were infected with the virus and circulated back to humans.  The current swine flu has genetic elements of four different flu viruses:  the North American swine flu, the North American avian flu, human influenza A virus subtype H1N1 and the swine flu virus found in Asia and Europe (flusolution.net).  A flu virus reproduces by taking over a host cell.  It reproduces through the RNA of the cell where errors can occur.  This is how the virus may pick up genetic material from the host and mutate into a new strain.  The current Swine flu is a rare combination of all three types of flu that combined in a pig and then jumped to humans.  Much of the fear around this and other flu strains is that they could further mutate and become more dangerous.

There is a lot of fear around the flu, especially this latest Swine Flu.  The Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, the media and governments have contributed to a huge fear epidemic.  There is plenty of fear, but the only preventive measures touted are to ‘wash your hands’ and  receive a vaccination.  But there is much controversy over the safety of the flu vaccine.  In 1976 there was a swine flu scare and President Ford insisted people were vaccinated.  Many people were sickened by the vaccine and some lost mobility and were paralyzed for life.  Twenty five people died, while only one person died from the actual flu. (The Lancet, a highly reputable British medical journal, October 1, 2005).  $100 million dollars were paid out in compensation.

Two-thirds of vaccines made for the 2008-09 flu season contain full dose thimerosal (Oct. 3, 2008 article by Dr. Donald Miller, www.donaldmiller.com).  All vaccines contain formaldehyde, aluminum and other additives, one being ethylene glycol which is antifreeze.  Thimerosal is a organ mercury compound which is 49% mercury by weight.  Each of these vaccines contains 25 micrograms of mercury which is 250 times more than the EPA’s safety limit.  There is evidence that vaccinations can cause Alzheimer’s disease.  Dr. Sherri Tenpenny cites research done by an immuno-geneticist named Hugh Fudenburgh who’s been studying the flu vaccines and reports that if someone has five consecutive flu shots his or her chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease is ten times higher. Vaccines have also been linked to autism.  Because of this, vaccine makers have now removed thimerosal from all childhood vaccinations, except flu shots.  For more info see Dr. Miller’s article “Mercury on the Mind”.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), of the Center for Disease Control, makes recommendations for vaccinations.  The CDC must grant each member of the ACIP a conflict-of-interest waiver because almost all of the ACIP members have financial ties to the vaccine industry. (Miller)

Flu vaccinations are known to cause joint inflammation and arthritis, anaphylactic shock, and Guillian-Barre syndrome which is an autoimmune disease that comes on a few weeks or more after a flu shot.  This is very serious disease which leaves people paralyzed.  There are 1 to 2 cases of GBS per 1 million vaccinated persons.  Seventy percent of doctors do not get a flu shot.  (Dr. Donald Miller)  The most common side effect that I have seen in my practice is a low grade form of the flu that returns every two weeks all winter and then again the following winter.  This can be effectively treated with homeopathy.

CBC News of Canada reported on September 23, 2009 that “preliminary research suggests the seasonal flu shot may put people at greater risk for getting swine flu.”  Health officials told CBC News that in four Canadian studies involving about 2,000 people, researchers found people who had received the seasonal flu vaccine in the past were more likely to get sick with the H1N1 virus.  “Researchers know that, theoretically, when people are exposed to bacteria or a virus, it can stimulate the immune system to create antibodies that facilitate the entry of another strain of the virus or disease. Dengue fever is one example.”

This has prompted health authorities in Quebec to consider cancelling or postponing seasonal flu shots for some groups, such as healthy, younger adults.  “We don’t know with this year’s flu shot how it interacts with the pandemic flu shot, so it’s a worry,” said Dr. Michael Gardam, director of infectious diseases prevention and control at the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion.

The flu vaccine is not safe, but is it effective?  The Lancet on Oct. 1, 2005 stated:  “A systematic review of all previous studies testing vaccines for the flu have shown that they are not effective in preventing the flu or influenza like illness in the elderly population.  It is indeed a sad fact that the media and the medical community is instilling fear into people and yet not disclosing that the prevention strategy does not seem to work.”

Information presented at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego, May 19, 2009, as quoted in Science Daily Magazine (May 20, 2009) states that:  “inactivated flu vaccine does not appear to be effective in preventing influenza related hospitalizations in children who get the flu vaccine.”

The other option that conventional medicine offers for the flu besides washing your hands and getting a flu shot, is treatment with anti-virals like Tamiflu and Relenza (Relenza must be administered with an inhaler device).  There is one H1N1 strain that has developed full resistance to Tamiflu.  An antiviral will not prevent the flu, but will only possibly help reduce symptoms.

Dana Ullman MD, quoted in Utne Reader Magazine (Mar-Apr ‘06), says that like antibiotics, patients build up a resistance to anti-viral medications.  She explains that they can also spur diseases to mutate into more powerful strains.   She explains that because of this, use of antiviral medications “pose a public health threat.”

Much of the information in this article was gained from ‘flusolution.net’, homeopathy’s premier site for the latest flu information.

Homeopathy has been used successfully in treating flu for over 100 years in all stages of the disease.  Homeopathic remedies are safe for everyone.

Symptoms of the flu are sore throat, sudden fever, body aches, coughing, and respiratory congestion.  Sometimes there may be vomiting and diarrhea.  Colds are different in that they usually come on more gradually and have little or no fever and less body aches.  But some colds can look a lot like the flu.

The flu is only a real danger in persons of compromised immunity.  The flu does not usually kill people, but severe secondary complications can.  The problem today is that most of us have compromised immune systems.  This is because of many reasons.  We are exposed to many toxins.  Most of us have been vaccinated and our parents have been vaccinated.  Ill effects of vaccinations mix with hereditary predispositions and create immune system problems.  This is why there is a growing number of auto-immune disorders.  Another reason for compromised immunity is that we do not allow ourselves or our children to get sick.  Overuse of antibiotics compromises the immune system and robs children of the opportunity to fight off illness of their own volition.  WE ARE IN A WEAKENED STATE. THAT IS THE DANGER FROM THE FLU.

But what advise do government officials and conventional medicine have to offer us?  Wash your hands.  Well you can wash your hands until the cows come home but germs are everywhere.  Where is the role of the immune system.  Why is nobody talking about why some people get sick and others don’t?  Even in the worst epidemics, there are those who do not get sick.  They are not susceptible because their immune system is strong.  The best way to protect yourself from illness is to increase vitality and boost the immune system.  The absolute best way to do this is to seek homeopathic constitutional care.  Homeopathy can work deeply to remove hereditary susceptibility to disease.  It can raise your vitality.  Not only will you be more prepared to fight off an acute illness, you will feel better in your whole person.

Homeopathy is very successful at treating the flu, should you come down with it.  When you are armed with homeopathy, the fear dissipates.  The right remedy at any stage of the disease, weather in the first 24 hours or if complications develop, can safely bring a person back to health.  Conventional medicine can only offer antibiotics and respirators.   Many people are having serious complications from the swine flu and are filling the ICU’s at our local hospitals.  It is a serious matter, but fear is powerful and can be seen as a disease in itself.  With homeopathic options, the flu is not so fearful.

Anas barbae is a remedy made from the liver of a duck.  Ducks carry every flu virus we have ever had in their liver.   Boiron, a French homeopathic company, markets this remedy as ‘Oscillolcoccinum’(ah-sil-al seye-num).  The main indication for the remedy is a sore throat and feeling of oncoming sickness.  It is most effective in the first 24-48 hours.  I have seen, over and over, the effectiveness of this remedy if it is taken at the first sign of flu symptoms.  Most often people complain that they feel they are getting sick and have a sore throat.  After one dose of this remedy and a good night’s sleep, they are fine the next day.  Everyone should have this remedy on hand during flu season.  It is a high potency remedy, so one dose is usually all that is needed.

Some homeopaths recommend taking the remedy ‘Influenzium’, a homeopathic remedy made from the most common seasonal flu viruses, once a month during the flu season to prevent the flu.  This is kind of like a homeopathic flu vaccination.  There have been no ill effects reported about using this method.

But this does nothing to increase overall vitality.  As a Classical Homeopath, I do not recommend this method because it does not follow the original laws set forth by Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathy, specifically ‘like cures like’, the law of similars.  Because the body has not yet been exposed or has any symptoms, the homeopathic remedy is not ‘similar’ to the state of the patient.  There is no harm to the method.  But taking into account that the reason we have gotten ourselves into this hysteria over the flu is because our whole culture is so immune compromised, I ethically have to recommend other options.

When you have been exposed to the flu or you start coming down with symptoms, then the remedy is acting on the law of similars.  Whenever you take an indicated homeopathic remedy, meaning it fit’s the picture of your symptoms, you are raising your vitality.  A homeopathic remedy taken without symptoms does not have this benefit.  Because my overall goal as a homeopath is to raise my patients’ level of health, I have to recommend only taking remedies when symptoms call for them.

On the other hand, ‘Influenzium’ once a month during flu season might be a great option for the elderly, pregnant women, and others with severely lowered immunity.  Also if someone is very scared of getting the flu, then there is a symptom:  ‘fear of the flu’.  In this case, ‘Influenzium’ as a prophylactic might be a great choice.

To use homeopathy for flu or cold symptoms, find the best remedy by matching symptoms.

Administering a remedy:  take one to two doses, 15 minutes to three hours apart, depending on severity of symptoms, and wait for improvement or change.  If there is no movement or change, move on to a different remedy.  If a new symptom picture appears, find a new remedy based on similar symptoms.

There are many  homeopathic remedies for the flu.  If there are complications from the flu, please seek medical or professional homeopathic care.

Common Flu Remedies:

1st Stage Remedies:
Oscillolcoccinum (Anas barbae) - main remedy to try to prevent the flu after exposure, or on first symptoms.  Most effective in first 24-48 hours.  Main symptoms indication is ‘sore throat’.  It will also be effective in colds that look like the flu and start with a sore throat.

Aconite - sudden onset of fever or illness with great anxiety and fear.  Feels like they will die, better fresh air, worse warm room, evening or night, useful in any situation of intense fear or fright

Belladonna - sudden onset of high fever, common remedy for children with high fever, red face, and dilated pupils, dry mucus membranes and burning heat, skin hot to touch, better warm room, worse noise, light, movement

Ferrum Phosphoricum - symptoms come on slow, general feeling like the body is coming down with something, but there are no actual symptoms yet, or for oncoming fever without other symptoms.

2nd Stage Remedies:
Gelsemium - main flu remedy, genius epidemicus for 1918 flu, slower onset fever, chills, body aches, feels as if run over by a truck, great fatigue, heaviness, aching muscles, not thirsty

Arsenicum album - Indian homeopaths calling this remedy genus epidemicus for swine flu, extremely restless, oversensitive, anxious and weak, fear of death, chilly, does not want to be alone, burning pains, thirsty, but only for sips at a time.

Baptisia - looks drowsy and drunk, flu with high fever and feeling of being bruised all over, flu comes on suddenly, worse excitement, noise, touch, movement

Eupatorium perfoliatum - flu with extreme body pains, the bones feel broken, deep pain in the bones, bursting headache with sore eyes, thirsty for ice cold water, chills running up and down the back

Bryonia - slow onset, infrequent thirst for large quantities, throbbing headache, body pains, worse from any motion, pains better pressure, business worries

Rhus toxicodendron - extreme restlessness, cannot find a comfortable position, wants to move all the time, aching and stiffness in joints, intense fever

Ipecacuanha - coughs lead to vomiting, dry spasmodic cough with choking or gagging feeling, also indicated for nausea not relieved by vomiting

Complications from the flu:
(pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections)
Seek medical or professional homeopathic advice