Homeopathic Treatment of Epidemics

While the homeopathic treatment of disease is almost always an individualized process, it is fortunate that the treatment of epidemics is usually more straightforward and streamlined. Indeed, it is the success of homeopathy in treating epidemics that led to its popularity and spread worldwide during the 1800s. In essence, the strategy is to treat each epidemic as a single case of disease. This is possible because most people who fall prey to an epidemic tend to have the same symptoms.

The treatment process goes something like this. First, homeopaths gather the symptoms of several patients (not just their physical symptoms, but their emotional, mental, and behavioral symptoms as well) and come up with a small set of remedies (usually between 2 and 5 remedies) that best match this collective set of symptoms. Often, homeopaths work together to find this key set of epidemic remedies, which is called the genus epidemicus. Then, when a particular client comes in for treatment, it is relatively easy to choose which one of this small set of remedies best fits them. Over time, if one particular remedy predominates as the curative remedy, it can also be used prophylactically to prevent the disease in the first place.

Here are a few more important points about this process:

Not every instance of the same type of epidemic will have the same genus epidemicus. Thus, one flu season may be cured by a particular set of remedies, and another flu season will be cured by another set. Nevertheless, because specific remedies may repeatedly come up for a particular disease, these remedies can often be used prophylactically with success.
The kinds of symptom information provided by conventional medical sources like the CDC is, unfortunately, insufficient to determine a good genus epidemicus. That is because emotional, mental, and behavior symptoms are omitted, as well as the particularities of physical symptoms that are so key for making a good homeopathic prescription. These include: time and speed of onset, causative factors, lethargy vs. restlessness, thirstiness vs. thirstlessness, patterns of heat and sweating in the body, the specific nature of excretions, sleep patterns, things that improve or aggravate symptoms, as well as many other kinds of symptoms essential to homeopathic prescribing.
Homeopathic treatment of epidemic disease does not require precise identification of the cause of a disease to be effective. This is because treatment is based on the symptoms being experienced, not on the identity of the virus, bacteria, parasite, or other pathogen. Indeed, this is a very handy and wonderful aspect of homeopathic medicine!

Common Remedies Used For This Year's Flu

Below are four remedies that have been used successfully in treating many cases of this year's flu, along with some differentiating features.

Nux-Vomica
A key symptom is irritability and oversensitivity, especially to noise and light. Flu might be preceded by anger or indignation, or be precipitated by overwork. Very cold. Wants to stay under the covers. Desires warm drinks. Shivering. Headache from noise and light. Fatigue and collapse. May want to keep working even when sick. Stomach upset, gas, diarrhea.

Gelsemium
The number one flu remedy (also the remedy that was curative for the 1918 flu epidemic). Totally weak and prostrate, almost paralytic weakness. Droopy eyes -- can hardly keep them open. Legs feel weak and shaky -- don't want to get out of bed. A slow onset. Flu might be preceded by worry over an upcoming event or task. Sore throat. Bursting headache beginning in the neck, then extending over head to eyes and forehead. Headache relieved by urinating. Aching muscular pain. Thirstlessness. Chills up and down the spine. Better from fresh air and urinating.

Ferrum-Phosphoricum
Good to consider when none of the other flu remedies match well. A mid-grade fever -- 102-103F. Flushed face. Headache better from cold applications. Burning sensation in eyes. Stuffiness. Nose bleeds. Red swollen throat. Cough better at night. Sour burps, vomiting of undigested food. Aversion to meat and milk. Stiff neck. Restless and sleepless. Chill at 1pm. Worse from being touched or jarred.

China
A good remedy for extreme prostration after loss of fluids -- for example, from vomiting or diarrhea. A state of collapse with chilliness. Often used for after-effects of a debilitating flu. Sensitive to touch, motion, cold air. Worse periodically -- for example, alternate days. Weary limbs. Painless diarrhea with lots of gas.

There are, of course, many other common flu remedies and one of them might be correct for your particular case of flu. Other commonly used remedies for the flu include: Aconite (quick onset, fear), Eupatorium (deep aching and pain in the bones), Arsenicum (very anxious, restless, and thirsty), and Bryonia (crabby, thirsty, and worse from any movement whatsoever). Here are some links if you would like to read more about these and other flu remedies, including information about dosing.

Flu information from the National Center for Homeopathy
FluSolution.net
Homeopathic flu research site

My Family's Experience with Nux Vomica

Both my son Max and I had particular success this year with Nux-Vomica as a flu remedy, especially in the 200c potency. Back in October, I decided to write up our experience in order to share it with others in the homeopathic community. Now I'll share it with you! I hope you find it interesting and instructive.

It all began when my other son Izaak became sick. I saw him shortly afterward and a couple of days later became sick myself. At the time, two types of ailments were going around his university -- a lingering relapsing nose cold (which Izaak had) and confirmed cases of swine flu itself. It is my suspicion, because of the events below, that these two ailments -- the lingering nose cold and the swine flu -- may somehow be related.

At the beginning, my symptoms were identical to Izaak's, but transformed into more classic swine-flu-like symptoms after my body was put under a strain. Upon hindsight, I also realized that my sickness began after I became annoyed by something someone did. My son Max (attending a different university) also became sick after he became very annoyed by something a friend did. The emotion was anger and irritability -- "ailments from indignation". This is what helped lead me to Nux-Vomica.

My initial symptoms:

a) A very dry throat that was sore where the palate meets the throat. I also had itchiness of the palate especially at night/morning.

b) Development of a severe nose cold with sinus pain -- at root of nose, around eyes, etc. My nasal discharge was generally clear -- runny during the day, stuffed at night.

c) Slight headache.

At this point, I had an important commitment that I had to keep and lost sleep for a night and had some strain on me. Afterward, my symptoms soon intensified beyond the nose cold.

d) In the evening, lots of digestive rumbling and gas after eating. Worse from eating raw vegetables.

e) The next morning I had a massive diarrhea after breakfast and I started feeling truly sick.

f) I developed a low fever (101F), felt VERY COLD, had to stay under lots of blankets, hands and feet feel very cold.

g) With this initial fever I developed sensitivity to noise and sensitivity to being around people. I wanted to be alone without any pressure on me from others.

h) My symptoms were worse at night and first thing in the morning after getting up.

At this point I started taking Nux Vomica (Nux). I started with Nux 30c (dry) and had a very noticeable lift within 15 minutes, but it only lasted about 4 hours. The next day I moved to Nux 200c (dry) and had a nearly miraculous response. Within two days, I was able to fly across the country, deliver a lecture at a busy conference, and embark on a three-week trip. My stomach settled down so that I was able to eat normally, though I watched myself for a few days. However, I still had a lot of postnasal drip. Occasionally I coughed up some greenish mucus, but in general, the postnasal drip would fill up the back of my throat and I kept having to blow and hawk it out. After another dose of Nux Vomica 200c five days after the initial dose, this also cleared up.

Next I settled into a short dry cough that was worse at night, from lying down, from laughing, and from thinking about it. This lasted for the next 3 weeks. The cough was much better from hot tea with honey.

All during this period (3 weeks) I was on a long and arduous road trip, with lots of driving and seeing relatives and I had to be "on" all the time. Nevertheless, I pushed through. When I felt myself relapsing, with a sick foggy feeling, noticeable irritability, and a sensation that the cough was deepening, I redosed with Nux-Vomica 200 (dry) and it popped me out of this state within an hour.

In the midst of all this, my son Max became sick with similar symptoms, including the stomach rumbling after eating, especially from raw vegetables. I told him to start on Nux-Vomica 200c and he put a few pellets in a water bottle. I told him to keep taking it as needed -- just shake vigorously (succuss) and take a swig from the bottle. Initially he took about 2-3 doses a day, then once a day, then every other day, and after about 10 days he didn't feel the need to take any more. His illness never progressed into a fever, just nasal discharge and a slight cough. He was able to function normally throughout, go to classes, and never became really sick.

After I came home I felt fatigued and rested a lot for a week. I ultimately took a dose of Nux-Vomica 1M (same as 1000c) which finally ended the whole affair. Max relapsed a few times, but taking Nux-Vomica 200 from his water bottle was sufficient.

Impossible Cure Newsletter -- January 2010

Homeopathic Treatment of Epidemics

Common Remedies Used For This Year's Flu

My Family's Experience with Nux Vomica