Even though I’m the author of Impossible Cure, I too have trouble being patient and trusting in homeopathy in moments of crisis. Here’s the story of my recent voyage of healing from a painful and scary centipede bite.

It was the last night of our recent trip to Kauai when our car got stuck in the mud of our friend’s yard and I stepped into a puddle wearing sandals, only to be bit on the side of my foot, near the arch. What pain! I can only liken it to 10 simultaneous bee bites all in one spot. Others describe it as being like a gun-shot wound. Luckily our friend is a healer and knew what to do. Within minutes my wound (in the form of two puncture holes) was cleaned with hydrogen peroxide, I had taken doses of Apis 30c and Ledum 30c as well as Vitamin C and activated charcoal, she had applied a slice of raw onion to the wound, and had my leg resting in her lap. I calmed down, and by the time we left a couple of hours later, the bite wasn’t that painful. I slept with the onion taped to my foot that night and took more doses of Apis, Ledum, and also Hypericum to deal with the recurring pain.

The next day we flew back to the mainland and I only took the remedies as needed on the flight and that night. The following few days, however, I got a bit cavalier and went about my normal routine — swimming with flippers and taking a long hike — all of which irritated the bite. (Lesson 1) Five days after the bite, I started developing an itchy rash of red spots near the bite. I took another dose of Apis and Ledum — perhaps the wrong move. Was it too much of a good thing? (Lesson 2)

Then, about 12 hours after an upsetting emotional blow-up within the my family (Clue 1), my foot took a more ominous turn — it started to swell up. Soon, my whole foot and toes were red, swollen, and burning, and it was starting to climb up my ankle too! I’ll be honest — I was freaking out! I felt like I was going to die for sure (Clue 2) and almost had my husband take me to the hospital in the middle of the night — not something I would do lightly, given the fact that I have an inherent (and I’ll admit somewhat irrational) fear of doctors. I took a Benadryl and managed to get a bit of sleep.

In the morning, my foot was the same. Calls to my doctor just yielded advice to go to urgent care. I knew that the docs in my suburban area of California would know little about centipede bites and would just recommend a tetanus shot (nope!), antibiotics (can’t tolerate them), cortisone, and antihistamines. Luckily, my homeopath immediately returned my husband’s call (by this point I was convinced I was on death’s doorstep and didn’t have the wherewithal to call myself) and I learned why I title this newsletter “There’s Hope With Homeopathy!”

After taking my case, my homeopath recommended Aconite 30. It definitely matched my acute mental state. It also has an acute/chronic relationship with my constitutional remedy. Within an hour, I was really calmed down. Over the next few days, the swelling and burning slowly receded. My homeopath checked in with me daily for a couple of days and I also applied Calendula gel occasionally to the bite. I must tell you, it required patience on my part to stay the course and not take any more remedies! A week later, the foot was merely itchy (especially at night). The Calendula would consistently get two small lumps to appear under the small scabs covering the two bite holes, as if it was drawing the poison up. That gave me the idea to also occasionally apply a poultice to get any remaining poison out. I found one formula online, which was a paste made of epsom salt, baking soda, and activated charcoal, all of which I had at home.

It is now four weeks post-bite and three weeks post-Aconite 30. The bite wounds are still visible with two very small bumps underneath them (I have the feeling there may still be some poison in there), but they are not bothering me very much. I’ve also been busy processing that emotional family upset I mentioned. After another checkup yesterday, my homeopath recommended Aconite 200 to complete the process and I must say, I’ve been feeling great since taking it, though the bite now occasionally stings just a little bit — hopefully a slight aggravation and part of the healing process. Let’s see what happens next.

In the meantime, though, I hope my experience has taught you some of the important lessons that I myself learned once again:

• Don’t get bit by a centipede!
• Make sure you have Apis, Ledum, and Hypericum in your travel kit.
• Onions really help with the pain of a centipede bite. Apparently papaya mush does too.
• Take wounds seriously — don’t overdo and irritate them.
• Be patient and don’t keep taking remedies unnecessarily. This can be difficult to remember when you are panicked or in pain. However, MORE is not always better, and in fact, can make things worse.
• Emotional upsets can trigger aggravation of physical symptoms. Triggering emotions, and emotional symptoms in general, can also provide a very important clue to the correct remedy for physical symptoms.
• Trust your homeopath!
• Be patient!