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Homeopathic Home Care for Insect Bites

Warm summer weather beckons us to bare our skin to the sun. However, our quest for a glowing tan can lead to bites from hungry mosquitoes, yellow jackets, spiders and other annoying insects. Fortunately, there are several homeopathic remedies that can help take the sting and itch out of summer.

Two remedies I recommend highly are Ledum palustre and Apis mellifica. Topical use of Calendula officinalis can also be helpful in many cases.

Ledum palustre, also known as wild rosemary or marsh tea, is especially useful for tick and spider bites. One way to tell if a bite or sting will benefit from Ledum is to try a cold application, like an ice pack, first. If the pain lessens after exposure to cold, the bite will usually improve even more if Ledum is taken. Ledum is also helpful in healing puncture wounds. The remedy should be taken at a potency of 30C every half-hour until you feel relief.

If you experience swelling, heat, and burning after a bug bite, Apis mellifica is a good remedy to try. Apis is made from the venom of a honey bee. Again, look for 30C potency and take every thirty minutes until symptoms are reduced.

Many homeopathic preparations to soothe bites, including ointments with Ledum, can be used topically. However, it's best to use topical preparations with caution. Alcohol and petroleum products found in many tinctures and lotions can irritate the skin. Look for lotions made with Calendula officinalis, or marigold, especially if they contain no alcohol or petroleum products.

You can also easily make your own Calendula rinse. Fill an 8-oz bottle half full with water, and add one pellet of Calendula in the potency 30X, 6C, or 12C. After making the rinse, you can use one capful in a basin of water and carefully apply it to the affected area. If you have been bitten all over, make a stronger rinse by dissolving five pellets in bath water.

A valuable home resource guide for first aid that I recommend to my clients is Homeopathic Self Care: The Quick & Easy Guide for the Whole Family by Robert Ullman, ND, and Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND. It's a great resource for identifying common first aid remedies and treatments for every-day ailments. You can find more information about the book on my website.

Homeopathic remedies, used as directed, are safe for everyone, from infants to elders. If none of the ones mentioned above work for you, consult a professional Homeopath who can guide you to thousands of other remedies. If you are already under the care of a Homeopath, please consult your practitioner before trying any remedy on your own.

Alternative Medicine in Veterinary Medicine Threatened

With Dr Pitcairn's permission, I am presenting a copy of his letter posted June 9th, 2009 in Leading Voices in Homeopathy on the Minimum Price Homeopathic Book Forum. Dr. Pitcairn is a major homeopathic educator of US veterinarians. He is also a major advocate of raw and/or home prepared food.

The Problem
Recently one of the major organizations that approve continuing education credit for veterinarians has taken a stand against homeopathy and similar forms of therapy. For most states a veterinarian is required to attend so many hours of education, usually 10-20 a year. I have been one of the approved teachers for such programs since 2001 and have trained almost 500 veterinarians in the use of homeopathic medicine.

The organization that approves these teaching programs is the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) and the last few months we have been having a crisis. After these many years, my programs have been rejected as "not scientific." It matters not that there is much evidence of efficacy with homeopathic treatment and many cases of cured animals. The veterinary profession is taking the stand that only allopathic medicine and only those forms they approve of are to be accepted. The current jargon is that they want "evidence based medicine," but of course the evidence of good outcomes with homeopathy is not really accepted as "evidence" regardless of the nature of the case.

Why are they doing this and why does it matter? Because this is a way to discourage veterinarians from taking this training. They won't get CE credit for it and therefore cannot keep their licenses. It is a way to stop the use of these alternatives.
What does it mean for you? It means these other choices in treatment will gradually wither away if this is a successful campaign on their part. Only drugs and more drugs will be the choice for treatment of your animal.

What can you do? Google for the address of your state veterinary association (usually the "state board" as opposed to a veterinary organization). Write them and tell them your dissatisfaction with AAVSB taking away training for veterinarians in methods that you, as a consumer, want to have available. If possible, send me a copy to the email box on this forum.

Thanks for anything you can do.
_________________
Best wishes,
Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, PhD
E-mail: Here.
Dr. Pitcairn's website Here.

A list of state licensing boards: Here.

California Board of Examiners in Veterinary Medicine
1420 Howe Avenue, Suite 6 Sacramento, CA 95825
Telephone: 916/263-2610
Fax: 916/263-2621
E-mail: Here.
Web site: Here.

Dr. Pitcarin's book, Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, Available, available here.

Article on caring for your pets naturally. Read more.

Don't miss Myra's Class on HEALTHY PETS WITH HOMEOPATHY
Sat. August 1, 10-10:45 AM
Sports Basement
1881 Ygnacio Valley Rd.
Walnut Creek, CA.
No Charge.
Attend and receive 20%-Off shopping at Sports Basement Read More.

False Claims

Published By Vallejo Times Herald

Posted: 06/30/2009 06:53:11 AM PDT

An Associated Press story on the recall of Zicam falsely questions the safety of homeopathic remedies. I would like to address some false claims in the AP story:

• False claim: Homeopathic remedies are not regulated - treated like dietary supplements.

Fact: Homeopathic medications are regulated by the FDA and have been used safely in the United States since before the passage of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938. A recent study by the American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists documents their safety for the past 200-years. Conventional medicines have a far more troubling safety record.

• False claim: The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) alternative medicine center spent $3.8 million on homeopathic research from 2002-2007, abandoned studies on homeopathic drugs.

Fact: National Center for Homeopathy (NCH) received assurance from NIH on June 23; NCCAM will continue to accept grant applications for homeopathy.

• False claim: There is no evidence of effectiveness.

Fact: There are literally hundreds of high quality basic science, pre-clinical and clinical studies published in respected journals like Pediatrics, Chest, Rheumatology, and The Lancet (for more information, visit homeopathic.org/articles/view,173). To claim otherwise is bad science and very irresponsible journalism. Find out more about homeopathy, contact your local homeopath.

Myra Nissen

View letter at Times Herald Online.

Related Blog Posts:

Zicam: There is not such thing as a Homeopathic Product here.

A Comment about Zicam: It's Not Homeopathy here.

Hering's Law of Cure*

Constantine Hering, M.D. (1800-1880) observed that healing occurs in a consistent pattern. He described this pattern in the form of three basic laws which Homeopaths can use to recognize that healing is occurring. This pattern has been recognized by acupuncturists for hundreds of years, and is also used by practitioners of herbalism and other healing disciplines.

• According to the first of Hering's laws, healing progresses from the deepest part of the organism - the mental and emotional levels and the vital organs - to the external parts, such as skin and extremities.

• Hering's second law states that, as healing progresses, symptoms appear and disappear in the reverse of their original chronological order of appearance. Homeopaths have consistently observed that their patients re-experience symptoms from past conditions.

• According to Hering's third law, healing progresses from the upper to the lower parts of the body. For instance, a person is considered to be on the mend if the arthritic pain in his neck has decreased although he now has pain in his finger joints.

As the symptoms change in accordance with Herring's Law, it is common for individual symptoms to become worse than they had been before treatment. If healing is truly in progress, the patient feels stronger and generally better in spite of the aggravation. Before long, the symptoms of the aggravation pass, and leave the person healthier on all levels.

Back to blog post, How Will I know If I Am Getting Better with Homeopathy?, here.

*From Homeopathy International.

How Will I Know If I Am Getting Better with Homeopathy?

I have often been asked the question, "How will I know if I am getting better with Homeopathy?"

Homeopathy is a system of healing that addresses the whole person. In an initial interview, a Homeopath carefully takes into account any complaints or symptoms a person has about his or her present health and well-being. The client's health history and life history are also discussed in detail.

After the initial interview, an assessment and work-up is completed. A work-up is more or less a summary sheet that lists a person's complaints, diseases, symptoms, and conditions. This summary sheet serves as a wellness baseline, which provides the majority of the information used in determining the best homeopathic remedy.

From these evaluations, a homeopath can select the best remedy or series of remedies to address the person's health issues. Sometimes additional remedies, herbs, or other supplemental support are recommended along with the primary remedy.

Homeopathy addresses the individual, and each response is individual. No two people will respond the same way. A Homeopath assesses progress by making observations, keeping good notes, and asking the right questions. From one appointment to the next, a Homeopath can track a person's response by noting which symptoms improve, worsen or stay the same, and if anything new appears. Over time, the Homeopath can compare notes from all the visits and track the changes on a graph.

Often, when I'm working with clients I'll ask about a past illness or complaint. My client frequently responds, "I don't have that." I can go back to my chart and report the date the complaint was described, in the client's own words. My clients always laugh, and are surprised that they forgot about some longstanding symptom or distress once it's disappeared.

In Homeopathy, healing is viewed as starting from the inside out, and top down. This is a simplified explanation of what a Homeopath refers to as "Hering's Law of Cure." Each person will respond in his or her own individual way. Evidence of deep healing can be seen in many ways, from improved sleep to a calmer disposition.

Give Homeopathy a try and feel better, naturally!

Zicam: There is no such thing as a Homeopathic Product

A comment about my Zicam blog post from Murray Feldman, MCH, RSHom, (NA) CCH, Founder and Director of the Vancouver Homeopathic Academy.

What surprises me about all this [allegations that Zicam is a homeopathic product] is that people are missing the point of homeopathy. There is no such thing as a homeopathic product and there is no such thing as a homeopathic medicine. There are potentized remedies and unless they are prescribed according to the Law of Similars they are just that-potentized products-not homeopathic. Why do we not see this clarification written up anywhere by the organizations representing homeopathy. Zicam is not a homeopathic product. It merely claims to be so in order to sell it as a harmless product.

Back to blog post, A Comment about Zicam: It's Not Homeopathy, here.
Link to the Vancouver Homeopathic Academy here.