Ouch! It’s Shingles!

Shingles are super useful on the roof, but they’re incredibly painful and even dangerous on our bodies. I’m not here to discuss the shingles (or any other) vaccine or the suppressive medications used to treat an outbreak; rather I want to let you know that a safe, gentle, and effective alternative to conventional treatment exists and allow you to make your own, informed choice about the path that’s right for you.

Homeopathic treatment options for shingles vary somewhat based on how the outbreak presents in each person, but there are a few remedies that almost always make it into the mix, such as Antimonium crudum 6c, Hypericum perforatum 200c, Belladonna 3c, and Vaccininum 15c (sometimes it’s only available in 30c or other potencies, and that’s OK too).

Because homeopathy works with the body rather than on it, keen observation of symptoms and matching remedies to their frequency and severity is the key to success. We generally choose Antimonium crudum for the rash, Hypericum for the pain, Belladonna for fever, and Vaccininum for the underlying pathology itself, and we would probably take each of those remedies twice daily until the symptoms they address begin to fade. As symptoms back off, so do we, until no remedies are needed and the condition is resolved.

No side effects. Conditions resolved. Illnesses uprooted. No continuation needed. Y’all, this is the medicine we thought we were getting all along!

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you. Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information on shingles from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/a-better-medicine-for-shingles/

A (Mostly) Painless Tattoo?

My daughter and I have a few tattoos, and we enjoy the permanent decoration they add to our bodies. I know they’re not for everyone, but for those of us who DO enjoy them, it’s nice to know there’s a natural way to alleviate a good bit of the pain that is inherent to the experience!

First and foremost, it’s very important to work with a tattoo artist you trust, who is committed to using high quality materials and a completely sanitary workspace. That alone removes a great deal of the risk associated with injecting ink into the first several layers of your skin. But, pain during the procedure and a bit of inflammation afterwards are accepted parts of the tattoo process, and it’s really smart to have multiple ways of dealing with both as naturally as possible.

I like to use Hypericum and Arnica when I get a tattoo: Hypericum because it’s so effective for pain from punctures and helps stave off increased inflammation and infection from puncture wounds, and Arnica because it’s homeopathy’s star player for injury and damage to any soft tissue. I take a dose of each remedy before the procedure starts, during (if needed), right after it’s done, and later that evening before I go to bed. I take both again the next morning and then I assess to see if I should continue one or both. If the area still stings, I’ll take both remedies again that evening. If it’s just tender, I’ll take Arnica alone instead, and continue twice daily until no tenderness (or stinging) remains. Of course I also remember to keep the area clean and rub it with quality lotion or salve while the skin heals.

I took these remedies for my two most recent tattoos, and not only was the pain significantly less than with my previous ones, my healing time was cut by about 50% as well. I won’t promise that everyone will have the same result, but I can attest that it’s for sure worth a try.

You don’t have to get a tattoo in order to be able to use Hypericum and Arnica, though! My colleagues and I recommend and use it for all manner of surgical procedures, from a dental extraction to a heart bypass. The more complex the surgery, the smarter it is to reach out to a practicing homeopath for suggestions on when and how often to take the remedies, but much of the time you can use it just like I did in the tattoo example above.

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you. Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/homeopathic-remedies/anticipating-surgery-homeopathy-can-help/

Shocking Times need Aconitum

I don’t know about you, but the last two weeks have been shocking for me. The shock of hearing about an assassination – first framed as an attempt and then the news of its “success,” then the video footage, then dismay at how so many responded to it, along with continuous news of fights and fears at home and abroad (no matter how much one tries to avoid such news) have made life feel very precarious. It could be argued that the past few years have been filled with one shock after another, and that we’re all basically conditioned to live our daily lives in a fight-or-flight mentality. It’s no wonder so many people are sick.

For me, hope comes first from my faith in Christ. I lean on verses like Job 13:15 Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him, and Psalm 30:5 Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

I feel blessed that I can also lean on homeopathy’s ability to gently but effectively move my body towards balance and health. For a shocking event, a traumatic accident, terrible news, a sudden illness, an unexpected death, an unspeakable tragedy, or a terrible thing you can’t “unsee,” we can find help in Aconitum napellus 200c taken twice daily or even a little more if the situation is quite severe. Homeopathy doesn’t suppress, but it does help stimulate the body’s own natural healthy responses to put things back in order. Aconitum helps relieve the mind that is stuck in fight or flight, so it’s free to organize its thoughts. It allows us to be intentional again about how we want to move forward, instead of paralyzed by fear, surprise, and disbelief.

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/psychological-protection/

Poison Ivy Follow-up: My Own Case!

Well, as luck would have it, just a couple of months after posting about how to treat poison ivy homeopathically, I got a case of poison ivy myself! Of course I made a video to show how wonderful homeopathy is when it comes to addressing health issues in real time.

Let me just say, this was no ordinary case of “oops, I brushed against some poison ivy as I was hiking” – this was me on my mower, clearing underbrush from the edges of not one but two properties, basically creating poison ivy confetti and giving myself a dust bath in it. Before homeopathy, that would have meant a definite trip to urgent care for a steroid shot and/or regimen of pills, PLUS a very uncomfortable few weeks during which I had way too much energy and plenty of itching, weeping lesions on my legs, arms, and probably face as well, followed by the mood and energy dive that happens when your steroid pills wear off.

Instead, you can see in this video what I ended up with: a couple of meaningless spots on one ankle and a spot on one arm that were there and gone so quickly I didn’t even get photos, and finally one uncomfortable area around my left armpit that made me glad it was spaghetti strap season around here. And that was it. What a difference!

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/poison-ivy-antidote-with-homeopathy/

Poison Ivy Defeated by Homeopathy

The first time I got poison ivy, I thought it was a spider bite. I had been completely immune during my childhood, able to frolic through the forest and along the creekbank unconcerned with those “leaves of three,” but suddenly as an adult, I ended up with a case that started on my forearm and a few days later had spread to my legs and abdomen. A trip to the hospital ended with steroids and a couple weeks of discomfort but at least no more spreading. That routine continued for the next two decades, until just a few years ago.

Of course I was concerned about the regular use of steroids to treat the poison ivy I would get yearly, sometimes a couple of times during a summer mowing season, but there seemed to be no other choice. I put up with the minor side effects (increased appetite, weight gain, withdrawal fatigue) because I didn’t know what else to do. I was grateful that I hadn’t had the severe reactions to steroids that others I knew had experienced (if you’re not aware of what they are, there’s a nice graphic here that shows the most common) but I wondered each time when the proverbial other shoe would drop and I’d have a reaction. By the way, there’s no good treatment for a reaction to steroids. It’s another one of those “oh, well, sorry” moments that conventional medicine continues to have.

But then I was introduced to homeopathy through my friend, Laura, who invited me to a Gateway to Homeopathy course – and in that book was a remedy for poison ivy! Two, in fact – just in case the first one doesn’t act as quickly or thoroughly as needed. [Insert sound of angels singing]. If I hadn’t already been a believer in the effectiveness of homeopathic medicine, Anacardium for poison ivy would have converted me. I had been through the other options and I knew how they worked. I knew how untreated poison ivy behaved. Anacardium was a whole different – and better – experience. As my mentor, Joette, says: “Homeopathy is the medicine we all THOUGHT we were getting all this time.”

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/poison-ivy-antidote-with-homeopathy/

Got Bit? Get Ledum!

The only time we’re not fighting off some kind of biting insect here in Kentucky is winter, but even then we watch out for spiders inside the house. Around this house, everyone knows where the Ledum 200c is, because it’s what to grab when you’re bitten! Whether the offender is a mosquito, tick, dog, snake, or spider, Ledum palustrae is the first line of defense, even if you don’t notice the bite until later. Ledum has even been used to uproot Lyme disease!

Of course if you’ve been bitten by a venomous animal or you have a severe reaction to a bite, it’s always best to seek professional help – that’s just common sense. But on the way to the hospital or urgent care, a dose or two of Ledum 200c could make a big difference in how you feel once you get there.

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/summertime-and-the-ledum-is-easy/

Acute Gastric Disturbances

Dysentery, E Coli, Food Poisoning, and other acute gastric disturbances can be really scary but there are homeopathic options that can help your body regain control. Of course I would never advise someone to avoid emergency care when they feel they need it, but the use of homeopathic remedies at the onset of symptoms and on the way to the hospital can often alleviate a lot of suffering and sometimes avert the crisis completely.

It’s worth reading up on these three favorite gastric remedies, for when the inevitable disturbance strikes: Nux vomica, Arsenicum album, and Veratrum album. I’d recommend having those around, along with China (or Chinchona) – our family has certainly benefited from them more than once and I never want to be very far from them, just in case.

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/this-little-piglet-had-homeopathy/

Chronic Allergies? Try Calc Carb!

If you have seasonal allergies, you may have been told that there’s nothing more anyone can do for you and you’ll just have to avoid certain activities for the rest of your life. Or, you’ll have to take medicine (usually stronger and stronger doses) in order to manage being alive in the spring / summer/ fall / winter. Homeopaths don’t believe that! Not only have we read successful case studies from the past, we also see allergies being eased, reversed, and resolved all the time for our families, ourselves and our clients!

Chronic ailments, including allergies, are best dealt with in partnership with a “seasoned” homeopath (word play intended). But if you’re not quite ready to make an appointment, Calc carb and other cell salts are a good place to get started. With homeopathy, there is always something more to try – we are really never at the end of our options because all of nature is our supplier!

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/its-time-to-smell-the-flowers/

Help! My Brain is Lame

College students, young moms, professionals with deadlines & presentations… most, if not all of us suffer from mental fatigue, also called academic exhaustion, brain fag, lassitude, and other things that mean “my brain is lame.”

One of our best homeopathic remedies for lame brains is Kali phosphoricum, and we use it most commonly in a 6x potency. Homeopathy doesn’t work on the body, it works with the body, so it’s a lot safer to use than energy drinks and certainly wiser to use than prescription (or even OTC) drugs that can show up on a substance screen and disqualify you from the very event you exhausted yourself preparing for! If you have pushed your brain too far – or if you know you probably will be soon – find some Kali phos 6 and let it help you stay more balanced in an unbalanced time.

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/cell-salt-series-back-to-school-means-kali-phos/

Case Study: My Itchy Eyelid

Skin conditions are super annoying and the suppressive therapies we’re used to in conventional medicine often contain ingredients that can cause even more problems in both the short and long term. Steroid creams can be great for quick fixes, but watch out for Red Skin Syndrome, a really terrible “side effect” of repeated topical steroid use.

Guess what? Homeopathic remedies don’t carry those risks! I have struggled most of my life with random skin allergies and irritations, and up until a few years ago I was stuck on the steroid cream merry go round, hoping that I wasn’t using too much but needing stronger doses each time. I’m so grateful for access and knowledge of homeopathic remedies to help me now address each symptom safely, effectively, and increasingly permanently.

I would love to share more information about homeopathy with you! Please click “subscribe” below to join my homeopathy email list, and consider taking one of my classes! If you would like to schedule an individual consultation about a health problem you’re experiencing, just send me an email and we’ll get the process started.

For more information from my teacher and mentor, Joette Calabrese, check out her blog on the subject: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/itchy-skin/