Homeopathic first aid
Although homeopathic remedies for chronic diseases should be individualized for each patient, cuts, burns and fractures need a similar stimulus to heal their injury, says Madhavi Kasam of Georgia Classical Homeopathy in Suwanee. Kasam’s suggestions:
Arnica: Most common first aid for all injuries. It helps reduce shock, relieve pain, diminish swelling and begin healing. Arnica is a great remedy for injuries to muscles, and also when there is pain from over exertion. It removes bad effects of shock from injury, prevents septic conditions and works well for mechanical injuries received even years previously.
Calendula: Stops bleeding from cuts and injuries, inhibits infection and promotes granulation of tissues. It helps heal wounds and burns. Calendula helps healing rapidly, and is not recommended for use in deep cuts as sometimes it can close and heal the outside skin before the tissues underneath are completely healed. It is good for neuritis from lacerated wounds, exhaustion from loss of blood, and excessive pain in injured area. If used after surgery, it prevents disfiguring scars by proper healing.
Ledum Pal: Useful for puncture wounds from sharp, pointed instruments like needles or nails. Ledumpal is also commonly used for insect stings, especially from mosquitoes, and animal bites. It is helpful in healing wounds and preventing tetanus, and relieves localized nerve pains. It is also useful for patients with severe bruising (black eyes or blows from firm objects), especially if the affected part feels cold yet relieved by cold applications.
Rhus Tox (poison ivy): Good for pains from spraining or straining a single part, muscle or tendon. Can also be used for bruises, and lameness after sprains, especially of wrists and ankles. Rhus Tox is ideal for pains which are aggravated by initial motion, but better upon continued motion. It is also given for dislocated joints.
Symphytum: Useful for fractures. Symphytum relieves pain and promotes rapid healing of fractures. Symphytum favors production of Callus (the osseous material woven between ends of a fractured bone that is ultimately replaced by true bone in the healing process). It relieves the peculiar pricking pain and irritability at the fractured point. This is a great remedy for injuries of the eyeball and around the eyes, and for bones and cheek bone injuries.
Zicam recalls leave many consumers wary of homeopathic remedies, but local users of alternative medicine say there’s a bigger picture.
"The recalls are on some drugs because they proved to be so harmful for us to consume, and still the damage is already done to those few," said Cathy Conley, a nutrition therapist at Winner Wellness on Green Street. "Even those not being recalled have side effects that are amazing and create other dysfunctions in the body. In the long run, it takes more drugs with more side effects to cure it instead of using a natural way for the body to detox and heal itself."
On June 16, the Food and Drug Administration told Zicam maker Matrixx Initiatives to discontinue three products — Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Nasal Swabs and Swabs in Kids’ Size — because 130 consumers reported they lost their sense of smell.
The agency said the drug must be tested for safety and benefit, like a conventional drug, before it is marketed again. Because the Zicam products were listed as homeopathic remedies — highly diluted drugs made from natural ingredients — they aren’t federally tested for safety or benefit.
The Associated Press found that remedies are typically diluted down to 1 part per million or less, but the active ingredient in Zicam is 2 parts per 100.
Many scientists and contemporary medical doctors are skeptical about the effectiveness of the home remedies because of the dilution idea.
"Many people criticize this and call it a placebo effect, but there’s an invisible connection just like there is between two cell phones," said Madhavi Kasam, who runs Georgia Classical Homeopathy in Suwanee. "It works, even if you can’t explain it."
Alternative and modern medicine work as different functions to address illness, said Edward Inscho, program director of the Medical College of Georgia MD/PhD program.
"A disease happens because normal things go wrong for a lot of different reasons and we don’t supply our bodies with the things it needs," he said. "Homeopathy, as I see it, reminds people that we need to eat and sleep well and keep the body in balance in a preventive way, but modern medicine fixes the problems already there and does it through drug intervention to short circuit that process."
However, many homeopaths say going to the source of the problem is better than dealing with the symptoms.
"The mind and body are connected, and you have to look at all areas to find specific issues," Kasam said. "You have to consider everything as a small piece of a jigsaw puzzle, and then you will usually find it’s not just one problem that can be addressed."
Many customers with digestive, emotional or allergic problems ask Kasam for help, and an individual assessment could lead her to suggest one of 3,000 supplements.
"It’s really an individual selection based on the system," she said.
Winner Wellness in Gainesville operates in the same way, Conley said.
"When you experience pain, fatigue or fogginess, that’s your body’s way of talking and letting you know there’s something happening it can’t handle and needs attention," she said. "We test you and find what we call your ‘core issues’ and suggest a supplement for your body to resolve the issue within itself."
Homeopathy was founded in the late 1700s by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, and was first introduced in the United States in 1825. It was popular in the 1800s and early 1900s but dropped out the picture when modern medicine, penicillin and other Western pharmaceuticals became popular.
With the revival of interest in alternative medicine in the 1960s, homeopathy became popular again in the United States. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act recognizes as official the drugs and standards in the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States and its supplements.
The National Center for Homeopathy is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to making homeopathy accessible to the public. The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine spent $3.8 million on homeopathic research from 2002 to 2007, according to The Associated Press.
Although center director Josephine Briggs told The Associated Press the center may abandon studies on homeopathic drugs, that’s now not the case.
"NCCAM will continue to accept investigator-initiated research grant applications for homeopathy and will continue to consider for funding those that receive outstanding scores in peer review," Alexis Johnston, a media specialist for the center, said Thursday.
In the United States, training in homeopathy is offered through certificate programs and is part of medical education in naturopathy, where the body heals itself through the use of dietary and lifestyle changes.
Although homeopathic remedies can be useful, the problem is when you "go too far with it," said Bill Hammond, a professor who teaches health psychology at the University of Georgia.
"It’s like reflexology, where certain spots on your feet are related to the organs in your body. The approach has some merit and some principles are undoubtedly true, but every branch of medicine has its failures," he said. "It’s nice to get an awesome foot massage, and it’s healthy for you, but don’t link it to the flu or other symptoms that aren’t truly related."