Spring is here, and whether or not a vacation is already booked or only just in planning, it is likely to involve travel. Unfortunately for some the travel to the distant retreat or exotic destination can involve anxiety, sickness or jetlag, which can reduce much of the joy associated with the upcoming vacation, or can create stress that can ruin much of the gained recovery from the holidays. Luckily though, there are some homeopathic remedies for that!
For travel anxiety, the fear of boarding a plane, of anticipated accidents or the crowd traveling there are three main homeopathic remedies.
Aconite: Someone needing Aconite is not just anxious, but downright panics. He or she suddenly develops an extreme fear of death, and is deeply convinced their plane will crash. There is great anguish and he or she becomes restless with fear.
Argentum-nitricum: The people needing this remedy are very anxious, are restless, have to walk about. Their anxiety gives them diarrhea. They are afraid of heights, are claustrophobic and fear crowds. They fear they may be having an accident on their journey to the destination. .
Gelsemium: With this remedy there is an anticipatory anxiety. Persons needing Gelsemium may experience their muscles becoming weak and give way with anxiety. There may be trembling, numbness and the individual may get diarrhoea.
In the event of travel– or motion- sickness homeopathy too has help to offer.
Cocculus: Cocculus is the #1 remedy for motion sickness or sea sickness. The person needing Cocculus feels dizzy from motion, or the sight of moving objects. There is nausea and there may be vomiting. He or she has revulsion and nausea from the thought and smell of food.
Tabacum: Tabacum gives the individual an incessant deathly nausea with a sinking feeling and the sensation of an empty stomach. Deathly paleness, headache, faintness, a sensation of collapse and facial cold sweat can accompany this sickness. The fumes of tobacco are unbearable. Least motion can cause this sickness.
Petroleum: This motion sickness is characterized by nausea that comes with an empty feeling in the stomach, and is improved by eating. There is vertigo and dizziness that are felt at the occiput. This state feels somewhat like the heavy head after drinking alcohol. There is also a strong aversion to meat and fatty foods.
For the jet lag, when getting to or coming from a location in a different time zone there are other homeopathic remedies that could help.
Cocculus: is indicated for jet lag where the individual has difficulty getting to sleep and feels like he or she is still in the moving vehicle or on the flying plane.
Gelsemium: With this remedy there is heaviness and exhaustion and the body feels immobilized akin to paralysis.
Arnica: This remedy is a treat where there is exhaustion accompanying the jet lag. It can help keep you awake until local bedtime which can aid an easier and swifter adjustment.
The best matching remedy should be taken as and when needed. It is suggested to use the 6X potency, and to take one dose (1 tablet, 3 sugar pills, or 5 drops) every 15 minutes for up to two hours in the acute state. For anxiety and motion sickness 1 to 2 doses can be taken ahead of travel, for example when going to the airport and when boarding the plane.
Angina Pectoris is a symptomatology that in 2009 affected an estimate of 30 000 to 40 000 people per 1 million of the European population [1], and approximately 9.8 million people in America, with tendency rising [2].
It is a syndrome that is characterized by precordial discomfort; pressure, squeezing, burning or fullness located centrally about the chest. This is frequently accompanied by pain extending through to the back, or into the shoulder and arm, and may radiate to the throat and jaw, the upper abdomen and at times the right arm [3]. The onset of symptoms is usually due to physical exertion or stress [3], heavy meals or extreme heat [4].
The etiology of Angina Pectoris is commonly an underlying condition called myocardial ischemia [3]. Myocarial ischemia refers to a reduction of the volume of blood passing through the arteries, as a consequence of which the amount of oxygen transported to the heart is also decreased [5]. This is usually due to yet another underlying more severe issue, namely coronary heart disease, where the coronary arteries are obstructed as in the case of atherosclerosis [3]. Other causes of myocardial ischemia are spasms of the coronary arteries, or an embolism caused by the plaque formation of artheriosclerosis that then ruptures and forms a clot that blocks an artery [5].
Attacks of Angina Pectoris commonly subside after a few minutes and are relieved by rest [3]. The most important element in the treatment of Angina Pectoris is the removal of the causative factors, at least the prevention of further progression of the underlying condition [4].
First aid treatment, and the most common prescriptions in Angina Pectoris, are drugs containing nitroglycerine [4]. Nitroglycerin dilates the arteries and as such permits an increased volume of blood to flow through the vessles [4].
Nitroglycerine – an explosive drug!
In 1846 the Italian chemist Asciano Sobrero sought to create a new kind of substance that had blasting power. He synthezised Nitroglycerin by combining nitric and sulphuric acid [6, 7]. In 1867 then Alfred Nobel, the scientist and initiator of the Nobel prize, patented Nitroglycerin as a explosive [6].
The first physician to suggest nitroglycerin as a treatment for Angina Pectoris was British born William Murrell (1853 – 1912) in 1879 [7, 8]. He and few of his colleagues dared to experiment with Nitroglycerin, and trialed this explosive substance in highly diluted form on themselves. Murrell had taken Nitroglycerin 30 to 40 times before using it in the treatment of patients [8].
From experiential reports and his own findings, Murrell identified Nitroglycerin to be an instantly acting substance. The ingestion of a tiny quantity sufficed to induce a sensation of fullness about the neck, slight nausea, mental confusion and drowsiness. A rushing noise in the ears was described, a heaviness in the stomach and frequently a tensive headache that was felt over the eyes and could extend to the nose and ears [8, 9].
Murrell prescribed Nitroglycerin for patients that experienced symptoms of sudden onset of intense pain about the chest that was triggered by slightest physical exertion or emotional excitement. Patients described a sensation of heat and burning in the chest that was succeeded by an acute, painful pressue. This pain could radiate to the back, between the shoulders, and along the inner side of the arm down to the elbow. Murrell points out that this pain only rarely passed below the elbow towards or into the fingers. Shortness of breath, an increased pulsation, and a sensation of coldness in an attack were also described [8].
These attacks commonly lasted no longer than 3 to 4 minutes, and the administration of Nitroglycerin cut an attack short. Murrell exclaimed that “the action of the medicine seems to commence the moment it is swallowed” [8, p.43]. Unfortunately the ingestion of Nitroglycerin almost always produced a throbbing sensation across the forehead, at the height of the hairline, a sensation of pulsation experienced throughout the body, and a noise like running water in the ears [8]. This concomitant symptomatology of Nitroglycerin is one that for most patients still accompanies an ingestion of the drug.
Murrell further noted of Nitroglycerin that the susceptibility to its action was more pronounced in weaker individuals and women. He stressed that a physiological effect could be excited by merely handling it, and pointed out that following an administration of the drug patients would experience “an immediate, irresistible need for sleep” [8, p.29].
The homeopathic origin of nitroglycerin as a healing agent
In 1848, long before the conventional medical sphere took note of the healing potential of nitroglycerin the German Homeopath Constantin Hering (1800 – 1880) had recognized its value as a homeopathically produced remedy for throbbing and congestive headaches.
Hering never considered Glonoinum, homeopathic Nitroglycerine, for Angina Pectoris [6], but it has found its way into the homeopathic Materia Medica as a remedy for many symptoms, including those of the symptomatology of Angina Pectoris. As such it is, amongst others, indicated for the following key symptoms:
– Surging of blood to the head and heart [10, 11].
– Violent palpitation, laborious action of the heart [10, 11].
– Throbbing and pulsating headache in forehead and between temples [11].
– Throbbing in front of the head [11], that becomes worse by exertion [12].
– Pressure and throbbing in the temples [11].
– Pulsation experienced throughout the body. Pulsating pains [10], felt as if the head would burst [12].
– Paleness of the face [12].
– Adverse effects from being in the sun, sunstroke [12].
– Confusion, heaviness about the head [10].
– Can bear no heat about the head [10].
Perhaps it was due to the skepticism of the homeopathic doctrine that the conventional medical sphere took 30 years to investigate the therapeutic potential of Nitroglycerin [7], but only due to these previous investigations did Nitroglycerin at all become a successful medicinal agent. As such Nitroglycerin was considered by some as the “ first breakthrough, on a large scale, of homeopathic remedies into allopathic practice” [6, p.25]. Until today it is a reliable treatment agent for managing Angina Pectoris, both as a highly diluted conventional drug, and as a highly diluted and succussed homeopathic remedy.
[6] Bruce Fye, W. (1986) Nitroglycerin: a homeopathic remedy Circulation, Vol. 73, 1, pp.21-29. Available from : circ.ahajournals.org/content/73/1/21.full.pdf [4th May 2015].
A persistent wheezing, buzzing, whistling or ringing noise perceived in the head, or experienced in one or both ears is referred to as Tinnitus. This noise is permanent. It cannot be heard by others, and does not originate from an external source. It is not a psychiatric, but a physical condition. It is frequently traced to some malfunction of the hearing system. This can be as simple as earwax logged near the eardrum, can originate from an underlying condition such as Meniere’s disease, can be caused by more serious conditions such as tumor growth, or can be triggered by prolonged exposure to noise. Research has to date not been able to source the precise underlying mechanism.
There are other potential causes that may favor the emergence of tinnitus. Injuries or trauma to the head, a malposition of the jaw at the joint to the skull, large doses of aspirin, and even stress have been linked to the appearance of tinnitus.
The exposure to loud noise is the most common cause of tinnitus. The use of noisy machinery without hearing protection, concert noise without ear plugs, or even the extended listening to music at high volume can promote the ‘outbreak’ of tinnitus.
Sufferers may experience concomitant adverse effects as a consequence to tinnitus. Stress, depression, fatigue, exhaustion, and emotional impairment are common.
Most sufferers develop some sort of coping strategy to be able to manage their life with the complaint. Conventional medicine offers diverse therapeutic approaches such as ‘cognitive behavior therapy’, or ‘tinnitus retraining therapy’ aimed at reducing the perception of tinnitus. There is to date no medication that can treat tinnitus. Avoiding is key with this condition.
The following homeopathic remedies may be useful in the treatment of tinnitus: Antipyrine, Cannabis indica, Carbonicum sulphuricum, Chininum sulphuricum, Kalium iodatum, Lachesis, Natrium Salicylicum, Phosphorus, Salicylicum Acidum, Theridion, Thiosinaminum.
[Also known as: Morbus Bechterew or Bechterew’s diseases, Marie Strumpell disease, or rheumatoid spondylitis.]
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a disease that belongs to the family of arthritic affections.
Spondylosis alone refers to degenerative changes at the affected site, such as osteoarthritis, of the vertebral joints and the intervertebral discs [1]. Ankylosis indicates that new bone formations are developing at the affected sites on the spine, fusing the vertebrae and eventually restricting mobility of the spine in that area [2].
AS is characterized by chronic inflammation that primarily affects the vertebrae of the spine. In its progression it may lead to gradual stiffening of the spine. A major location of the disease is the sacroiliac joint, however the upper areas of the spine and other joints, such as the shoulders, hips, ribs and smaller joints of the extremities, may also be affected [2, 3].
The inflammation and stiffness of AS may be experienced as severely painful and very restricting to the mobility of the sufferer. The symptomatology is variant, as is the time of first appearance of symptoms. It is commonly in early adulthood that symptoms begin to show. There is a diffuse dullness and discomfort that may initially be felt, with pain and stiffness, gradually aggravating during the night and in the morning. Sufferers may also have symptoms of light fever, fatigue and lack appetite initially. Pain, tenderness and stiffness will become more persistent over months and years, spreading along the spine into the neck. It is not uncommon that sufferers may also have symptoms of bowel and eye inflammation, and concomitant involvement of the heart and lungs [2, 3].
Ankylosing spondylitis is believed to be a genetic / hereditary disorder. It is assumed that a hereditary marker (HLA-B27) is a strong indicator for this disorder. However the HLA-B27 marker is not a precise diagnostic test, and researchers have identified over 60 other genes that stand in connection to the disorder. A distinct cause of Ankylosing Spondylitis has to date not been identified. It has though been observed that AS could stand in connection to an immune response. AS frequently broke out in patients following an infection of the bowel or urinary tract [2, 3].
The symptoms of Ankylosing spondylitis are often mistaken for other more common back problems, which makes it difficult to identify AS from the patients presenting complaints and symptoms alone. Usually x-rays, MRIs or the detection of the HLA-B27 marker are needed to make a more precise diagnosis. However, particularly in the early stages of AS, x-rays cannot provide evidence of the presence of this disorder as the deformity of the vertebrae is not yet visual in the imaging [2, 3].
Strong symptomatic indicators for the presence of this disorder are restricted flexibility in the lumbar spine, un-symmetric inflammation of a single joint (knee-, or hip-joint), iritis / uveitis, and the stiffening of the vertebrae. Characteristic of AS is also, that patients complain about back pain during the night, which is improved by movement. Most other, more common back problems find relief by rest and aggravation by motion. The appearance or aggravation of symptoms is usually in episodes or flare-ups, that are interrupted by phases of symptom remission and amelioration [2, 3].
The prognosis of disease progression is variable, as in each individual patient the expression of the disorder is different. Some patients may largely only suffer of intermittent discomfort and pain, while others may have more of the stiffness for lasting periods of time, and yet others may experience mostly deformity and even disability. With certain patients symptoms are so mild they rarely even are diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis [2, 3].
The treatment of AS is focused on the amelioration of the presenting symptomatology. Until today, there is no ‘cure’ for AS. The aim of treatment is to reduce pain, to retain mobility and to restrict deformity. As such exercise and physical therapy is suggested, as are inflammation and pain reducing medications. Surgery is a treatment option where a destroyed joint needs to be replaced or posture requires to be corrected [2, 3].
In terms of the CAM therapies, it has been found that sufferers of arthritis and related disorders seek complementary and alternative treatment in order to find “relief for pain and suffering that traditional medications have not provided”; in order “to avoid potentially serious side effects associated with [conventional] medications”; and to avoid costs of “certain conventional medical and surgical treatments” [4, n.p.]. Sufferers of AS have reported finding relief from CAM treatment [4].
The treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis with homeopathy has to be individualized. Accordingly, the remedies below may be helpful in the treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis [5, 6]:
***ALL COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE GIVEN PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ATTENTION ASAP***
1st AID MUST HAVE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES
Aconitum napellus (C200): This remedy is indicated for all events that are sudden and shocking. All situations and events that come as a surprise or have not as such been experienced call for this remedy. Any event that happens without a warning calls for Aconitum. There is great anxiety and fear. Fear for life even. This can be the case where there has been an accident, a sudden injury, a forest fire, an earthquake. The individual is tense, greatly nervous and anxious, restless, overwhelmed, excited and irritated. There is a disposition to want to walk away from the situation or the place of anxiety.
Sulfuricum Acidum (C30): This is one of the go to remedies for complaints of intoxication with smoke of fumes. In forest fires, the inhalation and exposure of ‘too much’ fire smoke can cause symptoms of tension & pressure in the eyelids with irritation and cutting pain in the eyes. The headache is one of a compressed pressure. There may also be vertigo.
Dryness, roughness and a sore feeling of the throat may be present. If there is a cough, this may produce a slimy expectoration.
The person needing this remedy may be nervous, irritable, anxious, confused, hurried and may exhibit symptoms of exhaustion, lethargy, loss of vigor and bodily strength, headache, cold sweats, trembling.
Grindelia (C30): This is a remedy that may help where much fumes and smoke have been inhaled and have caused difficulty breathing/dyspnoea. This remedy acts on the pulmonary circulation. There may be wheezing and oppression in the lungs with a foamy, profuse and tenacious expectoration that is difficult to detach. The normal breathing has interruptions that may even prevent sleeping. The individual cannot breath lying down and must sit up, and may start from sleep and gasp for breath. The individual is greatly exhausted.
SPECIFIC HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES for complaints that may arise following the exposure to fires: Continue reading (PDF)HERE
Homeopathy has to date been little investigated for its efficacy in the treatment of PTSD. However, states of anxiety, depression, panic, trauma, fear, irritability, sleeplessness, and mental and physical distress have long found relief by homeopathic treatment.
Homeopathy is a medicinal treatment considered as complimentary to conventional medicine. It is tailored to treating the individual in all of his or her entirety, holistically, and not just a disease or its label.
Homeopathy treats the patient on all levels, the spiritual, the mental/emotional and the physical plane; on specifically those planes on which the symptoms of PTSD are manifest and expressive.
Homeopathy is considered a ‘gentle’ treatment approach as it’s remedies are produced by diluting and rhythmically shaking them at various stages of the production process. This renders their action gentle and increases their strength. Homeopathy is considered devoid of side effects and adverse reactions.
In the homeopathic consultation the patient is given the space for him or her to fully express how he or she feels, and how he or she experiences the symptoms of his or her complaint. The aim is to provide a comfort zone within which the practitioner is able to identify from the patients narrative and explanations, the remedy which best fits the presenting state of the patient.
Particularly within the symptom complex of ‘Post-traumatic Stress Disorder’, there is a ‘mind – body’ connection. It is not infrequent that sufferers of PTSD develop comorbid complaints to their diagnosis of PTSD, such as chronic physical pain, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders and other health issues.
By considering the totality of the patient, taking into account the physical, mental and emotional presentation of complaints, Homeopathy can facilitate the reinstatement of well-being and the recovery of the individual as a whole. Homeopathy is one of the CAM therapies who´s action radius strongly recommends it for the treatment of PTSD.
Although it was only acknowledged and labelled as such in the 1980’s, PTSD, post-traumatic stress syndrome existed much earlier.
When trains were initially introduced as means of travel and transportation this innovative creation gave rise to much excitement, critique and a new type of fear disorder. Travel became different, louder, faster, and the number of people transported with just one trip could be increased drastically.
Passengers’ reaction to the noise of the steam engine, the motion of carriages, jolts of starting and breaking to a halt, and the accidents that occurred could developed into a disorder that was soon termed the ‘Railway Spine’. Collision accidents aside of fatalities and physically injured, generated patients that expressed a specific symptom complex. These eyewitnesses and victims could feel physically weakened, with numbness and pain spreading across their limbs. They could complain of spinal pain and stiffness, headaches and neuralgia. They could be anxious and irritable, could suffer of disturbed sleep, memory impairment and lack the ability to concentrate.
This symptom complex was, at the time, also described in soldiers of war as ‘Soldier’s heart’, and in civilians that had experienced World War I as ‘Shell shock’, and it has remained one prevalent today. It can be seen in car accidents, in what is termed ‘whiplash’, in victims of terror attacks, and in traumata of army service personnel that were engaged in warfare. This specific cluster of similar symptoms is part of the complex that today is termed ‘Post-traumatic-stress-disorder’.
References:
Express Medicals Ltd. (2017) Railway Spine: a medical condition extinct or evolved. Personal contact.
The symptom complex of PTSD, post-traumatic-stress disorder, exhibits a specific and individualized symptomatology. Homeopathy has a number of remedies at its disposal, with which this particular symptom complex and its individual expression can be treated. Some of the remedies that may be useful in treating PTSD are listed below.
Absinthium: The patient needing this remedy may experience nervousness and sleeplessness, has visions and hallucinations that are frightening and terrifying. The patient may have the urge to walk, distressed by the visions of all sorts of demons. He or she does not care whether he or she lives or dies. He or she does not want to engage with others. There may be a tendency to brutality and violence. This may alternate with stupor.
Aconitum: There is great and uncontrollable anguish, fear and anxiety; irritability, sadness and gloom. Much worry, uneasiness and fear accompanies even ordinary sickness. He or she fears there will be no recovery from illness. He or she may predict the day of his death. There is nervousness and weakness. The individual may have fear to leave the house, of being in a crowd. Complaints may come from situations of fright or fear. In states of deliria the patient needing Aconitum is unhappy, worries, raves and despairs over the fearful anticipation of his or her death. There is sadness, maliciousness, a high disposition to anger, fear and conflict. There is a sensitivity to noise, a dislike of communication, a vexation over trifles. Great irritation, nervousness, restlessness and excitement are characteristic. A fear of spectres, the dark, forebodings and a tendency to start are also prevalent, as is the disposition to run away from the locality. Aconite is a short-acting remedy for the acute states.
Agaricus: This remedy is characterized by great changeability, irritability, and depression. There is a state of delirium with confusion of the mind. The individual wishes not to engage in communication with others.An indisposition to mental or other labour. There may be timid or violent mania with persistent delirium in which he or she recognizes no one and throws objects around. The individual is morose and stubborn.
Anacardium: This remedy has fixed ideas and hallucinations. He or she is easily offended; contradiction makes him or her furious. The individual expresses anxiety over somebody following him or her when moving about. There is deep melancholy and hypochondriasis. There is depression, sadness and despair over health. The patient is suspicious and distrusting. He or she can be malicious with an absence of moral restraint. Absent mindedness, dullness and sluggishness of mind may be prevalent. He or she may be hearing voices and may have hallucinations. There is anxiety, despair over the future, even fear of nearing death.
Anhalonium: In this remedy there is distrust and resentment. The individual is confused, and delusional. There may be a depersonalisation taking place within the patient. He or she may be dissociated from his or her nearest environment. Likewise there may be over-identification with that environment. The feeling for time and reality is lost.
Ambra grisea: Ambra dreads the company of people and wants to be alone. He or she is shy in the presence of others. The individual can despair over life to the extent that he or she loathes life. He or she is restless, excitable and loquacious. Concentration is difficult for this individual. There may be confusion of thoughts. He or she is ‘forced’ to dwell on disagreeable things. These things can be fantastic hallucinations images, grimaces, fancies, visions, or imaginations. They are annoying to him or her and keep the patient from sleeping. The company of others is experienced as disturbing. There is the feeling of embarrassment, with nervous excitement, flushing, and trembling. The individual imagines that he or she is losing his or her mind which causes melancholy, great sadness and despair to the extent that the patient desires to die. He or she considers life unworthy of living. Ambra is the distinctive picture of an individual who used to be a vital, vigorous and strong person, and since the causative experiences is a broken, nervous, quivering, trembling wreckage.
Arsenicum album: A remedy that is indicated for great anguish accompanied by restlessness. There is fear is of death, of being left alone. The fear is also accompanied by cold sweat. The individual takes no medicines as he or she thinks these are useless. He or she may have olfactory and auditory hallucinations, may be delusional with a tendency to mania and delirium. He or she is sensitive to confusion and disorder. These make him or her anxious, prostrated, fearful and restless. The restlessness keeps the person in movement. He or she does not stay still. As the individual may be of selfish character, lacking courage, being miserly may incline him or her to be malicious or suicidal. This individual may be extremely sad, melancholic, and such a state may make him or her weary of life, loathing it, wanting to die, and this character may actually commit suicide.
Aurum metallicum: The patient needing Aurum exhibits feelings of self-condemnation, utter worthlessness, deep despondency, and a deep disgust for life. These make him develop a tendency to want to commit suicide. He or she truly loathes life, is weary of it even desires to die. This is a deep depression, a profound melancholy that robs the individual of all that is joyous in his or her environment. He or she fears death. He is grumpy, broody, and extremely sensitive to noise and commotion around him or her. He or she cannot handle contradiction, is quarrelsome. He is a very dutiful character and sees criticism as consequence of a sin, a neglect he or she has committed. Therefore he or she thinks him or herself as unworthy of salvation. He or she is a pessimist, expects things to go wrong, and sees only the negative, never the positive. The future is negative; there is only trouble, turmoil ahead. This makes him or her irritable, worried, and easily angered.
Gelsemium: This is a remedy for the ill effects coming from the exposure to fear, fright, disruptive news or other emotional excitement. There is languor, dullness, apathy, lethargy, deliria. He or she wants to be alone, quiet; is irritable, sensitive, depressed. The individual cannot concentrate; the mind feels empty, dull. There is a strong tendency to suicide. This individual has the urge to throw him or herself out of a window or from a height.
Kalium bromatum: In this remedy there is a deep delusion of being morally deficient and of conspiracies building against him or her, feels singled out. Fears of getting poisoned, has frightful nightmares, horrible illusions, is depressed and melancholic.
Natrium muriaticum: In this remedy ailments are produced by mental disposition; anger, grief, fear and fright. The individual is irritable, tearful, sad, and even hysterical. He or she can get into a rage about trifles, and can be tragically moved about little unimportant things; can be inappropriately joyful. There is anxiety and anguish concerning the future. The individual prefers solitude to company, is unable to conduct regular intellectual work, is indifferent to his or her surroundings. Depression and melancholy induce recollection of unpleasant incidences. There are gloomy forebodings to him or her. Patients become tearful, yet attempts of consolation worsen the state. They fly into a rage easily and hold a grudge against people that have previously wronged them. There is weakness of memory, forgetfulness, and patients are tired of life.
Opium: Opium has frightful visions with fear, anxiety and uneasiness. The individual starts easily and is easily excitable. There is inquietude, irritability, and anxiety. There may be alternating phases with pleasant reveries. The individual may express symptoms of stupidity and imbecility. In delirium these individuals do not recognize their surroundings, cannot judge what goes on around them. Morphium (derivative of Opium): This remedy is one for states of shock that have been caused by experiences of terror. He or she is as in a dream-like state. Yet they may be irritable. There is a deep depression and the individual may be hysterical.
Nitricum acidum: This is a headstrong person, who can be hateful and vindictive. He or she may be indifferent to all. There is a sense of hopelessness and despair over his or her health. He or she fears death, yet is tired of life, and takes no joy in anything. He or she is obstinate, wishes not to be consoled; is depressed, sad. Great melancholy and fits of anguish are prominent. Can become enraged about trifles, curses, is obstinate and resentful. He or she is easily startled and frightened, sensitive to noise, touch and pain; weeps easily. This individual becomes angry over his or her own mistakes. He or she does not want to engage in communication with his or her surroundings. This person may have a great weakness of memory and intellectual capability and may be unfit to conduct work.
Stramonium: This individual can be deluded about who he is. He or she cannot be alone or in the dark. He or she needs company in an illuminated environment. There is rage, frenzy, fury, uproar, violence, and tumultuousness. He or she curses, is lewd and abusive in his or her language. There is fear and anxiety. Joy and sadness can alternate quickly. There are hallucination and delusion that the patient considers true and cannot release him or herself from. The sadness and melancholy of this remedy can be tearful and with great anguish. He or she is inconsolable, and trifles irritate much. The individual is obstinate, choleric, self-willed. He or she, in phases of fury, may be inclined to hit, bite and even kill. This is a mania caused by shock. The individual may be indifferent to matters at one time; feeling incapacitated at another, and may have the desire to run from it all.
*** This record serves as an illustration of what remedies are in use in the treatment of PTSD. The list is NOT exhaustive. None of the remedies should be used for self-prescribing. Please see a homeopath to identify the best matching prescription for you! Homeopaths have been trained to identify subtle differences in symptoms and remedy pictures and these subtle differences are important to identify the best possible remedy for a patient.***
References:
Abc Homeopathy (2017) Homeopathic Remedies, Available at: https://abchomeopathy.com (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
Boericke, W. (1999) Homeopathic Materia Medica. Homeoint [Online]. Available at: http://www.homeoint.org (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
Clarke, J.H. (2000) A dictionary of practical Materia Medica. Homeoint [Online]. Available at: http://www.homeoint.org (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
Cowperthwaite, A.C. (2003) A textbook of Materia Medica. Homeoint [Online]. Available at: http://www.homeoint.org (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
Guernsey, H.N. (2000) Keynotes to the Materia Medica. Homeoint [Online]. Available at: http://www.homeoint.org (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
Hpathy (2017) Materia Medica, Available at: https://hpathy.com (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
Kent, J.T. (2000) Lectures on homeopathic Materia Medica. Homeoint [Online]. Available at: http://www.homeoint.org (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
National Center for Homeopathy (2017) Materia Medica & Repertory Database, Available at: http://www.homeopathycenter.org (Accessed: 24th September 2017).
Combat related health issues are concerns that cannot and should not be ignored. While these are not complaints that only servicemen and women are ‘confronted with’, when returning home from deployment, they are also not always injuries to the physical body of the combat personnel. Many servicemen and women bringing home non-visual injuries.
Mental injuries and trauma are frequently ignored, by the sufferer, the care-provider and the society that army personnel returns to when coming home. Very often these complaints are also misinterpreted. Yet health issues such as anxiety and trauma disorders are increasingly becoming more prevalent. To date these complaints are insufficiently acknowledged, managed and treated.
PTSD, post-traumatic-stress-disorder, is the trauma issue that may evolve from the exposure to experiences of warfare, combat or terror. PTSD was first exhibited in Vietnam -War – veterans, but was only acknowledged and classified by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental disorder in 1980. Increasing numbers of military personnel exhibit symptoms associated with their experiences during deployment to war zones and engagement during battle.
These are not occasional states of anxiety, but mental conditions defined by distress that prevents people from living a normal life. Characteristic for these types of anxiety and trauma disorders are persistent, overwhelming states of worry and fear. These phases can be disabling, and may appear unmanageable. Panic, phobias, compulsion, and depression may combine, leaving the individual unable to lead a normal life.
Conventional medicine uses medicinal and psychoanalytical approaches to assist individuals suffering of PTSD. However, ever increasingly holistic and complementary therapies are being used by patients to alleviate the symptoms of trauma syndromes. There is little research into the effects of CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) treatments for PTSD, but experiential reports offer promising testimonials of effectiveness.
The CAM therapies are holistic therapeutic approaches that consider the totality of patients, taking into account the physical, mental and emotional plane of patients, thereby achieving amelioration, and recovery of the individual as a whole.
Clever Homeopathy 
