Category: Materia Medica - Page 2

Schuessler’s Biochemic Cell Salts

August 22, 2022

Yesterday I posted about Dr Wilhelm Heinrich Schüßler, a Doctor and Homeopath from the 19th Century who developed his own Biochemic therapy. His theory was that by using the inorganic minerals that are needed by every cell in the body you could correct imbalances and prevent and treat disease. There are twelve Cell Salts (also called Tissue Salts) and each has its own set of symptoms and affinities. They are prepared homeopathically to a 6x potency; at this low level …

Aconite

August 17, 2022

Two weeks ago I wrote about Anxiety, and remedies that can be useful for anxiety including panic attacks. Today I want to talk more about Aconite, because it is so much more than a panic attack remedy, and is one remedy I don’t go on holiday without. When I first started studying homeopathy, I learnt the rhyme “Fear and fright, at midnight, think Aconite” and it is still a useful prompt to remember some key things about Aconite. Aconite can …

The Full Moon

August 12, 2022

Tonight is a full moon, a time that has long believed to have an effect on us. Many people, including health professionals, believe that there are flares of mental illness during the full moon, although studies have been inconclusive. Some people struggle to sleep during a full moon, and a study published in Sleep Medicine in 2014 showed that even in a controlled environment, with no exposure to the moon, people took longer to fall asleep and slept less. Traditional …

Layers part 2

July 27, 2022

As discussed yesterday, in the movie of the same name Shrek said “Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers… You get it? We both have layers.” Donkey points out the cakes also have layers. Yesterday I talked about Shrek’s onion, so today it is time for some cake. The picture attached to this post makes me cringe with the amount of sugar and colourings required, and yet it does make me think of our human layers. It reminds me of …

Carbo Veg

July 16, 2022

Carbo Vegetablis (usually just called Carbo Veg) is a remedy made from the charcoal of a beech tree. It is known as the corpse reviver – it has the reputation of bringing back patients who seem to be on their death bed. But like most homeopathic remedies it has a wider sphere of action and can be used for milder and more severe ailments. Carbo Veg is a remedy with a lot of weakness, even their vital force – what …

Tela Araneae

June 27, 2022

I love spider webs at this time of year glistening with dew when you head out in the morning. Everything in nature can be used in Homeopathy, and even the spider web has been made into a remedy. Tela is used for anxiety with a high pulse rate that leaves you feeling unable to sleep. With a deep restlessness, even though tired and exhausted they may be unable to sleep. It has also been written about for nervous coughs, periodic …

Gelsemium

June 21, 2022

Winter is here, and an essential remedy for this time of year is Gelsemium. Gelsemium is a remedy for the slow and gradual onset of colds or flu (or Covid-19). They may have a dry cough and runny nose, with a lot of sneezing. The nose feels dry and it is hard to breathe through. They have a dull headache, may feel dizzy, and generally they will feel dull and lethargic. Everything feels heavy- their eyelids droop, their head and …

Hermione Granger, S.P.E.W., and Causticum

May 31, 2022

I’m reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the moment with my daughter. It’s possibly my favourite Harry Potter book, adding so many facets to the wizarding world introduced in the earlier books. In the book Hermione gets extremely upset about the treatment of House Elves, who are bound to the service of a wizard family, and starts the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W. for short. Hermione wants to improve the House Elves position …

Belladonna

May 4, 2022

Also known as Deadly Nightshade, Belladonna -“beautiful woman”- gets its name because it was used to make the pupils of women dilate, which was considered attractive in Renaissance Italy. It is an incredibly deadly plant, eating a few berries is enough to kill a child, but ingesting any can cause flushing of the face, dry mouth, lack of sweating, blurred vision and sensitivity to light, dizziness and unsteady on the feet, through to palpitations and an increased heartbeat, pounding headache …

The Land of Magic Medicines and Imponderable Remedies

June 21, 2023April 5, 2022

I read to my children every night, it’s my individual time with each of my three children, and a great way for me to not only pass on my love of reading, but time to re-read those books I loved and discover new ones. Miss 9 and I recently finished reading Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree trilogy. For those of you who have not read it, the Faraway Tree in the Enchanted Wood has people living in its trunk, and at …

Sepia

April 1, 2022

I have three children who I love dearly, but sometimes I need space. My husband does shift work which means at times it is just me home with three children and two cats. When it gets to the point I want them to GO AWAY and I’m feeling irritable, it is time for a dose of Sepia. Sepia is most well known for its indifference to family, and as a hormonal remedy for women. Being a Mum can be overwhelming, …

Chocolate, the Homeopathic remedy

March 12, 2022

When looking at a remedy, we first look at the substance itself as there are often parallels. Feel free to have another look at my post from Thursday about chocolate, but here are a few key things that we will discuss further below. Chocolate is sweet, has a specific texture, melting in the mouth. Women often crave chocolate around their period, but more than that people eat it for the happy feelings it brings, for feelings of love or to …

Electricitas

March 6, 2022

Imponderable remedies – those not made from physical substances- have become more common in recent years. There are colour remedies (some of which I have used with great success), remedies from sunlight (Sol – excellent for both sun exposure and to treat sunburn) and moonlight (Luna), as well as even more esoteric remedies like Time. I was expecting Electricitas to also be a new remedy, but in fact it has been around for over 100 years, and was written about …

Ozone

February 13, 2022

This post is for all those in Wellington, protesting for freedom from mandates, and for those who are standing in support around New Zealand. (Also for all people around the world who support freedom and autonomy, whether they are standing in protest in Ottawa, Canberra or elsewhere, or trying to live their lives freely). All roads lead me back to Homeopathy, so for fun, I put Freedom into my repertory (an index of symptoms and their homeopathic remedies) to see …

Chamomilla

November 26, 2021

A flower from the daisy family, Chamomile has been used for centuries as a tea or tisane to help calm and sleep. Homeopathically it can be used for the same reason. The mental emotional aspect is key for Chamomilla. Often used with teething children or for tantrums, they are restless, whining, irritable and capricious. This is the child who wants something, and as soon as you give it to them they will throw it away. They want to be picked …

Phosphoric Acid

March 6, 2021

Are you feeling drained and worn out? After a year of Covid, then a week with Covid lockdown in Auckland and a Tsunami warning it wouldn’t be surprising. Phosphoric Acid may be a remedy that would help you. The Acid remedies as a group have a theme of exhaustion. As acids as substances can burn, as remedies they feel burnt out. There may be an element of over-doing it and at times it may feel self destructive. Phosphoric Acid is …

Pulsatilla

October 27, 2020

Pulsatilla Nigracans is an old and well known remedy and a staple in my Homeopathic kit. Pulsatilla is probably best known for its mental emotional picture. Weepy and tearful, better for consolation. These are the children who need comfort, not just weeping but they may whinge and moan and need physical contact to calm down. Pulsatilla feels better for company. May be afraid of being alone, and a fear of the dark is common. They are known for changeable symptoms, …

Aconite

February 19, 2020

This is a remedy I could not be without. Aconite is made from the plant monkshood, also known as wolfsbane or leopard’s bane, and is a deadly poison both orally and through the skin. Historically it’s use had been for killing criminals in the Roman Empire (until it was banned) and as a poison in various murder plots. A particular phrase I used to help me remember Aconite when studying is “fear and fright, at midnight, think Aconite”. As suggested …

Sepia

February 6, 2020

I had a nice clinical sounding post written about Sepia. But I just can’t do it. I’ve had one of those weeks- to be fair, back to school and my youngest starting daycare tomorrow, with Waitangi Day and a day off today. It means my kids are fractious (and yes, having their own homeopathic treatment). They’re getting on my nerves, I’m irritable, and I just want everyone to go away and leave me alone. Except I don’t really want to …

Placenta homeopathic remedies

January 31, 2020

One question I had was about a remedy made from Placenta after birth. There is a remedy called Placenta Humanum, which is made from the placenta of a woman in Wales. Themes from this remedy include feeling incomplete, guilt from lack of achievement, feelings of discomfort and being ill at ease with themselves, inability to breathe, confusion and chaos, and wanting to start over. The results after the remedy were a sense of clearing out and growing up, becoming more …

Summer holiday remedy kit

December 15, 2019

14 Remedies you might like to have on hand this summer Sol Christmas in New Zealand means summer- and our sun is harsh, the risk of sunburn is high. Sol (Australia) is the remedy made from the exposure to the Southern Hemisphere’s sun (use Sol Britannia in the Northern Hemisphere). You can use this to reduce your risk of sun burn, or after sun burn to promote healing. In my family we try to avoid the hottest part of the …

Tissue Salts

November 11, 2019

What are they and how to take them? Schuessler (pictured here) was a doctor in the late 19th century. To better understand human physiology he analysed the ash residue from people who were cremated. He concluded that there were 12 different tissue salts that make up the human body, and then spent further time researching to figure out what role each tissue salt played in the human body. The twelve salts are: * Calc Fluor- for Elasticity. This mineral is …

Passiflora Incarnata

October 3, 2019

I have these beautiful flowers in my garden right now, so must be time for a Passiflora post. Passiflora incarnata is the Purple Passionflower. There are over 500 types of passionflower, many are vines but some are shrubs or trees. This one is the NZ garden variety passion fruit vine, so may be a slightly different species. Homeopathically, Passiflora is not widely used, and when given is prescribed in the “mother tincture”, so is actually herbal with a physical effect. …

Lachesis

September 9, 2019

Lachesis is the remedy from the Bushmaster Snake, pit viper in the Amazon. It’s a large and venomous snake with fangs up to 3cm long. It is not a naturally aggressive snake, but camouflages well and if you step on it it might be the last step you take. The poison from the bushmaster is haemotoxic, cytolytic and proteolytic, which means it’s destructive the blood and soft tissues and can cause haemorrhage and necrosis (cell death). The bushmaster snake is …