Homeopathy At Home with Melissa

#21 BEACH Vacation and ocean remedies

June 14, 2021 Season 1 Episode 21
Homeopathy At Home with Melissa
#21 BEACH Vacation and ocean remedies
Show Notes Transcript

Learn why being near the ocean is therapeutic and learn about some ocean remedies.

Sunscreens
Homemade Sunscreen
Vitamin D
Magnesium
Silica Marina
Natrum Muraticum
Calcarea Carbonica
Nux Vomica
Arsenicum Album

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SPEAKERS

Bri Hurlburt, Melissa Crenshaw

 

Bri Hurlburt  00:01

Today we're talking about sunshine, the beach, we'll have some good remedy suggestions for you, and I'm really excited because we're getting ready to move to eternal summer compared to where I'm living now!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  00:17

Yeah! We're coming into beach vacation time and this has been on my mind since last June. I made a note to talk about this at this time of year because when I'm sitting on the beach, I'm just taking in all of the beauty and God's creation, and you feel different at the beach, right? There's a reason for that! Gosh, I'm so jealous. You're gonna be living there all the time.

 

Bri Hurlburt  00:54

I know, I really can't wait. We're moving to Tampa, everyone! When I lived there before, it felt like vacation land at first, and then it got crazy because it was way too hot. I was working full time then and never had time to just go hang out. Nowow I have the boys and I get to stay home with them. Praise God! So we're going to go to the beach and it'll be great!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  01:24

You're gonna be so healthy because there are so many therapeutic benefits to being at the beach or being near the ocean. That used to be prescribed by doctors, didn't it?

 

Bri Hurlburt  01:43

I've heard people say that. They were told literally to move to somewhere warm, so here we go! My kids are probably so tired of the winter. We're moving from Michigan, and it is snowing outside right now.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  01:59

Right now?!

 

Bri Hurlburt  02:00

Yes. April 22, 2021. There is snow. We're going from this gives you 100% humidity. Tell me all the great things that I can expect!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  02:18

We know that vitamin D from the sun, and sunscreen blocks vitamin D. We shouldn't be wearing sunscreen all the time. I understand if you go to the ocean for a vacation and you're out there in the sun, that you're not usually in it all the time and you're pasty white like me so you can get burned. That's no fun, and can be dangerous. I'm not saying never wear sunscreen, but we've got sunscreen in our makeup and our lotion and all this stuff where people are wearing sunscreen every single day. Somewhere along the way, we've been scared to go without sunscreen, and that's blocking all vitamin D. People aren't getting it and vitamin D is a hormonal precursor, so low D can lead to Parkinson's disease, bone disease, blood clots, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and increased chances of breast cancer. There's also evidence that low vitamin D contributes to or makes Coronavirus or COVID (hatever we're calling it now) worse for you or even easier to catch. I don't know.

 

Bri Hurlburt  03:47

It makes sense because it's contributes to low immunity. Vitamin D drastically affects your immune system. I'm sure there are other factors with why you would get COVID worse. Okay, I do have a question about sunscreen. Is it blocking the sun at all that is the bad part? Is that where we don't get the vitamin D? For instance, if I were to make my own sunscreen with non nano zinc oxide, is that different? Is it the chemicals in conventional sunscreen?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  04:22

I think it's both. I haven't done the research on zinc, so I'm not positive that that blocks vitamin D, but what I do is just use coconut oil. Coconut oil is has an SPF of 4-6. I know that's very low for somebody pasty white like me, but you just reapply it over and over again. I just put it in a spray bottle and because we're out in the in the sun, it's hot and it's melted and I spray it on. I don't ever use sunscreen unless I'm at the pool, not around our home, and there I'll use coconut oil. At the beach, I sit under an umbrella and don't put anything else on but maybe some coconut oil. Of course I don't stay under the umbrella the whole time - I'm out in the sun and in the ocean taking breaks, getting that exposure.

 

Bri Hurlburt  05:26

I have tried to do that with the boys because they're little. First of all, putting sunscreen on a little kid is more annoying than not. They wear rash guards, we'll go out in the morning, and I'll let the morning time be no sunscreen. Even on vacation, we've done that. I try to not really use it at home either. If I start seeing them get a little pink, I try to just come out of the sun before putting sunscreen on. Obviously on vacation, it's hard because you want to be at the beach for all of those intense hours. Maybe just coconut oil would work then. Zinc doesn't have a super high SPF either, though, I think it might only be 4. I could be totally wrong and have my numbers all mixed up. Carrot Seed Oil maybe has the highest that I've seen at 15 and was the highest natural SPF that I found.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  06:26

We should link an a sunscreen recipe! Do you ever make your own?

 

Bri Hurlburt  06:34

I haven't yet. I was going to, but I was a little nervous to use it on a vacation for our first time coming from Michigan to the beach. I'm gonna try it soon! I did find a good article, though, that listed all the different SPFs of natural things. I think coconut oil was in there, carrot seed oil, zinc, and I need to read more. Maybe some of you guys can chime in or help us out with this... do the SPFs add up? Or is it just the highest SPF is the overall SPF?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  07:10

Those are all good things for people to research. What just came to my mind is that one purpose of this podcast is to encourage you to do your own research. We don't want to spoon feed you everything that you need. If I'm spoon feeding you, how does that make me any different than any other? Right, just doing everything we say because we said it versus a doctor or someone else isn't any different. Those decisions aren't coming from a place of conviction in your own life. Yeah, that's good. Same thing with the Bible; I don't want to be spoon fed the Bible. I want to go to Bible studies, I want to listen to messages, and I want to be encouraged to go and seek it out for myself.

 

Bri Hurlburt  08:03

Okay, I know I got you off on a tangent from vitamin D. You were talking about all of the good things that come from soaking up the vitamin D, letting our bodies have that exposure, and all the dangers of not having enough. We can get back to that!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  08:20

Well, that was all I had to say about vitamin D. Another reason being close to the ocean is therapeutic is Magnesium. Magnesium is the third most abundant mineral in ocean water, so being in the ocean and near the ocean is so beneficial. Every cell in our bodies need magnesium. I didn't know that either until I started doing some research. Sea water and sand are great sources of magnesium. Think about when you're sitting there in your chair, or even just walking around on the beach, being in the sand and in the ocean - you're earthing, you're grounding like we've talked about before, and you're soaking up magnesium. If you are deficient in vitamin D, it's difficult for you to absorb magnesium, so they go together! In God's perfect design, he put the ocean and the sun and the sand all together in one place for many reasons! He's so perfect.

 

Bri Hurlburt  09:39

So when my kids bury themselves in the sand, it's totally fine. They're getting everything they need! Soaking up that Magnesium! They're going to be like "Mom, stop talking about that stuff again!" Haha!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  09:56

My kids get so tired of hearing me say, "It's because you have gut issues." They're like, "Everything's not a gut issue!" Yes, it is!

 

Bri Hurlburt  10:08

Someday they'll be saying that themselves and think, "Oh my goodness, my mom always said this to me..."

 

Melissa Crenshaw  10:13

I love it. So, like I just mentioned, grounding and earthing, of course, are another benefit of being near the ocean. If you go and listen to podcast number nine, you can learn more about grounding and earthing. The sand and the sea are naturally conductive to help ground you. If you've noticed that you sleep better at the beach, it's because you're grounding so much! You're out there barefoot in the sand and the ocean. You're getting extra magnesium and extra vitamin D, which makes your mood better. Everybody's different on their beach vacation, but we take an umbrella. Now my kids are older, and we don't have to lug all the stuff that we used to have to lug, but if your kids are younger, you got to take a lot of stuff down there. That's a lot of work. You're walking, you're working, you're moving maybe more than you do at home. So yes, we do a lot of work to get down to the beach and to get back up from the beach. We're sitting while we're there, but man, it's exhausting! I feel like I could live out on the beach. That's where I'm happiest.

 

Bri Hurlburt  11:38

It sounds like everybody just needs to live at the beach! You're really convincing. I never knew about the magnesium, though. It makes so much sense why that environment can calm you and help you sleep better. I'm sure that I'm just exhausted and the kids are playing and happy all day, but it's all making sense. God knew what he was doing!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  12:06

Exactly! I'm thinking about when my kids were little like yours and they were probably having at least two baths a day at the beach, where at home it's two a week. That's a lot of work!

 

Bri Hurlburt  12:23

It is! I even feel bad about that because I don't like to bathe them all the time.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  12:29

Yeah, you just have to get the sand off.

 

Bri Hurlburt  12:33

I do make homemade body butter, and we put it on at the beach at least once a day. Every time we come home, we take a bath and we put that on. The boys are soft, tan little babies, you know? 

 

Melissa Crenshaw  12:50

Do you get tan in the summer?

 

Bri Hurlburt  12:52

Well, I used to! I feel like I don't see the sun these days.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  13:00

Yeah, the last few places you've lived are not very sunny. You're going to be so tan! I can't wait. You're going to be so hot.

 

Bri Hurlburt  13:11

Yeah, we'll see about that! I get freckles. I've always had freckles, but as I get older, my tan is just a bunch of freckles.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  13:23

I do get pretty tan, but I'm getting a lot of freckles too. So we know that the salt, the sand, the seawater, the sun are all therapeutic, and there are remedies that we can make from these things. Do you want to talk about the remedies that are made from these kinds of things that you find at the ocean and what they do?

 

Bri Hurlburt  13:56

Yes, I would love to know that stuff! I know Nat Mur is a "water" remedy, but some of the other ones I have not heard of. I am interested to hear if some of these remedies work for lung issues because even breathing in the salt water or the salty, hot air is healing. My husband grew up in Tampa and would say that anytime they got a cold or something like that, their mom would just drag them all to the beach. Just getting the salt water through your nose and breathing it in made them better before they went home. Maybe that is also the sand and all the other things you just talked about.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  14:42

I've never done like a nasal spray or neti pot or anything but don't you put a saline solution in there?

 

Bri Hurlburt  14:49

Yeah, he does neti pots all the time, too. Gross! Those freak me out.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  14:54

My husband used to do that.

 

Bri Hurlburt  14:58

I don't like doing it.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  15:00

No, I'm not doing it. I don't put anything up my nose, ever.

 

Bri Hurlburt  15:04

That's probably better. Remember, don't put things up your nose! Stick with it! Listen to your mom! Okay, so remedies.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  15:15

The first one is Silica Marina, which is different than Silica, or Silicea Terra. A lot of you know the cell salt Silica Terra, but what I'm talking about is Silica Marina, which is sea sand. It is great for abscesses, constipation, enlarged glands, separations of glands. This remedy does have a lot of the same symptoms as Silica Terra.

 

Bri Hurlburt  15:51

Okay, so how would you distinguish between which remedy to use? I guess that's where you would use your Materia Medica?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  16:00

Yes. You're looking at protocols first for whatever you're dealing with because that's the easiest way. If you don't have a protocol, then you're going to the repertory and the Materia Medica. I teach all these things in my classes. Silica Marina covers things a lot of people deal with, being great for abscesses, and constipation, and enlarged glands. That's something just to put in your notes. As you're keeping notes through all of these podcasts - and I hope that you are - when someone's constipated, Silica Marina should come up as one of the remedies that you might choose.

 

Bri Hurlburt  16:42

This is all so great. Sometimes it can be overwhelming when you keep getting different remedies for some of the same symptoms and trying to think, "Well, how do I know which one of these to pick if they're similar to Nat Mur or Silica Terra? How do I know?" But I have been in situations where I just don't have one of the other ones. Or if you're on vacation and the health food store has one of these, just knowing that there's another option can be helpful. I'm just throwing that out there because initially it can feel overwhelming to add another one to the list. I remind myself that what you have access to sometimes is what you have to use.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  17:28

That's right. Just start somewhere! Maybe you have three different remedies for constipation and just start somewhere - just start with one. If that one's not working after four doses in an acute condition, then you move on to the next one. Nat Mur is a big remedy. It has a lot of stuff. Nat Mur is salt, sodium chloride, and it's great for a lot of things. Just to name a few, we've got acne, Addison's disease, allergies, allergy symptoms, alopecia (losing your hair), hair thinning, amenorrhea, anemia, anorexia, asthma, autism, canker sores, cold sores, colds, another one for constipation, depression, fever blisters. Nat Mur is a big one for fever blisters that I usually go to first. It could help with fever, headaches, herpes, hypertension, infertility, migraines, palpitations, sinusitis, sore throat, sunstroke there's a ton.

 

Bri Hurlburt  18:58

Maybe even dehydrated? Sunstroke is a little extreme, haha. It made me think when you said headaches that it could include headaches from just being out in the sun. You're not drinking enough. You always forget at the beach to drink, so that is a good one. I'm going to remember that. Would you use these and 30s or 200s? Either one?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  19:20

Yes. Silica and Nat Mur could be a 6, 12, 30, or 200. So again, what do you have available to you? What can you get? Let's say you have none of these and you're going to order... I would do a low, like a 6 or 12, and a 200.

 

Bri Hurlburt  19:44

Okay, that's good to know. I'm gonna plan out a little "new life in Florida" kit, for ones that I'll probably use often. I like the idea of having a small potency and a big one because there's not always a huge variation between 30 and 200, right? I mean, there can be, but not always.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  20:04

Right. If the 6 isn't working, then go to 200. Or vice versa, you could start with 200 and if it's not working, go to 6. Remember, we don't think about this the same as milligrams of ibuprofen. 200 isn't stronger than 6, it goes deeper. Sometimes you might not need to go that deep, so if you start with a 200 and it's not working, the 6 might work. Nat Mur is a cell salt and one of the remedies Schuessler adopted from homeopathy. His indications are, for the most part, identical with Hahnemann's. The next remedy is Calc Carb, Calcarea Carbonica, and it can be used in a 30c every day or 200c every other day as a chronic remedy. Bri, what is Calc Carb? Tell me what you just saw there.

 

Bri Hurlburt  21:08

Calc Carb is made from the inside of an oyster shell, so obviously it's from the sea, and I feel like we use it for everything. In the aspect of using it from the ocean, like an oyster shell it's protective and maybe protecting something that needs strength or fortification. I don't know how that relates to how we would use it as a remedy when we're on a beach vacation, so maybe that's where you come in.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  21:43

I don't think that you would just use this acutely very much, this is really a chronic remedy. I wanted to just throw it in there because it is from the sea, and it just goes along with what we're talking about. I love using it, and Calc Carb is a big, big remedy. It's a slow acting remedy, so it's definitely one that you wouldn't use acutely. It's one of the most important remedies in the Materia Medica along with Sulphur and Lycopodium - those are really big, important remedies. Calc Carb is the exact opposite of Sulphur. If you know anything about Sulphur, which maybe you do, maybe you don't, this is a good way to remember these two remedies. When you start to learn about Sulphur, you can know Sulphur is the exact opposite of what we're going to learn right now about Calc Carb. So, again, Calc Carb is made from the middle of the oyster shell and it's stuck - the oyster shell is stuck. It's immobile against the rock. This person that needs Calc Carb is grounded, earthy, they're set in their ways. They're stuck, and this is not a bad thing. These are your homemakers, your grounded homebody people who like things to be a certain way.

 

Bri Hurlburt  23:08

Could this also be in relation to their body? I know what you're saying is like a presentation in their mindset or their personality, but in the past when we've talked about Calc Carb, this is also like a body that is almost, like you said, stuck. Stuck in an unhealthy spot since Calc Carb is one to take chronically for general immunity, right?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  23:36

That's right. If you have allergies, asthma, low immune system, Calc Carb 30 every day or 200 every other day is a good one to help you get stronger and healthier. The Calc Carb physical presentation looks more short and stocky. Think of your rugby player, not your basketball player. Sulphur is your basketball player - they're taller. You're not going to see a Sulphur playing in a rugby match, and you're not going to see a rugby player (Calc Carb) playing in a basketball game.

 

Bri Hurlburt  24:12

You're describing my two kids right now. I have one tall lanky one and one short stocky one, and I've been using Calc Carb on my second for his growing pains and just in general. It's just funny, though, the way you're talking about them.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  24:27

Yeah! Calc Carb addresses the most basic fundamental level of life. It has the need for food, safety, clothing, protection, security, and not much more. It's very basic. We're talking about the person, and that's so me. I just want to be at home with my family. I want to take care of my family, I want to cook and clean and have my chickens and my dogs. I want to be home and provide in that way for my family. That's all I really want in life. This is for the child moving into adulthood who is the home builder, just like I said. This person is very traditional and grounded, and that's me. It's somone who wants to provide a secure, safe environment for their family and for themselves. Calc Carb people are the salt of the earth, and they're just wonderful, solid, down to earth, practical people. They're usually spiritual. Isn't that interesting? Let's see, the negative aspect of that is somebody who is too stuck or inflexible, unable to change. Thankfully, that's not me. I actually love change and love to do new things.

 

Bri Hurlburt  25:58

You sure do! We talked about that in the last podcast. 

 

Melissa Crenshaw  26:04

How many things can I do?

 

Bri Hurlburt  26:05

Oh my goodness. I know! I think you desire change!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  26:10

Yeah, I do. I love it. Within my home and within my shell. Let me change, but within my shell!

 

Bri Hurlburt  26:19

I know what you mean, and same here! That's so funny.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  26:25

This person might be pudgy, overweight and chilly. I used to be very chilly, but Sepia helped me out of that. I wasn't just chilly, I was cold. I was freezing cold all the time, and Sepia helped me regulate, so now I'm normal. I don't have a jacket on right now. Anything else about Calc Carb? This child might be sweaty - they usually sweat a lot on their head and their hands. So, there's a ton about Calc Carb. Go look it up. It's a main remedy for uterine fibroids.

 

Bri Hurlburt  27:07

Oh, okay. Well, that makes sense. Those are pretty stuck.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  27:11

Yep, right.

 

Bri Hurlburt  27:15

In the past, we've talked about Calc Carb being used if you've been sick a lot. When your kids are getting sick a lot, use it over a long amount of time to build their immune system. I've never looked at the full spectrum of Calc Carb, I just really used it for general immunity and have given it to all my kids. It's making me think maybe I should look a little deeper at the actual remedies, but I've also been using homeopathy for longer now. If you're just starting, it can be overwhelming to have to think through all of these things. Do they meet all the descriptions or just some?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  27:56

You know, what's common is people go read the remedies of the Materia Medica and they see themselves or their children in every remedy that they read. "Oh, gosh, I need this one. Wait, I need this one. I need I need all these!" Sometimes you need help from someone else outside of yourself or your family to help you determine what to use and to offer some guidance. One last thing I want to say about Calc Carb and then we'll move on is that this person might have the inability to assimilate Calcium and Magnesium, so they develop cramps at night - like the leg cramps. Just another thing while we're thinking about the Magnesium that we can get from being at the beach. Okay, well, what if you can't assimilate magnesium and vitamin D? People decide to take magnesium and vitamin D supplements, but if you can't assimilate those supplements, you're not doing anything. Even if you can assimilate it, but you're low on it, why are you low on it? Homeopathy can fix the reason why you're low or why you can't assimilate it versus just supplementing for the rest of your life. Those things get expensive.

 

Bri Hurlburt  29:27

They do! I was reading about vitamin D and the ways to help it absorb better into our bodies as I was doing some research for this podcast, and reading about vitamin D taken with vitamin K2 and magnesium helping your body properly absorb and use calcium. Calc Carb also makes sense since it's a bone remedy and works for achey bones. Another thing it said is that vitamin D and vitamin K are both fat soluble vitamins. So when you take them as a supplement, they were talking about eating them with fatty foods and making sure your diet is high in healthy fats which is what we just talked about in the meat stock podcast to heal the gut. So, another reason to have a high healthy fat diet - to help your body then absorb these nutrients in the proper way and be able use them. I thought that was a cool connector of two things we just talked about.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  30:34

Yes, that's right. Man, we need good fats. I know that's not what we're talking about but I talk about it all the time with lots of different people - we always need good fats. Too many people are on low fat diets. Maybe we'll do something about that in the future. I think this is a good little start for a theme around the beach, knowing that this podcast is going to come out in June when people are going to the beach. Is there anything else that we should add?

 

Bri Hurlburt  31:14

One more thing I would like to know is, we're talking about not using sunscreen as much not doing stuff like that. As we practice that, in the occasion that we do get sunburn, what are some remedies to put in our beach vacation kit for sunburn or heatstroke?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  31:37

Yeah, very good. That's that's a great thing to talk about right now. Belladonna is a great one for sunburn or heat stroke kind of symptoms. Cantharis is great for burns, so that's what I usually use first when I get sunburned. I mean, within an hour, the stinging and burning is gone. I can actually sleep that night because, you know, if you get sunburned, it hurts for anything to touch. It hurts to get in the shower or to put your bathing on again to go to the beach the next day. I have none of that when I take one dose of Cantharis 200.

 

Bri Hurlburt  32:17

And does that also help with your skin healing?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  32:20

Yes! The next day, the burn is gone and I'm totally tan. Before I started doing that, I would have that red sunburn that's painful for a couple days at least. 

 

Bri Hurlburt  32:35

Would you ever take Cantharis with Belladonna or just choose one? 

 

Melissa Crenshaw  32:39

I would just choose one because one of them is going to work. Chamomilla 200 is also a really good one for sunburn and all kinds of burns.

 

Bri Hurlburt  32:52

You have said that with your son and Chamomilla - it has that reaction where they're angry and mad and inconsolable.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  32:59

That's right. Look at the temperament.

 

Bri Hurlburt  33:04

I had a question about Nux Vomica. Would that ever be one to have on hand for sunburn or anything like that as an "overindulgence?? Or is that not the same?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  33:16

So, let's think about this. The overindulgence of anything is Nux Vomica, so being in the sun too long, maybe eating too much junk food could definitely fit. I don't know what beach people do, but on the beach we go to, the sunset slush company comes pushing their cart, and they have the slushies.

 

Bri Hurlburt  33:40

And just what you need, you know, when your body's dehydrated?

 

Melissa Crenshaw  33:43

All the artificial colors and artificial flavors. I's so delicious. If they have lemon, I'm getting one! Anyway, overindulgence of all the junk food, the sugar, the sun, the work - Nux Vomica. If you get home or you go back later that afternoon or that evening and you're irritated or you start feeling sick or nauseous from that overindulgence, then Nux Vomica is going to be a good one for that.

 

Bri Hurlburt  34:20

Lots of people have bathroom trouble on vacations, so maybe the magnesium at the bach and all that kind of stuff is helpful.

 

Melissa Crenshaw  34:29

Yeah, maybe you need Arsenicum also, just in case you get diarrhea or food poisoning, like from fish or something. That's your Nux Vomica or your arsenicum.

 

Bri Hurlburt  34:45

I think that is a pretty good beach vacation arsenal. Happy summer and happy vacationing!

 

Melissa Crenshaw  34:58

Summer is my favorite! You all have a wonderful summer! By now, I am in the middle of my kids course, which I'll kick off again in the fall. Look for that if you want me to teach your kids homeopathy. It's a semester long class, 13 weeks, beginning in the fall, so join us for that!

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