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Homeopathy At Home with Melissa
I am a Registered Homeopath and Lactation Consultant who loves Jesus and believes in the power of prayer in healing and restoration. God designed our bodies to heal themselves. We interfere with the body’s abilities by introducing medications which stop the action our bodies were made to do - heal! Homeopathy comes in and stimulates the immune system to help the body remember how to heal itself. ALL people are welcomed here, no matter your beliefs! I discuss mostly homeopathy here, but also I bring an encouraging word from the Lord and touch on the topics of parenting, homeschooling, marriage, and nutrition. Welcome to my world! It’s a beautiful, healthy life!
Homeopathy At Home with Melissa
Embracing the Healing Power of Fevers: A Homeopathic Approach
Send a text to Melissa and she’ll answer it on the next episode.
Can fevers in children be more than just a cause of parental anxiety? Join us as we explore the empowering world of homeopathy, revealing how it champions the body's natural healing processes without the need to suppress symptoms. Find reassurance in the knowledge that you're not alone in your concerns, and discover how homeopathy effectively treats the individual, not just the fever. We'll share personal stories and insights on easing the discomfort of fevers while maintaining their crucial role in healing.
What if the way we handle fevers today influences the rise of pediatric cancer? This audacious idea sparks a deep discussion on the historical and contemporary links between infectious diseases and cancer remission. With examples like Dr. John Coley's groundbreaking cancer vaccine, we ponder the implications of modern fever prevention. Gain practical advice on homeopathic remedies, focusing on symptom progression and the vital importance of hydration during illness, even when finding clean electrolyte options can be challenging.
Delve into the ABC plus F approach to homeopathy with remedies tailored to specific symptoms. Aconitum Napellus, Belladonna, Chamomilla, and Ferrum Phos each play a unique role in managing fevers, from sudden onset to irritability and mild inflammation. We'll also highlight Arsenicum Album and Bryonia for restlessness and anxiety relief. Our acute care podcast offers additional guidance on dosing and treatment adjustments, encouraging listeners to embrace the natural healing power of fever. Let this journey through homeopathy guide your family's wellness with confidence.
Welcome back to Homeopathy at Home with Melissa hey, melissa hey.
Speaker 2:Brie, I'm excited to talk about fevers tonight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love, I actually love this topic. I think it was something that used to really freak me out and you see, all the time I think it's, in general, probably one of the more common things that we see anxiety around or questions about, so hopefully this will be really helpful to all of you listening?
Speaker 2:Yeah, me too, you know right. So before I learned that fevers are good, I gave my children Tylenol and Motrin and and a lot of parents. So here's the reason why I wanted to do this, this topic. So we did a fevers and coughs podcast a long time ago so you could go back and listen to that and learn about Dr Mendelsohn's book and what he says about fevers and why fevers are good and all of that. But what I want to do tonight is just talk very specifically about you know, give our own experiences, but also talk about fever remedies.
Speaker 2:But I don't know that in that old podcast episode that I explained, we're not giving remedies to reduce the fever. Homeopathy doesn't. We can't. We're not using homeopathic remedies to act like allopathic medicines, just in a natural way. So it's not like we're giving belladonna to reduce the fever. So it's not like we're giving belladonna to reduce the fever. So I think we have to just really remember that fevers are doing a job in the body and you don't want to suppress that, because suppressing a fever results in more illnesses either sooner or later in the longer right like a prolonged illness.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, on the flip side.
Speaker 1:I think, um more recently, I've noticed that I think, in our desire to do something for our kids, um and this is actually something I think I used to feel and I'm recognizing it that it felt like we were just leading them to suffer. And I think sometimes even people in my life like when my kids are sick and I'm using remedies the understanding, the misconception they have is that I am not treating it Like I'm just letting them be miserable. And, um, that does come from ignorance for sure. So I want to maybe put you at ease. If you're, like new into this homeopathy world or um have never used remedies or you've seen people use them, you are not.
Speaker 1:I think there's a lot of fear to thinking, well, if I'm not treating this, then it could turn into something worse and then I'm in a really bad spot with the medical system. But remedies do treat the person. You're just not suppressing the condition or the symptom, so you can rest in knowing that you're not just letting it go untreated. Homeopathy really is different than most other, even natural, modalities, that it really is a form of treatment. You are supporting their body, you're not just letting it go. So feel good that you're doing something, just the result is different than pharmaceuticals, right?
Speaker 2:So can you hear that?
Speaker 1:No, I didn't hear anything.
Speaker 2:Okay, good. So, um, and that's the, that is the frustration that I hear from parents too. So thank you for bringing that up, that that they're like you know. When we tell them don't suppress the fever, let it burn, they're like I, my baby, you know, and we know what it feels like to have a fever.
Speaker 2:Your body Usually, I think my body always aches when I have a fever. That's, that's my indication that I have a fever. But I know there there can be fevers without body aches. But, um, you know that that the child is, is suffering and pain, crying. And so when you know, as moms, when our children don't feel well, we want to fix it, fix it, fix it. And if we can learn to think long-term health over short-term gratification for lack of a better word it's not just about gratification. Of course we want our children to not be suffering, but I think there's just this balance and it's really hard, especially when you're a young mom. You know I'm sitting here with a 17, 19 and 28 year old, so it's like I'm done those days. Y'all you adults can just suffer on through it. But I haven't forgotten what it feels like to have a baby or a toddler or a young child who's crying. So homeopathy can come and um and support the person and we're giving remedies to address the fact that there is a fever, not to reduce the fever.
Speaker 1:So what did go. I wanted to add to one more thing before we get to a really great quote from an article. I actually feel like when I've used remedies when I have a fever I can take remedies my fever might get higher, but I do feel but like the pain it's not. It isn't at least in my experience, so I can only speak for what I felt that it wasn't like my fever got higher and my pain and my body aches got worse. I actually, when I've used the right, well-fitting remedies, my fever might even be high, but I don't have the excruciating headache. My body feels okay, I'm able to sleep. I'll wake up and feel that I have a fever, but I'm not miserable like you will be if you don't do anything. It Um, but I guess in my experience I haven't always felt that. I do think the unbearable stuff has gotten better, even when I have a high fever. I don't know if you could. What do you think about that?
Speaker 2:I don't know when, I don't know when I've had a high fever last. I mean, I've run fevers, you know, when I get the flu or whatever. Um, but, and it's body aches and that's just the worst part of it. And, um, you know, I'm usually taking Gelsimium and Belladonna, because that's what I do, which helps the Gelsimium and the Belladonna help the body aches greatly. But, um, so, no I haven't noticed.
Speaker 2:really, for me, when I take a remedy I get better. So I rarely ever get worse before I get better. But that that can happen and it no, I mean your fever going up doesn't even mean you're getting worse, right.
Speaker 1:But I also. It's been a couple of years since that's happened to me Like I haven't. I have not seen that typical progression, but that's just. That doesn't matter for today. So, moving into some more hopefully really helpful information to you, dr Tom Cowan wrote an article on fevers and I think this was specifically fevers in children and or a link to cancer and the benefits of a fever. So I'm just going to read this quote to get us started. Benefits of a fever. So I'm just going to read this quote to get us started. He said those who have read my book the Fourfold Path to Healing this is in quotes know that the whole history of the treatment of cancer is intimately related to the phenomenon of infectious disease.
Speaker 1:There are numerous recorded cases of cancers going into remission when the patient contracts an infectious disease, strep being the most likely candidate to cure the patient of cancer. Strep has been used in cancer vaccines, most particularly by the surgeon John Coley, md, who reported an almost 40% remission rate in patients with cancer who received his cancer vaccine. In modern oncology, the tuberculosis bacillus is still used in bladder cancer as it is injected into the bladders of those with this form of cancer. In fact, some pediatricians and oncologists have postulated the modern epidemic of cancer in children as the predictable outcome of our mania for preventing fever in our children by giving them aspirin, tylenol and antibiotics. End quote. We will have that article linked for you, but it is so. It's a really thought-provoking read. I will say that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's more to the article. So, yes, that link will be. So definitely read it. Um, and that last sentence was like a kicker for me. Um, just like man. Um, you know, I have one, my oldest.
Speaker 2:I absolutely did not allow him to run a fever ever, because that's exactly what it was. It was mania over. Oh my gosh, the temperature's going higher, he's getting sicker. I have to get this down. He's going to have a seizure if his fever gets up.
Speaker 2:You know so all the things that Dr Mendelson's book explains. You know the benefit of fever and that's that, these myths around around fever. So you know, before we get into the remedies, you guys can do an acute consult with us and that you know that that'll be linked on the in the show notes or the description also, so you can do an acute consult and get help if you don't know what to do. So it's really hard for moms to think in the moment and it's not impossible. But if you find yourself listening to this and you're like I can't decide what remedy to give or what to do, do an acute consult and take good notes and then next time so're going to grow in this over time if you're seasoned and you're. You've been using homeopathy, you've been studying it. Then listen to these remedies, right, and you're going to pick a good remedy. Stick with it for 24 hours before deciding, um, if it's helping or not.
Speaker 2:And the deciding factor isn't just did the fever come down or go away. The deciding factors are overall. Did the person's energy come up? Did the fever change at all, up or down? Um, you know what else we did? The mucus change. Did more mucus start coming out? That's a good sign. I often think that's a bad sign.
Speaker 1:I think a shift in symptoms in general is the most common, because that could, that can look different depending on the person. It could even move to something like their ear starts hurting or it turns into a sinus thing, and I remember so clearly. For probably the first couple of years I was so discouraged using remedies because I was like what in the world? I feel like I'm changing every day and you hear, like I'm not supposed to change, but then the symptoms change and I changed them and I'm like it's not doing anything. And that was really from a misunderstanding of what to expect from remedies and what to expect in the progression of an illness, um, which I think we really talked about in our acute podcast when we talked about acute conditions. So I don't want to do all this overlap, but I do want to encourage you.
Speaker 1:If the, the fever tends to be, I think, the most short-lived symptom and so don't be afraid of it. I think a good fever, supporting the symptoms with the fever will, it moves that through quicker the progression. Now that might mean he wakes up or she wakes up the next day with totally different symptoms that you're going to take care of. But if you support a fever. Well, in my experience with using remedies over several times a year or two of using them, you don't get fevers lasting three, four or five days, right, I don't know. Do you agree with that over time?
Speaker 2:yep, yep, yeah, for sure, um, you know also, I'll just throw in there that a lack of fever. So a child especially, or even an adult who never runs a fever, there's something wrong with that. There's, there's an immune system issue, I believe. Yeah, so, um, you know, most, everybody knows, the most important thing with fevers is keep the person hydrated. So what is? You know? That could be a rehydration solution that you make at home yourself, um, or it could be an electrolyte added to the water, or an electrolyte drink. My problem with electrolyte drinks is I'm not positive that I've found a really nice, clean one yet. Now, of course, also, I don't believe we have to be perfect. Yeah, do the best you can, but I'll just say, you know, I would say we're definitely staying away from Pedialyte and Gatorade, but there are some, there are some. There definitely are some better ones, but they're still just kind of eh, you know whether they have just an ingredient here or there.
Speaker 1:That's just not um, not the favorite. I liked Redmond's Relight the most.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Um, it does taste pretty good. My kids will drink it when they're sick. It's not perfect. It does have a couple things in it that I. I mean I love for it to not have natural flavors or whatever else. They say, um, and I could make it at home. But let's be honest. Also, when my kids sick, I'm not about to juice lemons and make them like it's just not going to happen, so you can make them little popsicles to stay hydrated. Or for my kids, I would just try to have them take a drink once per hour. Like take a drink of something. It doesn't have to be a ton, but a drink a sip every hour. I even saw like a medical professional commenting, you know, on things that treat the person, not the fever. Like don't just think I have one kid who always gets a high fever, even when he was getting a tooth. Then the other kid could be a lethargic little blob with 101 fever or maybe even less.
Speaker 1:Like he just had runny fevers, but he looked like he was just so sick, yep, so just keep that in mind. But rehydration back to that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just keep him hydrated and plain water might not be enough. So, you know, put some electrolytes in it, make, find a rehydration solution. If you want to online, do your research now before someone gets in your family gets sick, and have it on hand. You know, whatever, if you're going to use a powder or a drink or whatever and again, we're just doing the best we can. So you know what you just said about treat the person, not the fever. That's what we're just doing the best we can. So you know what you just said about treat the person, not the fever. That's what we're going to talk about with these remedies. So what's our first remedy? Bree.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I like that.
Speaker 1:You put this little acronym. So I am going to say that you're like I don't know if you can hear that military helicopter house. That was so loud to me. This computer technology is amazing that you didn't hear that. Sorry, everyone, that was so disorienting to me.
Speaker 1:Remedies you put A, b, c and F. That actually that my brain likes that. So that's the thing that works well for me. Those are first letters of remedies A, b, c and F. So first remedy is aconitum napellus, or aconite for short. So if you ever see us say aconite, that's what we mean. Aconitum napellus it is a monk's hood, a beautiful flower the aconite fever. So obviously, for those of you who know remedies in general, the aconite covers a lot.
Speaker 1:We're just going to focus on fevers. The aconite fever will present fast. Melissa has a really good rhyme. It's from the Cold and Flu podcast, podcast number five. Or if you've been in our gateway classes First, fast, fear fright.
Speaker 1:That's when we call on aconite. First, fast, fear fright. That's when we call on aconite. So it is typically a fever. That is the the first symptom to present. It's suddenly, so you have fast and can be accompanied by fear, so it could be from a shock, or like they were had a shocking situation that undeveloped a fever, or there is a lot of fear around the illness, so that child might be afraid that she's getting sick and there's fear with it. It may present with a sore throat, severe pains, restlessness or anxiety. It's a great remedy to give in the first 24 to 48 hours of a cold or flu with or without a fever really, but especially if there is a fever, and can be combined with Bryonia, as in the Banerjee protocol. So I think the Banerjee protocol is Aconite 200 with Bryonia 30. Melissa and I I think we both use 200s in both of them.
Speaker 2:Yep, works really well. Yep, love it. So, um. So the abc remedies, and then I added plus f abc, plus f um, because those are going to be your top four remedies, for you know to, to address the fact that there's a fever. And then we're going to talk about some other ones also, but the, the ABC remedy.
Speaker 2:Sometimes people will combine all three of those, that's Aconite, belladonna, kim and Milla. You could try it. 30 C in each of them. Combine them if you want, or you know, just listen to these keynotes and see which one fits the best. So the next one is Belladonna, which is deadly nightshade and, um, I really like belladonna, 200. You could use 30. Backing up to aconite, I like 200 also, you could use 30 if that's all you had.
Speaker 2:And so for belladonna, think inflammation. So red, hot and high. The belladonna fever is going to be higher and the child might have a red, hot, flushed face or ears. The child might have dilated pupils and throbbing pains in the head. With this fever, delirium could be present, along with swollen glands, throbbing pains anywhere, fullness and congestion of the ears or nose, and a bright red redness. Bright redness and dryness on the body. So there may be convulsive movements or epileptic attacks followed by nausea and vomiting. The child might have a dry mouth and throat with an aversion to water. With an aversion to water she's thirstless and a sore throat or earache might accompany this fever. So belladonna generally is a higher fever, but it doesn't have to be. You can still use it in a little bit of a lower fever too. Some people just have this really hard and fast, like no, it has to be a high fever to use belladonna. I disagree, okay.
Speaker 1:I use it all the time for any fever, but that is also because I know it works well for my family. So if you have a child in your family or a person who responds well to another remedy, don't be afraid to keep doing that, just because you hear us talking about other remedies. Okay, next one. So the C is for chamomilla, which is German chamomile.
Speaker 1:This fever presents with irritability. So you will see the chamomilla temperament and it's pretty easily spotted. They're very inconsolable, fractious, just very, very irritable. She may ask for a drink of water. You give her the water. She doesn't want it. So just don't know what they want. Nothing makes them happy. She'll scream and be mad. Obviously these are mostly children. You might not do that as an adult, but you know, I mean, if you have a really irritated person who's just mad I think you've dealt with that in your older kids, melissa who they're just angry, they're not necessarily crying, screaming, but angry Um, she may want you to, she may want you to pick her up, and then you pick her up but she wants to be put back down. So think, just inconsolable, unhappy, don't know what they want. That's chamomilla, especially when accompanied by pain or fever. Yeah, teething fever is a really good example of a chamomilla fever too.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah. When it's a teething fever from teething, chamomilla is definitely going to be a first go-to for sure. So next up is farumfos. So farumfos is iron phosphate. And again, so Farumfos is iron phosphate. And again, think inflammation. But this is more mild than Belladonna, so Farumfos tends to be pretty mild. It's a great first remedy to give in a fever where the person gets colds and sore throats easily. So it's great for the first stage of all inflammatory disorders, like we talked about in the cold and flu episode number five way back a long time ago.
Speaker 2:When a fever presents with inflammation, sore throat, bronchitis or nosebleeds think of Ferrum Fos. And this is also great for a fever of unknown origin, where the fever is the only symptom that's present. I like to use Farumfos. You could do 6X just simply, or 12X just simply, because it's a cell salt. But you can also use a 30 or 200C, a 30C or 200C if you want or if you have experience with that. And then, backing up to Kim and Milla, I really like 200 C or you could use 30 if that's really all you have. So faranfos is just kind of like eh, I'm not really feeling that great low grade fever, just kind of don't feel good, but it is inflammation. So you know it can be at the beginning of the fever or cold or whatever, or it could come at the end, just whenever the symptoms are mild. I think of Farum Fos, okay.
Speaker 1:I have never used it for a fever, but I know you have. Do you have? One of your kids is Farum Fos kid. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I wonder if I tried it. Um, a lot of people do love it though. So that's the end of your ABC and F, that's the top four. That's right. We have some other options for you. Um, one of those other ones is heper sulf, so it's a big remedy. So, in regards to a fever I think a fever with chilliness and a sore throat think a fever with chilliness and a sore throat. The throat hurts when swallowing saliva. The throat might be red with large tonsils, like the tonsils are big and red and a dry cough. Heparosulf is typically not thirsty and they may be sleepless, like not able to fall asleep. We used to help herself. I like it in a 200, but 30 can work too, If that's what you have what about you?
Speaker 2:Do you use it? Yeah, 200 or 16. Yeah or 36. Yep, yeah, heparosophia is good in a lot, a lot of potencies. Yeah, yep. So the next one is Senna. So Senna is not the same as Sinchona, it's different. And so for Senna, the Senna fever think GI issues like loose stool and vomiting and lots of chills. So Senna has a lot of chills over the entire body, followed by heat, so kind of like you know, alternating between hot and cold. During the chill there's shivering and shaking. This person can also be pretty irritable and the child might want to be carried, but carrying her doesn't give her relief. So kind of like chamomilla Senna. I like a 6C usually, or I would do a 30. I don't usually go 200, but I would if that's all I had.
Speaker 1:Okay, our Seneca album is next. With ouricum album you're going to think weakness and anxiety. So the arsenicum fever the person may be thirsty for little sips of water, they may have the heated sensation or chills during the fever. So I mean similar to arsenicum album. In some of those ways they like to be covered up during the fever. And arsenicum album is great for different kinds of infections. So you have colds, coughs, sore throat, stomach infections. It can be good for diarrhea, stomach infections. That can be good for diarrhea. Um, if I remember off the top of my head to our Seneca album is good for restlessness. But the physical, like they can't get comfortable. Their body is restless.
Speaker 2:No, um, our Seneca album. Yeah, our Seneca album. Restlessness is from anxiety. They're moving around because they're so anxious.
Speaker 1:There we go. Okay, so Bruce talks is the other one. Um anxiety restlessness is arsenic album. So you have, I think that's our last fever remedy here. I like that. We kept it, I mean, pretty succinct, so don't go crazy Like these are good options. Um arsenic album 3,200.
Speaker 2:Yep 30 or 200. Yep, I don't like to go too low for arsenic yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and if you have questions about using these acutely, which fevers are, acute situation, that acute care podcast we did um, it was just a few podcasts ago, it wasn't that long ago, yeah, so go back and listen to that. We talked a lot about how to dose, when, to know and to move, all that kind of stuff, so that may be really helpful as a follow-up if you haven't listened already. Yep.
Speaker 2:Sounds good. Thanks, bree, for talking through fevers. Listen, friends. I hope that this brings you some peace. While we can't take away the fact that it's hard to watch our babies be sick, we can encourage you that the fever is good. It's doing a job. Let it do its job. Support the body as best you can in other ways and let us know if you need help.
