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
Decoding Health Through Your Tongue: Homeopathic Insights
Send a text to Melissa and she’ll answer it on the next episode.
The strongest muscle in your body might be quietly screaming crucial information about your health—and you're probably missing it. Your tongue, that little muscular organ you use every day without much thought, serves as one of the most revealing mirrors of your overall wellbeing.
As homeopaths, we treasure objective signs—those physical manifestations that don't rely on subjective reporting—and the tongue ranks among our most valuable diagnostic tools. Its color alone speaks volumes: a pale tongue suggests low vitality or anemia, bright red indicates inflammation or heat, while bluish or purple coloration points to poor circulation. The coating provides another layer of insight, with white suggesting sluggish digestion or candida, yellow indicating liver stress, and even the absence of coating potentially signaling exhaustion or chronic illness. Moisture, shape, texture—each characteristic adds another piece to the puzzle of your health status.
This episode explores how specific tongue appearances correlate with homeopathic remedies: Belladonna for the red, dry, inflamed tongue with fever; China for the pale tongue after fluid loss; Antimonium Crudum for thick white coatings after overindulgence. We share real case studies demonstrating how these tongue observations confirmed remedy selections and facilitated healing. Beyond acute conditions, we delve into how the tongue reveals deeper miasmatic patterns—those inherited tendencies toward certain disease expressions that manifest in characteristic tongue appearances across generations. While tongue scrapers might temporarily improve breath freshness, they merely address surface symptoms rather than root causes—a perfect illustration of homeopathy's deeper approach to healing.
Understanding your tongue's messages requires consistent observation. Check it in the morning before eating or brushing, notice changes during illness or stress, and integrate these observations with your other symptoms. Ready to discover what your tongue is trying to tell you? Subscribe to our podcast for more insights into using homeopathy at home, and visit our website for resources to deepen your understanding of this powerful healing system.
Welcome back to Homeopathy at Home with Melissa. Hey, Melissa.
Speaker 2:Hey Brie, I'm excited to talk about something different tonight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when I saw this on our schedule, I was very interested, because I do know that it's important, but I don't know enough, and so I'm really looking forward to learning. This is something we talk about and with remedies we do but I don't know that. I know all of the links to stuff in our life, and so we are going to be talking about something simple but profound and deeply connected to your health, something you see every single day but probably don't think about that much your tongue, that little muscle in your mouth which I've heard is the strongest muscle in your body. Yeah, I have heard that too. I mean, it does make sense. It affects so many things, so many things.
Speaker 1:So we're not going to get into every single thing about your tongue today. Just know that you're probably going to have a lot to say if you know a lot about the tongue that we might not cover. But the tongue helps you taste, swallow, speak. It can tell you a whole lot about your overall health. So in homeopathy, we take tongue observations seriously as one of the objective signs that can really help us understand what's going on deeper inside your body. So as we walk through this episode Melissa is going to talk about, maybe, what different tongue appearances can mean and some remedies connected with those tongue states, and we'll talk about what the tongue says about miasmatic states and she'll even share some stories from real cases. We'll talk about tongue scrapers, the good, the bad, and why they don't deal with a deeper cause. So we'll kick it off, melissa, all right.
Speaker 2:So why does the tongue matter? So the tongue is one of the best mirrors of your health. It's richly supplied with blood, it's part of the digestion and it reflects deep health states. That's why so many healing systems look at the tongue as a diagnostic clue. So Robin Murphy often encouraged us to observe what he called objective signs. So these are things like nails, skin, facial expressions and the tongue. So these are things that don't depend on the patient's memory or storytelling. Right, because it's right in front of you, what does your tongue look like? There's no way to change that. All right. So here's a quick example. Imagine two children both coming in with fevers. One has a pale tongue and the other has a bright red tongue. Right away you know these are two different states of vitality. Right away you know these are two different states of vitality, and that helps you narrow your remedy choices much more quickly. So the tongue, in a sense, is like a little map.
Speaker 1:It's a window into the state of the vital force. Okay, so what to look for when you're observing the tongue? We start with color. So you're looking for a pale or bright red, or maybe bluish, purple. Pale could be low vitality, maybe indicating anemia or weakness. Bright red could mean heat, irritation, inflammation, while a blue or purpley tongue could indicate poor circulation or sluggishness. Sluggishness, that was a good one, which makes sense. All of those do make sense. When you think about that, just based on color, then you may notice, and you actually might notice. This first is a coating. If there's a coating on the tongue, thick white coating could mean sluggish I cannot say that word today Sluggish Digestion, candida or thrush and dampness, maybe in the mouth. Yellow could mean bile or liver stress. So yellow could mean bile or liver stress and no coding could mean exhaustion, chronic illness. So do you know what no coding does? That kind of like? I'm trying to think is like no coding. Isn't that probably good? Does that mean like yeah?
Speaker 2:there should not be a coding Right.
Speaker 1:But then why does it say exhaustion or chronic? Illness Like maybe it should be moist, that's like.
Speaker 1:Maybe it means like I'm dried out, okay, I guess when somebody says no coding to me, I'm usually like that's a fine, you know so good for you, you know what that one's left up for debate. Okay, that's when you have other things to look at. So that's not the only thing. So moisture is another thing which we were just mentioning. Dry tongue obviously something like dehydration affects that Fever or excessive heatigestion and weakness. So we have coating, color, moisture, shape and texture. A swollen tongue could again here's that word sluggishness or fluid retention. A thin tongue could be depletion or loss of fluids. On the other end, cracks are typically a sign of chronic digestive weakness and maybe trembling could be a nervous system weakness or anxiety. So this is what does your like when you're looking at this. Pause and think what does your tongue usually look like and does it change when you're stressed, sick or overtired?
Speaker 2:And you might know that right away. That's true, Because often when I ask people what does your tongue look like? They have to go look, they're like I don't know Right.
Speaker 1:So then you're not going to know if it's worse when you're stressed or when you're sick, if it changes.
Speaker 2:So that's why you go look now or when you're finished listening to this or watching this, and so you know if you're, if you're well right now, this is your normal Well and you know you, you could have a chronic. This is what I was going to say. Is that that's the thing. If there's a a change in the acute, then we consider it. If your tongue looks the same in your chronic, normal health state whether that's good or bad health as it does in your acute cold cough or flu, then we don't consider the color coding and all those things. So that's why you need to go ahead and know now. What does it look like?
Speaker 1:And something else too is these are the types of questions that when people, especially maybe when a case is more complex and you have a lot of layers, and they're feeling like, well, my big issues I started with are not moving quickly, like I haven't gotten that much better, and then you ask about stuff like this, like like, well, you observe that the tongue, the nails, things that are objective, and then digestive things, you know, so there's. This could alone be an indicator that they're not probably going to notice, or you, I mean, we don't pay a lot of attention to our tongue. So if you ask the first time and then you ask the next time and there's a big difference in the presentation, that's something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, yeah. So let's talk about some remedies and tongue signs. And a red, inflamed tongue with a fever could be belladonna, because of course we know belladonna is red, hot and high but also dry. So the bright red tongue that's dry, flushed face restlessness or aconite is the sudden fever with dry, burning tongue and anxiousness. Then a pale, weak tongue could be pharem phos for that anemia, the weak states early on in a fever or a low-grade fever. Or china for the pale tongue after fluid loss or exhaustion.
Speaker 2:And then the yellow-coated tongue could be mercsal or mercviv. They are interchangeable. And then the yellow-coated tongue could be Merck-Sol or Merk-Viv. They are interchangeable and that's indicated by the yellow moist tongue metallic taste, too much saliva. Or you consider Nux Vomica, which has the yellow coating at the back of the tongue and digestive upset and irritability. So the white-coated tongue could be ammonium or antimonium crudum, which has the thick white coating, worse from overeating. Or bryonia has the dry white tongue, great thirst for big gulps of cold water. The mapped or fissured tongue could point to nat mirror, which would have the deep cracks, dryness and grief. Or cali mirror, which has the mapped tongue, white or gray coating. And then a trembling tongue could point to jalsimium, when they are trembling from weakness or stage fright. When they are trembling from weakness or stage fright, or again MercSol or MercViv for trembling, with offensive breath and excess saliva.
Speaker 1:So let's look what were you going to say. How in the world does the tongue tremble? I don't know I'm like sometimes I read these in the Materia Medica and I'm like who would have said my tongue is trembling, like I was maybe. If you have experienced that, I would love to know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't, I don't. I've never had anybody tell me that, or yeah, and what was the scenario?
Speaker 1:I want to know that. So if you have had a trembling tongue, please tell us. I would love to hear about it.
Speaker 2:We forgot to read um darn. I would love to hear about it. We forgot to read um darn, and there's a lot of fan mail.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we're going to be picking up on fan mail, guys, so we'll be back next time.
Speaker 2:Let's do one at the end of this. Okay, great idea. Okay, can you find it or no? Are you able to see the fan mail?
Speaker 1:Well, no, I can't see fan mail.
Speaker 2:I can see reviews and questions. That's okay, I'll be able to find it real quick. So all right, real life experiences. So let me share a few stories that you can see how this plays out in practice. All right, so case number one a little boy comes with a high fever. His face is flushed, his pupils are dilated and his tongue is fiery, red and dry. He's restless, hot and wants the curtains closed in his room.
Speaker 2:This picture pointed strongly to I believe 100% of you can guess, belladonna, and sure enough, the remedy brought balance to his acute picture quickly, as a cute picture, quickly. Case number two a nursing mother comes exhausted, dizzy, weak. Her tongue is pale, almost lifeless looking. She'd been nursing twins and losing sleep. And this matched well with China, which is a remedy for weakness after the loss of fluids. Which is a remedy for weakness after the loss of fluids. And then, case number three a man complained of terrible indigestion. His tongue has a thick white coating and he admits that he had overeaten at a barbecue recently. So this was a classic antimonium crudum picture, and these are just little glimpses that show how the tongue adds confirmation to the whole case.
Speaker 1:So this is interesting because that third case you would think indigestion and overeating I think a lot of people would go to Nuxvamica first, which maybe could still work. But what you were saying how the tongue adds a confirmation the thick white coating, that's right Does not. I mean that's not a confirmation. The thick white coating, that's right. Does not I mean that's not an exfamica thing.
Speaker 2:That is an antimony, crude thing, see. So yeah, so a man comes and says these things and you don't ask about his tongue and you give an exfamica and it doesn't work. Then antimony and crudum. It's great, could be the thing. So the tongue and miasmatic states.
Speaker 2:Now if you don't know what a miasm is, I have a whole course on miasms in the Inner Healing Circle and miasms is aka epigenetics. So the tongue can also give us insight into those deeper inherited patterns of susceptibility. So there are five main miasms and we're going to go through just four of them. The first one is psora, and that's where the tongue is pale, dry, cracked. This is the psoric miasm has functional imbalance, overreaction and sensitivity. Balance, overreaction and sensitivity. The psychotic miasm is not P-S-Y-C-H-O-T-I-C, it's not that it's not psychotic, it's S-Y-C-O, psychosis, s-y-c-o-s-i-s. And this miasm has the SIS. And this miasm has the tongue that's thick, swollen, heavily coated, stagnation, overgrowth and excess. And then the syphilitic tongue, or the syphilitic miasm has a tongue that's ulcerated, fissured, destructive changes, degeneration and breakdown. And the tubercular miasm has a tongue that's thin, red, restless, sometimes, with alternating coatings and instability and depletion. So the tongue not only shows acute states, it whispers to us about the deeper patterns at play tongue scrapers.
Speaker 1:That's what we're going to talk about next, which is, I know, an interesting turn from remedies. But this is a big thing in tongue health that I've heard. I actually have done this before and I mean I think I did notice as far as my breath goes, but I haven't done it in a long time, so I'm curious about the benefits and the downfalls. So we're going to talk about tongue scrapers. It can be very refreshing and the idea if you don't know what it is, it's kind of like a U-shaped upside down U-shaped, usually some type of metal that you literally scrape off the bacteria from your tongue and it helps remove the surface bacteria, which in turn can reduce bad breath and make your mouth feel cleaner. For a lot of people this is just a part of daily hygiene practice and that's the way I had used it before, so it's not bad just like anything else.
Speaker 1:They're not always bad, but from a homeopathic perspective, scraping the tongue only removes what's on the surface. So if your tongue has a thick coating or cracks, scraping won't fix that underlying imbalance. It's like painting over mold on a wall. The mold is still there and it's going to come right back. You're just scraping it off or covering it up. So scrape it, enjoy it, feeling fresh, your breath smelling better. But don't let it replace that deeper work of asking why is it coated? Why is it cracked? What is your body trying to communicate? Which is the beauty of homeopathy we are able to get to the root cause of that imbalance, not just on a surface level. So, to put it all together, when you're looking at your tongue, remember to ask what is the color? Is there a coating? Is it moist or dry? Is it swollen, thin, cracked or trembling? Swollen, thin, cracked or trembling? And is there? Does it suggest a miasmatic state?
Speaker 2:And then put all of that into the bigger picture of your case or a case that you're taking. So I was over sorry. I was over there trying to pull up the fan mail real quick, so all right, Is that the end of our tongue discussion?
Speaker 1:We have some practical tips before we close. Okay, I'm happy to do those. Yes, please do the practical tips. Check your tongue in the morning before you brush your teeth, before you do anything. I think morning's a good time. A lot can happen overnight. Before you do anything, I think morning's a good time. A lot can happen overnight. Notice changes over time. Maybe keep a little journal and then pair those signs with other symptoms you're experiencing. So again, it's not the only indicator, it's just one of them. But the more observant you become, the better homeopath at home you become. So that is the end of our tongue information. We looked at some remedies. Some of our favorite pharmacies are going to be linked in the show notes. We love Ainsworth and Helios, ohm, hahnemann Labs, washington Homeopathics. There are so many great pharmacies. And do you have anything else to say before we do fan mail?
Speaker 2:Nope, okay, so I was looking through the fan mail and there's a lot, so I really feel bad that we forgot the last few times. But as I'm trying to pick one, and actually if we just start at the bottom, at the bottom not all of the fan mail is a question, so that's why I'm trying to pick, I'm trying to find something that I can actually answer here. So this one is from July 13. And this person is from Northbrook, illinois, and she says hi, melissa, I'm fairly new to homeopathy and your podcast, so I hope my question isn't one you've answered too many times in previous episodes.
Speaker 2:I'm wondering how many remedies can be used at one time. For example, if I want to use homeopathy to treat IBS symptoms, but I also want to take a remedy for my ADHD, then there's also a wart that I want to take care of. So I want to try Thuja. Could I take remedies to address all of these at the same time, or would I need to start with one and then wait till that clears up before I start another one? So this is a great question. So this is a great question, and let me get back over to you, bree. So ultimately, we want to find as few remedies as possible to cover the case, and so that means if there's one remedy that covers all the things, that's amazing and wonderful.
Speaker 2:What I want you all to be careful of is that you don't have to use a different remedy for every symptom. Learn homeopathy well enough that you are actually addressing your whole person rather than each symptom. Now, the Banerjee protocols are based on diagnoses, so if you have a Banerjee protocol, then you just follow that. But generally speaking, in a more practical and clinical use of homeopathy, in a more practical and clinical use of homeopathy, we say five remedies is about is the most that you should do. You know, especially on your own, and I don't even like to do that, but while you're learning, it's okay. You know to do that. Do you have anything to add to that, bree?
Speaker 1:Maybe from like early on when I was learning, I think sometimes I didn't realize that there are these layers. So you might feel like you're not addressing the wart, let's say, by doing these other things. But very often now that I've seen these happen for many clients those things do clear up. They're a part of another remedy picture that matches you somewhere else. So that fits what you were saying. But I don't think I understood that. You don't have to Like that one remedy isn't the only one that's going to take care of your warts and so you're going to wait to address the wart till later. A lot of times that comes up as a part of your healing process anyway. So good and that was helpful. So that is one thing. And then I think people sometimes I've had clients get thrown off where maybe they have like a headache or pain combination with four or five remedies in one that you're using acutely. That's okay, right, to use alongside maybe your chronic care plan or here and there, but you're not taking eight remedies every single day. Right, that combination.
Speaker 2:Sometimes those are a little bit of an exception, I love that you said that, because if it's a gut issue that's affecting your hormones, your skin, your mental, emotional, then we want to heal the gut and we know that these you know it's like the layers are going to be peeling off and, fun fact we're going to be doing a methodologies series soon. So, coming up after this episode, we're going to there's going to be a methodology series, so you'll get to learn about all the different um methods of homeopathy and I'm teaching constitutional prescribing in the inner healing circle. So come um, the website is joinmelissajoinmelissacrenshawcom, joinmelissacrinshawcom, and you can come join the inner healing circle and learn about, you can take the miasms courses in there, constitutional prescribing all the courses I've ever created are in there and you can come and really learn how to use homeopathy well, not just throw remedies at every symptom. Not just throw remedies at every symptom. Yep, so that's our fan mail for tonight. We'll read another one next time before we start. Have a great night, Bye.
