Natural healing

Wednesday, 1st February 2012

Homeopathy for coughs and colds

Dear Breda,

My three year old daughter keeps getting repeated coughs and colds with sore throats and ear infections. She has had numerous antibiotics and yet she still gets ill again! She has fatigue, wakes up coughing at night and won’t settle. I’m now exhausted too!

Homeopathic remedies have helped my best friend’s kids, and she swears by it. So can you recommend anything to help my daughter? I am concerned for her, and worry that if she doesn’t get better, the next stage of her treatment will be inhalers and steroids, and I don’t want to go down that road.

Regards, Pam.

Dear Pam,

Of course you are exhausted and anxious, like any concerned parent would be! Antibiotics will work when there is a bacterial infection, but if she is suffering from a virus, they will have no effect at all on your daughter, and her symptoms may be further pushed into the body, suppressing her vital force / energy and creating fatigue. When a cough lingers on for months, it may then be diagnosed as bronchitis, pneumonia or asthma, but there may be a simpler explanation, and there are alternatives to inhalers and steroids.

I would start by looking at your daughter’s diet. First, try removing the most common allergens – cow’s milk and wheat – and see if that improves her condition. Cow’s milk is acidic and can create excess mucous and catarrh which may result in a cough or ear infections as the body tries to discharge the overload. Replace the wheat with rye, oat, rice, spelt or gluten-free bread. Encourage your daughter to drink plenty of water to help dilute the acid build up in the body and to help eliminate the toxins.

Homeopathy could also help. The beauty of homeopathic medicine is that it is gentle and non-toxic for the body. It works by stimulating the body’s own healing mechanisms, thus helping the person to heal themselves. There are six potential remedies that I would recommend for your daughter: match her symptoms to the remedy. If you are unsure, you can give remedies of the same potency together. You can buy the remedies at health shops or pharmacies. Give a 30 potency 4 hourly on the first day and 8 hourly for one to two weeks until your daughter is better for at least 2 days.

Aconite: this remedy should be in everyone’s first aid kit at home! Use Aconite at the first sign of any cough, cold or inflammation (within 12 – 24 hours of signs / symptoms appearing). Aconite helps you to breathe more easily by opening the airways: it also helps to release fears and shocks, thus making the patient more relaxed. Use when symptoms of cough / cold / temperature come on suddenly, and are worse after exposure to cold, dry wind. The associated cough is usually hoarse, dry and painful.

Belladonna: this remedy is sometimes described as a natural Paracetamol, and it helps to bring down a high temperature. Use when the following symptoms are present: both cheeks blazing red, possibly accompanied by a headache. Patient feels extremely hot. Barking cough with sore throat. Right-sided earache.

Next week I’ll cover the remedies Hepar Sulph, Arsenicum, Pulsatilla and Lycopodium. If you’d like to learn more, I’ll be running my Homeopathic First Aid & Positive Living Course in Kilkenny and Waterford in March – more details soon, or see my website http://www.bredagardner.com

PS This week’s Positive Well-being talk at the Edmund Rice Centre, Waterford is entitled "How to work on better relationships with yourself and others." Details: Thursday February 2nd from 8.00 pm to 9.30, €10. No need to register: simply turn up on the night.