Homeopathic Remedies for the Flu

A HISTORY OF HOMEOPATHY FOR THE FLU – by Angelica Lemke

The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic killed 500 million people worldwide, making it one of the deadliest disasters in human history. However, as a testament to the power of homeopathy, there were homeopathic hospitals in the United States that had significant success treating the flu. While the mortality rate of people treated with traditional medicine and drugs was 30 percent, those treated by homeopathic physicians had mortality rate of 1.05 percent, according to medical records kept at the time. Of the fifteen hundred cases reported at the Homeopathic Medical Society of the District of Columbia there were only fifteen deaths. Recoveries in the National Homeopathic Hospital were 100% (yes, there was a national homeopathic hospital, just as there is a statue of Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, currently standing just blocks from the Capitol building). According to Dr. Frank Wieland, MD, in Chicago, “With 8,000 workers we had only one death. Gelsemium was practically the only remedy used. We used no aspirin and no vaccines.”

The 1918 flu responded particularly well to Gelsemium, while in other years, the flu symptom picture is different and other remedies are required. As mentioned above, Influenzinum can be extremely helpful for preventing and even treating the flu. Taking one’s constitutional remedy can also be incredibly helpful. However, if flu symptoms take hold, other remedies can help the unique symptom picture. The potential for deadly flu pandemics is a reality and knowledge about homeopathy can help a family be prepared. I highly suggest families to buy acute or emergency remedy kits as well as a guide book such as Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Remedies by Cummings and Ullman.

Below is some information on a few remedies commonly used for the flu. They can all be found at a local health food store and can be dosed every 2-3 hours in 30c potency. To read more on dosing for the flu, see my article on acute versus chronic dosing at http://www.angelicalemke.com/acute-versus-chronic/

Aconite (Acon.)

Aconite is useful in the initial time period of a sudden onset fever, accompanied by severe anxiety, restlessness, and intolerable pains and sensitivity – all much worse at night. The child may be hot and sweaty with significant thirst for cold drinks, and have eyes that may look shocked; staring, glassy, etc. The child is easily excitable, prone to panic, and strongly wants company.

Belladonna (Bell.)

Belladonna is one of the primary remedies for sudden onset very high fevers with intense dry burning heat especially in the locally affected parts. The fever may accompany any different kind of infection from bacterial to viral, etc. Key symptoms are a red, hot head and cold limbs, easy delirium during fever, dilated pupils, and extreme oversensitivity to their environment.

Bryonia Alba (Bry.)

Bryonia Alba can have a very high fever but usually with a sluggish and slow onset. Once in place there is a dry burning heat without sweating, and the main thing the child wants is to stay still to avoid exacerbating any of the chills or pains (from coughing, in the chest, etc). They are very dry and may be constantly thirsty for water. They may be irritable or angry and generally want to be left alone during the acute, spending all their limited energy on dealing with the illness at hand.

Gelsemium (Gels.)

Gelsemium is a remedy for fevers in which the main characteristic is extreme weariness and heaviness in the body; they can’t keep the eyes open, everything is heavy and drooping. Legs may be so heavy that they tremble. The fever may be from flu or other ailments, and often comes on during summer or changes of weather from cold to warm. There is also a lot of anticipatory anxiety seen in Gelsemium.

Eupatorium Perfoliatum (Eup. Perf.)

Eupatorium perfoliatum is an important remedy for those fevers where the most prominent symptom is intense, deep aching, bruised pains especially in the bones, to the point where the bones feel as if they may be breaking. The skin, likewise, is sensitive and sore especially in flu. Unlike Bryonia alba in which the intense pains lead them to want to remain very still, Eupatorium may be quite restless during the fever, though can also be depressed, sleepy, yawning and moaning.

CONCLUSION

On the bright side, our immune system deserves a congratulatory response with each sniffle and fever you get. As many of you are aware, many children on the spectrum do not have obvious cold and flu symptoms because the immune system is too weak, or too suppressed, to mount a response at the level of the mucous membranes. Often symptoms of a circulating virus may show up in more stimming, or OCD behavior, as opposed to a stuffed up nose. In summary: it is HEALTHY to occasionally get sick, it is the body’s way of doing a deep cleaning. And all the recommendations we give above will assist the body’s inherent vital force in doing what nature intended it to do – to strive for optimal health and growth, in body, mind and spirit.