Lifestyle change for 2013

Well, here we are coming to the end of the year. I’ve published 20 blogs this year on a variety of subjects, from chickenpox to anger, lifestyle change to tonsillitis. I’ve noticed though that the ones that get read the most are my personal blogs, about my life and what I am trying to do with it. So I thought that this blog should be about my looking back over my year and thinking about what I have done. I do try to do this at the end of every year, and then at the beginning of the next year I think about what I want to achieve. Do you know why? Well, to be brutally frank, it’s because I am very easily bored, so I have to be able to make things different for myself on a regular basis. If I thought that my life went on, year after year, same thing day after day, I would probably run away screaming. I agree, it’s a terrible character defect, but like most personality traits, it has a good and a bad side!

The good side is that I’m generally aware of where I am going, and how I plan to get there. In order to achieve that, I have to look at where I have been and where I am now. So let’s look at the latter - where I’ve been and where I am now.

I started the year with plans for a lifestyle change. As the year progressed, I refined my lifestyle changes into two areas - 1) diet, weight and fitness, and 2) ‘Daring greatly’ - taking the risk of doing something I wanted to do.

Of course, life threw in some unexpected events, as it is prone to doing. My daughter and her baby moved back home in March, and that has thrown a proper spanner in the works. Little Henry is a complete delight, and his mummy is wonderful, but that child eats time. Of course he loves his granny (poor deluded child!) and likes to be carried around by her, wants to sit on her knee when she is at her desk, and makes more mess that Attila the Hun on a night out! And who can resist that little face? Not yours truly.

At the end of last year a member of the family died suddenly, and that caused mayhem, as there was no will and no money, and lots of mess to clear up. Then of course my partner had a heart attack in May, and he had lots of lifestyle changes imposed on him very suddenly. That was a very worrying time. And I also lost my poor old Buster dog, and my ginger cat.

So life did its thing, and I tried to do mine. I managed the dietary change quite well - more complex carbs, less saturated fat, more low fat protein. I even discovered that home made wholemeal pasta is delicious, which was a revelation! I lost over a stone, and have kept it off without any problem. I haven’t lost more than that, or been near a gym, or done any yoga, so those things remain on my to-do list for 2014!

On the ‘Daring greatly’ front I have done much better. Despite that small child eating my time, I have started the research for a book I want to write. It’s a historical novel, and needs to be accurate, so I am reading as much as I can about Britain in the 16^th century. It’s going well, in that I am getting closer and closer to writing some sort of detailed plan of events. I had a great week doing ‘visual research’ with my sister Sylvia - I don’t think she will ever want to see another castle as long as she lives! - and that really helped me in terms of atmosphere and landscape. The research is taking more time than I had planned, but I think I was being over-ambitious and need to be more realistic about what I can achieve. The plus side is that I am really enjoying it!

And that is a complete breakthrough. I have always wanted to write, and never dared take the risk, and now I am. And it may all go very wrong, it might be that I never find a publisher for example, but at least I will have tried. So I am happy with my year. It’s been up and it’s been down, it’s even been round and round, but at least I have started something that I am proud of, something that makes me happy. And that can’t be a bad thing!

Dosage for homeopathic remedies

Homeopathic remedies - Dosage and repetition

These instructions are for any of the acute remedies that we suggest you try in any of our blogs. Do ring, text or email us if there is anything you don’t understand - we are always happy to help!

More is not better in the world of homeopathy, so one tablet is enough for one dose. Please don’t give more doses than we suggest - people always think that homeopathic remedies have nothing in them and so you can take as many as you like. This is not true!

If possible don’t touch the remedy, use a clean teaspoon to carry it to your mouth. Dissolve the remedy under the tongue, and don’t put anything else in your mouth for ten minutes before and after each dose.

DOSAGE - 30c –Take one dose and repeat up to four times daily. 6c or 12c - repeat up to six times daily.

 Stop taking the remedy if:

•  The symptoms go - you’re cured!
• You have taken the remedy for three days and nothing has changed. This means it’s the wrong remedy - it’s time to try a different one.
• If the symptoms get worse. In this case, stop the remedy and wait - it is likely to work well in the next two or three days.

It's always wise to go to the doctor, get your problem checked out and get a diagnosis before treating yourself. Don't assume you know what's wrong, and remember pain is always a warning that something is not right. 
Remedies can be purchased from Helios Homeopathic Pharmacy on 01892 537254or by calling us.

Teething remedies for small people

Teething is a miserable process for many babies and their parents. It can affect the child in so many ways, causing diarrhoea and nappy rash, colds and runny noses, fevers and grumpiness. Teething can start at three months, and go on for months and months. Luckily there are some remedies in the homeopathic cupboard that can really help this process. Some of them - Calc carb and Silica for example - are constitutional remedies for babies that have slow, difficult teething issues, and as such should only be prescribed by a homeopathic practitioner. But there are lots of acute remedies for use in the home, which you can use over and over again. This is a list of a few of the most useful ones for you to try:-

Chamomilla  - this is the most common teething remedy, for the baby with red cheeks and green diarrhoea. It is mostly prescribed on the mental picture, which is that the baby is very grumpy, dissatisfied and demanding, wants this or that but pushes it away. Very irritable unless carried everywhere.

Kreosotum - teething is very painful, and the child will only sleep when carried and caressed. May have diarrhoea or constipation. Very offensive stools and raw, red nappy rash. Symptoms worse at night.

Belladonna - the child is hot and red but not sweaty. Lots of starting, twitching and waking during sleep. Pain come on very suddenly and go very quickly too.

Podophyllum - Grinding of the teeth that have already emerged, or clamping and champing of gums on anything. Diarrhoea, offensive and painful, often immediately after eating. Sleepless first part of the night.

All of these remedies are best used in the 6c potency, and repeated up to six times daily. We can provide these for you in granule form, which is much easier to give to tiny babies.

Chickenpox strikes!

The following remedies will be useful however ill your child is, even if there are spots absolutely everywhere. If you have any concerns at all, then please talk to your doctor, and also give one of us a ring - we are always happy to help.

The prime remedy for chickenpox is Rhus toxicodendron. The child will be very itchy, and quite possibly restless. Pick up a Rhus tox 30 from us, and give the child a dose four times a day for 24 hours. If they are coping better, then keep giving the remedy for another two days. By that point, they should be improving and you can begin to tail the remedy off, giving one dose less every day for the next three days.

If the Rhus tox doesn’t help after the first 24 hours, think about these remedies, and give them in the same way as the instructions above:-

Aconite - the chickenpox will have come on suddenly and fiercely, the child will be restless and is likely to have a high fever.

Antimonium tartaricum - the spots might be slow to emerge, and the child is likely to develop a nasty cough.

Belladonna - the patient will be hot and red, possibly with a headache, and will be sleepy but not able to sleep

Mercurius - the spots will be infected - red, swollen and with signs of pus.

Glandular fever and recurrent tonsillitis

I wanted to write about two illnesses that I know that homeopathy can treat. They are recurrent tonsillitis, and glandular fever. You won’t find any research or scientific studies into this, because homeopaths don’t have the money for that sort of thing. But I have had an enormous amount of experience of treating these two problems, and I know homeopathy works, over and over again. Due to the stringent rules of the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), I can’t put anything about my successes in these illnesses on my website, and I am not allowed to let my happy customers tell their stories on there either. This is deeply frustrating, but at least I can tell you all about it here!

Recurrent tonsillitis is the bane of children and teenagers up and down the land, causing pain and torment, necessitating days off school and endless courses of antibiotics, culminating in surgery and the removal of a part of the lymphatic system that protects us from harmful germs and contaminants. Tonsils are a big part of our defence system, and their position behind the mouth and nose is strategically important - after all, everything we eat or drink, and everything we breathe in goes past them first! It’s important to keep them if possible. So homeopathy has a huge amount to offer in this area, and I know that I have successfully treated many people over the years, so that they no longer get tonsillitis and still have their tonsils intact. 

The second problem, glandular fever, is the curse of teenagers and students. It can go on and on, is hugely debilitating, and orthodox medicine has little to offer. I’ve had two cases recently of men sent home from university with glandular fever, unable to complete their courses. But guess what? Homeopathy sorted them out and within two weeks of treatment they both felt 100% better. Yes, I know this is anecdotal evidence, I know that scientifically I haven’t a leg to stand on, but these are the facts of the matter. Given that the doctors can’t help, why wouldn’t anyone try homeopathy?!

I think maybe you can tell from reading this that I am very frustrated by being able to do my work well, but not being given the opportunity. I have spent over 25 years treating patients for all sorts of conditions. I have advanced qualifications in homeopathic treatment, even a good M.Sc. in homeopathy, and I’ve taught it to degree level. Yet, apart from this blog, I am legally unable to advertise what I can do in terms of particular diseases, and even my patients are not allowed to tell their stories of successful treatment on my website or any other publicity. The most frustrating part is that that there are plenty of children and young people out there who could really benefit from homeopathy, and yet they don’t know anything about it! So I can only hope that by sharing my thoughts with you, dear reader, things may yet change.

Also I need to say that us homeopaths don’t always get it right. So even with something like glandular fever it might take us a few tries to find the right remedy. But homeopathy can help in this situation, and it is always worth thinking of homeopathy when someone has a disease that doctors can’t treat.