Fight your colds with homeopathy

Better Nutrition (1989-90), April, 1990 by Frank Murray

Fight Your Colds With Homeopathy

Homeopathic medicines can ease cold symptoms more naturally than over-the-counter preparations, say researchers studying cold viruses.

Perhaps Charles Dickens best described the discomfort of a cold when he said, "I am at this moment deaf in the ears, hoarse in the throat, red in the nose, green in the gills, damp in the eyes, twitchy in the joints and fractious in temper from a most intolerant and oppressive cold."

Outnumbering other health problems 25 to one, the common cold affects more than 20 million Americans during cold and flu season. In terms of time lost from work, colds cost the national economy approximately $5 billion annually.

Ironically, colds are not a single disease that occurs over and over again, but as many as 200 separate, look alike diseases which are activated by any of 200 different submicroscopic agents known as viruses, according to Wendy Murphy in Coping With The Common Cold. You can "catch" a cold simply by touching droplets of virus-laden mucus that have been deposited -- perhaps by a sneeze or by shaking hands -- by someone who already has a cold.

Physicians define a cold as an acute viral infection characterized by nasal congestion, edema, discharge and throat irritation, according to Murphy. Typically, the infection is localized in the upper respiratory system, the portion of the breathing apparatus that stretches from the nostrils back and down into the upper throat and the voice box. Except in children, a fever is rare and the disease is self-limiting, meaning a cold takes care of itself without the intervention of doctors or medications, usually in about a week.

Colds are often mislabeled as "flu." Flu, or influenza, is a severe respiratory infection. It usually is more severe than a cold and is caused by a specific group of viruses.

All of us have our own remedy for preventing or treating a cold, but we often overlook a very effective therapy: homeopathy. This alternative to allopathic medicine was developed by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician who later practiced in France.

The traditional homeopathic remedy for the early stages of a cold is Aconite, according to Michael Weiner. Ph.D., and Kathleen Goss in The Complete Book of Homeopathy. Homeopathic remedies are minute dilutions of substances which, if used at full potency, would cause the very symptoms being treated. Potencies such as the 3rd, 6th and 12th are considered low potencies; the 30th and 200th are termed medium potencies; those above the 200th are called high potencies. Aconite is given in the 30th every four hours for a day or two.

"A present-day remedy that is held to be very useful in the first stages of a cold is Ferrum phosphoricum," wrote the authors "Ferrum phosphoricum 30 may be given in the early stages of a cold that does not have marked indications. The patient is simply not feeling well, without any real symptoms. Ferrum phosphoricum can be called a `precold' remedy, and it is particularly likely to be helpful after exposure to dampness. In children with a tendency to croup, the croup is said to develop less frequently if Ferrum phosphoricum is given at the first signs of not feeling well. In more advanced cases. Ferrum phosphoricum is associated with colds that go into the chest quickly, with pleural involvement, stabbing pain in the chest, and sore muscles in the chest wall, worse with motion."

As the cold progresses, Arsenicum album is recommended if the patient is cold and Belladonna if the patient is hot. Hepar sulphuris calcareum is often prescribed for a cold that develops after exposure to cold, dry weather. For a cold that has settled in the nose. Pulsatilla is a popular remedy. If the cold develops further, the usual remedy is Allium cepa or the common onion.

For severe colds that develop in the chest. Bryonia alba often is prescribed. If the cold develops into hoarseness, with sneezing and stuffiness, the homeopathic physician may recommend Gelsemium. Mercurius often is the remedy of choice when the cold begins with chilliness and progresses into violent sneezing.

Nux vomica is prescribed for colds that originate after exposure to dry, cold weather. These colds are characterized by sneezing and an irritating raw spot high in the back of the nostril. The nose may be blocked or running. A painful cough may develop. As with Aconite and the other remedies, Nux vomica is taken in the 30th potency.

A double-blind study conducted by Professor Paul Casanova and his colleagues at the Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Houphouet Bouny Hospital, Marseilles, France, determined that a popular homeopathic remedy sold in health food stores significantly decreased some of the symptoms of influenza-like syndromes. The study involved 300 randomized volunteers and confirmed an earlier study using 100 people.

In 300 subjects with colds the researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of Oscillococcinum compared to a placebo. The temperature decreased significantly in the group treated with Oscillococcinum from the second day of treatment. The drop in temperature is more dramatic when treatment begins as soon as symptoms start. The placebo did not produce the same effect. Shivering and aching also disappeared more rapidly with Oscillococcinum than with the placebo.