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General principles
Hello and welcome to the First Aid page. Please remember that, with all first aid situations, it is essential to keep a close eye on developments. If you are at all concerned, first see your doctor , and then if appropriate, see me. If you catch the symptoms early, you can prevent later complications. It is important to distinguish three things: a first aid situation, a short-term illness, and an emergency. A first aid situation is not very serious, some temporary discomfort is felt and needs to be dealt with, and prompt action can avoid deterioration. A short-term illness is an illness, but at the same time it is self-limiting (i.e. it will go through the body quite quickly and resolve itself), but, for some short-term illnesses (e.g. colds and flu, earache, food poisoning), homeopathic remedies or vitamins or chemical drugs can help to speed up the process or deal with the symptoms. An emergency situation is serious, urgent, and requires qualified medical assistance in a hospital or GP surgery . Both serious accidents like severe burns or bleeding, and serious acute illnesses like meningitis or asthma attack or noticeable dehydration are emergencies. In the chart below, I have given brief summaries of the First Aid remedies that I have found useful. These are suggestions only and can be varied, so do use common sense. Try not to handle the pillules (i.e. pour them into the lid first), and take two per dose under the tongue. Most 30c potencies can be obtained from a good chemist. You can get the other suggested remedies, especially the higher potencies like 200c, from me (£4.00 per S10 bottle). A word on Arnica. People sometimes talk about the ‘Arnica Miracle'. In my experience, this is true. In life, we get quite a lot of bangs, especially as children. Arnica 200c is the potency. Take it immediately after a fall, or minor accident involving a sharp blow (e.g. like hitting your thumb with a hammer, or being accidentally kicked on the football pitch), and take it again every ten minutes for an hour. Then take it once per hour for three hours. For the next five days, take Arnica 30c , twice a day. In my experience, I predict you will be amazed. If you think your situation is more an acute condition than a first-aid situation, give me a call. Meanwhile, I hope you find this chart helpful.
I have not included a number of ailments, because they can be more complex than at first glance. 1. Child croup, child colic, teething, and earache : These worry parents considerably, but they often pass by themselves. Always see your doctor first. After that, you could come and see me if you are still worried, or you think you've overdone the Calpol. 2. Vaccination support for children : Most parents have their children vaccinated during the first few years of life. Vaccinations are controversial because some people believe that they create an assault on the child's immune response, and that alternative approaches are better. All parents have to decide for themselves, but if you want to talk through some issues with me, I am happy to give information and help you sort out your approach to your own children. And if you decide to vaccinate, there are homeopathic remedies that can help to reduce the impact. For travel vaccinations, see below 3. Headaches and migraines : I have not included these in the chart, because they can indicate more serious issues. Always try sipping water over a period of hours, as dehydration is a common cause. After that, if aspirin or ibruprofen don't work, see your doctor. If your headaches or migraines are chronic (i.e. they happen a lot), first see your doctor, and then, in certain circumstances, you may benefit from long-term constitutional homeopathic treatment. Please note that regular serious early-morning headaches are a ‘red-flag' warning sign and require urgent medical attention. 4. Diarrhoea and/or vomiting : I have also not included these, for the same reasons as above. However, for mild attacks, Nux Vomica or Arsenicum can be very effective. Regular sipping of water is helpful for rehydration and clearing. 5. Common cold (sore throat, runny nose and chesty cough): There are a number of homeopathic remedies suggested for these symptoms, different ones depending on the exact symptoms. For me, this is a classic example of ‘Let the body deal with it by itself'. Many minor ailments and illnesses are self-limiting, and the cold is one of them. But you have to catch it early! If you want to speed up the process but keep it natural, immediately start taking 10 (ten) grams of Vitamin C-with-bioflavonoids per day for two days, and then 6 for two days and then 4 for two days and then 2 every day thereafter. Plus drink a lot of water, as you always do! By the way, the amount of Vitamin C in fruit is relatively small, so supplements are best. In my experience, negative effects from ‘excess' Vitamin C are extremely rare. . 6. Real flu : Most people have a cold and feel run-down and call it flu. For these people, Vitamin C, as above, works well, as it is an incredible anti-oxidant and it restores cell-health and tissue. Add to this Echinacea, which can help restore the immune response. Real flu feels really bad, and usually leads the patient to a period in bed, unable to move for pain or malaise. People with flu really need to go to bed and rest, possibly for a week. Again, it is usually self-limiting. It is important not to ‘soldier on', but to listen to your body, and do the right thing, because the symptoms are not the illness, they are the body's attempt to deal with the deeper down dis-ease. Homeopathy can help to speed up the process of healing, so a visit to the homeopath, or a phone consultation, may be a good idea. Conventional medicine may reduce the symptoms, but anti-biotics will have no effect because it is a virus not a bacterium. Above all, good food is good (especially thin soups), water is essential, and bed-rest is best. 7. Menstrual problems : Heavy bleeding, scant bleeding, pain, and irregularity are the main symptoms experienced by women with menstrual imbalances. They are not First Aid situations, and usually require treatment at a deeper level. 8. Post-natal care : ‘Helios' do an excellent Childbirth Kit (see ‘Useful Links'), so do buy this. Normally, a wide range of symptoms in the mother can present themselves after the baby has been born, some of them First Aid situations, and some of them deeper. First talk to your doctor or health visitor. Come and see me if you are still concerned. 9. Travel : Normal travel is well-dealt-with homeopathically if you buy Helios's Homeopathic Travel Kit (see their website: ( www.helios.co.uk ). But for travel vaccinations, and particularly if you want to consider alternatives to vaccinations, you need more information, and the best information is at The Clovelly Practice in South West London ( www.clovelly.org.uk ). For car journeys with the family, do use your common sense to avoid the pitfalls: to avoid stress, sleep well the night before and leave lots of time for the journey; to avoid irritability and headaches, take lots of water; to avoid hyperactive children, take lots of low GI food and protein, i.e. carrots, gem lettuce, tomatoes, oatcakes, fruit, nuts, cheese, cold meats, and hardboiled eggs, and keep off sweets, whitebread, crisps, cakes and biscuits.
The advice on these pages is for information only, and is not intended to replace the services of a qualified health practitioner
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Southfields Homeopathic Practice |