Little beacons in the mist

 Hip-Hip Hooray

I like autumn because I love seeing all the fruit in the trees when I walk or drive through the countryside or even towns. Autumn is the time of ripening fruit and plenty. One thing that was already beginning to ripen in summer were the rosehips. They are little red beacons not only in the mist but shine with the sun even in August. Well, mine are. Many years ago I collected some rosehips of a dog rose on a car park up north and sowed them at home. 

It took some time till they germinated but in the end I could plant my first roses in the front garden. They grew well but the funny thing is that not all of them had purple flowers even though the rosehips I picked were from a purple flowering bush. Some bloomed white and they were not not filled, again the "mother" bush was filled, they just produced an unfilled rose. The bees and bumblebees love that a lot better and tend to bathe in them. It is so lovely to watch. But the bushes are not only beautiful plants with lovely smelling roses the insects like, they also produce wonderful, lush rosehips. From August on I can harvest them and make tea and jam out of them. I must say, even though I do like the jam, it is more hard work then just to make an infusion.

Apparently you can make an infusion of every rosehip but my big, fat ones make it a lot easier. I just cut the fluffy top off and halve them. Then they go into a little pot with a lot of water and I boil them up and put them through a sieve. It is the most delicious drink you can imagine and it is healthy as well. Try it. 

I do not harvest all my rosehips because they are a food source for birds in winter as well and I like to think of my feathered friends as well.

As you might have guessed, rosehips are not only a valuable food source for men and animals when the weather is bleak and the land doesn't yield much food anymore. Rosehips are used in a Homoeopathic Remedy as well. I certainly have it in my medical chest. Its main action in on the bladder and the kidneys and the keynote is on improvement of the flow of urine. 

But please no self medication, Homoeopathy is a very individual medicine where you need to know what you are doing. It can only work if you have the right remedy and I have been trained for 5 years to do that for you. So call me on 07813 195468 to book an appointment instead. Looking forward to hear from you. 

Protection

The Wish To Be Safe And Secure

I think we all want to be safe and secure to a certain extent. It is nice to know where the next meal is coming from and that you have enough money to pay your way. We all want to have a roof over our head and enough clothes to wear that we will not be cold. Having shoes without holes is good as well because our feet will stay dry when is is raining. A lot of those things are normal for most of us and we don't really think a lot about it or being particularly grateful for it. At one time I was not particularly grateful, demanding more and worrying about the fact that I did not have as much as other people, or that I did not get want I wanted. 

A way to recognize what you have got is when you are going to lose it or have already lost it. That did not happen before I actually got divorced and everything I took for granted was taken away from me. One thing I did find out was, that you do not cease to exist when you cannot afford to live anymore. You do not vanish from the face of the earth, you still have to find a way to survive and make it work. And that caused a lot of fear and anxiety.  

It is understandable that you are experiencing fear and anxiety when your world is upside down. It is normal that you want protection in a situation where you have lost everything. 

BUT you should be worried when you feel like that without an obvious reason. If nothing happened to shake your world then it is not normal to feel the fear and anxiety which loosing everything would cause. So if there is no immediate threat of divorce, bankruptcy or anything else which could be a danger to your social and personal security, you definitely need help. I'm not saying that you should not seek or not need any help if there are disasters coming your way. I'm saying that it should ring alarm bells when there is no reason to feel unprotected.

Homoeopathy is a good way to address issues with feelings of distress whatever the reason. One Remedy particularly comes to mind when there is the feeling of anxiety or the need for protection. It is called Calcarea-Carbonica and it is made of the inner lining of the oyster shell. 

The oyster protects itself from any foreign bodies which get into it by coating the intruder with layers of mother of pearl. This is how a pearl is formed. It is quite amazing that nature forms something so beautiful out of the need for protection. This is by no means the only Homoeopathic remedy which could be used in this instance but the one where one of the keynotes is that of the highest need for protection. 

Homoeopathy is a wonderful thing and if you think it might help you, please, not self medication. Homoeopathy is a very individual medicine and it can only work if you get the remedy right. So please give me a ring on 07813 195468 to book an appointment.  

It is never to late

Feed Your Brain

I just read a quote which said that education is something which never can be finished. I do agree. I was always a keen learner and I still want to learn. I always want to improve my knowledge, no matter the subject. 

I loved school and university, the more to learn and to know, the better. But I must admit, in recent years I found it quite hard to retain and recall the information. It was particularly bad after giving birth to my son. It was so bad that I had to phone the doctor just after putting the receiver down again because I could not remember the date and time for the next appointment. So I had to call back with pen and paper in one hand, the receiver held between ear and shoulder to write the appointment  down there and then. 

Now I think it is just old age. I sometimes want to do something, walk into the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom.... and forget what I wanted to do. So, does that happen to you as well? Or I meant to do something and there is the nagging feeling that I haven't completed the task but I just cannot remember what it was? Is tying a knot into a handkerchief still in fashion? Does anybody still have handkerchiefs to ty a knot into? Did it work anyway??   

There are certain things you can do to prevent your memory from drying up. Coconut oil is good, even if you don't eat it. Just putting it on your skin. Rubbing it into your feet is said to be particularly good for your brain. And there are Homoeopathic remedies which can help as well. I found Bacopa very useful, but there are other remedies which can be taken before and after revision to aid the remembrance of the material studied. This can be very helpful if you have some upcoming exams, and it might take the stress out of the situation. If you need any help then give me a call om 07813 195468. Don't forget it!

Decisions

What Shall I Wear?

I don't know if you know what I mean but it is not "one of those days", it is almost every day. I find it difficult to decide. This starts as soon as I wake up. Shall I get up early and have a shower now or stay in bed a bit longer and have shower in the evening? Shall I wear a dress or would trousers be better?  If "yes" to the trousers would the red t-shirt go with the green trousers or would blue trousers be better? It might be better to wear a dress if it is going to be sunny but as I do not know how the day will turn out, trousers might be more appropriate? And what about the shoes? Will wellies really go with the dress if it is going to rain? 

Or shall I just stay in bed and forget about getting dressed? Oh, but when shall I do the hoovering if I just stay in bed??

And what shall I have for breakfast? Shall I have porridge or bacon and eggs? What about lunch?  Would it be wise to have a BLT for lunch when I have had bacon and eggs for breakfast? And anyway what are we having for supper? Maybe I should skip breakfast and then it would not be a problem. Or have a late lunch and dismiss supper? Some times I think it was easier back in the days when my mother told me what to wear, what to do and what to eat. Then at least I knew what I didn't want to wear and that I definitely didn't want to set the table when I was reading a book and that the carrot pottage was exactly not what I wanted to eat.

All those decisions that I have to make all on my own on a regular daily basis can be really hard particularly if you are afraid to make the wrong decision. One decision which was clearly the right one was to turn to Homoeopathy. 

Homoeopathy is a very individual kind of medicine which does not only take your symptoms into account but your whole personality as well. It definitely helped me make decisions more easily and it also takes into account if you cannot make a decision at all, or if different options go round and round in your head. And there are more options. It is not a difficult decision to opt for Homoeopathy because it always has an answer. If you made your  decision give me a call on 07813 195468. 

Red rose or white clematis? Or both???

Working together

Going Hand In Hand

A lot of people actually don't know that Homoeopathy can be a choice of medicine to be used alongside mainstream medicine. 

There are many advantages to using both hand in hand. Homoeopathy might reduce the pain and speed up healing. It can help with wound healing after an operation and might even speed up the fusion of bones after they have been set.

Homoeopathy can reduce swelling which might be particularly important after an accident. 

I can remember when my daughter broke her leg the first time. Arriving at the doctors surgery, the first thing the orthopedist did, was to give her some homoeopathic Arnica. The x-ray showed a complicated fracture which needed operating on, but my daughter was in no pain and feeling so well that we made the mistake of having lunch before driving to the hospital. So having eaten was the reason why she couldn't be operated on straight away after arriving at the hospital. Still, she was in no pain and in good spirits even though so bored while we were waiting for the hours to pass. Her leg was not swollen at all despite the nature of the fracture.

The situation was very different when she broke the other leg 4 years later. The fracture was a lot less complicated but this time she didn't receive any Arnica after the fall and the leg swelled up enormously. It was in fact so swollen that they nearly had to cut it open lengthwise down the whole leg to relieve the pressure because it was threatening to damage the nerve. As you could imagine it was not only my daughter who was very distressed about this. It was the worst night of my life. Luckily that didn't need to happen and after 2 days they could operate on the leg. This made me think that so much distress and suffering could have been avoided if Homoeopathy would have been employed, or in fact that Homoeopathy would be more widely used alongside mainstream medicine. 

Don't forget that in Homoeopathy you need to know what you are doing and that it is a very individual medicine. Even though in 80% of cases Arnica is the right remedy to give after an accident there is still the other 20% where another remedy is needed. So the best thing to do is to see a qualified Homoeopath. Contact me on 07813 195468 to book an appointment.

     

 

Being on holiday

 Holiday Essentials

The schools broke up for the summer holidays, so it is time for traveling again. Take it easy when traveling and take a lot of breaks to make sure you do everything to arrive safely at your destination. Assuming that you arrived safely at your destination and hopefully without being sick, it is important to stay that way. For the most precious weeks of the year make sure that you can enjoy them to the full. You don't want to be ill on holiday and  there are some precautions you can take. 

Homoeopathy can help with minor ailments so that you can enjoy unspoiled holidays. There are certain ailments you can quickly address with Homoeopathy. Suffering from travel sickness or being anxious about going on a plane is not a good start. As I mentioned in my blog last week, Cocculus indicus might help you with travel sickness particularly if you go by car. There are more remedies which can make your journey easy. Afraid to board a plane? Try Argentum nitricum, the homoeopathic preparation of silver nitrate. 

Once you've reached your destination the unaccustomed food might give you the RUNNIES. Podophyllum might help and if you might suffer from the bad effects of spoiled meat Arsenicum album could give you relief.

On the other hand you might not be able to go to the loo because of the different diet. Alumina can help with travellers' constipation.

Don't stay too long in the sun but, if you didn't know your limitations and overdid it, Belladonna might bring relief, before you seek medical help. 

One remedy I always advise to take on holidays, particularly going on a walking holiday, is Arnica because little accidents happen and if given immediately it brings great relief and reduces pain and swelling. 

Please contact me on 07813 195468 if you want any help in assembling a travel kit or have any more questions but please remember to seek medical help if you do not feel better quickly and for more serious problems. 

Please remember that Homoeopathy is a very individual medicine, so all the above advice is a guidance. Please contact me if you want a more individual approach and have a nice, unspoiled holiday. 

Photograph by Roger Giraud-Saunders

Water again

 Pure As Water?

 

Last week I was talking about the importance and the weirdness of water as a substance. I was also talking about the role water plays in Homoeopathy and that there are actually homoeopathic remedies made out of water. The main remedy with the biggest symptom picture is the homoeopathic remedy made out of sea water, Aqua Marina. Think about it: The sea was here before anything else was on earth. It is one of the oldest things on the planet and it is like a history book which contains every story which is there to tell if you are able to read it. The sea is still a strong force which cannot be controlled, not even with all the modern technology which is around. The sea still floods the land and eats away continents. Nobody can stop it. The homoeopathic remedy made out of it has to be a strong force.

There are also other homoeopathic remedies made out of different kinds of water. One of them is AQUA PETRA which is made from water of the springs of Chase and Brittingham in the United States. It can be used in respiratory problems and headaches where indicated. It has a bigger symptom picture than AQUA PURA which can be used for allergies and broken down constitutions where indicated. This homoeopathic remedy is made out of purified water. Chronic fatigue is another corresponding symptom. I haven't used this remedy yet in my practice but it is in my remedy kit, just in case. It might come in very handy.

One homoeopathic remedy that I have used very successfully in the past is CHLORUM AQUA, a remedy made out of chlorinated water. It has a wide symptom picture and can be very useful for people suffering with breathing problems where indicated. It has a marked effect on the respiratory organs and is useful in conditions you would get from being oversensitive to a chlorinated swimming pool. So red, burning eyes and that corrosive feeling in your nose when you inhale water in the pool accidentally would be the symptoms where CHLORUM AQUA would be indicated. 

If you think that you could benefit from one of the remedies above, let me know, so that you will be able to enjoy the good exercise of a swimming pool again. Contact me on 078143 195468.

It is in the water

 

The Water Of Life

I was writing about tea and coffee the previous weeks, but there would be none of that without water. I must admit that water is just my favorite drink. Are you aware of the fact that apart from oxygen water is the substance which is most important to us for survival? It is obvious but how many of us are aware of it? You can stay alive without food for at least 40 days without dying, without water you will be dead in less than 3, depending on outside temperature and conditions. This is only toped by oxygen. The first brain cells die after 3 minutes without oxygen.  

Keeping in mind that the human body contains around 75% of water it is not surprising that this substance is so important. Water is a very special substance and has contradicting properties. It can be solid or liquid at 0℃, which is really strange. The other thing about water is, that it shrinks when it is melting and that it has such a high surface tension that small insects can walk on it. Water exists in 3 stages on earth. It can be solid, liquid and a gas and they can all exist at the same time. Water dissolves a wide range of substances and it has a memory. 

That is used in Homoeopathy where the property of a substance is transferred to the memory of water. The more often it is transferred, i.e. diluted, the more powerful is the resulting medicine. Not only that water plays a vital role in Homoeopathy there are actually homoeopathic medicines made out of water. There are the spring water remedies like the Voeslau Aqua from the mineral spring at Voeslau in Austria or Wiesbaden Aqua from the mineral spring at Wiesbaden in Germany. 

There is also a homoeopathic medicine made out of sea water which is called Aqua Marina. This is used for seasickness or bad effects of residence near the sea, but it is also used as a blood purifier and a vitalizer where symptoms are compatible. 

Aqua marina is a very interesting remedy because seawater contains in solution every inorganic substance in the world due to the fact that after the ice age and the melting down of the ice all the water ended up in the sea. The water washed all the iodine out of the soil and took a lot of other substances with it as well because it dissolves an unusually wide range of substances. That is the reason why seawater is so high in iodine which makes the homoeopathic remedy a good choice for thyroid problems, where indicated.

I was just recognizing that talking about all the water remedies in one go would this make a very long read. So let's just say that this is part one. Contact me on 07813 195468 to book an appointment. Don't forget in Homoeopathy we treat the whole person and not the sickness. 

Photograph by Roger Giraud-Saunders

C-a-f-f-e-e

Wake Me Up

Last week I wrote about tea, now its time for coffee. I can remember that I learned a song at primary school about coffee and that drinking too much of it will make you pale and sick. Coffee was not meant to be for children. That was because of the caffeine which both tea and coffee have in common, but tea to a lesser degree. The other drink of my childhood which contained caffeine and was NOT meant for children was Coca-Cola or what ever brand there used to be. When I was young, and YES, this is a long time ago, Coca-Cola was NOT for children. Nowadays I have even seen babies drinking it out of their bottle. 

I've learned that coffee is a native plant of Africa where it was originally used as food not as a drink. The beans were ground up and mixed with fat to get a kind of energy ball which was taken as nourishment into the mountains because the coffee bean is full of nourishment and protein. There is vitamin B2 and folic acid in coffee beans as well as magnesium, copper, zinc, potassium, calcium and phosphorus. But please don't rush out and start to chew coffee beans because it can have a negative side effect. Coffee affects the lining of the stomach and the caffeine is more accessible for the body when you eat the beans. There are actually chocolate covered coffee beans available as a sweet treat but they should be eaten in moderation. I don't think you can actually eat many in one go.   

Only from AD1300 was coffee used as a drink where the roasted beans get ground up and infused with hot water as you surely know. This way it has no nutritional value at all any more. To the contrary, drinking coffee takes nutrients out of our bodies because it creates a biotin deficiency. It is said that coffee is a major cause of Osteoporosis because the caffeine leads to the inhibition of the biding of calcium in the body and interferes with the absorption into the system.

So why do we drink coffee? Well, caffeine has some beneficial affects as well. It increases the heart rate and gives you more endurance. And it keeps you awake.

I must admit that I cannot drink coffee because it makes me feel nauseous, well, it irritates the lining of the stomach.

Keeping you awake it exactly why coffee is used in Homoeopathy. There are 2 Homoeopathic remedies made from this plant, one is made from the raw coffee bean, Coffea cruda, and one is made from the roasted coffee bean, Coffea tosta.

Coffea tosta is the number one Homoeopathic remedy for sleeplessness. The keynote here is when you cannot sleep because your heart is beating very hard and fast. I used to get that when my children were small and I had only a limited time to sleep. I was so stressed to get to sleep there and then that my heart was going so hard and fast that I actually could not sleep at all. It also sometimes happens when you are woken suddenly out of a deep sleep.

The other use of Coffea tosta is in tooth ache. It particularly helps when the toothache is worse for something hot in the mouth and better for cold. But, obviously, this is before you go to the dentist not instead. It helped me to get some sleep when I was in pain. Both remedies share a hyper sensitivity and both remedies are for sleeplessness but with different symptoms. There is intolerance of pain in Coffea cruda, and hyperactivity of body and mind. So if you are very hyper and don't know how to stop and relax, or if you cannot bear pain very well, or if you are not able to sleep, give me a call on 07813 195468 and come and see me. We will sort something out and it might even be Coffea cruda or Coffea tosta.

Oh, and by the way: Spend coffee grounds are good for the garden. The worms just love it. 

This is Petros, my coffee tree.

Time for tea

 Tea For You

The summer seems to have gone again and it is cold, even when the sun shines. So rather than having a chilled drink I would prefer a good cup of tea. How about you? 

For more than 500 years people were drinking tea. First it was grown in China and is now grown in more than 300 countries. As with wine, the taste of tea depends on the climate and the soil in which it has been grown. 

I'm quite sure you heard about it how it was discovered. Apparently the emperor of China was sitting under a tea tree, they can grow higher than seven metres when not picked, with a kettle of boiling water in front of him. The wind blew a few tea leaves into the water and made the first tea, the emperor was quite curious to try it. So was drinking tea discovered. 

You might have noticed that there is black and green tea. They are basically the same, the black tea is just fermented. The fermentation helped to keep it in good condition while it was transported with tea clippers from the east to the west. In countries where tea is grown, it is more customary to drink green tea. 

Green tea has actually more health benefits for you. It is said that the consumption of 3 cups of green tea a day can help with lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, catch free radicals, help to burn fat, raise the insulin sensitivity and therefore help prevent diabetes. It can also help preventing getting cancer, arteriosclerosis and dementia. Green tea contains not only minerals like potassium, calcium and iron, it also contains the vitamins A, B, C, E and K. Black tea can also help with itchy skin. If you make a strong brew and let it cool down, you can soak a cloth or cotton pads in it and wrap it around your affected skin or dab it on. If you use tea bags, don't throw them away. They make a nice soothing compress for tired eyes but please let them cool down before you use them. 

But tea is not only a nice brew and good for your health as a drink, there is also a Homoeopathic remedy made from tea, or Thea sinensis, as this remedy is called, using dried leaves and flowers. 

It is mainly used for nervous sleeplessness and neuralgias. The fact that the tree is never allowed to grow to its full height anymore is expressed in the Homoeopathic remedy as the inner child which can never full fill its whole potential. It is always nipped in the bud. 

Other themes in this remedy are contradictions, coldness, sourness and dryness. It is a very interesting remedy and I have used it in my practise. The nice thing about Homoeopathy is that it always has an answer and it is very individual, as individual as you are. So please give me a ring on 07813 195468 if you want Homoeopathy to be your health alternative. You do not have to suffer.

This is a flower of Taylor my little tea tree.