Aconite hits again--West Coast February 2013

Like Sanguinaria, Aconite is one of the first plants to emerge in early spring--even showing itself before the snow melts.
It's aconite time again...and time to review our emergency fever remedies.

Many people have a few homeopathic remedies in the cupboard for emergency use: Arnica for bruises, Calendula for cuts and scrapes.  For flus, the top two remedies needed are Belladonna and Aconite.

Why?  You need remedies on hand that will most likely be used in the middle of the night for sudden fever spikes in children.  It's much simpler than calling the advice nurse, giving a tepid bath, and much cheaper than going to the ER.  (I'm not saying you shouldn't call for advice or go to the ER, but if you are going to wait it out, might as well use a dose of a remedy while you're at it.  You might get more sleep, fend off an ear infection and the dodge antibiotics.)

It is important to know the difference between Belladonna and Aconite:  ie. which fever symptoms are best calmed by which remedy.

Both remedies are for high fevers (102 and above) that spike suddenly at night
Both can be used for ear pain, even ear infections, or throat pain, even tonsillitis.
Both types of patients can have a barking cough
Both can have a headache that is throbbing, located in the occiput and forehead, and worse with things that increase internal pressure such as stooping or coughing.  The Belladonna headache is generally more intense and more throbbing in nature.

However, here are the differences:

Fever/heat: in Aconite one cheek is red while the other is white.  Hands and feet will be very hot.  In Belladonna, the whole face is red while the hands can be cold
Eyes: The Belladonna patient has glassy eyes that can look wild or besotted and the pupils are dilated.  With the Aconite patient, the pupils are smaller and the look of the eyes is best described as anxious but at least cognizant.
Thirst: Aconite patient will want lots of cold water whereas the Belladonna patient is thirstless, even during a high fever.
Mind:  Belladonna tends to be more irritable, even mean, along with fearful, whereas Aconite is more anxiously fearful.  Although both can be scared of ghosts, Belladonna is more fearful of imaginary things whereas someone in an Aconite state is scared of dying and fearful that they will die of the fever.

On Thursday night my 6yo daughter awoke at almost midnight with a high fever.  The day had been uneventful at school, except for eating lots of sugar at and after her class Valentine's Party.  It was a sunny day but cold.  They had gone to recess several times during the day.  She had gone to bed perfectly fine.

She woke complaining she was hot.  She was burning up. Her face, hands and feet were so hot that a cold wet cloth put on any of these parts warmed up in seconds.  She insisted that I take her temperature.  She was restless and clearly scared by what she was experiencing. She wanted ice cold water--insisted that I put ice in it and she drank a whole cup.  Normally she isn't very thirsty at all.  I have to remind her to drink water or juice on a daily basis.  She continued to be restless--couldn't hold the thermometer in her mouth due to a stuffy nose and complained even of the time it took to take an axial temp.

At first i gave her a low dose of Belladonna because I had just woken up and wasn't yet using all of my mental faculties (most of my mind was going towards converting celsius into fahenheit.  Why don't I get an American thermometer?).  Also it was before I had noted all of her symptoms (such as the thirst and hot hands and feet). The Belladonna did not do much. At first she said she felt a little better, but her fever did not change and she was still just as anxious as before.  I waited less than 10 minutes to try another remedy.

I really woke up, thought about all of her symptoms, checked her pupils and gave her Aconite in a 30x dose.  She calmed down almost immediately.  Within a few minutes she seemed almost chipper and her hands and feet were not as hot.  She still could not sleep, so she watched a couple of movies without complaining of her symptoms any longer.  She cooled off enough to have a light blanket over her for the rest of the night.

By morning, she had a 99 degree fever and although her nose was a bit runny, her sinuses were not totally stuffy as before.  We went to the office and checked her ears which looked perfectly clear.  She played in the office all day and by afternoon her fever was completely gone and she had no other symptoms.

That was with one single low dose of Aconite.

A friend from California then called today (3 days later) and described some similar symptoms in her almost one year old.  Her daughter, however had had a fever off and on and a cough and runny nose for a few days.  She had given her Belladonna to no effect.  Then her fever spiked to 103 again in the night.  She had the one cheek red, the other pale.  I suggested Aconite and luckily she had some at home.  She gave it and within a couple of hours her daughter was much better than she had been all week.  Mom felt she was on her way to full recovery.

Aconite is usually given at the first sign of fever.  Usually it is not used for fevers and sicknesses that drag on for days or weeks.  The "flu" or virus that is going around right now seems to be bad, gets better, then bad again.  That is one of the reasons we have been using Sanguinaria for it.  However, when the patient really seems to be improving and then a fever spikes high again, I believe Aconite can be given for the newly spiked fever.

Aconite is perfect for fevers that are brought on by being outside in the cold or wind.  It seems that as soon as kids feel like they are recovering from their cold or cough, they want to go outside if the day is sunny.  A sunny late winter/early spring day is hard to pass up.  However, the weather is still cold despite the blue sky and kids can get chilled due to being underdressed.  This can cause a reemergence of Aconite fever which will surely wake the parent around midnight or later.

Sanguinaria January-February 2013 Vancouver, WA

It starts with a dry throat and cough. Then the sinuses hurt and you get a headache.  You have nausea, and maybe even vomiting.  Possibly diarrhea.  Ears feel stopped up.  Eventually when the chest congestion starts, there is burning in your chest and your feet and hands might also feel hot even though the rest of you goes through bouts of chills.  Just when you think you're getting better, you get a fever, headache or cough again. This thing just wont go away! 

Everyone is getting the flu.  This flu hits all areas of the body making people think they have an ear infection, a sinus infection, tonsillitis or bacterial bronchitis. Because of the spasmodic cough that is worse at night, some think they have pertussis. This fever feels terrible and drives people to the hospital in numbers far greater than the previous flu season. That could be the reason flu counts have gone up. But it is viral, so antibiotics may not do anything. Anti-viral medications can be expensive.  But there is help in homeopathy.

Sanguinaria canadensis, the plant, or bloodroot as it's sometimes called, is popping up in the warmer areas of northern north America.  It pops up in late winter/early spring, making it great for the flu that has just arrived.  Although one doesn't use the flowers or leaves, if one didn't gather, dry and tincture the root of this plant in fall, the new sprouts show the forager where the rhizomes can be found.  I prefer using sanguinaria in it's homeopathic form which is easily stored at room temperature for several years.

Sanguinaria is a perfect example of 'like cures like'.  Native americans used it to induce vomiting for cleansing purposes. But we can use it for much more than nausea.

HEADACHE:
The headache in this flu is usually in the forehead or temples and could be construed as sinus pain.  But the occiput (back base of the head) is also sore and it feels as if this headache from occiput to the right eye is due to a much needed neck adjustment.  The headache is worse with light sound and movement (whereas in Belladonna it's worse only with stooping movements).  Even moving the eyes hurts.  (This is why it can be confused with a Bryonia flu, known for being worse with movement, particularly moving the eyes and also known for dryness of the throat and cough).  Normally, a  person sick in bed could at least enjoy TV, but these symptoms (worse light, worse sound, worse movement of the eyes) make this flu truly unbearable.

EARS, NOSE, and THROAT
I've had a few patients say that their ears feel stopped up, like their adenoids are swollen and eustachian tubes blocked.  This is even true of one patient who has had her adenoids and tonsils removed.  Not everyone gets the ear symptoms, but those that are prone to ear symptoms do.  Also, a hoarse voice or even total loss of voice has been apparent this season.

CHEST
Although the cough feels dry in the throat, there can be easy expectoration of phlegm.  The phlegm can be pink, rusty or even bloody if the inflammation has gone on long enough (NOTE: BLOODY SPUTUM IS A REASON TO VISIT A HOSPITAL OR DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE).  The most noteable symptom, which was really the tip-off for this flu, is that people feel a burning behind the sternum.

TEMPERATURE
With a sanguinaria flu, you can alternate between hot and cold without the usual amelioration from breaking a fever.  The interesting thing about a Sanguinaria fever is while your body may be experiencing chills, your feet feel burning hot making you want to have them out of the covers or even touching a cold surface.

The chill, irritabililty, and headache worse with movement led me to take Bryonia when I felt like I was getting the flu 3 days ago.  (Sanguinaria can want to be held but also be irritable while Bryonia types are irritable and want to be left alone).  I thought that some people I had talked to needed Sanguinaria but wasn't sure until I tried it on myself.  Bryonia, a more common flu remedy, did almost immediately relieve the chills I was experiencing.   However my palms and soles of my feet became hot, burning almost as soon as the chills went away.  Then I knew it was likely Sanguinaria that I needed.  The next day, I put some Sanguinaria 200c pellets in water, took 3 doses throughout the day and felt perfectly fine by bedtime.  I wasn't resting that day either--had errans to run--so it wasn't just taking it easy that made things better.  The only symptoms I had were the headache, nausea, feeling of fever while chilled and burning sinuses causing a headache.  Sounds like many symptoms, but since I caught it early, it only lasted a day or so and did not result in the bronchitis or vomiting that has happened to other people I know.

Sanguinaria can be used palliatively throughout a flu even if Sanguinaria isn't the "genus epidemicus" of the flu.    I suppose this can be said of several flu remedies however: Gelsemium, Bryonia, Nux vomica, Arsenicum, and others.  Remember that Phosphorus is also indicated in coughs worse and night with burning under the sternum. For more complete discussion of Phosphorus see Flucaster:Phosphorus

If you find the Sanguinaria plant in your area, tell me about it or send a picture!  To see my website for more information, go to www.drsherylwagner.com

May 21st, 2012: It's a Phosphorus kind of Week

Drizzle...not a storm, not a loud thunder...just a drizzle.  Slow lightly falling showers that come and go, some harder, some softer with an ever present dampness.  Such are the symptoms of a phosphorus flu.  Symptoms can be subtle and wax and wane over a number of minutes, hours, or days.  Phosphorus flus come on with changes in weather as we are experiencing in Vancouver, WA: seven days of sun and warmth followed by a mildly cold front, clouds and drizzle in this unusually warm spring.

The phosphorus type--someone needing phosphorus as a constitutional remedy--will get worsening of symptoms at any change in weather.  Symptoms can be another nosebleed, laryngitis, or a stomachache.  Anyone can get a phophorus flu and it seems to be going around this week.  

Phosphorus nausea comes and goes like a shower that passes and then reveals blue sky and sunlight behind a cloud only to be followed by another shower.  It alternates with hunger or intense thirst for cold water.  A person  suffering from a phosphorus flu will vomit, feel better, and then ask for a meal shortly after or a big glass of cold water. The trouble is, after the cold water warms up in the stomach, the nausea starts again and can end in vomiting once more.  This is how I knew my daughter had a phosphorus flu this morning.  She asked for lots of cold water--unusual for her--but then vomited again minutes later.

The stomach trouble can come along with diarrhea that is sudden, even causing involuntary stool.  Colitis and proctitis can be chronic problems for a phosphorus type but the gurgling, pain, and inflammation of the acute flu can be felt in these areas as well.  The phosphorus patient does not want to be left alone, prefers company.

Sometimes a phosphorus flu can be in the respiratory system.  It can be as mild as a lingering, tickling cough or as severe as pneumonia.  This will be a walking pneumonia as the patient alternates between feeling ok and feeling sick.  In a phosphorus type, every cold will go to the chest.  However the cough will likely be dry.  Dryness can be felt in throat and and some may also complain of dry mouth and lips as well.  Laryngitis is common and can be evidenced by hoarseness with or without pain or even total loss of the voice.

It was interesting that we came down with a phosphorus flu and the same day a phosphorus patient came to the office for the first time.  Maybe it was the change in weather.  She had been afflicted with stomach upset, indigestion and diarrhea since she was a kid.  Her stomach was worse with anxiety, excitement, meat and warm foods and better with cold foods and drinks.  She didn't like carbonated beverages.  

Maybe it was the open, bright personality she exhibited or just the fact that she was tall and thin, but it prompted me to ask about another symptom in her health history to seal the homeopathic deal.  "Any other symptoms in childhood...like nosebleeds?"

"Oh yeah, I used to get nosebleeds all the time as a kid.  In fact, I just got another one last week!" she answered.

That's when I remembered that my daughter had had a nosebleed yesterday. I hadn't thought anything of it, but now I realized it was a harbinger of the phosphorus flu.

Each patient got a dose of phosphorus. After my daughter's dose, she fell asleep and slept for 2 hours, woke up, ate lunch and did not get sick again.  The patient who came today--we shall see.

March 12 Aconite

Is it allergies or is it the flu? It's obvious when a child suddenly gets a fever that spikes at night after being out in a cold wind that he or she has a flu. However, when these spring flus come up, so do allergies. Many people don't get the flu per se, but they get what they think is allergies due to all the sneezing and itchy eyes.

We've seen both of these situations this week in Vancouver, Washington. Last week there were a couple of sunny windy days which were followed by rain. As soon as the sunny days came, people went outside for recreation thinking it was spring. However, they most likely did not bundle up enough against the cold--it didn't get higher than 60 degrees and a couple of the days were in the 40s.

So what happened? Some people got sore throats with pain and/or itching that extended to the ears. Sneezing and itchy eyes often accompanied this. Were there tree pollens or mold spores released on those days that caused those symptoms?

Other people (mostly the small kids) got fevers of up to 103 that were higher at night. The children complained of a mild sore throat and ear pain, and they had a viral look to their face--a bit flushed and obtunded. If in fact this was an Aconite flu, you might also have seen the pupils being small (unlike Belladonna which shows up with dilated pupils) and one cheek being red while the other is not (Belladonna shows up with both cheeks red or red face entirely while the hands are cold).  Also the hands and feet can be hot during an Aconite flu.

This is what we have seen and Aconite has helped both the flu and allergy-like symptoms. Interesting as well, there have been cases of Pertussis in the schools recently and Aconite is a remedy for the early stages of croup.

Aconite should be used in the early stages of illness or during sudden spikes in fever, especially after the person has been exposed to a cold dry wind.

February 8th--Belladonna

Seen around Vancouver Washington--Belladonna flu symptoms

Belladonna symptoms come on suddenly--within a day--and can progress to severe within hours. Typically there will be heat, pain, and often dilated pupils.
Throat--acute tonsillitis often deep red with suppuration (pus). Painful even with just breathing air over the tonsils. Pain may be throbbing
Headache--throbbing headache worse movement or stooping. May be located in the sinus and/or temple area.
Earache--if it exists usually starts on one side, is throbbing, and the outer ear may be red and the ear drum will be red and bulging
Abdominal pain--may or may not be accompanied by diarrhea.
We've seen all of these symptoms in differnt patients in the last week and Belladonna has been effective. Not all patients had all symptoms.

Flucaster--New Tool for Flu Prevention and Treatment

So your family or your patients are hit with the flu. People around you are sick. How do you keep from getting sick or treat the earliest symptoms so they don't blow up into a full blown flu?

Flucaster--for information on the latest flus in your area. We will focus on homeopathic remedies first, then other general cold and flu preventative and treatment measures.

Why is homeopathic medicine so great for colds and flus?
* Homeopathic medicine is safe. No contraindications exist for kids, babies, or pregnant women. You can use homeopathics in the presence of other drugs.
* Homeopathic medicine is specific. Different remedies are for different flus. A flu where the throat is sore and the nose is running like a faucet is different from a flu where the main symptoms are weakness and stomach upset. Taking the right remedy will make you feel better fast.
* Homeopathic medicines have a long shelf life. A homeopathic kit can provide relief in the middle of the night or when you're too sick to go out or when you're stuck at home caring for sick kids.
* Homeopathic medicines can turn around those annoying emotional symptoms that come with sicknesses: irritability, whining, can't be appeased.

What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is like cures like medicine. The healing properties of the medicines (coming from minerals, plants, insects, and animals) were discovered by giving volunteers small amounts of the item and noting the symptoms that arose. Then these items were diluted past avagadro's number and given to people exhibiting those same symptoms. Lo and behold, the diluted medicines cured the symptoms. This was discovered over 200 years ago and made popular by Samuel Hahneman.

Anything else I should know about homeopathy?
* The potency may be important. Potency can be as low or high. Potencies can be listed as 'C', 'CH', 'M', 'K', 'X' and 'LM'. Usually you find 'C' or 'CH' which are basically the same thing and mirror the way homeopathics were originally made. 'K' potencies are not as strong as 'C's. 'M' is stronger. 'LM' and 'X' are less strong. The stronger the remedy, the less often you have to take it. The lower the potency, the safer it is to take it often. Generally, you find 'C' potencies in stores. a 12C or 15C can be taken multiple times daily for acute symptoms, whereas a 200c or 1M should be given more than a day to take full effect. Sometimes it takes weeks for the full effect to be experienced, although there will be an improvement within a few days for chronic symptoms. It's oK to take a strong dose (200c for instance) for an acute symptoms such as an ear infection, but you don't want to do it multiple times per day. Just one dose a day please until you know if it's making a difference.

* Avoid coffee, menthol, and stong mint while using a homeopathic as these can antidote a remedy's effects.

* if the dose taken was too strong, it is possible for symptoms to get temporarily worse before they get better. The negative effect shouldn't last for more than a few hours or up to a whole day.

* It's best to consult a naturopathic physician or other physician in your area if your concern should be looked at with a physical exam such as possible ear infection, possible pertussis, measles or other contagious disease.