EDITOR’S NOTE: Free Now Foundation is excited to support our popular preparedness workshops with “What’s In Your Medicine Cabinet?” — a series of articles to help you prepare for an unforeseen medical situation in which you may not have access to professional medical support. Rina Nehdar launches this series with an article on homeopathy. This series will also cover herbs, essential oils, and critical allopathic drugs you may want to have on hand in the event of an unforeseen emergency. If you are interested in attending one of our preparedness workshops in person, check our events page; there will likely be one coming to a city near you.
DISCLAIMER: We are not giving medical advice. This is not written by a doctor. Please use this as information only, and always consult your physician before starting any course of treatment.
These days most people rush to their doctor for antibiotics if someone isn’t feeling well or pop a Tylenol. But true healing isn’t one-size-fits-all, and pharmaceuticals sometimes do more harm than good.
“The world is changing,” said Paola Brown, President of the Americans for Homeopathy Choice and founder of Momeopath. “The way the statistics are going, it is almost guaranteed that at some point in your life, you will develop some sort of chronic illness, and chances are this will happen sooner than later. We need to prepare our entire families, from our children, to our husband and future grandkids, about the principles of true health.”
I met Brown doing just that. I traveled to her family’s farm just outside Houston, where she was leading a weekend Momeopath workshop for parents and grandparents on how to heal their family through homeopathy.
Homeopathy isn’t essential oils. It’s not herbs or home remedies. Homeopathy is a system of medicine invented by a medical doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, in the late 1700s. Hahnemann became concerned with the high death rate he routinely saw in those undergoing conventional medical treatment. Even today, medical errors are the third leading cause of death, according to a Johns Hopkins study. Homeopathy grew in popularity in the 1830s when several cholera epidemics swept through Europe. Conventional doctors, who practice a system of medicine called allopathy (most common in the United States), had more patients die than those they were able to save. While homeopaths cured most if not all of their patients. Homeopaths also enjoyed tremendous success in treating cases of yellow fever, typhoid, and scarlet fever. The World Health Organization estimates that most doctors in Europe practice some form of homeopathy.
The “remedies,” as homeopathic practitioners refer to them, are inexpensive to produce. They come in colored vials about three inches long, filled with about 80 pellets. Each is sold for between $5-$15. And they actually work, so there’s no need to keep taking the medicine once the patient is cured. This, of course, is a direct threat to the pharmaceutical industry’s profits. As a result, many of their financial beneficiaries have launched targeted attacks against this system of medicine. Because of this, most homeopathic medical schools have closed, and accurate information about this holistic medicine is buried under many layers of Google’s “sponsored” search results designed to make homeopathy look ineffective or even dangerous. Recently, the FDA has even attempted to ban homeopathic medicine, and in the case of our favorite family remedy by Simiisan for pink eye, has succeeded.
The idea behind homeopathy is that like cures like. So, if an organic compound, like a flower or an herb, or even snake venom, is ingested by a healthy person and produces symptoms that are similar to the symptoms being experienced by a sick person, a tiny amount of that substance will cure the sickness. The doses are diluted to such small increments of their original components that there is no danger of side effects or the possibility of an overdose. You can literally take the entire vial of the remedy and remain unharmed. The worst thing that can happen is that the remedy won’t work, and you’ll have to find another one.
Before I took the Momeopath workshop with Brown, I knew the basics. I had vials of Arnica Montana inside every purse for my three boys, who all played sports growing up. Arnica Montana is derived from a mildly toxic daisy-like yellow flower. Its oils are diluted into tiny pellets taken sublingually to help ease bruising and swelling from injuries. There are also Arnica creams that ease pain and inflammation. Also, because I travel so often, as I board an airplane, I preemptively take Aconite, another highly diluted poisonous flower, to combat the initial stages of a viral infection. So, if I’m trapped for hours with people around me who are sick, I don’t get sick.
I asked Brown which remedies she keeps on hand, these are her essentials:
Aconitum napellus 30c: This is a great remedy when an illness comes on suddenly. For example, you might’ve gone to bed feeling fine and woken up the next morning with a terrible sore throat. This remedy might be especially helpful if you’ve been out in the cold wind.
Arnica Montana 30c: This is the top remedy for bumps, bruises, and injuries of all kinds.
Belladonna 30c: This is a wonderful remedy for high fevers of 103°/104°and red, hot, throbbing symptoms.
Hypericum 30c: This is a pain-oriented remedy, indicated for shooting, sharp, and extreme pain in nerves with sensitivity to touch. So think of it if your fingers get crushed in the door jam or you fall hard on your tailbone (a nerve-rich injury).
Cantharis 30c: For bladder infections and burns of any kind that are violent, acute, scalding, or raw.
Brown offers courses for families to easily learn about homeopathy, and I bought one for my family. She’s so passionate about spreading this healing message, she provides some courses for free. Find her (funny) informative videos on Instagram here.
Personally, I can attest to Cantharis. I used to get chronic bladder infections, and the first time I took this remedy, it cured me faster than any conventional medication I’d ever taken. I rarely get them now – maybe twice in 15 years. I’ve since bought a home remedy kit from Washington Homeopathics, so I always have the most common remedies my family may need, stored inside my nightstand. It gives me peace of mind that I’ll have lots of options to help my loved ones in a pinch.
When she’s not obsessing about keeping her family healthy, Rina Nehdar is traveling the world with her two sons as often as she can sneak them out of school. Formerly a news reporter and producer, Nehdar founded her family travel digimag, LAFamilyTravel.org, during her baby’s naps and neglected chores. Also an award-winning freelance writer, her work has appeared in a number of other publications like Travel + Leisure, Frommer’s, and Global Traveler Magazine. She focuses on family, wellness, and sustainable travel.
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