Archives for December 2008

gastric problems and homeopathy

NUX Vomica is a remedy for many conditions of modern life. The typical Nux patient does a good deal of mental work. He has mental strains and leads a sedentary life. He is engaged in prolonged office work, deep study and close application to business with its attendant cares and anxieties. Indoor life and mental strain seek stimulants – coffee, wine, possibly in excess; or again, he hopes to quieten his excitement by indulging in the “pleasures” of tobacco. He may become a victim of seductive drugs like opium.

These things are associated with other indulgences. At the table, he takes, preferably, rich and stimulating food. Wine plays a part in making him forget the stress of the day. Late hours are a consequence; a thick head, sluggish digestion (constipation, acidity and excessive gas formation), and irritable temper are the next day’s lot. Nux Vomica 200, one dose at night for a week, with rest and no stimulants, can wash away the blues.

Curing acidity

Acidity tends to have a much higher incidence in highly emotional and nervous individuals. The consumption of alcohol, highly spicy foodstuff, non-vegetarian diets, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) also predispose one to gastric acidity. Natrum Phos leads a group of homoeopathic medicines used against acidity. The indications for its use include: a burning sensation in the chest behind the sternum (breast-bone) which can originate from the stomach and extend even to the throat; this burning may also be accompanied by sour vomiting, and often a yellow creamy-coated tongue; Natrum Phos 30c four times a day for a week will reduce the acidity.

Another homoeopathic medicine, Arsenic Album, is well suited only if these symptoms occur around midnight – the 30c potency of Arsenic Album can be used in a similar way. A suitable diet must be strictly followed, avoiding spicy, salty and acidic food. Smoking and alcohol must be stopped. Those with a highly nervous and emotional disposition and those involved in high-stress jobs must be encouraged to take lifestyle-modifying measures.

ALLERGIES AND HOMEOPATHY

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 2 Comments

It is spring time. There is so much of optimism in the air that people get frenzy. It is such a euphoric time in the year that people get eccentric while enjoying and find outrageous ways of doing it – Holi in India, Fallas in Spain and the Great Toad Derby (Toad race) in California. Spring all over the world is a time for celebrations and fairs, but for some this time is not so fair. Staying indoors is the only option. At times even this option also proves unsuccessful. It is time for the dreaded allergies to come up and pollen is the main cause. Though high pollen counts can affect numerous types of allergies, from eye allergies (conjunctivitis) to skin reactions (dermatitis), the most common spring allergy is allergic rhinitis (symptoms of sneezing, itching, watery eyes, nasal congestion or headaches) and asthma.

For those who suffer from allergies, their immune system has mistakenly learned to remember the pollen released by various plants as potentially harmful, and responds with the familiar allergic symptoms. The specific types of pollen and the time of their release depends upon the local climate and varies around the country.

Weather can influence the timing and severity of the problem. A mild winter often leads to a more severe pollen season. If the spring is warmer and wetter than usual, that can provoke more grass to grow earlier, leading to a more severe situation during the late spring and summer already been released out of the air. An important component of the allergy management plan is to go in for a thorough homoeopathic treatment, avoiding the pollens and molds that make you sneeze and wheeze.

Can such seasonal allergies be totally cured with homoeopathy? Yes, if one is able to get a good homoeopathic treatment. But as allergy is a thousand-headed monster, it may take two-three seasons before one can get completely cured.

Why should one use homoeopathy for treating allergies?

a) First of all, it prevents further deterioration as it is often the noted conditions such as allergic rhinitis that can progress into asthma. b) Safe treatment-homoeopathic medicines do not have any sedative effect as some of the other conventional drugs used to control allergy do. c) Non-toxic-homoeopathic medicines are highly diluted, thus there are no chances of developing drug-toxicity. d) The homoeopathic system uses the body’s own healing system to work for it.

Does homoeopathy believe in treating only the chronic state of allergies or are there medicines that can take care when one gets those acute flare-ups in spring?

The treatment is aimed at controlling both acute and chronic problems though a different set of medicines might be used to control the acute attacks of allergy. A constitutional approach is often the best way while treating the chronic state. Prescription based on a thorough analysis of a person’s physical and mental characteristics is what called as “constitutional approach” in homoeopathy.

Natural Homeopathic Medicines for Anxiety and Stress Treatment

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 9 Comments

Homeopathic Medicines for Stress and anxiety Treatment

Sanjay (not his real name), aged 44, knew that something was wrong when he started having attacks of breathlessness and pain in the chest. He was diagnosed with a coronary artery problem (heart disease). He immediately had to undergo heart bypass surgery. His career as a senior executive was also at stake. This shocking development made him convert to a new way of thinking about illness and health. Soon after recovery, he took to the job of analysing his lifestyle. His concerns for a healthy living made him realise that he exactly matched the category of people whom the cardiologists call a “type A personality”, suffering from “hurry sickness”. This typeof people with high levels of anxiety most prone to heart attacks. He found himself coming and going in the descriptions of a heart attack-prone persons. Hurried, aggressive, controlling, impatient and easily angered. He learnt that this illness was a direct result of the stress created by an overactive lifestyle that he had adopted for the last two decades.

Stress and anxiety affects us in more ways than one. Until recently psychological damage was the only outcome that was thought to be, but now most researchers believe that constant stress does affect the physical side of the body as well, and this can be grave at times. Heart disease and sexual dysfunction are a few of the illnesses that are caused or worsen with stress. It is a known fact that Type A constitutions are highly prone to heart attacks. If one has had a heart attack, his risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease is four to six times greater if he suffers from depression. Thus an unhealthy mind can lead to an unhealthy body

After all, the brain is just another organ operating on the same biochemical principles as the thyroid or liver. What we experience as feelings, good or bad, are at the cellular level and no more than a complex interaction of chemicals and electrical activity.

Homeopaths for the last two centuries have been constantly pushing this theory of mind and physical body being deeply interconnected and about fixing the problem at a mental level that can often help the other. In homeopathy, mental symptoms of the patient are given the utmost importance. Constitutional treatment in homeopathy combines the understanding of both the psycho and the physiological profile of the patient, with the psychological profile being given more importance. A number of natural homoeopathic medicines are effective in treating disorders where one who has learnt the wrong way of handling or responding to stress. Homeopathic Medicines for stress and anxiety such as Argentum Nitricum and Tarentula are very effective in controlling the accelerated behaviour of Type A people.

Natural homeopathic medicines Nux Vomica and Staphysgaria are meant for the easily angered and impatient ones and Ignatia and Natrum Mur where long-standing grief is a reason for stress response. Kali phos is for a good individual who overstretches himself physically and mentally. Reducing stress through stress management techniques and a thorough constitutional analysis by a professional homoeopath, are a must for treating disorders of this kind.

ANXIETY AND ARGENTUM

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 7 Comments

MY friends call me a scary little bird. They think I live in a world full of fear, irrational impulses and a forsaken feeling. I am always in a state of worry. The question “what if?” constantly nags me. What if my car breaks down? What if I get late for my exam? Frankly, I suffer from a severe anticipation anxiety – a meeting with my boss gives palpitations, trembling, a cramping pain in the abdomen and at times a strong urge to pass stool. Avoiding crowded places, parties, narrow streets and alleys have become a compulsion; looking down even from the second floor sends shivers down the spine. Acrophobia (fear of heights) – that’s what I believe it is called. To tell you the truth, I am an agitated Argentum Mind. Oops! Forgot to mention an important symptom…. I am very forgetful.

Remedies, as we homoeopaths learn to realise, step forth as personalities. They haunt us in buses and queues, and confront us in our patients. They become creatures of temperaments – mental and physical. They have likes and dislikes, cravings and aversions. Sensitiveness to meteoric conditions as well as to human interaction and environment are well known. We realise their terrors, real or imaginary; their strange obsessions! And in a measure as this is so. We are able to apply them with success for the relief of persons of such idiosyncrasies and distress. Argentum Nitricum (silver nitrate)leads the homoeopathic table for treating what is called generalised anxiety disorder or anxiety neurosis. No other medicine in homoeopathy covers so strongly the symptoms of anxiety disorder.

First Aid In Winters

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD Leave a Comment

In winters, ailments like chilblains, cold, headache and fever usually catch us all of a sudden. In such situations, the right homoeopathic medicine, that too prescribed well in time, can be of great help. So, why do we not have our own first-aid homoeopathic kit at home? Here are three important medicines that can be used as first aid in winters when proper medical help is not possible.

Aconite the first choice

Well, if ever there can be a real antidote to the ill-effects of cold, aconite is the one.

After an exposure to cold, when the first symptoms show up, is the time to use aconite (runny nose, sneezing, itchiness in the throat or nose, shivering, etc). It is also very effective in controlling breathing difficulties after such a cause. Believe it or not, if you are quick enough to antidote your exposure within the first hour or so, aconite can abort the attack within no time.

Aconite is indicated after an exposure to dry cold weather, cold air, etc. It is also very useful when the symptoms are noticed due to perspiration having been checked by sudden exposure to cold. Remember that aconite is only indicated in the first few hours of exposure when the symptoms have just started occurring. Three doses of aconitum napelus 30c spaced at an interval of 10 minutes should serve as a proverbial stitch in time.

How to stay warm

The simple principle: Never go out without adequate clothing, however briefly. Avoid your clothing getting wet, through sweat or water. Dry it as soon as possible if this happens

Dress up in layers: Dressing up in several layers of clothes (preferably woollens) can significantly help in reducing the loss of heat. Remember that three light shirts are warmer than one thick one Double or triple your pair of socks if you suffer from cold feet.

Cover your nose: We lose one-thirds of our body heat by our head and 50 per cent of that is actually lost by the nose.

So cover your nose and you will really feel the difference. Don’t forget covering your head too.

Belladonna the surest bet

All those who have used or studied homoeopathy know how sure one is while using belladonna when symptoms of inflammation set in after an exposure.

Although its stage comes after aconite, it can be used directly if one hasn’t had the opportunity to use aconite. Belladonna is indicated when inflammation sets in. Cardinal symptoms of inflammation, as we are taught, are heat, redness, swelling and pain. For example, it is indicated in conditions such as fever after exposure, sore throat (congested, painful and red on examination), headache and all other inflammatory conditions that occur due to exposure. Three doses of 30c potency of belladonna repeated after an interval of every hour should suffice.

Agaricus for chilblains

Winters are a menace for those who suffer from chilblains. Chilblains are a painful abnormal reaction of the small blood vessels in the skin when exposed to cold temperatures. Chilblains appear as small itchy, red areas on the skin. These are common on the toes, but can also affect the fingers and the face (especially the nose and the ears). Three doses of agaricus 30c in a day for a period of four days should be sufficient to control the suffering.

If one finds limited or no relief after using the prescribed medicines, make sure that you consult a professional. The above mentioned first-aid medicines should be used only when actual medical help is not readily available

Pulsatilla for Women

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 430 Comments

Pulsatilla is a delicate, perennial plant that has been used since the 18th century for ulcers, cataracts, and depression. In homeopathic use, it is an important plant remedy used to treat a wide variety of conditions. More commonly used as a female remedy, it suits people with an adaptable, indecisive, peaceful temperament.

It is commonly known by the name windflower, pasque flower, and anemone pratensis. It belongs to the family Ranunculaceae. It commonly grows in Central and Northern Europe and some parts of South of England. Use of pasque flower has been made since ages mainly for eye complaints. In ancient times, ‘Dioscorides’ remarked it as a remedy for a headache and ophthalmia (eye inflammation). After its proving by Dr. Hahnemann in the year 1805, it has been employed to treat many ailments in homeopathy. It is a polychrest medicine, and in homeopathy, it is primarily used for treating diseases related to female organs, eyes, nose, ears, GIT, and sleep issues.

Preparation

Homeopathic medicine is prepared from the fresh windflower plant when in flower. This plant is collected and made it into a pulp which is then soaked in alcohol. It is then strained and diluted. Following this, it undergoes the process of succussion for making potencies for homeopathic use.

The ‘Pulsatilla’ Constitution

It is suited to women of a kind, affectionate, imaginative, extremely excitable, gentle, bashful personality with a yielding disposition. Sadness and weeping spells frequently appear among them. They are indecisive, slow, plethoric, nervous, have a changeable disposition. They are easily led and easily persuaded, easily moved to laughter or tears.

Scope as a Homeopathic Medicine

1. For Female Disorders

This remedy has a marked action on the ovaries and uterus and effectively helps treat many female disorders.

It is a top grade remedy for menstrual irregularities and is indicated in cases where the periods do not arrive in a proper cycle. They may appear late or early with no fixed pattern, and there may be inter-menstrual bleeding. As a remedy, it helps regulate menses and is considered to be a prime remedy for treating menstrual irregularities in girls during puberty. It also helps women who are anemic and suffering from menstrual problems.

In cases of amenorrhea, where the menses are late or suppressed, it helps establish the menstrual flow. The key indication to use this medicine here is a feeling that the menses would appear, but they fail to do so. Along with suppressed periods, pain in the uterus, nausea, and vomiting may be present. Difficult or painful urination and periods that are short and where the flow is scanty (oligomenorrhea) are other indications.

2. Natural PCOS Treatment

In cases of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, it works to moderate the hormonal levels and help the body dissolve the cysts to correct menstrual irregularities.

3. Leucorrhoea (Vaginal Discharges)

Leucorrhoea or abnormal vaginal discharge is also treated well with this remedy. Its use is best indicated in cases where the vaginal discharge is creamy, thin, thick mucus or milky colored. The discharge may be acrid and cause itching and burning in the vagina. There may be associated back pain, weakness, and exhaustion.

4. PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome)

It is frequently used in cases of PMS (premenstrual syndrome) TO manage symptoms like irritability, sadness, low mood, weeping spells, and mood swings.

5. Painful Periods (Dysmenorrhoea)

This remedy is used to treat the pain associated with periods in women. Symptoms like cramping, cutting, or spasms in the uterus, nausea, and vomiting can be treated with this medicine. The menstrual flow in such cases is usually black and coagulated. The woman may experience excessive restlessness, toss around in bed and have a pale face. Chilliness along with uterine colic, a sense of heaviness in the abdomen, thigh pain, and backache are other indicative symptoms. Some women may also have diarrhea and strain while passing stools.

6. Ailments During Pregnancy

It is indicated for ailments like morning sickness and varicose veins that some women experience during pregnancy. It may also be used in cases of abortion from fright, puerperal mania (a rare mood disorder), and uterine infection causing fever post childbirth.

7. Mental Complaints

It has proved to be an effective remedy for treating complaints related to the mind. It is frequently used to treat cases of depression in people who are very sensitive and emotional. A person in need of this remedy would typically be sad, have frequent spells of crying, be excessively irritable, and need constant consolation. When prescribed correctly it can also help a person overcome long-standing or silent grief. It is also a remedy used to treat mood swings where a person switches their mood from sadness to happiness and from laughter to weeping at the blink of an eye. It is also prominently indicated for claustrophobia (fear of closed, small, narrow spaces) and fright.

8. Gastrointestinal Problems

It is a well-indicated for treating many gastrointestinal ailments like indigestion caused by consumption of fatty, greasy food, milk, and cream. The main indication for using this remedy for digestive ailments is gas in the abdomen, pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and heartburn. It is also used to treat milk allergies and lactose intolerance.

9. Complaints of the Eye

It is highly effective for treating a number of eye complaints. It works well in cases of conjunctivitis where there is thick, yellow, profuse discharge from the eyes. Itching and burning in the eyes and sticking together of eyelids while sleeping are some associated symptoms. It also works well to treat styes on the upper eyelid, and keratoconus.

10. Complaints of the Ear

It is considered to be an excellent remedy for ear infections, and conditions like otitis externa, and otitis media. It is indicated in cases where there is a discharge of thick, yellow, yellowish – green, bland pus from the ears (which may be blood-stained in some cases). A deep itching in the ears, a sensation of the ears being locked and pain in the ears are other symptoms. It helps manage the different types of earaches, ranging from shooting, stitching, tearing or pulsating type. It is also an excellent remedy for tinnitus (noises in the ear) and associated noises like tinkling, ringing, roaring, sounds of wind, rushing water or humming nature.

11. Nasal Complaints

It has a marked action on the mucous membranes of the nose. It is well suited to treat cold, nasal catarrh, coryza. Thick yellow or yellowish greenish nasal discharge, nasal obstruction especially in the evening, sneezing and itching/tickling and soreness in the nostrils are some other symptoms that indicate the need for this remedy in cases of sinusitis. Its use is considered in treating frontal and maxillary sinusitis with symptoms like a thick discharge from the nose and a headache. It is also a well-indicated for loss of smell (anosmia).

12. Sleep Issues

Various sleep issues can be taken care of with this medicine. It offers help in cases of sleeplessness where a person has trouble falling asleep. The person may have many ideas and thoughts going through the head at bedtime that prevent sleep. It helps calm the mind and promotes sleep. It can also help with daytime drowsiness as a result of restless sleep.

13. Cough

It is majorly used in cases where a cough is loose with yellow or yellowish green expectoration. It also indicated in cases of short, dry, hacking cough with scraping, itching, scratching in the throat.

14. Urinary Complaints

It is used extensively to treat urinary incontinence that occurs while coughing, laughing, and sneezing, and for conditions like cystitis and urethral stricture.

15. Varicose Veins

It is widely used for the treatment of varicose veins where the veins appear bluish and are painful. The person needing this remedy may experience heaviness, cramping, and a tensed, drawing sensation in the legs.

16. For Males

In males, it is indicated for the treatment of orchitis, varicocele, hydrocele, and prostatitis. It helps to reduce symptoms like pain, soreness, swelling, and burning sensation in the testicles. It helps treat orchitis that follows a mumps infection. It also helps treat gonorrhea where there may be a thick, yellow or yellowish – green discharge from the urethra. In cases of prostatitis, it helps to treat the frequent, ineffectual urging to urinate, pain in bladder and pressure in the perineum.

Dosage

Use of this medicine is recommended in potencies varying from 30 C to 1M depending upon the case. Low potencies can be repeated frequently while in case of high potencies frequent repetition is avoided.

Relationship with Other Remedies

The complementary medicines are Silicea, Lycopodium and Kali Sulph.
Asafoetida, Chamomilla, Ignatia and Nux Vomica are antidotes.

An Account of the Remedy in Its Own Words

Homeopathy acknowledges certain groupings of body-mind symptom patterns that a person has and which correspond with the sensitivity of a particular medicine. It takes into account information about the person’s body type, temperament, disposition, and behavioral tendencies to determine the appropriate medicine. Remedies, as homeopaths realize, step forth as personalities. These become creatures of temperaments, have likes and dislikes, cravings and aversions and sensitiveness to human interaction. The medicines speak out their terror, real or imaginary – their strange obsessions, etc. Here is an account of the medicine (an important homeopathic medicine) describing its medicinal virtues and the characteristics of the patient. Of course, the words are of this writer.

Commonly called the windflower, I was ignored for millions of years in the pastures of Europe before my master Samuel Hahnemann brought out the best in me. I call him my master because it was only he who first realized my immense medicinal power.

If ever there was a medicine that would cater to the most sensitive lady around, I would be the one. I am most often a remedy for women who are submissive and clinging in nature and also whom their surroundings and people they happen to be with at that time very easily influence. There is nothing positive or assertive about her, and the last person who sees, or advises her, is the one whose opinion she accepts. Her moods are a big problem for her. She can be on the verge of ecstatic frenzy one moment and well in the doldrums the second moment. With lots of decision-making problems, she lives up to my plant name windflower, as it is changeable like the wind.

She can weep very easily. Laughter and tears are both very near the surface with my patient and are apt to succeed each other. She is very tenderhearted, and her feelings are very easily hurt, she is inclined to be fretful and too full of care. If she has no trouble of her own, she is ready to condole and weep with any of her friends who may be afflicted. But she craves and needs sympathy in her troubles from someone, even when she knows that the recital of her real or fancied wrongs and the receipt of the sympathy that she longs for, will make her cry. When she is blue, she will tell you that she feels as if a good cry would make her feel better. It will. She longs for fresh air. Closed and tight places suffocate her.

I am best suited for her gynecological disorders. She is very irritable and days and weeks before and after her periods arrive, at times there are hardly any days in a month when she is back to her normal self. And those acne, headaches and agonizing pains in her abdomen, legs and back during her period days are more than she can tolerate, like in PMS (premenstrual syndrome).

Key Indications

Amenorrhea, leucorrhoea, menses irregularities, ovarian inflammation, ovarian cyst, PCOS, Acne, catarrh, colds, conjunctivitis, cough, diarrhoea, painful periods, earache, otitis media, ear disorders, eye disorders, fears, feet painful, heel pain, freckles, heartburn, hydrocele, moles, mumps, pregnancy complaints, prostatitis, sinusitis, smell loss, styes, urinary incontinence, uterine prolapse, vaginitis, varicose veins.

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER TREATMENT

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 50 Comments

Autism Treatment

Until recently Autism was something that only highly specialised neuro-development experts had heard of. Not many knew about this disease. Not even general physicians knew much about it though Kanner (an American psychiatrist) had first observed this disorder in 1943. But what is worrisome is the rate at which it is coming up.

[Read more…]

Homeopathic Remedies for ADHD

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 31 Comments

Homeopathic Remedies for ADHD

Prescribing of Homeopathic Remedies for adhd is generally based on idiosyncratic characteristics of an individual but if one is to be favoured for treating a large number of ADHD(attention deficit hyperactive disorder) cases, Tarentula Hispana should be that one.

Hyperactive kids requiring homeopathic remedy Tarentula often have extreme restlessness and compulsion to hurry. Their legs are in motion, and they have a lot of trouble sitting still. The desire to run about, the urge to dance and to jump up and down are usual for them. Great, fantastic dancing! Loss of all sense of shame. Sudden and violent, or sly and destructive movements – well, these are clear features of this medicine. One particular symptom that distinguishes Tarentula is its strange relation to music. Violence is a strong feature of the remedy – violence with anger! His clothing strikes him. He strikes his attendants and best friends!

One more symptom that distinguishes homeopathic remedy Tarentula is its strange relationship to music. Sometimes music ameliorates all the symptoms and at other times it aggravates them. The child becomes violently excited after listening to music.

Can all hyperactive children be lumped together under one diagnostic category? Can a child, who lashes out in a violent manner at his family members and peers, fit into the same diagnostic group as a sweet gregarious one who simply cannot pay attention to the work in the class? A homeopath would say that both temperaments are as different as day and night and would prescribe very different medicines. Individualization stands as a key point in homeopathic treatment.

Homeopathic Treatment Of IBS

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 15 Comments

What perplexes most of the patients who suffer from the IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is the fact that even though there are no pathological changes present in their gastrointestinal tract, they still suffer from the disease. So, how is it that the disorder which produces diverse symptoms such as diarrhoeas, constipation, excessive gas feeling and even severe cramping pain does not show any anatomical changes?

The answer lies in the fact that this disorder is a functional disorder which means that the bowel doesn’t work as it should. It is related to how the intestinal tract contracts and pushes the food forward. The irritable bowel syndrome is a problem with the intestines. In people with IBS, the intestines squeeze too hard or not hard enough and cause food to move too quickly or too slowly through the intestines

How is IBS diagnosed?

As the IBS has no pathological findings, the physician bases his diagnosis on the symptoms as told by the patient, still the physician may need to do certain tests to rule out other ailments. The symptoms that indicate the IBS are bloating and gas, constipation, diarrhoea, especially after eating or first thing in the morning, Feeling the need to have a bowel movement after already having one, feeling a strong urge to have a bowel movement, abdominal pain and cramping that may go away after having a bowel movement

What causes the IBS?

It remains a mystery as to how the IBS develops. Research suggests that the large intestine of those who suffer from this disorder is more sensitive and reactive than usual to a wide range of things which include certain foods and stress.

For example, people who suffer from bloating after eating usually assume that there is too much gas in their abdomen, but it is the increased sensitivity of their intestine to the stretching caused by small amounts of gas. Diarrhoeas in the IBS are caused by increased contractions of the intestines resulting from a trigger factor such as a particular food substance or stress.

Food triggers mainly include milk products, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated drinks and fatty foods. In some cases, simply eating a large meal will trigger symptoms Stress, anxiety and strong emotions also affect how intestines contract. In stress or anxiety they contract too much or too little, resulting in symptoms of the IBS.

Homeopathy takes a different route in treating this disorder. It takes a holistic approach by studying the emotional and physical make-up, also keeping in view the symptoms of the IBS presented by the patient. It is this well-rounded approach that gives homoeopathy better success in treating this disorder. Argentum nitricum, colocynth, sulphur, and nux vomica are the leading homoeopathic medicines that are used in treating this disorder.

Managing IBS

*The best way to handle the irritable bowel syndrome is to eat a healthy diet, avoid foods that seem to make you feel worse and find ways to handle your stress.
*Eat varied foods, including those high in fibres and avoid food that is rich in fat. Fibre reduces IBS symptoms – especially constipation – because it makes stool soft, bulky and easier to pass.
*Large meals can cause cramping and diarrhoea in people with the IBS. If this happens, break your meals into five to six small meals in a day.
*Drink plenty of water in a day.
*Learn new and better ways to deal with your stress. Meditation, yoga, exercise and counselling are some of the things that might help.

Treating Phobias With Homeopathy

By Dr. Vikas Sharma MD 35 Comments

will it be beyond belief if someone told you that he or she feared his or her own voice? More astonishing, if a homoeopath had a specific medicine for this symptom listed in his book! Along with 400 different fears with near specific remedies, you will find this symptom in the Complete Repertory. Unquestionably, the instance exemplifies homeopathy’s perception or understanding of the intricacies of the mind. More common fears are social phobia, agoraphobia (fear of open spaces or crowds), claustrophobia (fear of closed places) and acrophobias (fear of heights). Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, involves overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations.

People with social phobia have a persistent, intense and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. The fear may be so severe that it may interfere with work or school, and other ordinary activities. Many people with social phobia recognise that their phobia is an exaggeration. But they may be unable to overcome it. They often worry for days or weeks in advance about a dreaded situation. Argentum Nitricum, Lyssin and Gelsemium lead the homeopathic table in treating social and agorabhobias.

Claustrophobic individuals are fearful of closed and narrow spaces, making themselves unfit for travelling in tunnels and lifts and working in basements. Homoeopathic medicines, Lycopodium and Pulsatilla, are asked for treating this situation.

Life can be very distressing for people suffering from acrophobia (fear of heights). It can be seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Vertigo’. Poor Madeliene! For sure, a dose of Argentum Nitricum would have changed the course of the story – yes, perhaps!

Treating phobias requires a deep insight into the case; do consult your homoeopath before using any of these medicines