Right now I'm so tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and it's only 9:07 pm.
I'm not tired because I'm sick or because my blood sugar is high, it's not. I'm tired because physically, this Chick is spent.
Sometimes in this life, a telephone poll is just a telephone poll & a diabetic is tired because she's just had a crazy couple of days or an incredibly hectic week.
The fact that we as diabetics can be tired due to life & have it not be blood sugar related is not only comforting to me, IT'S FREAKING AWESOME!
Comforting because like those in this world with perfect pancreases, we can work; play, and deal with the unexpected crap that life throws our way, and still have good numbers.
Awesome, because being tired doesn't just represent the bad.
No, tired can represent living an active existence, a busy mind, and an imagination that is running overtime. All represent good health -That golden ring we all try & reach for.
Being tired can mean that we are embracing life and all its wonderful highs, while acknowledging the lows. Learning from them, and moving pasting them.
Kinda like this thing called Diabetes.
A Blogging MileStone
This morning at 7:13 am, Diabetesaliciousness had its 50,000th hit in Two Years of keeping track stats. The person who made that hit was from Ashville, NC!
I know it’s just a number, and others have bigger numbers, and a lot of you could give a crap about stats- because what's really important is the people that you write for, and what inspires you to blog. I agree.
I hesitated to even write this post because I didn't want to sound like a schmuck.
I hope I don't.
But to me it’s more than a number- it represents embracing my passion, my inspiration, finding my voice, and becoming both the teacher and the student in life with diabetes.
I promise not to get all "Grasshopper you have much to learn," just bare with me guys.
In November of 07 I started my blog. I had (and still have) no idea of what I’m doing. But I'm starting to get the hang of things.
More importantly, I know that the Diabetes On-Line Community has changed my life in every positive way possible.
I’ve always had a voice when it came to my diabetes- I’ve never been shy about D, I’ve always tried to help others.
But now I have a wonderful community to speak my voice in and use my voice for.
Living life with diabetes, and teaching others about life with diabetes has become my passion and focus. Some of my none D friends have even called it my obsession.
Diabetesaliciousness, much like my life, is a work in progress.
Back in the Diabetes Dark Ages, there was no such thing as a “Patient Voice” let alone a Patient Blog. People lost hope because they had no one who understood what they were going though (both mentally and physically,) regarding life with diabetes.
Today- that's not the case and I'm so happy and grateful for that!
Thank you for reading, thank-you for being there for all the good and the bad times in my life, and thank you for teaching me something new about life with diabetes and life in general, every single day!
Codeine. A harmful and addictive medical drug
Codeine is an opiate or narcotic painkilling drug, often used by conventional doctors to treat mild treat mild to moderately severe pain. Opiates have been used for thousands of years, in ancient Egypt and China. Codeine was developed in the 19th century, and used commonly in Britain.
Codeine is one of many drugs derived from the active components derived and isolated from the opium poppy, like morphine. It has now become the most widely used opiate in the world.
It is often combined with other drugs, like Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) or Aspirin. It can often hide behind many brand names. And it is often an ingredient of cough medicine, and the like.
Conventional medicine has often claimed that the popularity of Codeine based drugs is that it is relatively safe, and has less chance of causing addiction. Any close examination of these claims shows that this is not correct.
The first problem is that not everyone can take the drug, for example, people with liver disease,
asthma, COPD, sleep apnea, or other breathing disorders; people with kidney disease, with low blood pressure, with an under-active thyroid, with mental illness, or a history of drug or alcohol addition, and a number of other medical conditions, cannot take Codeine.
It is not known whether Codeine harms an unborn child. But for babies it is known to cause breathing problems, behaviour change, or even serious withdrawal symptoms or life-threatening addiction if feeding mothers take it.
The side effects, or DIE’s caused by Codeine.
The Nervous system. Codeine is know to cause mental and respiratory depression, stupor, delirium, somnolence, dysphoria and seizures. One side effect this these side effects is an increased risk of falls and hip fractures. Opiate drugs like codeine are also known to result in psychotic symptoms.
Withdrawal Symptoms. When coming off Codeine, and other opiate drugs, the withdrawal symptoms include agitation, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, tremor, abdominal cramps, blurred vision, vomiting, and sweating.
Withdrawal Symptoms. When coming off Codeine, and other opiate drugs, the withdrawal symptoms include agitation, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, tremor, abdominal cramps, blurred vision, vomiting, and sweating.
Cardiovascular. Codeine is known to cause Hypotension and dizziness, especially with high doses.
Gastrointestinal. Codeine is known to cause nausea, vomiting, constipation, urinary retention and acute pancreatitis.
Dermatologic. Codeine is known to cause a number of skin complaints, including rashes and severe dermatitis.
Renal. Codeine is known to cause acute renal failure.
Addiction and Withdrawal
Yet perhaps Codeine, as a painkiller, is more known (or infamous) for its addictive effects. The conventional medical establishment has provided rules for its medicinal use, but it would appear that these are often ignored either by patients, and indeed by individual doctors. The result is that my people, once they have started to take Codeine, legitimately, for medical reasons, find that they gradually feel a compulsion to take the drug, even if they have no reasonable reason for continuing to do so. Often, people who become addicted have a generalised lack of self-control.
And the more codeine is taken, the larger to dose required to achieve the same medicinal effect; the escalation of drug taking is almost part of the written script!
Addiction is often caused by the recreational use of opiate drugs. But this should not be used to hide the fact that the medical use of Codeine is another primary cause of addiction.
And once addicted to Codeine, the withdrawal symptoms can be severe. Addicted people often neglect themselves as personal hygiene and appearance becomes unimportant. And knowledge of what the drug can do is usually no deterrent to the addict, whose decline can be rapid.
The recommendation of the conventional doctors is not to stop taking them except under medical supervision. But surely this does not excuse the conventional medical use of such a harmfully addictive drug in the first place.
The Appointment Before The Endo Appointment
Date: Today - 6 days before my Endo appointment
Time: 7:30 a.m.
Place: Diagnostic Lab
Feeling: Nervous and coffee deprived. I’ve fasted since midnight – And the whole lack of coffee thing is never a good look for me.
I’m about to get my lab work done for my endo appointment that’s 6 days away – and the mind games have begun.
I’m always nervous when I get my labs done. The whole “WHAT IF” factor is a total psychological psych out.
I hate “ WHAT IF” and everything that accompanies it. That phrase does nothing but cause a paralyzing fear and make my blood pressure rise.
I've downed massive quantities of water before I arrived and while I wait, so I can fatten up my veins and my bladder.
Getting my blood drawn is always a bitch because the veins in my arms are almost non-existent and I seriously consider the fact that I might be part vampire. Seriously, Twilight, the movie as nothing on me! After three vials of blood have been taken from my person, it's off to the restroom, where I'm pleasantly surprised to see my refection staring back from the mirror as I enter the restroom with pee cup in hand!
I guess I'm human after all.
I hate peeing in a little cup thingy the size of a small yogurt container and I’m always afraid that:
A. I’ll have lousy aim
B. I won’t be able to pee.
But I do - So I got that going for me.
And then the days of waiting for my lab results and stressing officially begins.
I keep looking at my calendar with dread, like a little kid dreads ripping off a band-Aid.
But I'm a grownup lady, and I need to be all: DAMN THE TORPEDOES & the likes there of.
Next week I will hate walking in my Endo’s office and getting weighed, questioned by an intern & then being left alone in an exam room waiting for my Dr. and the lab news.
How will I explain my results and my diabetes burnout?
But I love my Endo very much - he's great! And I'm grateful that we no longer live in the Diabetes Dark Ages. And I love that I can share my ridiculous case of the D jitters with you guys.
Because even though I'll be going to my Endo appointment alone, I know I’m not alone - And that make me feel all types of warm and fuzzy inside - SO THANKS GUYS!
Tetanus, Homeopathic and Conventional Treatment
Tetanus is a serious but rare infection caused by a bacteria called Clostridium tenani, which lives everywhere in the soil, in house dust, and in animal and human wasted, such as manure. NHS Choices says that it usually occurs when a flesh wound becomes contaminated.
Tetanus disrupts the normal workings of the nerves, causing symptoms such as stiffness and muscle spasms, and also difficulty swallowing, muscle stiffness and spasms in the jaw muscles – often referred to as lockjaw.
Conventional Medical Treatment
The Tetanus vaccine (DPT, or a modern derivative) - click here for the adverse reactions to this vaccine is given as a preventative treatment for Tetanus
NHS Choices outlines the conventional treatment for tetanus here. It describes what it calls “tetanus-prone wounds”, which include:
- * wounds or burns that required surgery to repair, but access to surgery was delayed for six hours or more
- * wounds or burns that cause a significant amount of tissue loss
- * puncture injuries, particularly if they may have become contaminated with soil or manure
- * wounds that contain foreign bodies, such as an animal’s tooth
- * severe bone fractures that may have left the bones vulnerable to infection
- * wounds and burns in patients who have systemic sepsis (a fall in blood pressure as a result of a serious bacterial infection)
For these would tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG) is recommended, even if your vaccinations are up to date as “there may be a very small chance that the vaccine did not give you total immunity against tetanus”. TIG contains antibodies that kill the tetanus bacteria, and is given as an injection into a muscle to give immediate, short-term protection against tetanus. This treatment is said to have the following side-effects:
- * Short-term discomfort at the site of the injection
- * chest pain
- * shortness of breath
- * dizziness
- * swelling of your face
- * Mouth ulcers
- * shaking
- * joint pains
This is usually given in combination to a booster DPT vaccine.
NHS Choices says that if someone develops the symptoms of tetanus, they will need to be admitted to hospital, and transferred to one of the larger NHS hospitals, where doctors with experience in treating tetanus are usually based. The three main types of medication used to treat the symptoms of tetanus are:
- * Sedative drugs - to make you feel physically and mentally relaxed, to relax the muscles in order to help relieve and prevent muscle stiffness. The side effects given for these drugs are drowsiness, irritability, depression, shaky movements and an unsteady walk, hyperactivity, and hallucinations.
- * Muscle relaxant drugs - that help relax the muscles, and used when sedative treatment (which can be addictive) is withdrawn.
- * Neuromuscular blocking agents (NBAs). These drugs block nerve signals sent from the brain to the muscles, leading to an inability to move certain muscles (paralysis) “which can be useful in people with severe muscle spasms and stiffness”. The drug prescribed is Vecuronium which causes paralysis of the muscles used for breathing, so assistance with breathing is provided before it can be given.
NHS Choices say that to prevent the further spread of neurotoxins Tetanus immunoglobulin can be used to prevent further damage and disruption to the nervous system. Antibiotics are also used to try to kill any bacteria and prevent any further toxins being released.
Surgery is also used if a tetanus-prone wound is large. “It may be necessary to remove as much of the damaged and contaminated muscle as possible using a surgical procedure ..... (which) involves cleaning an open wound by removing foreign material, such as dirt and manure, as well as any dead tissue”.
This is quite a frightening description of what can happen with this condition, and the conventional treatment that becomes necessary when it is contracted. With Homeopathic treatment, and the early and accurate selection of a remedy, reaching this stage can be avoided, alongside the known DIEs of conventional treatment.
As normal in the practice of homeopathy, remedies are selected not only to treat tetanus symptoms but also to address its underlying cause, and individual susceptibility to it. In order to individualise the selection of the best remedy, the patient should consult a qualified homeopathic doctor in person. However, there are several remedies known to treat tetanus symptoms, and which can be used as soon as necessary, or in any situation where tetanus could have been contracted. The following remedy descriptions have been taken from the Hpathy website:
Ledum – this is one of the two most important remedy. Tetanus with twitching of muscles near the wound; indicate din punctured wounds produced by sharp pointed instruments.
Nux Vomica – another leading remedy for tetanus. It has tetanic convulsions with opisthotonos, distortion of eyes and face, with dyspnoea excited by any external impression. Perfect picture of tetanus, with its convulsion of muscles renewed by the slightest external impression, its “risus sardonicus,” its respiratory spasm, with blue cyanosed face.
Hydrocyanicum acid – tetanus produces a persistent spasm from its direct action on the spinal cord; symptoms of lock jaw; frothing at the mouth, with a sudden attack.
Cicuta virosa – useful in tetanic convulsions with sudden rigidity and jerking followed by prostration; the characteristic symptoms are the bending of the head, neck and spine backwards. Intense oppression of breathing, lockjaw and the patient becomes violent with frightful distortions.
Passiflora – suitable for tetanic convulsions in children with neuralgia; it is suitable for curing tetanus in summer.
Physostigma – tetanic spasms with stiffness of the spine and legs; alternate expansion and contraction of the pupils; the sensory nerves are irritable.
Hypericum – injuries to the nerves and also spasms; prevents lockjaw associated with skin affections, eruptions and itching.
Patient Choice in the NHS
The NHS was established in 1947, committed to offer 'the best medicine available' to every UK citizen, regardless of income. Its main creator, Anauren Bevan, was a homeopathy user, so his intention would not have been to exclude homeopathy. Yet homeopathy is being excluded from the NHS in many parts of the country.
Marjorie Titchen is 92 years old. She lives in Bournemouth where she continues to run a small hotel. She says that she will retire when she is 100! This will mean that she has worked and paid taxes for over 80 years – and yet incredibly she is being refused medical treatment by her local PCT!
Marjorie suffers from osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, which she has controlled now for nearly 12 years with homeopathy. She has never taken a conventional drug, and refuses to do so. In April 2008, she applied for another course of homeopathy with her local homeopath, who has treated her, successfully, for many years. She says:
"I had expected to be in a wheelchair by now because of my osteoarthritis. I can do two or three hours work a day. I wouldn't be as mobile and as clear-minded if it hadn't been for the treatment my homeopath has been giving me for the last decade."
The Bournemouth /Poole Teaching Primary Care Trust refused to fund the treatment, even though they had done so on previous occasions. A spokesman for the PCT told the local newspaper (the Bournemouth Echo) in August 2008:
"The clinical evidence did not show that homeopathy treatment would continue to be an effective treatment for Mrs Titchen and we will not be continuing to support that treatment. This is not about a basic funding decision. We would expect Mrs Titchen's GP to reassess her condition and if necessary refer her to a hospital consultant, should that be appropriate."
The PCT has claimed that there is no evidence that homeopathy works with osteoarthritis.
This is not correct. Mrs Titchen herself is walking proof of homeopathy's efficacy. And in addition there is ample evidence that homeopathy helps in the treatment of osteoarthritis. For instance, Shealy C.N., Thomlinson P.R., Cox R.H., and Bormeyer V. Osteoarthritis Pain: A Comparison of Homoeopathy and Acetaminophen. American Journal of Pain Management, 8, 3, July 1998, 89-91, conducted an experiment with 65 sufferers of osteoarthritis who were split into 2 groups, and through a double blinding process were given either a homoeopathic medicine or Acetaminophen, a commonly prescribed drug for pain relief. Researchers found that homoeopathy provided a level of pain relief that was superior to Acetaminophen, and, perhaps equally important, produced no adverse reactions.
So what is happening here? Mrs Titchen wants homeopathy. Mrs Titchen’s GP supports her request. Her homeopath has treated her before, successfully, and is willing to do so again. She has benefited from homeopathy, and her MP has supported her request, but says he is powerless to do anything about it.
Yet the PCT has seen fit to make a purely bureaucratic decision to deny her the treatment of her choice. It appears that the PCT believes, in its paternalistic wisdom, that they know what is best for Mrs Titchen, and are prepared to ignore her request. The result is that Mrs Titchen has gone without treatment for two years.
This is contrary to the way the government wants health services to develop. Patricia Hewitt, Health Secretary at the time the White Paper, “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community services (January 2006)” was published, said this:
“(more) people (are) wanting a different approach to services, looking for real choices, more local care, taking greater control over their health, supported to remain independent wherever possible”.
Karin Mont, chair of the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (ARH), says that the White Paper identified 5 key areas where change was required - all of which, she says, homeopathy is well-placed to deliver for the NHS. These are:
1) A greater emphasis on personalised care.
2) Bringing care closer to our home.
3) Gaining greater cooperation between local councils and the NHS.
4) More patient choice.
5) Initiatives to prevent the development of disease.
Mrs Titchen’s dilemma is not unusual. The number of people wanting to use homeopathy, in preference to conventional medication, has been growing for many decades - mostly by patients paying privately for treatment. Many more people, who cannot afford to do this, are routinely denied access to homeopathy by the NHS.
Yet all the main political parties are now proposing to develop a ‘choice’ agenda within the NHS. Yet, with a general election in prospect, the choice on offer in the NHS does not seem to go beyond the conventional medical monopoly.
What this means, for people like Mrs Titchen, is that the NHS is denying real health choice to those who prefer to use homeopathy, or other CAM therapies, to treat their illnesses.
Marjorie Titchen is 92 years old. She lives in Bournemouth where she continues to run a small hotel. She says that she will retire when she is 100! This will mean that she has worked and paid taxes for over 80 years – and yet incredibly she is being refused medical treatment by her local PCT!
Marjorie suffers from osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, which she has controlled now for nearly 12 years with homeopathy. She has never taken a conventional drug, and refuses to do so. In April 2008, she applied for another course of homeopathy with her local homeopath, who has treated her, successfully, for many years. She says:
"I had expected to be in a wheelchair by now because of my osteoarthritis. I can do two or three hours work a day. I wouldn't be as mobile and as clear-minded if it hadn't been for the treatment my homeopath has been giving me for the last decade."
The Bournemouth /Poole Teaching Primary Care Trust refused to fund the treatment, even though they had done so on previous occasions. A spokesman for the PCT told the local newspaper (the Bournemouth Echo) in August 2008:
"The clinical evidence did not show that homeopathy treatment would continue to be an effective treatment for Mrs Titchen and we will not be continuing to support that treatment. This is not about a basic funding decision. We would expect Mrs Titchen's GP to reassess her condition and if necessary refer her to a hospital consultant, should that be appropriate."
The PCT has claimed that there is no evidence that homeopathy works with osteoarthritis.
This is not correct. Mrs Titchen herself is walking proof of homeopathy's efficacy. And in addition there is ample evidence that homeopathy helps in the treatment of osteoarthritis. For instance, Shealy C.N., Thomlinson P.R., Cox R.H., and Bormeyer V. Osteoarthritis Pain: A Comparison of Homoeopathy and Acetaminophen. American Journal of Pain Management, 8, 3, July 1998, 89-91, conducted an experiment with 65 sufferers of osteoarthritis who were split into 2 groups, and through a double blinding process were given either a homoeopathic medicine or Acetaminophen, a commonly prescribed drug for pain relief. Researchers found that homoeopathy provided a level of pain relief that was superior to Acetaminophen, and, perhaps equally important, produced no adverse reactions.
So what is happening here? Mrs Titchen wants homeopathy. Mrs Titchen’s GP supports her request. Her homeopath has treated her before, successfully, and is willing to do so again. She has benefited from homeopathy, and her MP has supported her request, but says he is powerless to do anything about it.
Yet the PCT has seen fit to make a purely bureaucratic decision to deny her the treatment of her choice. It appears that the PCT believes, in its paternalistic wisdom, that they know what is best for Mrs Titchen, and are prepared to ignore her request. The result is that Mrs Titchen has gone without treatment for two years.
This is contrary to the way the government wants health services to develop. Patricia Hewitt, Health Secretary at the time the White Paper, “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community services (January 2006)” was published, said this:
“(more) people (are) wanting a different approach to services, looking for real choices, more local care, taking greater control over their health, supported to remain independent wherever possible”.
Karin Mont, chair of the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (ARH), says that the White Paper identified 5 key areas where change was required - all of which, she says, homeopathy is well-placed to deliver for the NHS. These are:
1) A greater emphasis on personalised care.
2) Bringing care closer to our home.
3) Gaining greater cooperation between local councils and the NHS.
4) More patient choice.
5) Initiatives to prevent the development of disease.
Mrs Titchen’s dilemma is not unusual. The number of people wanting to use homeopathy, in preference to conventional medication, has been growing for many decades - mostly by patients paying privately for treatment. Many more people, who cannot afford to do this, are routinely denied access to homeopathy by the NHS.
Yet all the main political parties are now proposing to develop a ‘choice’ agenda within the NHS. Yet, with a general election in prospect, the choice on offer in the NHS does not seem to go beyond the conventional medical monopoly.
What this means, for people like Mrs Titchen, is that the NHS is denying real health choice to those who prefer to use homeopathy, or other CAM therapies, to treat their illnesses.
Suffering from a Cough? Why Homeopathy will help you more.
NHS Choices tells us that a cough is a reflex action to clear your airways of mucus and irritants such as dust or smoke. It also says that there is “no quick way of getting rid of a cough caused by a viral infection. It will usually clear up after your immune system has fought off the virus”.
This is fine, if it does, but many coughs have a tendency to endure longer than we would wish. There are many different types of cough ranging from irritating, tickly coughs, chesty coughs, croupy coughs, dry coughs, wet coughs - all of them irritating, uncomfortable, and even distressing. They can lead to other problems, such as irritability, sore muscles, and a lack of sleep.
CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL TREATMENT
NHS Choices tell us that the simplest and cheapest way to treat a short-term cough may be a homemade cough remedy containing honey and lemon. It then suggests cough medicines but warns that “there's little evidence to suggest cough medicines actually work, although some ingredients may help treat symptoms associated with a cough, such as a blocked nose or fever”. Further, they say that many cough medicines contain Paracetamal (with all the inherent dangers of this painkilling drug), and warn not to take more than the recommended dosage, or for more than two weeks.
Indeed, in treating children NHS Choices reminds us that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommends that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be given to children under the age of six “because it feels there's a potential risk of these medicines causing unpleasant side effects, such as allergic reactions, sleep problems or hallucinations (seeing and hearing things that aren't real). These would outweigh any benefit provided by the medicines”.
NHS Choices then mentions Cough suppressants such as Pholcodine, Dextromethorphan and Antihistamines, drugs that “act on the brain to hold back the cough reflex” - but which are in any case only used for ‘dry’ coughs. They say that these drugs ‘have few side effects’ beyond a dry mouth, constipation, difficulty passing urine and blurred vision, although Antihistamines are also known to cause drowsiness; but even so they warn not to take cough suppressants without first consulting with your doctor or pharmacist.
Expectorants, to help bring phlegm up so that coughing is easier, is NHS Choices next recommendation to help with ‘chesty’ coughs. Again, they say that they have few side effects.
The only other suggestion NHS Choices has is to stop smoking!
None of this is presented with much conviction or confidence, in contrast to Homeopathy, which has a variety of remedies that can be used, safely and effectively, for the treatment of coughs for people of all ages.
Much of the information in this section has been taken from the Homeopathy Plus website. It is interesting to read this Australian-based website because much of the information has had to be redacted because of complaints from parts of the Conventional Medical Establishment, and the Big Pharmaceutical lobby. It is important for any looking for safe and effective treatment, for coughs and anything else, that there are people out there who do not want you to find them!
Aconite
The sudden onset of a cough after exposure to a dry cold wind or from getting chilled. There is a suffocative feeling with a constant, short, dry cough and chest. Aconite is for the early stages of croup and croup coughs, and also night-time coughs, accompanied by shortness of breath and agitation. In the case of croup, Aconite may need to be followed by Hepar Sulph as the symptoms develop.
Antimonium tart
A rattling, choking, chesty cough with negligible expectoration and where the patient has to sit up in order to breathe. The patient sounds like they are drowning in mucus and there are suffocative paroxysms of coughing, with sweat (see Ipecac)
Arsenicum
An asthmatic cough with wheezing and frothy expectoration. There is burning expectoration or sensation, with constricted airways, making breathing difficult. The patient is very chilly, restless, anxious and may be sweaty, with marked exhaustion. The patient feels worse after midnight and is sensitive to cold.
Belladonna
A short, dry tickling cough, with sudden onset and worse at night. The cough lubricates the throat a little, but it dries out again and causes sudden violent spasms of coughing. There is tickling, burning or a scraped sensation in the throat. Belladonna symptoms are aggressive and can include high temperatures with a flushed face, staring eyes, swollen glands and red or inflamed membranes.
Bryonia
A hard dry cough with soreness in the chest, where the patient clutches at their chest to ease the stitching pains caused by coughing. Bryonia symptoms are clearly better for hard pressure and keeping still. All symptoms are accompanied by dryness and are worse for any motion (including eating or drinking). Warm air aggravates and entering a room can trigger a bout of coughing. The patient wants to take a deep breath and sigh, but this is too painful and they are irritable, thirsty and want to be left alone. The cough may be caused by exposure to cold dry winds and builds up slowly over a few days. Always wants to lie on the painful side.
Calcarea carb
Tickling cough, dry at night and loose in the morning with easy expectoration. Cough aggravated by various activities like eating or playing. Will suit the chubby, sweaty Calc-carb type of patient.
Drosera
[REDACTED]. Spasmodic cough ending in retching and even vomiting. Cough from deep in the chest forcing the patient to clutch their abdomen on coughing. A choking cough with bouts following each other so rapidly that it is difficult to breathe. Cough is triggered by tickling in the throat and wakes patient from sleep. Worse lying down, after midnight, after getting warm in bed (see also Ip, Ant-t).
Also see the Whooping Cough page on this website.
Ferrum phos
The early stage of a respiratory infection, or colds which head rapidly for the chest and ear resulting in bronchitis or otitis. A very common remedy in children’s coughs which start with a fever and flushed face, followed by a short painful tickling cough with soreness over the sternum. Blood-streaked sputum or nosebleeds may be reported. Also covers croupy coughs.
Hepar sulph
Croup from cold, dry winds or cold air. Cough is triggered by any part of the body being exposed. Choking spells of coughing. The Hepar patient is very sensitive to cold air, or cold in any form, and is especially irritably, although they are much better for warmth or humid weather. This is an important croup remedy in children.
Ignatia
Dry, hacking, spasmodic cough, where the more the patient coughs, the more the irritation. [REDACTED] (see Dros). They are unable to take a full breath and sigh frequently.
Ipecacuahna
Suffocative coughs, [REDACTED], coughs with choking or gagging (compare Antim tart, Drosera). Cough incessant and violent with each breath. Stiff and blue in the face with choking cough. Rattling cough with very little expectoration. Coughs accompanied by nausea or nosebleed. Wheezing coughs that recur annually.
Kali bich
A barking, hacking cough with rales of white sticky or ropy mucus, the consistency of egg-white, and hoarseness. A croupy cough with tickling in the throat and accumulation of tough mucus. It may be triggered by undressing.
Lycopodium
A tickling cough, with shortness of breath and fan-like motion of nostrils at each intake. Tickling cough accompanied a throbbing headache with each bout of coughing.
Nux vomica
A dry teasing cough with a sore chest, where colds usually settle. An immobile, feverish patient who is very sensitive to being uncovered. There is a spasmodic cough, with retching, which causes a headache and a bruised sensation around the navel. The patient is oversensitive, irritable and is worse in cold, dry, windy weather.
Phosphorus
An exhausting and violent, dry and tickling cough with irritation deep in the throat. The cough may be triggered by laughing, talking or by a change in temperature, e.g. going out or coming in. There is a bursting pain in the head, a tight painful chest and pain may spread to abdomen. The patient may clutch their head, chest or abdomen on coughing. They can’t lie on their left side and are usually anxious, seek reassurance and feel chilly, but want cold drinks.
Pulsatilla
This is a gagging, choking cough that comes and goes. It is dry at night and loose in the morning, worse and night and on lying down, causing the patient to sit up or use extra pillows. The chest feels sore, they can’t lie on their left side and there may be spurts of urine passed with coughing. The cough is triggered by coming into a warm room or by breathing in. This patient needs reassurance or sympathy and a child will be weepy and clingy. Fresh air helps, while a closed room aggravates symptoms.
Rhus tox
A dry teasing cough from tickling in the chest, which is triggered by uncovering the smallest part, even a hand. It is a dry, night cough with a bloody taste, although no blood is seen. The patient must move about as it is worse at rest and from cold, wet weather.
Sepia
A violent cough with thick, yellow expectoration, with retching and gagging, that is worse on rising. The expectoration is only at night or only in the morning and the patient is tired and indifferent.
Sulphur
A strong desire for fresh air accompanies this suffocative cough which is worse at night with the rush of blood to head and chest. There is a burning feeling on the face and chest, with red lips and eyelids. The patient feels worse after a bath and has burning feet which are stuck out of the end of the bed.
Randomised Controlled Tests of Homeopathy and Coughs
Frass, M, Dielacher, C, Linkesch, M, Endler, C, Muchitsch, I, Schuster, E, Kaye, A.. Influence of potassium dichromate on tracheal secretions in critically ill patients, Chest, March, 2005.
This interesting study, with seriously ill patients on respirators in an intensive care unit, showed that homeopathy not only effectively reduced their respiratory secretions but also helped them come off their respirators more quickly. The length of time they spent in the unit was also shorter and without respiratory complications. In contrast, those in the control group, who had not received homeopathic treatment, took considerably longer to recover. Some also had to be returned to the respirator after extubation because they were struggling to breath from excessive secretions in their airways – something that was not a problem for the homeopathic group. As excess respiratory secretions are a major trigger for coughs, the homeopathic treatment would also have reduced the incidence of coughs – something that is also substantiated clinically.
Steinsbekk, A, Fønnebø, V, Lewith, G, and Bentzen, N. Homeopathic care for the prevention of upper respiratory tract infections in children: A pragmatic, randomised, controlled trial comparing individualised homeopathic care and waiting-list controls. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, Volume 13, Issue 4 , December 2005, Pages 231-238.
This study of children with upper respiratory tract infections, including coughs, showed that those who received homeopathic treatment recovered much more quickly than those who were treated conventionally in the control group.
Trichard, M, Chaufferin, Nicoloyannis, N., Pharmacoeconomic Comparison Between Homeopathic and Antibiotic Treatment Strategies in Recurrent Acute Rhinopharyngitis in Children, Homeopathy (2005)94, 3-9.
A third study showed that those children whose colds (and accompanying coughs) were treated with homoeopathy were more likely to feel and do better than those children whose colds had been treated conventionally. The homeopathically treated children had fewer complications, and their parents took significantly less sick-leave than the parents of those children treated with antibiotics.
A further study is this one:
Conclusion. We concluded that the homeopathic syrup employed in the study was able to effectively reduce cough severity and sputum viscosity, thereby representing a valid remedy for the management of acute cough induced by URTIs.
