The Value Of Homeopathic Cold Remedies

By Daniel Howard


Everyone gets a 'common cold' now and then and reaches for something to make them feel better. After all, it's hard to look professional at work if your nose is red and running, your eyes are watering, and you have a cough. Moms can't stay in bed when they have small children to look after. Instead of using an over-the-counter drug for relief, thereby adding a chemical to an already stressed body, you can try one of the many homeopathic cold remedies.

Homeopathy is a recognized branch of medicine that has been used for over a century. It is based on the theory that a substance that causes a particular physical, mental, or emotional reaction when taken in large amounts will alleviate that reaction when taken in homeopathic form. This theory of 'like curing like' has been tested and found effective by many medical professionals and millions of consumers.

A substance that causes a particular symptom is used to counteract that symptom. If a large amount of raw onion, for example, causes your eyes to water or your nose to run, a minute amount (as in the remedy Allium cepa) can alleviate these annoying discomforts. The usual advice is to dissolve several tiny pellets of the remedy under the tongue. This allows the remedy to enter the bloodstream without delay.

The tissue salts are one of the most basic of remedies. These twelve valuable compounds are based on minerals normally found in human tissue. Ferr Phos is used to keep a fever from reaching dangerous heights while still allowing it to function as nature intended to fight infection. Ferr phos can also be used as a nutritional supplement, to boost the health of an invalid.

Belladonna is an interesting remedy. In macro - or large - amounts, the roots of this plant, deadly nightshade, can kill you. However, the homeopathic form, developed to combat scarlet fever, safely controls fevers and upper respiratory inflammation. It is a common remedy for some of the discomforts of colds and flu.

Other symptoms, such as coughs and sore throats, can also be helped with homeopathy. Several of the twelve tissue salts are used, as are Aconite and Bryonia. The pertussis germ itself is used to make a remedy for coughing spasms that wrack sufferers until they are exhausted. Using minute amounts of a toxin is a general practice in homeopathy; poison ivy and bee venom are used to make remedies, for example.

Many over-the-counter homeopathic products have more than one remedy in the formula. Many of them will have Belladonna, Kali bic, Hepar sulfuris, Pulsatilla (one of the broad remedies used for a number of disorders), and Calcarea Carbonica. There are many homeopathic companies, but all are regulated by the FDA. The potency is indicated by a number followed by a letter; 6X is diluted and processed 10 times, while 30X undergoes 30 steps. 30C, which is still considered suitable for self-treatment, undergoes hundreds of stages.

Since over-the-counter pharmaceuticals have documented side effects, many prefer to depend on homeopathy when they are sick. It's easy to do enough research online to understand the basics of this safe, alternative way to recovery.




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