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Respiratory Infections
by author Steve Olsen, CCH, DHANP, ND

Respiratory infections are the number one cause for anyone to see a doctor. During the 1950s when antibiotics were thought to be a panacea, there was great optimism that a cure had been found. Now as we approach the millennium we are coming face to face with the fact that antibiotics are less and less effective. Over 90 percent of these infections are caused by viruses, which antibiotics can’t treat.

I predict that within 10 years there will be a major infectious respiratory epidemic with significant mortality. Who will be affected? The young, the elderly and those with a weak constitution. Why now? There are a number of factors that are all coming to the same conclusion.

The first factor is that the overall health of our immune systems is getting worse with each generation. Every time we take an antibiotic, the healing systems of our bodies are weakened further. This lack of resistance is then passed on to the next generation.

The next factor is that viruses and bacteria adapt over time to the drugs we expose them to. These have come to be known as superbugs. They have interesting names like: VRSA (Vancomycin resistant Staph aureus) and MRSA (Multiple resistant Staph aureus). Tuberculosis used to be treated with one antibiotic–now three are needed and they often have a limited effect. It is no coincidence that these super resistant bacteria are currently only found in hospitals, as this is where antibiotics are most prescribed, and therefore the resistance to antibiotics has been able to develop.

When the these two lines cross, the steep decline in our health and the increasing virulence of bacteria will cause an epidemic. What can be done to prevent it and/or to build up your immune system?

The Homeopathic Answer

Homeopathy is a system of medicine that could play a major role in the treatment of respiratory infections and the prevention of this epidemic. There are over 2,000 medicines that can be used to restore the immune system. The one you will you need depends on many variables.

I recently saw a man with pneumonia in both lungs. He had already taken three different antibiotics. The day he called me he had fainted from the build up of fluid in his lungs. He was advised to go to the hospital where he was going to be given prednisone. He declined this invitation. Remembering I had cured his daughter of eczema, he called me.

Why wasn’t his immune system working? I determined he had overwhelmed himself as he was unable to deny any demand. There are about 24 homeopathic remedies that are listed under the symptom of "yielding disposition." With further questioning, I confirmed the medicine he needed and the next day he improved dramatically.

If there is no homeopathic practitioner in your area, you could take a home study course to learn the most common remedies for the immune system. Here are some examples:

Justicia adhatoda 30C: A highly effective medicine for a variety of infections in the respiratory tract. Cough, tough mucus, worse from a warm room. Tightness in the chest.

Sambucus nigra 30C: Bronchitis that leads to suffocative cough at night. The child sits up and turns blue.

Pulsatilla 30C: Thick mucus, cough, crying easily and wants to be held. Throws off the covers at night. Very little thirst. Take one dose of the 30C, repeat only if the symptoms return.

There is a cure for respiratory infections–it’s called homeopathy. Look for a qualified homeopath with a CCH or DHANP degree.

Steve Olsen has been a practitioner of Classical Homeopathy for the past 12 years.

Source: alive #207, January 2000