Homeopathy and Skin Problems

My daughter comes bounding in, friend in tow, and I’m called on to help remedy an insufferable skin rash. Isabella had already informed her friend how foolish it would be to cover up skin problems with cortisone and petroleum-based creams when the cause always lies within. Homeopathic remedies, she knew, treat from the inside out.

The intolerably itchy rash on our patient’s tummy looked like chicken pox, so we sent him home with a tube of naturally soothing, healing calendula cream and homeopathic Rhus toxicodendron to be taken internally. Derived from poison oak, Rhus tox is the remedy for itchy red rashes that produce an overall state of restlessness.

Had this boy developed a high temperature and not had the itching and the restless quality that suggested using Rhus tox, I would have chosen Belladonna made from the deadly nightshade plant and excellent for fevers that start suddenly and become high, with or without a rash.

If you’re puzzling over deadly nightshade for fever and poison oak for a rash, these are prime examples of homeopathy’s guiding principle: “Like remedies cure like diseases.” Rest assured, homeopathic remedies are prepared so that they are entirely non-toxic.

Unlike pharmaceutical medicines, homeopathy works with the body’s own healing agents; remedies not only act more naturally, they also reduce sick time and can prevent future recurrences. If problems do persist or recur, seek the advice of a homeopath, as there are many remedies for every condition, each chosen to match the individual.

Got allergies? You will find Apis, derived from the honeybee, most useful for hives, especially if the welts look like stings: very red, swollen, and hot. Another remedy is Urtica urens, made from stinging nettle. While both Apis and Urtica can be used to relieve the stinging, burning, and itching of hives, use Apis when there is more burning and stinging and Urnica when the itching is more prominent, and the person feels better lying down.

Pesky cold sores are painful and embarrassing. For small, transparent pearls that develop about the lips, you’ll find Natrum muriaticum speeds healing, especially for those with sun-sensitive skin. If your cold sores itch and burn in cold, wet weather, use Rhus tox, the poison oak remedy.

For boils and abscesses choose Hepar sulphur for an abscess you can’t bear to touch or homeopathic for slowly developing, hard, stubborn boils not quite so sensitive. Sulphur is a common homeopathic remedy for yellow boils that recur on oily skin, especially on the buttocks. Also consider Arsenicum album when pains are markedly burning and the person feels anxious.

Next time you need relief from an intolerable skin problem, look for a cure that reflects the cause.

Remedies

With these remedies, use 6C, 3 to 5 pills, 3 to 4 times daily until the problem is better; or the stronger 30C, 3 to 5 pills, 6 to 12 hours apart, only as needed and upon improvement.