Great News! Homeopathy cannot only treat cold or flu conditions, but it can stop a cold or flu in its early stages and prevent the resulting symptoms from occurring. The following procedures will surely enhance the power of your chiropractic adjustment.
The proper use of homeopathy will not only help your patients, but also prevent your staff and especially you the doctor from experiencing those embarrassing cold and flu symptoms that may contradict your health message.
A well formulated homeopathic product will help a very high percentage of cold and flu sufferers. If the homeopathic formula is provided every two hours at the very first signs of the cold and flu cycle, the cold or flu will be stopped completely.
Once symptoms have notably improved, the frequency of dosage can be lessened. A general rule of thumb: when symptoms have decreased by 50 percent, decrease the dosage frequency by 50 percent; when symptoms have decreased by 80 percent, decrease the original dosage frequency by 80 percent.
However, your patient's individual health history needs to be taken into account. Remember, it is the frequency of dosage that makes the therapeutic difference for effective homeopathic results. The sublingual reflex response test is an effective confirmation tool to determine which homeopathic formula will work best, as well as setting dosage during follow up testing. This testing procedure can be used in conjunction with muscle testing, leg length check, or both, as a double confirmation.
The correct homeopathic cold and flu formula can be used preventively during high risk seasons. The home and work place can literally be cold and flu factories, especially during the winter months when we are confined closer to one another.
Like chiropractic, homeopathy activates proper function of the immune system to overcome the viral attackers. There are hundreds of viruses known to science and more are being continually discovered. This forces the practitioners of more "traditional" methods of cure to develop hundreds of new medicines. Natural cures such as homeopathy and chiropractic, however, activate the body's own healing response and focus on the correction of the underlying causes of disease within us.
Once a cold has thoroughly set in on an individual, homeopathy will usually decrease the length of the cold and the intensity of symptoms by 50 percent. Better results are usually noticed with flu symptoms under the same conditions.
I strongly recommend that you encourage your patients to take the homeopathic formula preventively and more intensively at the very first signs of the cold or flu. For example, when a family member has acquired a cold or flu, I always have the other family members take a preventative dose 2-3 times a day along with chiropractic adjustments.
Prevention is always better than treatment no matter how great the treatment.
I don't recommend flu shots because they don't treat the causes of the flu. They don't work well because most often it is too difficult to predict which of the many flu viruses will show up each season.
Treatment may be more difficult in cases involving people with recurring cold and flu symptoms, chronic allergies of varying kinds, or chronic fatigue syndrome. People exposed to a lot of children are also at risk, because of the hundreds of different cold and flu viruses which children often carry.
Of the difficult cases, people heavily exposed to the cold and flu viruses such as teachers and doctors, are the easiest to help. They usually require regular adjustments and more frequent preventive doses of the homeopathic formula.
The most difficult cases will be people with chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple allergies, or numerous unresolved health problems. A thorough health appraisal questionnaire is essential to understand all the underlying causes in these cases. Homeopathically, you can begin matching and testing various formulas with the more intense conditions. As the first few homeopathic products begin testing clear or no response, move to other homeopathic formulas. Keep doing this until all the pieces are put back together again.
Periodically, retest past positive homeopathic formulas to make sure they have fully done their job. You may need to reintroduce them or have your patient take a product that continues to retest over a longer period of time. This will vary from patient to patient.
This may sound overly simplified to some and overly complex to others, but experience in testing and retesting will guide you in the correct direction. Remember, with homeopathy and chiropractic properly applied, your patients, your staff, your family or yourself need not ever suffer with a cold or flu again.
Homeopathy added to your chiropractic management program will effectively broaden your scope of practice. However, when dealing with cold and flu treatment, as well as many other conditions, your patient's lifestyle management is essential to your successful management of their health. The following are some helpful hints which you may want to hand out to your patients. I believe they will be helpful.
Lifestyle Management Procedures
The common cold can present itself in a variety of forms: runny nose; scratchy throat; watery eyes; stuffed sinuses and congestion. Symptoms prevalent to flu virus include: fever; backache; headache; muscle and joint pain; sore throat and cough. While symptoms may vary, fever is one distinguisher between a cold and the flu.
Cold and flu cases tend to occur during the cooler months because we spend more time indoors, in close quarters, with other people carrying viruses, and often, in poorly ventilated rooms where colds spread fast.
The following is a list of lifestyle management procedures to help you feel more comfortable and aid in your body's healing process during a cold or flu.
Adopting these self-care techniques into your everyday lifestyle can help you in the preventative care of your body and the maintenance of your rightful good health.
Rest! Listen to your body. If you feel the need to rest or sleep, do so. Though regular exercise can boost your immune system, during a cold or flu it may be wise to skip your usual workout or exercise program.
Drink plenty of liquids. Liquid consumption has many benefits. It will keep mucous moving and maintain a moist respiratory tract which repels viral infection. The best liquids to consume are water, followed by diluted vegetable juices, clear soup broths, and herbal teas.
Watch the sugar! Sugar, even if derived from natural sources like fruit juice and honey can impair immune function. Keep sugar to a maximum of 50 grams per day.
Stay warm. Wear warm clothing and stay indoors in a warm-moist environment. Using a steam vaporizer can help keep the room humidity high enough. Too dry of an environment will dehydrate the mucous membranes that line the respiratory tract and create an inviting environment for the virus.
Suck zinc. Zinc is a nutrient which can help immune system function. Sucking on a zinc gluconate lozenge every two waking hours may help eliminate some symptoms and may cut the duration of the cold. Discontinue the zinc after one week.
Gargle with sage. Use one to two tsp. of dried sage leaves to one cup of boiling water; seep 10 minutes. Gargling with sage can help soothe the throat.
Take 500 to 1,000 mg of Vitamin C every two hours. Decrease if diarrhea occurs.
Take 200,000 IU per day of beta carotene can help boost immune function.
Herbal enhancers of the immune system are echinacea augustofolia, and goldenseal. They can be ingested in various forms: as a dried root, take one to two grams per day; as a fluid extract, take 0.5 to 2.0 Ml per day; and as a powdered solid extract, take 250-500 mg per day.
Maintain a positive attitude. At the most your cold or flu will last 3-7 days, so follow these guidelines and allow your body to rid itself of dis-ease, restoring you to the pleasant freedom of good health.
Frank King Jr., ND, DC
Asheville, North Carolina
