Flu-Like Symptoms and the Remedies That Are Most Often Helpful (Nux vomica)
Posted by Dr. Lisa Samet N.D. on Jan 8th 2020
Cold and flu season often brings
challenges. It’s helpful to know that homeopathy can help quickly ease symptoms
and
speed recovery.
Many of you have asked for additional guidance on remedy selection for flu-like symptoms. To that end, I will be posting a number of articles to help you understand each of the most commonly prescribed remedies for this complaint. In each of these articles, I will stress the characteristic signs and symptoms you will need to see in a case before selecting that remedy.
Remember, the key to choosing the correct/helpful remedy is ALWAYS the same. One must match the characteristic symptoms of the person you are caring for to a remedy capable of producing similar characteristic symptoms to have success. If you choose a remedy with characteristics most similar to the characteristic symptoms of your loved one, you should have a happy outcome every time. If you don't - you will either feel no effect, or one that is mild at best.
Let’s start with Nux vomica.
This homeopathic remedy was one of the first developed and is made from the seeds of the Nux vomica tree found in East India, Burma, Thailand, China, and Northern Australia. Some of its most important characteristics follow—and it is these that you’ll want to see in your patient before prescribing it.
Key Mental Characteristics: A person with flu-like symptoms needing this remedy will tend to be irritable, inclined to get excited or angry, demanding and impatient. They will also tend to be over-sensitive (to drafts, noises, odors, conversation, being questioned, etc.) and easily offended. Sullen and surly are two more words to describe them during their illness.
Key Physical Characteristics: Someone requiring this remedy will invariably be chilly—even chillier than normal for them. They don’t like fresh air and they don’t like drafts. They are even chilly during the fever and very uncomfortable being uncovered in any way. The chill begins in the back, limbs or whole body and is not better by warmth. There is often pain in the small of the back and sacrum with the chill. The chilliness is also made worse from moving and from drinking – and often worse in the morning.
The fever typically comes with a feeling of internal chilliness and frequently comes with anxiety and restlessness as well as great thirst.
If there is a cough it may cause a headache as if the skull would burst. The cough is most often dry, racking, hacking, hollow, violent, and in fits…. with little or no expectoration. It can be an exhausting cough. It is also typically worse in the morning in bed on waking.
If there is a headache, it is often better from having the head wrapped up or covered, or from heat directly applied. There also can be heat in the face and much mucus in throat. The nose may be stopped and runny at the same time - with a clear watery discharge.
In general a patient who will benefit from Nux vomica will be better from warmth or hot things, worse from cold and drafts, and wanting to suffer alone, in peace!
If you or someone you know generally matches the above description, dose with either a 30C or 200C potency to start - placing one pellet under the tongue or one pellet in water, stirring vigorously and taking teaspoon doses as needed. Always cease dosing when relief begins and only re-dose if symptoms again worsen. As with any medical condition, consult with your physician if you have any concerns about the severity of your problem as it may first require medical diagnosis and/or intervention and monitoring.
If you think you have the influenza virus, please seek the advice of a medical professional.
About Dr. Lisa Samet
Dr. Lisa Samet N.D. provides Washington Homeopathic Products with a weekly column on using homeopathy for the family. She's a naturopathic physician who specializes in homeopathic medicine and she's a partner with Dr. Andre Saine N.D. Dr. Samet graduated from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1998 and has been practicing in Montreal since then. She was born and raised in New York.
Dr. Samet has chosen to focus on homeopathy because in her experience it is the deepest healing modality available in that it does not just soothe or palliate symptoms but can actually stimulate the body to start to heal itself. Dr. Samet sees patients in her Montreal office as well as long distance using Skype. Learn more here:Dr. Lisa Samet