I frequently get messages and emails from people asking me if I have a remedy for eczema, TSW or psoriasis, and since I don’t have time in my diary these days to offer short appointments to explain the process, I thought I would write a blog post explaining how it all works.
Firstly homeopathy doesn’t have a remedy for any named condition, and I will explain why. Homeopathy looks at everyone as an individual (because we are all individuals) Eczema is just a word that covers a whole myriad of skin conditions that cause dry irritated skin.
Eczema presents differently from person to person. Some people will ooze, others never experience this, some will have cracked and split skin, others will be raw and burning. Some people find winter a big aggravating factor for their skin, some find summer awful, some love summer as their skin clears! Some people are in agony in the bath, others spend long periods of time in the bath as it’s their only respite - can you see what is happening here? We are seeing individual symptoms being expressed by the body. Homeopathy LOVES this, because we have so many remedies that are indicated for eczema, but some of these remedies are more suited to ‘oozy’ skin, some aren’t, some are more suited to dry, flaky skin, some for burning and raw areas.
Why consider homeopathy?
Modern medicine does not individualise, and that is because it is just seeking to suppress your skin symptoms, its a ‘one pill fits all’ ethos and we are not the same! Modern medicine separates your skin from the rest of you, it is not interested in your gut health, in looking at any possible triggers for your skin, it is reluctant to offer you allergy testing, your emotional state is not a factor.
Modern medicine states that eczema is a lifelong condition, and the way the skin is suppressed by steroids surely makes it a lifelong problem.
I have met 1000s of babies, children and adults during my years of practice, and I feel I have seen almost every sort of skin issue there is, from eczema to autoimmune skin conditions. The skin is a symptom, it’s a painful and debilitating one, but it is merely a symptom. There will always be other symptoms happening in the body, gut issues, or respiratory issues, emotional factors, but often these seem minor in comparison to the suffering of the skin, so all the focus is on skin, but to me all of these other symptoms help to find a remedy for someone.
I feel we get used to our suffering, we can live with a compromised gut for years and be unaware, as the symptoms have been very mild and intermittent and they don’t always seem obvious. All symptoms are clues to what is causing someone to suffer. Symptoms are like little windows inside, and the more these symptoms are ‘shut down’ by modern medicine the more clues we lose sight of. Medications given to suppress symptoms often create their own side effects, so often we end up being confused by what is our own individual true symptoms as opposed to a drug created illness (TSW for example is a prime example of a drug created illness)
Anyone who has ever had an appointment with me will know I ask a lot of very diverse questions, often seemingly unrelated to skin. I am always looking for clues! I have met adults who have never had any history of eczema in their entire life suddenly break out in red and itchy skin, and I have often noted that the trigger for this has been an emotional event, a grief, a divorce or another major trauma in their life, and so here homeopathy looks at their emotional state, we look at remedies to help support their grief / anger / sadness, and not coincidentally some of our major anxiety, grief and trauma remedies are also major skin remedies too. Even babies can experience trauma, trauma can begin in utero, with stressors to the mother. I love the whole homeopathic conversation, because it can throw light onto triggers that we may not have considered. I lose track of the amount of times someone will say to me "I completely forgot that happened" or "now I think about it I remember this event that happened just before my skin flared" When did a dermatologist ever ask this stuff? they should, they'd learn a lot about their patients and realise that skin is an extension of the person, not separate. It responds to the whole organism, not independently from it.
So how long will it take to see an improvement?
That is the biggest question homeopaths are asked, and the answer is simply this - the body will do what it needs to do in it’s own time, sometimes there is a great improvement and then a slip back, sometimes there is a period where the symptoms worsen temporarily, sometimes an improvement happens after the course of remedies is prescribed, and this is because we use a remedy as a catalyst, so even after you have finished taking a remedy it will continue to have some action. Sometimes it appears as if nothing has happened at all, and this is why I take so many notes during appointments, as it gives me a good chance to look at what was happening before versus the situation now, and very often there have been subtle shifts. Homeopathy is a commitment, it isn’t a quick fix, so this is the reason I ask for commitment with follow up appointments.
I was working with a little girl once who had the most severe eczema and environmental allergies, she spent the summer months miserable, wishing she was a skeleton so she didn’t have to suffer with her skin. Her Mum was utterly committed to getting off the steroids and fixing her child, and she did. We worked together on and off for 18 months, and now that little girl is free of steroids, not reacting to environmental allergies and doesn’t sit on the sofa miserable from April through to September, she’s out playing and camping and her skin is beautiful. It's been a long time since she needed any steroids.
It’s also true that sometimes you can help someone very quickly, and there are lots of case studies in my blogs that tell their stories.
Because the very ethos of homeopathy is individuality it is impossible to know what length of time it will take, and there are also many other lifestyle factors that can help or hinder someone's progress and path to recovery.
What's in the remedies?
Another very common question, and I am simply going to link to an external source to answer this. Generally all the pharmacies I use overseas, and the remedies I post from the UK are lactose free sugar pills. How remedies are made can be explained better here:
Because there are no allergen ingredients (as long as you source lactose free remedies) then they are safe for use by allergy sufferers. Most of my clients have allergies due to the atopic nature of their condition, and this is why homeopathy can be such a good support.
Are they safe alongside modern medicine?
Yes! Homeopathy works in a very different way to conventional medication so there is no issue with using remedies prescribed to you. I will always take a medical history from you and enquire about medications you may currently be taking.
Is homeopathy safe for babies?
Yes! Homeopathy is safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding, anyone can use homeopathy, babies, adults, and the elderly, even your pets!
Why do I need an appointment?
I hope this goes some way to explaining a little bit more about the homeopathic process, and I hope too that it explains why when you send me a picture of your skin, not wanting to make an appointment and ask me to suggest a remedy that I don’t, it’s not because I don’t want to be of help, it’s just that I need so much information from you to really know what needs to be done.
I love homeopathy and when practiced according to the ethos and philosophy laid out in our years of training, then it can work wonders, but basing a remedy prescription on a photo of a skin condition alone is always missing the whole bigger picture, and that does a great disservice to homeopathy, and it won’t help you either.
Are you a Classical homeopath?
Sometimes I am asked this, and my answer is always a little vague! I was trained as a classical homeopath, and I love the ethos of this process, however I also acknowledge the fact that we are sicker now as a society than we have ever been. We are sick from toxicity, our foods, our environment, medications and emotional stressors. I frequently incorporate homeopathic detoxes, bowel nosodes and tautopathy into my prescriptions and on a personal note I find these prescriptions highly effective, we are living in a world far removed from the birth of homeopathy and I feel we need to always stay current with the way we work with the body and mind. There is still room for individual prescribing with these more modern day remedies.
Thanks for taking the time to read, I hope this helps understand this wonderful system of medicine a little better!
Tracy
Booking link I work solely online, using Zoom, Facetime, Skype or Whatsapp, and I work with people all over the world. Sources:
IMI - Integrated Medicine Institute