Nicely written. We are all placebo makers, so if it's arnica or morphine, the placebo effect is huge. It's why new pain medicines haven't made it past the trials: the placebo works as well as the (purported) pain reliever.
That said, my wife (a family practice doc) has witnessed immediate cessation of bleeding upon administration of Arnica 30C. Nothing there right?
We are beginning to find out what infinitissimally low levels of communication molecules do for plants, bacteria, fungi and animals.
That's really interesting Paul. Do you know what the use was for in regards to the bleeding? Many trials mostly look at teeth extraction and Arnica tablets.
It was a senior patient of hers who lived across the street from her office, got hit by a car while crossing the street, a gash in her leg spurting blood, and she walked in the office bleeding. My wife says "get the Arnica 30C, stat!" They gave it to her and my wife and her nurse watched the spurting blood stop in the next few seconds. Who needs studies when you see that?
I consider traditional plant based medicine to be "evidence based medicine". The same plants get used across cultures and time for the same things. Because they work. Because they're always talking to us, if we can hear them. Be wary of pHarma sponsored plant medicine studies that show no evidence of efficacy. They've also done that with Iver and all cheap effective remedies.
That's interesting, I would assume that your wife's immediate call for it would indicate that she may have seen it be effective beforehand?
Quite honestly, I would like to see what other factors may have contributed. A sudden stop of blood spurts is rather miraculous to say the least. I would like to see more information to parse that phenomenon.
I do wonder how homeopathy fits within the realm of naturopathy. If herbal remedies do work it would at least indicate that a good deal of the plant may be needed. The Arnica stuff is interesting because it outlines that there are quite a few compounds within Arnica that are likely to be the therapeutic agents. Of anything, I am leaning more towards looking into plants and what compounds are the effective agents.
I have many questions about your recent commentary on homeopathy. Homeopathy has been a major part of my medical care for more than 50 years. I have also taken intensive workshops on acute and chronic prescribing taught to laypersons (non-MDs) through the National Center for Homeopathy.
You have characterized homeopathy as defined by 2 principles:
• “Like cures like”
• “The rule of minimal dosing”
This is correct; however, you go on to say that “I won’t discuss the first principle, as it usually is not referenced much in regards to homeopathic remedies. The more important idea is the second principle of minimal dosing.” This completely mischaracterizes the essence of homeopathy. Every homeopathic remedy (underlying substance such as Arnica) is carefully described by the specific symptoms that it produces in a large group of healthy persons. Volunteers are given a specific remedy substance that is gradually increased until the subject begins to experience changes in their state of being (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual). These are carefully documented and recorded for the entire group of subjects. The profile of the remedy is recorded in a “Materia Medica” that groups the symptoms according to the frequency with which they have occurred in the subject group. This called a “Proving”. This basically describes the symptom profile of the remedy. Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy used the phrase “like cures like” as the foundation of homeopathy. Its basic principle is that a remedy is selected for a given person because the profile of the remedy matches the system profile of the correct remedy. Another comment is that “what a drug can cause, it can cure” (M.L.Tyler). In relationship to Arnica the most frequent and predominant symptom pattern is bruising. This can include an actual physical bruise or simply a sensation of bruising in the muscles and joints. For this reason it is almost always the remedy of choice when someone has been injured from a fall, beating, accident, tooth extractions, bullet wound etc. . . . all of which have an element of tissue damage and bruising.
Arnica is part of the first aid kit for those who want to be prepared for acute injury situations that accompany many different types of injuries. Like any belief that surrounds the choices we make in personal care, there is always at least some level of placebo or nocebo effect that contributes to or detracts from our innate self-healing ability when ill or injured. However, homeopathy also has a strong effect on very young infants, animals, and plants where the placebo effect is much less likely to play a major role.
I’d like to share a personal story related to the effect of Arnica. When my son was 6 years old, we were preparing for a sleep-over party with friends to celebrate his birthday. We drove home after running an errand and saw our family cat sitting at the top of our steep driveway, which was covered with snow and ice. My son, who was sitting in the backseat of the car immediately said he would get out and chase the cat toward the house. I heard the car door open and close and saw the cat run away. I started to drive the car forward and heard a blood-curdling scream from my son. I backed the car down the drive and got out. I discovered that he had slipped and fallen on the ice when he got out of the car. . . and I had driven the car forward on top of his leg! He was in major pain and the muscles on his lower leg were indented by tire tracks and the beginning discoloration of severe bruising. Fortunately, I kept homeopathic Arnica tablets in my purse, so I was able to start first aid treatment immediately. We sat together on the steps until he was able with assistance to walk (or hop) with me to the house. He kept crying that he didn’t want to go to the hospital because his friends were scheduled to come to our home for his birthday party within an hour. I called our family doctor, who specialized in homeopathy, for guidance on how to handle the situation. He gave me the list of symptoms that suggested getting immediate x-rays and Emergency Room treatment but felt that staying at home and celebrating his birthday with friends was okay as long as he stayed on the couch, elevated his leg, and continued (as needed) to take Arnica. The bruise to his leg initially turned purple (like most severe bruises) but within 4 hours had already begun to fade and by morning it had the faded, yellowish color of an old bruise. The tire track imprints in the leg had disappeared. We did have the doctor check it later that day. There was no sign of fracture or long-term injury. The change that was related to Arnica was very clear and complete. Within 2 days there was no sign of the bruise.
Nicely written. We are all placebo makers, so if it's arnica or morphine, the placebo effect is huge. It's why new pain medicines haven't made it past the trials: the placebo works as well as the (purported) pain reliever.
That said, my wife (a family practice doc) has witnessed immediate cessation of bleeding upon administration of Arnica 30C. Nothing there right?
We are beginning to find out what infinitissimally low levels of communication molecules do for plants, bacteria, fungi and animals.
That's really interesting Paul. Do you know what the use was for in regards to the bleeding? Many trials mostly look at teeth extraction and Arnica tablets.
It was a senior patient of hers who lived across the street from her office, got hit by a car while crossing the street, a gash in her leg spurting blood, and she walked in the office bleeding. My wife says "get the Arnica 30C, stat!" They gave it to her and my wife and her nurse watched the spurting blood stop in the next few seconds. Who needs studies when you see that?
I consider traditional plant based medicine to be "evidence based medicine". The same plants get used across cultures and time for the same things. Because they work. Because they're always talking to us, if we can hear them. Be wary of pHarma sponsored plant medicine studies that show no evidence of efficacy. They've also done that with Iver and all cheap effective remedies.
That's interesting, I would assume that your wife's immediate call for it would indicate that she may have seen it be effective beforehand?
Quite honestly, I would like to see what other factors may have contributed. A sudden stop of blood spurts is rather miraculous to say the least. I would like to see more information to parse that phenomenon.
I do wonder how homeopathy fits within the realm of naturopathy. If herbal remedies do work it would at least indicate that a good deal of the plant may be needed. The Arnica stuff is interesting because it outlines that there are quite a few compounds within Arnica that are likely to be the therapeutic agents. Of anything, I am leaning more towards looking into plants and what compounds are the effective agents.
She used herbs, acupuncture, homeopathy, and pHarma as needed in her practice, so she had a full spectrum of options for her patients
I have many questions about your recent commentary on homeopathy. Homeopathy has been a major part of my medical care for more than 50 years. I have also taken intensive workshops on acute and chronic prescribing taught to laypersons (non-MDs) through the National Center for Homeopathy.
You have characterized homeopathy as defined by 2 principles:
• “Like cures like”
• “The rule of minimal dosing”
This is correct; however, you go on to say that “I won’t discuss the first principle, as it usually is not referenced much in regards to homeopathic remedies. The more important idea is the second principle of minimal dosing.” This completely mischaracterizes the essence of homeopathy. Every homeopathic remedy (underlying substance such as Arnica) is carefully described by the specific symptoms that it produces in a large group of healthy persons. Volunteers are given a specific remedy substance that is gradually increased until the subject begins to experience changes in their state of being (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual). These are carefully documented and recorded for the entire group of subjects. The profile of the remedy is recorded in a “Materia Medica” that groups the symptoms according to the frequency with which they have occurred in the subject group. This called a “Proving”. This basically describes the symptom profile of the remedy. Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy used the phrase “like cures like” as the foundation of homeopathy. Its basic principle is that a remedy is selected for a given person because the profile of the remedy matches the system profile of the correct remedy. Another comment is that “what a drug can cause, it can cure” (M.L.Tyler). In relationship to Arnica the most frequent and predominant symptom pattern is bruising. This can include an actual physical bruise or simply a sensation of bruising in the muscles and joints. For this reason it is almost always the remedy of choice when someone has been injured from a fall, beating, accident, tooth extractions, bullet wound etc. . . . all of which have an element of tissue damage and bruising.
Arnica is part of the first aid kit for those who want to be prepared for acute injury situations that accompany many different types of injuries. Like any belief that surrounds the choices we make in personal care, there is always at least some level of placebo or nocebo effect that contributes to or detracts from our innate self-healing ability when ill or injured. However, homeopathy also has a strong effect on very young infants, animals, and plants where the placebo effect is much less likely to play a major role.
I’d like to share a personal story related to the effect of Arnica. When my son was 6 years old, we were preparing for a sleep-over party with friends to celebrate his birthday. We drove home after running an errand and saw our family cat sitting at the top of our steep driveway, which was covered with snow and ice. My son, who was sitting in the backseat of the car immediately said he would get out and chase the cat toward the house. I heard the car door open and close and saw the cat run away. I started to drive the car forward and heard a blood-curdling scream from my son. I backed the car down the drive and got out. I discovered that he had slipped and fallen on the ice when he got out of the car. . . and I had driven the car forward on top of his leg! He was in major pain and the muscles on his lower leg were indented by tire tracks and the beginning discoloration of severe bruising. Fortunately, I kept homeopathic Arnica tablets in my purse, so I was able to start first aid treatment immediately. We sat together on the steps until he was able with assistance to walk (or hop) with me to the house. He kept crying that he didn’t want to go to the hospital because his friends were scheduled to come to our home for his birthday party within an hour. I called our family doctor, who specialized in homeopathy, for guidance on how to handle the situation. He gave me the list of symptoms that suggested getting immediate x-rays and Emergency Room treatment but felt that staying at home and celebrating his birthday with friends was okay as long as he stayed on the couch, elevated his leg, and continued (as needed) to take Arnica. The bruise to his leg initially turned purple (like most severe bruises) but within 4 hours had already begun to fade and by morning it had the faded, yellowish color of an old bruise. The tire track imprints in the leg had disappeared. We did have the doctor check it later that day. There was no sign of fracture or long-term injury. The change that was related to Arnica was very clear and complete. Within 2 days there was no sign of the bruise.