by Dr. Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Dr. Robert Ullman

When suffering from an acute infection, you, or your loved one, desire rapid relief of pain and discomfort. The mainstream approach, fostered by the pharmaceutical media and by the majority of conventional physicians, is to treat with antibiotics. You may believe that antibiotics are your ticket to recovery, but homeopathy can be a quick, effective alternative in many cases.

As a disclaimer, we want to make it clear up front that antibiotics can save lives. Bob contracted, a couple of years ago, a sudden and virulent pneumonia. Within a period of twenty-four hours he became extremely weak, chilled to the point of shivering, and started to cough up blood. We made a beeline to the emergency room and were told that, had we waited half a day longer, he could have died. He responded rapidly to the antibiotics, was hospitalized for three days, felt fit enough to go on a kayaking trip in British Columbia three weeks later, and has suffered no further lung problems. One of our patients recently, while pregnant, was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. Again, she was saved by antibiotic treatment.

The problem is that antibiotics are widely over-prescribed, and are even available over-the-counter in many developing countries. Here are some reasons to think twice about rushing for a prescription for antibiotics.

• Many so-called infections, for which antibiotics are prescribed, are either viral or due to some other non-infectious process, for which antibiotics simply do not work.
• The purpose of antibiotic treatment is to kill bacteria. In most cases, strengthening the organism to defend itself against disease will ultimately be of greater benefit than merely killing off the offenders.
• Often one course of antibiotics is not sufficient, leading to a “more is better” approach of a series of several courses of different antibiotics. Prescriptions are often made prior to receiving results of tissue and sputum cultures, which can indicating which antibiotic will be effective in the particular condition, in the interest of rapid intervention.
• Antibiotics can have side effects, the most common of which is yeast infections. Sometimes the resulting chronic Candida infection is worse that the more minor infection for which the antibiotics were prescribed, often repeatedly.
• From a homeopathic point of view, antibiotics, in some individuals, can cause suppression. This is when the symptoms are alleviated, but a deeper imbalance, and more severe constellation of symptoms, is the result. A common example of suppression is when an infant is treated with antibiotics for recurrent ear infections and the child later develops eczema or asthma. All three are allergic conditions causing an imbalance in the child, but the latter two are much more severe than the ear infections. We treat one child with autism that began, suddenly and severely, after a series of antibiotics for pneumonia.
• There may be other, more natural, treatments, including homeopathy, which act more quickly than antibiotics.
• Perhaps the most serious complication of antibiotics is antibiotic resistance. This occurs when an individual has been given so many antibiotics that they are no longer effective. When (s)he develops a serious or life-threatening infection, there may no longer be a drug that will work. Take, for example, the drug-resistant cases of tuberculosis documented in Mountains Beyond Mountains by Paul Farmer, M.D.

Homeopathy: An Excellent Alternative for Many Acute Infections

Our intention here is to give you a cursory overview of the few most common homeopathic medicines for everyday infections that you are likely to face. For more information, we refer you to our book, Homeopathic Self-Care: The Quick and Easy Guide to the Whole Family, or to other acute homeopathic reference guides. Our book, as well as others, provides guidelines for when you do, in fact, need urgent medical care.

Once you experience for yourself a dramatic improvement in you acute symptoms in a matter of hours, you may be reaching for your homeopathic self-care kit, as we do, instead of rushing out to your local walk-in clinic for that quick-fix prescription of antibiotics.

Acute Gastroenteritis/Dysentery

• Arsenicum album (Arsenic): Food poisoning. Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting with severe abdominal cramping, worse from midnight to 2AM. Worse from sour foods, fruit, and cold foods/drinks. Anxiety and restlessness. Desire to sip water.
• Podophyllum (May apple): Montezuma’s revenge. Exhausting, explosive diarrhea with abdominal cramping and rumbling. Diarrhea drives her out of bed at 5AM.
• Veratrum album(White hellebore): Violent vomiting and diarrhea followed by exhaustion and cold sweat. Icy cold but desires ice, cold drinks, pickles, fruit.

Bladder Infections

• Staphysagria (Stavesacre): Honeymoon cystitis (bladder infection after sexual activity). Desire to urinate, but cannot, after sex with a new partner. Cystitis following suppressed anger, shame, insult.
• Sarsaparilla (Wild licorice): Severe pain in urethra at the end of urination.
• Cantharis (Spanish fly): Extreme symptoms with rapid onset. Bloody urine. Intolerable stinging, cutting, and burning pain on urinating. Restlessness.

Conjunctivitis

• Pulsatilla (Windflower): Profuse, thick, bland, yellow-green discharge. Eyelids stuck together on waking. Weepy, clingy children who want to be held.
• Apis mellifica (Honeybee): Swollen, red, puffy eyelids. Eyes are bright red and bloodshot. Eyes feel better from cold cloth or ice packs.
• Euphrasia (Eyebright): Profuse, hot, irritating, bland discharge from the eye. Eyes water all the time.
• Belladonna (Deadly nightshade): Conjunctivitis that comes on suddenly and violently. Often right-sided. Severe throbbing pain. Hot, red, dry face.

Dental Abscesses

• Hepar sulphuris: Abscess of roots of teeth with excruciating sensitivity. Irritability and extreme sensitivity to cold.
• Mercurius: Dental abscess with profuse salivation and offensive breath.
• Silica: Dental abscess developing more gradually when the symptom picture does not fit Hepar or Mercurius.

Ear Infections (Otitis media)

• Pulsatilla (Windflower): Ears feel stopped up. Profuse, thick yellowish-green nasal discharge. Weepy, clinging, thirstless child who wants to be held.
• Belladonna (Deadly nightshade): Ear infections that come on suddenly with a high-fever and dry, red face. Often right-sided. Pain is intense and throbbing. Eyes are glassy.
• Chamomilla (Chamomile): Ear infections, often during teething, in fussy, irritable children who are soothed from being rocked or carried. Inconsolable with pain and cannot bear to be touched.
• Aconite (Monkshood): Sudden, very painful ear infection with a high fever after exposure to a cold, dry wind. Useful within the first twenty-four hours of onset.

Flu

• Oscillococcinum (Duck liver and heart): Take one dose at the first sign of the flu.
• Gelsemium (Yellow jasmine)- The most common flu medicine. Dizzy, drowsy, droopy, dull. Wiped out, chills, achy muscles, not very thirsty.
• Bryonia (Hops): Achy joints better worse from any movement. Thirsty for cold drinks. Parched lips. Dry cough.
• Rhus-toxicodendron (Poison ivy): Stiff, painful, creaky joints. Worse sitting from prolonged periods of time, better stretching, limbering up, hot baths or showers.
• China (Peruvian bark): Extreme exhaustion. Periodic fevers, sweats, chills.

Sinusitis

• Kali bichromicum (Potassium bichromate): Intense, pressing pain in the cheeks, forehead, and bridge of nose. Thick, stringy yellow or green nasal discharge.
• Pulsatilla (Windflower): “Ripe” cold with thick, bland mucus and stuffy nose. Feel better from fresh air and worse from warm, stuffy rooms.
• Mercurius (Mercury): Bad-smelling, yellow-green nasal discharge. Coated tongue. Metallic taste in mouth. Bad-smelling breath, sweat, and body odor.

Skin Infections (Boils, Folliculitis)

• Hepar sulphuris (Calcium sulfide): Excruciatingly painful eruptions. Thick, bad-smelling pus. Very chilly, irritable.
• Silica (Flint): Bad-smelling pus. Infections from foreign bodies like splinters or ingrown nails. Infections are slow to heal.
• Lachesis (Bushmaster snake): Bluish-purple or black boil filled with pus. Often left-sided.
• Mercurius (Mercury): Inflamed boils with bad-smelling pus. Offensive perspiration, mouth odor, and discharges.

Throat Infections

• Apis mellifica (Honeybee): Right-sided stinging sore throats with swelling as the main symptom. Tonsils fiery red. Uvula swollen. Pain better from cold drinks.
• Phytolacca (Pokeroot): Dark red or bluish sore, puffy throat. Throat pain extends to the ear on swallowing. Pain is much worse from swallowing anything hot.
• Lacheis (Bushmaster snake): Left-sided or moving from left to right. Sensation of lump in the throat. Pain is much worse from swallowing. Worse on waking.
• Lycopodium (Club moss): Pain on right side or moving from right to left. Better from warm drinks.Hepar sulphuris (Calcium sulfide): Exquisitely tender throat with sensation of splinter or fish bone in the throat. Extremely chilly, irritable.
• Belladonna (Deadly nightshade): Right-sided, hot, red, burning pain. High fever. Bright red, hot, dry face. Sudden onset of symptoms. Strep throat or tonsillitis.
• Mercurius (Mercury): Throat pain with bad breath and excessive salivation and sweating. Metallic taste in the mouth. Constant desire to swallow.

Upper/Lower Respiratory Infection

• Antimonium tartaricum (Tartar emetic): Loose, rattling cough with little mucus coming up. Wants to be left alone.
• Bryonia (Hops): Dry cough worse from any motion. Holds the chest to keep from coughing. Dry, chapped lips. Thirst for cold drinks. Irritable.
• Coccus cacti (Cochineal): Cough with thick, stringy mucus that leads to choking.
• Drosera (Sundew): Violent fits of hard coughing leading to gagging or vomiting.
• Rumex (Yellow dock): Dry cough from a tickle in the pit of the throat. Worse on lying down.
• Spongia (Toasted sponge): Dry, barking cough that sounds like a saw cutting through wood. Suffocating cough. Better from eating or drinking.

Vaginitis (Acute)

• Caladium (American arum): Severe vaginal itching, especially during pregnancy.
• Kreosotum (Creosote): Terribly acrid, burning, yellow vaginal discharge causing rawness of the labia.
• Pulsatilla (Windflower): Thick, bland, yellow-green, or creamy discharge. Not thirsty. Wants fresh air and feels worse in warm, stuffy rooms.
• Sepia (Cuttlefish ink): Vagina is raw, burning, and itching. Hormonal imbalance. Worse during the daytime. Vaginal dryness in menopause. Aversion to sex.

Homeopathic Care for Chronic Infections

The results of constitutional homeopathic care, in the case of longstanding, chronic infections can be impressive, even dramatic. Although it is not possible to elaborate here, we can refer you to a number of our previous Townsend Letter articles, over the years, illustrating the effectiveness of homeopathy for such chronic infectious and inflammatory diseases such as colitis, hepatitis, Crohn’s Disease, sinusitis, bronchitis, cystitis, vaginitis, arthritis, and chronic ear infections. There are many other cases, in the homeopathic literature, of successful treatment of most infectious diseases, including Lyme Disease, parasitic infections, tropical infectious diseases, etc. If you are looking for an effective alternative to antibiotic treatment, we recommend that you seriously consider homeopathy.

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