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  • using oscillococcinum

• Most flu seasons and epidemics fit a common homeopathic picture, so that the majority of people with the flu will benefit from the epidemic medicine. Homeopaths in practice will easily discover this medicine in their community after seeing a few cases of the flu. For example, the epidemic medicine for the 1918 Spanish flu was Gelsemium (with Bryonia and Eupatorium as secondary prescriptions),

  • influenza
• A report to the American Institute of Homeopathy in 1921 documented the dramatic success of homeopathy in the worst flu pandemic in history. The death rate of 24,000 flu cases under conventional medical care in that study was 28.2 percent, while the death rate of 26,000 cases treated with homeopathy was a nearly miraculous 1.05 percent
• For at least the past 150 years homeopathic practitioners have used the medicine Influenzinum as a flu preventive. Influenzinum is a homeopathic medicine made from flu viruses. A proprietary preparation is produced by Dolisos pharmacy each year using the flu virus strains recommended by the World Health Organization for the year's vaccine production

• In 1998 the French Society of Homeopathy conducted a survey of 23 homeopathic doctors concerning their use of Influenzinum as a flu preventive (Coulamy, 1998). The survey included use of Influenzinum over a 10 year period (1987-1998) in 453 patients. The protocol for the frequency of doses varied considerably among these doctors. Weekly doses were used by 26 percent of participants and monthly dosage by 23 percent. Another 16 percent used a weekly then monthly dosage plan, and 35 percent applied some other dosage protocol. 80 percent of respondents began treatment in the fall (September through November) and ended between February and April. In this French survey 70 percent of participants used a 9C strength of Influenzinum. (In the US one would assume a higher proportion of practitioners use a higher strength because of the different prescribing preferences between the two countries.)

   

  Results of the survey were remarkable. In approximately 90 percent of the cases no instances of the flu occurred when Influenzinum was used preventively no matter what the dosage protocol. Among the physicians the effectiveness was deemed good to very good in 90 percent of the cases. In 5 percent there was no protective effect. Of the patients, 98 percent expressed a desire to take the same preventive treatment the following year. Certainly this confidence in homeopathic prevention among physicians with many years of experience and their patients speaks to the effectiveness of Influenzinum as a flu preventive. It should be noted that a clinical study that approaches statistical significance evaluating the preventive effects of any homeopathic preparation would probably be prohibitively expensive.

  • research
• Oscillococcinum
• Oscillococcinum was first studied in France during the 1987 flu epidemic caused by an H1N1 virus. This multi-center study examined the effect of Oscillococcinum (200C) on the early symptoms of flu. Results were published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
• The two most frequently indicated homeopathic flu medicines over the past 100 years have been Gelsemium and Bryonia. There are significant differences in the symptom pictures of these two medicines that make it easy to decide which is the better fit. They are not the only medicines used to treat the flu, but between them they will probably fit the majority of cases.

  • wwwww
• Bryonia and Gelsemium type flus both come on slowly over a 6-12 hour period. You begin to feel gradually worse over that time. By the second day you have aching muscles, feel pretty bad, and usually have a headache. Bryonia has more pain in the front of the head, which is definitely made worse by moving the head, or moving the eyes, and feels better from pressing the hand on the head. Gelsemium has pain in the back of the head with stiffness and aching in the neck and across the shoulders. Gelsemium does not want to move much either, and you may feel worse from moving around, but you avoid movement primarily because you are so tired. The characteristic state of Gelsemium is lethargy and fatigue. By contrast, Bryonia is tired but also restless. Bryonia discomfort is worse from motion, but at the same time you feel the urge to move about restlessly in the bed. No position seems comfortable. Bryonia is thirsty, Gelsemium is not. In fact Bryonia is generally warmer and drier. Bryonia wants air and cool temperatures to calm the heat. Gelsemium is chilly and sensitive to cold; cold shivers go down the spine. At the same time Gelsemium is clammy with the fever, and feelings of heat and cold may alternate. Bryonia has more coughing and chest symptoms, a painful cough that aggravates the sore throat. The Bryonia cough will also cause chest pains, and the inevitable reaction to this situation is to press the palm to the chest to minimize the movement caused by coughing.

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• vitamin D
• vitamin D

• Beware of the "influenza winter of 2009"

  But the lack of deaths from the swine flu at the moment doesn't mean the danger is over. In fact, the western world is right now experiencing the health benefits of Spring, which brings sunlight and vitamin D (a natural anti-viral vitamin) to the people.

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