Noted British homeopath David Needleman offers an essential first-aid kit for the summer holidays
It’s that time of year again, when, after all the restrictions of the last few years, we can enjoy a vacation away. One thing guaranteed to ruin such a break, though, is illness, brought about either by overdoing things like food and alcohol or by being the victim of sunburn, bites and stings, and more.
We can’t do much about flight delays or the weather, but there’s a homeopathic remedy to treat just about every possible health condition. Here’s a list of the best first-aid remedies to pack before you head off. Unless otherwise specified, if your condition is acute, take three doses of the remedy hourly, and then one dose before bed. If needed, take three doses the following day, spread throughout the day and evening.
Sol 200C (sometimes called Sol Australis) can help prepare the body for exposure to the sun. I recommend taking it twice a day for a few days leading up to travel and continuing this regime for the first few days of sunbathing. It’s also wise to boost your vitamin D intake for some weeks before traveling.
While you’re flying
Gelsemium 30C is useful when you travel by air. However long or short the journey, you’re usually exposed to poorly scrubbed air in the cabin. Often people suffer for a few days after a flight with the symptoms of a cold or flu. Gelsemium can help clear this up.
Dulcamara 30C is also useful during or post-flight. It’s a good remedy for sensitivity to air conditioning, like the kind of poorly scrubbed air circulating on a flight. Homeopathic pharmacies will put together a combination of Gelsemium and Dulcamara 30C to reduce the number of pills you need to take and bottles you have to take with you.
Some years ago I designed a combination called 5-in-1 that covers most of the symptoms of jet lag. Any homeopathic pharmacy can make it up for you if they don’t already have it in stock. These are its ingredients:
Arnica 30C for the sensation of being battered and bruised
Cocculus Indica 30C for disorientation and confusion
Coca 30C for altitude sickness (bearing in mind that on a flight the pressure is usually equivalent to 6,000 feet above sea level)
Melatonin 30C for sleep deprivation disorder, as good in homeopathic form as in a material dose
Nux Vomica 30C for symptoms of overindulgence or those likened to “being pulled or pushed through a hedge backwards”
Drink plenty of fluid, and make sure to take vitamins B and C before you fly.
Take one dose of 5-in-1 before the flight, two or three during the flight, depending on duration, and one when you land. Then take one when you go to bed, with a large glass of water.
If you have any lingering jet lag, three doses the following day should be all you need. Repeat the entire process on the return journey.
Hepar Sulph 30C is helpful as the airplane descends below 6,000 feet and the air pressure inside builds back to normal, when many people, especially children, experience excruciating pain. I often suggest one dose before the flight, one during the flight and then one before descending. It can be taken at the same time as the 5-in-1 jet lag remedy and will often keep the ear canal open, allowing equalization of pressure and reduction or elimination of the pain.
Pulsatilla 30C is a very useful remedy for children with separation issues and those needing reassurance and frequent cuddles. I often suggest a dosage of one each hour for four hours as an acute first-line remedy, but the remedies can be repeated one by one as needed if the initial acute dose doesn’t do enough.
Cantharis 30C is an ideal remedy for all forms of burns, such as sunburn (Sol 200C can also be used as a treatment), scalds and hot spills, or even the burning you can experience with a urinary tract infection.
Apis Mel 30C can soothe bites and stings that are hot, red and very itchy and that feel better when cold is applied.
Ledum Pal 30C is indicated if the bites or stings feel better with warmth.
Hypericum 30C can alleviate horse fly bites and is especially useful for those on equestrian holidays.
Vitamin B1 is a remedy that a number of organizations insist is not an insect repellent, but in my experience, biting insects seeking blood to feed their progeny do not like its taste or smell. If you take it for a few days before traveling and during your vacation, you’re likely to be passed by.
Believe it or not, good foot hygiene may also prove protective. Experiments done a few years ago concluded that mosquitoes appear to gravitate to unwashed feet even more than cheese.
Box Jellyfish 30C is specifically for jellyfish stings, although the above remedies can also be used. Jellyfish stings are a lot rarer than you might expect, and the first long-standing recommendation is to urinate on the bitten area and then take the appropriate remedy. If you’re traveling to an area where jellyfish can be a problem, make sure to include this remedy in your bag.
Regardless of the label (usually relating to the country or area you’ve traveled to, like Delhi belly or Montezuma’s revenge), a wide variety of acute gut problems can be treated with common remedies.
Arsenicum Album 30C helps clear up diarrhea accompanied by chills and/or nausea and vomiting.
Phosphorus 30C can relieve vomiting, especially of water, which often comes up about 10 minutes after drinking when it warms up in the stomach.
Nux Vomica 30C is probably the most useful of all the sickness and diarrhea remedies as it’s also the one for overdoing everything: late nights, burning the candle at both ends, too much rich food, change of diet and often excessive intake of alcohol—all types of overindulgence that lead to tummy ills.
Podophyllum 30C helps ease painless watery diarrhea, which can be gushing and is more likely in more remote areas of the world.
Drinking plenty of bottled water (you break the seal) in the more exotic or remote places will also help with dehydration brought on by diarrhea. It’s sensible to take it with a packet of rehydration salts to replace what’s being lost.
Belladonna 30C helps cool those feeling hot, red, restless and sweaty.
Bryonia 30C is for those feeling hot, pale, lethargic and dry.
China 30C was the first homeopathic remedy discovered and the main treatment in the past for malaria. But it’s also good for symptoms of high temperatures fluctuating with low chills, when a person is burning up but still feeling icy cold.
Apis 30C was listed above for bites and stings, and it’s also good for those feeling hot, restless and sweaty but completely thirstless.
Remember that symptoms can change rapidly. Although at first one homeopathic remedy is appropriate, after you take it, another picture may emerge requiring another treatment.
Further remedies may be useful, depending on the part of the world you’re traveling to, and a visit to a homeopath before you travel may be sensible. Many of these remedies are contained in the various kits available from most homeopathic pharmacies, but a few are not in any kit, so be sure to order them separately.
And in case of delays or overstays, as it’s often difficult to source similar products overseas, I always put half in one suitcase and half in another as a precaution against loss.
Happy travels!
David Needleman is the founding director of the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths. Qualified as both a pharmacist and a homeopath, he worked in community pharmacies for most of his professional life and has lectured on homeopathy in the US, the UK and Japan and treated clients in 24 countries.
In 1996, David set up the Homeopathic Helpline, a 15-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year acute advice service manned by himself and other qualified, experienced homeopaths. They have successfully helped 350,000 callers to date. You can reach the Homeopathic Helpline at +44 (0)9065 343404.
To have David answer a question in WDDTY, write to info@wddty.co.uk.
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