The Biochemic System of Medicine is an off shoot of homeopathy. Dr. Wilhelm Schuessler, a German homeopath, developed it. He believed that disease is caused by the deficiency of inorganic salts in the human organism. This deficiency causes a disharmony in the functions of the organic constituents of the cell. He identified 12 such inorganic salts in the human body and after a lot of clinical trials, put forward the Biochemic System of Medicine. Over the years, this system of medicine has proved itself to be a safe and effective form of therapy.

This article is for women who are experiencing the most eventful months in their life. Pregnancy, though a physiological state, can leave a woman with either pleasant experiences, or bitter experiences- if she develops some complications.

Many of my patients have become ecstatic on being told that they were pregnant, especially so when they had been under treatment for an inability to conceive. They feel on top of the world. Unfortunately, this mental state does not last very long because they soon encounter the first bout of morning sickness. This and other such discomforts during pregnancy make them feel miserable, especially in the first twelve and the last eight weeks of pregnancy .

The Biochemic system has a lot to offer to the pregnant woman- not only during pregnancy, but even after delivery. It is not only effective, it is very safe, unlike allopathy, where many medicines are contraindicated during pregnancy as they have a bad effect on the unborn child.

The following are some of the conditions and their biochemic remedies:

Acidity: Natrum phos

Acne: Calcarea sulph, Silicea

Albumin in the urine: Natrum mur

Anemia: Calcarea phos, Ferrum phos

Backache: Magnesia phos, Calcarea fluor

Breast- abscess: Silicea

Breast- inflammation: Ferrum phos

Constipation: Natrum mur, Silicea, Kali mur

Cracked nipples: Silicea

Cramps and colic: Magnesia phos

Diabetes mellitus: Natrum sulph

Easy delivery: Calcarea fluor (to be taken in the last three months of pregnancy)

Edema of feet: Natrum mur

Feeble and ineffectual labor pains: Kali phos

Giddiness: Natrum mur

Hair fall: Natrum mur

Jaundice: Natrum sulph

Lactation- deficient or absent milk: Calcarea phos

Nausea and Vomiting: Natrum mur, Ferrum phos, Kali mur

Piles: Calcarea fluor

Puerperal fever: Kali mur

Sleeplessness: Kali phos

Urticaria (Hives): Natrum mur

Varicose veins: Calcarea fluor

Weakness: Ferrum phos

Worms: Natrum phos

Dose: The usual dose is 4 tablets of the 6x potency, 3 times a day. It may be necessary to combine two or more biochemic remedies since a person can have a deficiency of more than one salt.

Note: A detailed history followed by constitutional treatment by a good and qualified homoeopath is necessary to treat the complaints that appear during pregnancy. It is not advisable to resort to self-medication for any disease. The above mentioned drugs are just a few of the remedies and are mentioned solely to create awareness about the efficacy of biochemic medicines in pregnancy.

For the homeopathic management of your health issues, contact us for an appointment.

What is it? Psoriasis is a common, inflammatory disease of the skin.

What causes it? Its cause is unknown, but it is genetically determined. It is often familial, but does not appear to be inherited in any regular dominant, sex-linked or recessive way. The disease has been found to be of greater frequency in men than in women. It is less common in African and Asian groups.

What are the symptoms? Well-defined red scaling patches on the extensor surface of the body, especially the knees, elbows and the scalp, characterize this disease. Each patch has a well-demarcated margin and is raised above the skin surface. The affected skin is a variable shade of red and the surface is often thrown up into large silvery scales. The nails may also show various changes like “thimble-pitting”, separation or deformities of the nail plate, brownish-black discoloration etc.

Psoriasis is a life long disorder that is subjected to unpredictable remissions and relapses.

Can homoeopathy help? The following drugs are important aids in the treatment of psoriasis:

Lycopodium It is suited to persons who are mentally keen, but of weak muscular power. They are apprehensive and afraid to be alone. They are extremely sensitive and little things annoy them. Typically, the patient appears emaciated (he is thin and withered), and full of gas. The right side of the body is peculiarly affected and all the complaints seem to increase in the evening, especially between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Skin diseases are often associated with urinary, gastric or liver disorders. The skin becomes thick and indurated. There is violent itching and the skin may show cracks and fissures. It is dry and shrunken. The abdomen is bloated (especially the lower part), and feels full immediately after a meal. There is dyspepsia due to fermentable food like cabbages, peas and beans. They like to eat sweet things and enjoy warm food and drinks.

Ars. iodatum The skin is dry and itches. There is a scaling of the skin, and large scales fall off leaving a raw surface with an exudation. Sometimes the beard region is affected which itches and causes an oozing of a watery fluid.

Kali arsenicosum There is an intolerable itching of the skin which is worse from warmth, walking and especially undressing. The skin is dry and scaly; it appears wilted. There are fissures in the bends of the elbows and the knees. The patient is generally nervous, restless and anemic and worse from every change in the weather.

Kali sulphuricum is a Biochemic remedy which is useful for the scaling of the skin as seen in Psoriasis. All ailments are accompanied by excessive desquamation. The scales are large and yellow in color.

Natrum muriaticum is useful in patients with a greasy skin. There are dry and crusty eruptions, especially on the margin of the hair and the bends of joints. The skin appears raw, red and inflamed. The psoriasis may follow grief, disappointment, anger or fright. The person is depressed and does not take kindly to consolation and sympathy. He may be prone to attacks of migraine, usually affecting the left side of the head. The symptoms are made worse from warmth, mental exertion, 10 a.m., and relieved in the open air and from bathing with cold water. Exposure to the sun also aggravates the skin complaints.

A detailed history followed by constitutional treatment by a good and qualified homoeopath is necessary to treat psoriasis. It is not advisable to resort to self-medication for any disease. The above mentioned drugs are just a few of the remedies for psoriasis and are mentioned solely to create awareness about the efficacy of homoeopathy in this disease.

For the homeopathic management of your health issues, contact us for an appointment.

Puberty in girls is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. There are profound biological, morphological and psychological changes that lead to full maturity and eventually fertility. In a short time, the child takes on an adult like physique.

The physical changes that are evident during puberty are the development of the breast, pubic and axillary hair growth, growth in height and menstruation. These changes are gradual except the menarche, which can be dated.

The common problems in this age group are irregular menses, profuse menses and white discharge. Sometimes the puberty is delayed.

Delayed puberty is when the girl has not started menstruation by 18 years of age. There could be many causes for this delay- familial, or an excessive pre-occupation with weight that is common in this age group, leading to anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Sometimes chronic ill health, hormonal problems or extreme stress could be the causative factors. Most of these patients respond to reassurance, a good balanced diet, moderate exercises and constitutional homeopathic drugs like Pulsatilla, Natrum muriaticum, Kali carbonicum, Graphites and Lycopodium. If not, the patients need to be investigated for various anatomical defects of the genitals, chromosomal problems, or problems at the hypothalamic-pituitary or ovarian-uterine axis.

An irregular cycle is often due to a failure to ovulate. It could be heavy or prolonged. A proper explanation, adequate reassurance and psychological support should correct the emotional consequence. Homeopathic medicines like Pulsatilla, Cyclamen, Kali carbonicum, etc. would be of benefit to the patient.

For heavy menses, we have medicines like Calcarea carbonica, Phosphorus, Calcarea phosphorica, Sabina, etc.

Leucorrhoea or a white discharge is also a common complaint during puberty. If the discharge is white, non-irritating, non-offensive and is not associated with any urinary symptoms, then it is a physiological phenomenon. This can be corrected with the help of constitutional homeopathic remedies. However, an acute onset of leucorrhoea, with an irritation, itching and redness of the parts, may be due to a fungal infection. This responds well to homeopathic medicines like Borax, Alumina, Kreosote and Natrum muriaticum.

Some describe puberty as a period of “storm and stress”. The girl may develop a feeling of guilt, depression, a loss of interest in her usual activities or sleep disorders. Homeopathic remedies like Pulsatilla, Cyclamen, Natrum muriaticum, etc. may help her weather this storm.

Constitutional homeopathic treatment given at puberty would thus go a long way in preventing disease and maintaining the physical and mental well being of the patient.

For more information about homeopathy and for treatment of your disease, please visit our web site  or contact us for an appointment.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,800 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

This anthem is still relevant in the present times. I have been teaching homeopathy for over 25 years and I sometimes feel that this number is a current favorite with the kids because of the reality it portrays.

Teaching, like medicine, is supposed to be a noble profession. I am a doctor as well as a teacher but I can’t completely agree with that statement.

When I was in high school more than 30 years ago, I was in a different era. Personal or private coaching was unheard of at that time. Teachers are now more mercenaries than anything else. The greed to earn more money has driven them to do things that would leave even a shameless person red faced.

School teachers now openly solicit students for private coaching. They zero in on the unsuspecting pupils and talk about their poor performance and drop hints about how their academic graph would improve if the teacher specially coached them. Those who are being privately coached are favored in the class and are given special and easy assignments. Miraculously, these students also get special powers and are able to predict the questions that would be asked in the examinations! Obviously the grades improve. If the schoolteacher is not coaching you, then you are left to fend for yourself and also made to feel like a pariah. You would be ignored completely and even if you give the correct answer to the questions that are asked in class, you are a nobody.

Then there is another class of teachers that would not have the ingenuity to ask you to be coached by them. So they resort to passing sarcastic comments about the students in general. They would rant and rave about the fickle students of the school who trust outside teachers and flock to them for private coaching. They would use every possible trivial incident to insult the students and scare them into believing that they made a wrong choice of the private tutor. To make sure that the students cannot go for their coaching after school, they give a lot of assignments that have to be completed and brought back the next day.

I know of a teacher who told the class that she would not be able to teach them unless they requested the Principal of their school to increase her salary. The school is a private school that has recently increased the fees, ostensibly to pay the teachers a higher salary!

When my son was in Class XI, the teachers went a step further. They would rarely take their regular lectures and if you had a doubt that needed to be solved, they would say that this would be discussed in their private coaching class.

I have a patient who often comes home feeling insulted and humiliated because of the way the teachers treat not only her, but also her classmates. They all have to suppress their emotions because to react would mean educational suicide. She says that her teacher is only interested in teaching those students whom he is privately coaching. He uses flimsy excuses to cut the marks of the other students and even gives credit of the work done by others to his pupils. Fortunately we have a medicine in homeopathy called Staphysagria that we give her to calm her down and to get over this feeling of indignation and humiliation. It has always worked. At one time, my daughter’s friend developed a severe abdominal colic after her teacher ridiculed her. Once again homeopathy came to her rescue and a few doses of Colocynth took care of the colic and also helped her become less sensitive to the emotional assault.

A young girl was brought to us with severe depression. She did not want to go to school and had remained absent for over a week. She had no desire to talk to anyone and would shut herself up in her room. Her parents often found her weeping and when they would persistently quiz her problems she would say that she wanted to die and end her suffering. We talked to this young girl and traced this depression and suicidal thoughts to the humiliation that she had to go through everyday at school. Her teacher had apparently taken a dislike for her and would use a greater part of her teaching time in trying to insult her and erode her self-esteem. The homeopathic drug Aurum metallicum, helped this girl come out of her depression. The parents were also counseled and asked to take up this issue with the school.

In the kindergarten class and the lower grades teachers, are next to God. Even the parents are secondary to the teachers and whatever the teacher tells the child is the gospel truth. When the child reaches middle school, there is a sudden realization that the teacher is not an angel but a mere mortal. The parents once again rank higher in esteem. Finally in high school, the teacher turns into a devil and the child develops disgust for the petty, mean and egocentric teachers. This translates into a hatred for the school.

So, hey teachers, leave them kids alone.

For more information on how homeopathy can help you, please visit our web site http://www.drvaishnav.com (Homeopathic Healing)

For more information about homeopathy and homeopathic treatment of your disease, please send an e-mail to office@drvaishnav.com

This idea is not new at all. Homeopaths have been aware of the effect of the bowel flora on the health for almost a hundred years. This was first highlighted by John Paterson in the early 1900s. He had classified the intestinal flora into the lactose fermenting and the non-lactose fermenting bacteria. He isolated the organisms and made clinical and bacteriological observations on 12,000 cases. His work is now published in the form of a small book on Bowel Nosodes. The Bowel nosodes are widely used in homeopathic practice for people who have a typical set of emotional and physical symptoms.

What is interesting is the question, aptly brought up by John Paterson- “In nature, where there is balance, there is no disease and the germ, in this case the B. Coli in the intestinal tract, performs a useful function. Where the intestinal mucosa is healthy the B. Coli is non-pathogenic. Any change in the host which affects the intestinal mucosa will upset the balance and will be followed by a change in the habit and the bio-chemistry of the B. Coli, which may then be said to become pathogenic, but it should be noted that the primary change, the disease originated in the host, which compelled the bacillus to modify its habit in order to survive. I would ask you to keep this sequence of events in mind as a great deal of what I have to say about the intestinal nosodes is based upon this conception which I have confirmed by clinical and laboratory observations over the last twenty years.”

Homeopathy believes that the germs that conventional medicine labels as the causes of diseases are actually scavengers. They do not and cannot cause disease unless the man himself is ill and provides a medium for them to thrive.  In the healthy state, the human organism has these germs on the skin or the internal mucosa, but shows no signs of disease. When the organism is ‘sick’, these germs begin to show their pathogenic or disease producing effects. This concept of immunity has been described as susceptibility in homeopathic philosophy.

It is heartening to note that what was published by a homeopath in the early 20th century is being confirmed by modern day researchers.

Mrs. XYZ consulted me with a fear that she had a cancer of the breasts- she had pain and swelling in the breasts about a week before the menses.

Ms. PQRS, a young girl of eighteen, feels so miserable due to her pimples that she refuses to go to college a few days prior to her menses.

What is common to all these three patients is a syndrome that is present before the menses, called the Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) or Pre-Menstrual Tension. One can label a person as suffering from PMS if a group of symptoms recurs in the same fashion and is relieved with the appearance of the menses. Its onset varies from just a few hours before menses to six to ten days before the periods.

What is the cause? 
This is apparently caused by water retention in the body. The other factor that is thought to be responsible for this condition is extreme sensitiveness to the fluctuations in the hormonal levels which are in turn sensitive to psychological conditions like anxiety, emotional instability, and domestic stress to name a few.

What are the symptoms?
 The patient can have physical as well as psychological symptoms.
The physical symptoms can be varied:

Migraine headaches
Sinusitis and upper respiratory tract infections
Painful swelling of the breasts
Acne
Abdominal distension
Constipation
Pelvic discomfort
Frequent urination
Gain in weight

The psychological symptoms are manifested as:

Lassitude, malaise and tiredness
Extreme moodiness and touchiness
Irritability
Emotional outbursts
Sleep disturbances
Depression
Suicidal and homicidal tendencies

How can it be controlled? 
Adopting a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and a proper diet will help control the symptoms.

What are the changes required in the diet?
Low in salt and sugar, esp. before the menses
High in fiber content
Intake of Soya bean preparations
Restriction of caffeine- coffee, tea, cola drinks, etc.
Calcium supplements to reduce the cramps during the menses
Vitamins E and the B complex

How can homeopathy help? 
Constitutional treatment by a good and qualified homeopath will surely help in PMS. This will require a detailed history, followed by the prescription of a remedy that would be based not only on the patient’s physical symptoms but also on her life situation and mental state.

Some of the constitutional remedies useful in PMS are:

Calcarea carbonica is a pale, fat, flabby person who cannot tolerate the cold. She sweats easily from the slightest exertion. Her symptoms may be the result of emotions, worries, and vexations. She is mentally tired and full of anxiety. She is worried that others would observe her mental weakness and that people look at her with suspicion. She is also full of fears that something sad or terrible would happen. She craves eggs and sweets. Her menses are early, profuse and long lasting (an internal examination may reveal fibroids or polyps of the uterus). She has pains in the breast, leucorrhoea, chilliness and headache before the menses. There is a sensation of a weight on the top of the head, with nausea and cold hands and feet.

Graphites is useful in persons who are morbidly fat with a tendency towards constipation and delayed menses. She is in extreme mental depression, which is made worse by listening to music. She is indecisive and her moods change constantly. She recalls the events of her youth, but recent events are forgotten. She has a great aversion to sweets in her diet. Her menses are late or irregular, pale and scanty. Sometimes she has leucorrhoea instead of menses. Her premenstrual symptoms are varied- colds and cough, hoarseness of the voice, headaches, nausea, itching of the vulva, weight gain and edema of the feet, and leucorrhoea.

Kali carbonicum is a whimsical and irritable person. She appears to be quarrelsome- quarrels with her family and with people at work. She is extremely anxious and fearful. She cannot remain alone. This person is sensitive to every atmospheric change and cannot tolerate cold weather. Weakness, sweating and backache best describe her physical troubles. She has profuse menses and there is often a continuous flow of blood till the next cycle. Before the periods she feels very sad and is very hot and uncomfortable.

Pulsatilla is a mild, gentle and yielding person. She is extremely touchy and weeps easily. She likes fuss and caresses and is relieved by sympathy and consolation. All her symptoms have appeared since she first started menstruating. She is thirst less, though her lips and mouth are dry. She dislikes and cannot tolerate food that is rich and full of fats. Her menses are irregular and lend to be delayed. The flow is thick, scanty, dark, clotted, intermittent and changeable. She will complain of pain in the breast before, and diarrhea during and after the menses.

Lac caninum is very forgetful. She makes mistakes in writing. She is sad and believes her disease is incurable. The menses are too early and are profuse and in gushes. The breasts swell up before the menses and are very painful. They cannot tolerate the slightest jar and she must support them with her hands while walking. She also has a headache before menstruation with a blurred vision, nausea and vomiting at the height of the attack. Sore throat and cough often accompany menstruation. The pains are erratic and symptoms have a tendency to alternate sides.

Conium is a remedy for spinsters, widows and old maids. There is a history of repressed sexual desire or overindulgence. She is depressed, timid and has an aversion to meeting people. Every excitement causes mental depression. She takes no interest in anything, be it business or study. Her menses are delayed and scanty, and the parts are sensitive. The breasts enlarge and become painful before and during the menses. There are stitching pains in the nipples and she wants to press the breast hard with her hand.

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The answer is an emphatic YES. Homeopathy can be used to treat animals. We have been treating some of our patients’ pets with homeopathy for the past 25 years and the most common comment is that the pet somehow knows it is being given homeopathic medicine and not only readily takes the dose but eagerly waits for it.

It is slightly difficult to treat pets because they cannot speak and so the greatest input that we get from humans- sensations and feelings is missing. However a homeopath can use his power of observation and can also interpret the behavior of the animals to decide the correct remedy.

A twelve year old male dachshund was brought to us for the treatment of the following:

1. Abscess in the paws-oozing bright red blood but no pus. Can walk, but it is slightly painful when walking on any rough surface.
2. Ear discharge-oozes only when his ear flaps are everted. Discharge-cream colored, and extremely offensive.
3. Severe itching of the skin, worse on scratching with falling off of the hair in the affected parts. The skin over the affected region has become pigmented and the scratched part becomes sticky.

He has had bacterial and fungal infections of the skin in the past. He has also had stones in the urinary bladder for which he was treated with a proprietary Ayurvedic medicine. He has cataract in both the eyes and is on treatment for hypothyroidism.

Just like in the human patients, the totality of his symptoms was considered to begin the homeopathic treatment. This included not just the physical complaints but also the emotional state (as observed by his family and us) and other peculiarities in the reaction to the environment.

The homeopathic drug that we prescribed was Graphites. The skin rapidly improved; with the result the hair started growing and the fungal infection came under control.

The ear discharge persisted, however, for which Medorrhinum was prescribed.

The patient recovered but was brought back a year later for a fungal infection on the skin. At this point Bacillinum was prescribed with rapid improvement of the fungal infection and re-growth of hair.

These are the pictures taken before treatment:

These are the pictures taken after treatment:

A year later, he had a severe attack of breathlessness and fever. He was not eating well and had become dull. The X-ray of the chest, showed a pleural effusion (collection of fluid in the membranes surrounding the lungs) and enlargement of the heart.

He was now given Apis for these complaints. The fever came down the next night.

During this episode of pleural effusion and Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardio Myopathy (HCOM), along with the modern medicine he was then given on a homeopathic remedy called Ars. iodatum. The positive point here was that in spite of a high dose of a diuretic for over four months, which normally has a detrimental effect on kidneys (dehydration of kidneys causing a dip in Potassium and rise in Creatinine levels in the blood), he sustained the treatment well so that at the end of two months the Creatinine levels were well within normal limits.

This case emphasizes the fact that homeopathy works wonders in animals. It can treat not only simple derangements of health but even serious conditions of the lungs and the heart.

It also proves that homeopathic treatment is not a placebo effect because an animal does not know whether it is being given a medicine but still responds favorably and progresses towards health.

So the next time your pet is ill consider homeopathy. Remember, he is a part of your family and deserves to be treated well.

Disclaimer: A detailed history followed by constitutional treatment by a good and qualified homoeopath is necessary to treat animals. The above mentioned drugs are solely to create awareness about the efficacy of homoeopathy in veterinary practice and should not be given to any person or animal without the advice of a homeopath.

P.S.: Pictures courtesy Dr. Nupoor Rawle, BHMS, our assistant at Dr. Vaishnav’s Clinic