Are There Any Side Effects To Homeopathy?
This is probably the number one question i get asked during initial conversations about treatment with homeopathy, and rightly so! You want to know what to expect once you start giving homeopathic remedies to you child (or yourself!)
Here are some main points:
Homeopathic remedies are not drugs. They do not work in the body by introducing a chemical like medicines do. They work entirely by stimulating the body’s own ability to heal itself.
What we call symptoms are the body’s sign that something is out of balance (which is why we ask so many questions during an appointment!) and when you give a correct remedy that resonates with that imbalance, the body may experience some signs of healing as it tries to get back into balance.
These healing symptoms can be wide ranging, from fevers to skin symptoms to bowel changes, even to a heightening of current symptoms. It entirely depends on how sick the body is and how capable it is to heal.
When a body is very sick or toxic, it may have to get better in "layers". Meaning the body has to clear layers and layers of dis-ease before it is back to health.
As the body clears, "layers" may appear as new symptoms (what you may call side effects). But instead they are the body giving us new signs and symptoms and clues as to what needs healing next.
For example, when clearing heavy metals or vaccines, symptoms of yeast may appear (odd laughter, maybe waking in the night, maybe aggression, maybe brain fog etc). In this case, yeast is the next layer the body needs to clear before it can be more healthy. And so on.
Healing happens from deeper inside the body towards the “outside” (ie less threatening, less important, less debilitating)...ie asthma is a deeper problem than eczema. So when treating asthma and some eczema (re)appears, we say the body is healing. Or delayed development is a deeper problem than say increased anger. So if a child with delayed development during treatment develops increased anger (this is just an example!!) but we also see that there are signs of better understanding and cognition, that would be a sign the body healing and releasing even though we have increased behaviour issues (that might be next layer to treat)
Symptoms that arise are what you may call side effects. However, they are considered to be a healing response or a message that some other “layer'“ needs help now.
A true healing response is when the body expresses a symptom that passes quickly (up to a few weeks) and then you have overall improvement. That “side effect” was the body using whatever it needed to do to heal.
If the healing response (or side effect) hangs around without overall improvement, this still gives us vital information. It says, I cannot clear, something is blocking (a classic example is constipation during detox…the body cannot clear fast enough and so you get heightened symptoms of toxicity).
If I am working with your child, it is so important that you convey any new symptoms or behaviours to me. It is through this information that I determine how your child is responding to remedies. However, I may not choose to act straight away. Interrupting a healing response with more remedies can confuse the situation. I will always be on hand to help and advise you.
I hope that helps a little, it’s a huge topic! Homeopathy is a whole system of healing that took 4 years to learn! But even after the 14 years of being in practice i am still discovering everyday!