Addressing Asthma Homeopathically

Homeopathy with Heidi is a radio program that discusses how homeopathy can help with mental, emotional, and physical distress. In this episode, Heidi talks about asthma and how homeopathy can help alleviate symptoms and potentially overcome asthma without toxic drugs. She explains that asthma is a constriction of the airways and discusses different drug approaches to treating it. Heidi emphasizes the importance of finding the right homeopathic remedy for each individual and mentions some examples of remedies that could be used for asthma. She also addresses the misconception that homeopathy involves using whole plants or tinctures, clarifying that it is a different approach from naturopathy or herbal medicine. This program was produced by and first broadcast on Radio Kidnappers, a volunteer-based community access station. For more information go to www.radiokidnappers.org.nz. Thanks to New Zealand On Air for making this program available through funding the Access Internet Radio Project. Well hello and welcome back to Homeopathy with Heidi. So my name is Heidi Beck and I am a registered classical homeopath. My business is called Thrive Homeopathy and I'm here to talk to you today about how homeopathy can help you in all conditions really of mental, emotional and physical distress. But today especially about asthma as it's that time of year. And here in the studio with me is Ken Morrison. Hello Ken. How are you Heidi? You've had a good couple of weeks? I have. I hope you too. I have and winter is well here. Yes, we're sitting here a bit warmer clothes than usual. We've got our winter gear on and we were talking about skiing and all that sort of stuff. Exactly. But asthma? Asthma, yes, that's a biggie unfortunately. Lots of kids get it, don't they? They do. Apparently 5% of the population has asthma and 10% of children. Luckily it's not necessarily something that you're stuck with for life. Often people do grow out of it and I guess that's the only good side of it. There is that prospect we can deal with it. And obviously I'm here to talk about how homeopathy can actually lessen your symptoms and help you to actually overcome asthma without toxic drugs and side effects. So homeopathy as opposed to like a bental inhaler? For example, yes. Maybe we should clarify what asthma exactly is. Take it away. Asthma is a constriction of the airways of the bronchial tubes. And when that happens then obviously there won't be enough air going to the lungs and with that there won't be enough oxygen going to each and every cell in the body. So that imposes a huge problem. Not only do we suffocate but nothing will work. Every single cell in our body requires oxygen for every metabolic process, for every muscle move, for every thought. So we need a lot of good oxygen. So asthma attacks are then acute constriction and it can either be through the muscles that are tightening these bronchial tubes and that's when you often have the bronchial dilator that will relax the muscles so that that can widen again. If you want an analogy, it's like the workmen in the tunnel and they're keeping that tunnel open and clear. But then there's the other form which can be the preventative that is often steroid-based. That has a different approach. That sort of keeps the tunnel, the airway clean so that there's not so much mucus build-up that again will constrict and lessen the airflow. So there are two different drug approaches. Just to point out, we never ever say that you should go off your meds when you switch to trying a complementary or alternative approach. Asthma is very dangerous and you can actually die in an acute attack. But what we do recommend is the two approaches that I just said aren't going to treat the cause of why you have asthma. So that's what we're trying to look at. What are your triggers? How do you react? And then give you a homeopathic medicine so that you can either quickly relieve those symptoms of the acute attack and ideally strengthen the immune system to overcome asthma much quicker and for good. Can a homeopathic remedy treat asthma as quickly as for instance Ventolin? I mean I know when I was growing up I did have asthma. I had it quite badly to the point where one day I had to be taken into a doctor for an injection and I immediately felt better. I could immediately breathe. And it's the same when I had my blue inhaler. If I took a puff, immediately I felt better. Is there a homeopathic remedy that lets me feel that way instantly? When you have found the right remedy for you, yes. It will work just as quickly or almost as quickly. Obviously if it's an acute severe attack and I had that once with my daughter as well. After the hospital she was on a drip and there's no experimenting around. Then you act quickly. But let's say you have that remedy and you know that that works well. Then you can take it and if within half a minute you aren't feeling the relief then by all means go to that Ventolin and do something. What are some of the remedies homeopathically speaking that we can be using? Our medicine kit is nature. In saying that, there are hundreds of thousands. In the meantime we're about up to 3-4 thousand various homeopathic remedies. Obviously not all have an affinity to your respiratory system. That already will limit it maybe down to a few hundred. But still that's a big choice. It's a bit ironical isn't it? Nature can cause it with pollen and nature can fix it with... Exactly. The triggers are a biggie in asthma. Looking at what is your trigger is also one way of getting closer to the right homeopathic medicine for you. The difference with homeopathy is that we're not treating asthma per se. We're treating you who is presenting with respiratory complaints. The pharmaceutical drugs are treating the illness. They don't take into consideration what are your personal triggers, what makes your asthma better, what makes it worse. Is it damp air or is it hot dry air? It's different for everybody. Obviously there is some respiratory distress but one person will completely go hysterical in a panic. The other person will just sit there and hover and wheeze. There are different positions that people take when they're having breathing difficulties. Even that is an indication. Some will bend backwards to open the chest. Others will bend forward. Some children will be on their chest knee position with their bums up in the air. That's an indication for a different remedy. To answer your question, there is no one specific. I can give you a few examples. For example, like I said, the child in the knee chest position, bum up, that is often an indication for metorhinum. That could be a remedy. Then another common remedy, now this sounds pretty gross, which is nothing else but a big, dark, oriental cockroach. That has been made into a remedy. The reason I explain this is because when we have these remedies, we also look at the environment where this plant, animal, mineral thrives or lives. Cockroaches, they want mold, dark, damp. They're very restless. They move about quickly. Then they sit and rest. People presenting with asthma who are very restless, whose symptoms are worse in damp, moldy conditions. Just think about how many people here in New Zealand, especially, live in moldy environments. All that black stuff that you see on your window sills inside and all the black stuff in your shower, that's not dirt. That's mold. That is hugely contributing to asthma. That cockroach made into a homeopathic remedy could potentially be helping you through an asthma attack and preventing the asthma. A colleague of mine, she had an asthma attack and she took that remedy. She hasn't had one since. Amazing. Now, everyone freaks out when they hear those kind of stories. Oh, my God, they're giving me cockroach love. Don't worry, there's a pharmaceutical process from registered homeopathic pharmacies and they go through this process of making the homeopathic medicine. So, through the dilution, the succussion, the trituration, there's actually no remaining cockroach. You're not going to see the cockroach. It's going to be in a pill form, is it? It's usually a little tiny white sugar pill. It's on milk sugar or as drops for repeated doses, but normally just these very tiny, small sugar pills. Best not to know what's in it, Heidi. Obviously, yes. If you ever take this, you're going to feel great. If you take this cockroach pill, you'll feel great. Exactly. Another remedy is a plant, for example, ipecac. Ipecacuana is a great plant, especially for children when they cough, cough, cough to the point that they then vomit. Lots of small children do that and ipecac is a very good remedy for that. Where does that come from? It's a plant, a flower. Grow it in your garden? No, I think it's in Asia. Brazil, actually. It's native to Brazil, so it's in tropical climates. There's this nausea and vomiting is an indication and it's also a good remedy in morning sickness, for example. I guess maybe just to clarify a point for people listening to our show when we talk about homeopathic remedies, I guess in my head, I sort of see shelves and shelves of leaves and powders and mortars and pistols. It's not like that at all, is it? No, no. That's probably the common confusion between homeopathy and naturopathy because if you're actually seeing those plants and you're taking tinctures, brown tinctures that often don't taste too good and teaspoons full, that's not homeopathy. That's naturopathy or herbal medicine. That is actually still the whole plant that has been steeped or parts of the plant that have been steeped in alcohol and so that all the, we call them the constituents, the active ingredients of the plant will go into the alcohol and that is then given to you. So some of those substances, like embelladonna, which we use as a homeopathic medicine, atropine, is toxic. So you can't use it as a tincture, but you can use it in a homeopathic form because like I said with the cockroach, through the process the homeopathic pharmacies go through, the actual substance has been removed. So naturopathy, homeopathy, if you had to get into the boxing ring, who would come out the winner? I think they both have their place, absolutely, and I use herbal tinctures as well, especially for organ support. So whilst the homeopathic remedy will also work quicker and deeper on the mental, emotional side of why you're presenting with an illness, like we try and find out when did it all start, what was going on, was it stress, was it anger, was it grief, was it guilt, what kind of emotions are involved, and the homeopathic remedy will address that as well. But if you've had kidney problems, circulatory problems, respiratory, mucous membrane problems for a long time, then the herbal tinctures that I prescribe will help cleanse, will help support, will help rebuild, restructure the organ. So everything has its place in complementary medicine, and different strokes for different folks, and some just love their drugs, which that's their choice, but I think people need to be informed and know that you actually have an option, whether you choose to take it and to look into it or not, that's your choice. Now we have spoken about this before as well, that homeopathic remedies don't go off, but naturopathic remedies, I mean, would those leaves go moldy, go off? Well, they won't go moldy, but because that active constituent of the plant is still there, they won't last forever, they will dissipate, they will lose their strength. They do go off. The homeopathic remedy, because that has been removed, and it's more of an energetic medicine, which, you know, sounds woo-wah, but it's not. It's not. Quantum physics is now explaining it, and the proof is in the over 250 years of usage. Yes. And maybe it's a good thing to point out now that the Swiss government, in I think 2011, put out a big study, because the conventional system of addressing illness isn't financially viable in the future, according to the Swiss government for their country. So they wanted to look at options, and they investigated homeopathy amongst other complementary medicine treatment, like I think it was chiropractitioners, osteopaths, and acupuncture, and, yes, a few others, and naturopathic treatment. So the result of the study was that homeopathy is definitely very beneficial, very effective, because the aim of the game is to boost the immune system, to get the person to a healthy state so that they don't even become ill, and when you do become ill, and you get the right remedy, it works very quickly, very effectively, at low cost, because there's no pharmaceutical profit, and no patenting. It's nature's product. So financially, for the government, a huge win, and for the population. So as of this year, it is now fully funded in Switzerland, and you have the option to get prescription medication or to visit a homeopath. Wow. Should we take a break? Yes, and because we're talking about asthma, we actually have, I think, a pretty fitting and lovely song. Do you want to announce it? Would you? It's by a guy called Sting, and it's called Every Breath I Take. Here it is. Every breath you take Every move you make Every bond you break Every step you take I'll be watching you Every breath you take Every move you make Every bond you break Every step you take I'll be watching you Every single day Every word you say Every game you play Every night you stay I'll be watching you Oh, can't you see You belong to me Now I pull away Every step you take Every move you make Every bond you break Every smile you fake Every crane you stake I'll be watching you Can't you see you belong to me This program is called Homeopathy with Heidi. It's our pleasure, as always, to have in the studio Heidi Beth. Now, Heidi, before we start talking some more about asthma and the particular triggers surrounding that, just remind our listeners where we can find you. Well, my clinic, Thrive Homeopathy, is based in Napier on Hospital Hill, and it's very accessible and easy to find. It's on No. 1 Alampton Road, parking right in front, no steps. A very lovely clinic, and you can find out more about homeopathy and about Thrive Homeopathy in particular by going to www.thrivehomeopathy.co.nz or you can contact me on 021-335233. Just before we start talking some more about that asthma, I just wonder, you know, when people generally get sick, their first call is not to their doctor or to their homeopathic consultant. It's to the Internet. And I think, you know, some of the stuff that you read on there about what could be wrong with you is horrendous. And if I was thinking about getting a homeopathic treatment, would you recommend that I do some self-research or just bypass it and come straight to you? Well, put it this way, for the simple acute things, you know, you've bruised yourself, you've cut yourself, you have a sunburn. I think for those things, that's not dangerous and it's an acute thing. Absolutely. Google, go get yourself some Arnica, get yourself some Hypericum in homeopathic form. Give it a go. And then you'll be surprised. And then you'll start and get a little kit for yourself like accident first aid or the cough kit or the ear infection kit. Play around and just realize how wonderful and safe and effective it is. If you get the remedy wrong, nothing will happen because there's no resonance. It's just the wrong thing. So you can't do any harm. You just stop giving it. You try another remedy. Asthma is a long-standing chronic complaint. It's just an acute attack, but it is a chronic complaint. So anything that goes a little bit deeper, I do recommend that you see a professional and a registered homeopath. Okay, let's talk about triggers. Okay, triggers, they're varied. The common triggers are allergy triggers, so substances such as pollen. It can be grass pollen. It can be flowers, trees. The pine trees are pretty bad here. Then it's dust mites. That's a huge trigger. Now, again, to gross our listeners out, it's actually not the dust mite. It's the poo of the dust mite. So that's what we're inhaling. Too much, yep. That's what we're inhaling, and that's what causes the body to go, oh, and not deal with it. So other triggers can be emotional stress, and very common is just too much exercise. Like, I'm healthy. If I do too much exercise, I'll have shortness of breath, but not an asthma attack. The asthma sufferer, because it's a chronic underlying issue, that exertion, going up and down stairs or running will actually trigger the asthma. So there are a few things that you can do at home, and I highly recommend them. The main thing would be to get yourself a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter, so H-E-P-A filter. What that does, it prevents that all the dust that you suck up will not go out the other end of the vacuum cleaner, which it does in the cheap version. If you can't afford one right now, at least keep the asthma sufferer out of the room for one to two hours after vacuuming until the air has settled again. Yes, indeed. Good idea. Another thing is, think about the carpet that you have. Dust mites are in the carpet. Dirt is in the carpet, no matter how much you clean. Mold likes to be, especially in cotton or wool, not cotton, wool carpet. So think about getting synthetic carpet, a high quality, so it's not cheap China, and there's not too much toxin in that. But that for asthma sufferers is also good. Then for the toys of your children, you can't wash everything. So give it a good wash with a cloth and then put it in the freezer for about 48 hours. If you put your stuffed animals in the freezer on a regular basis and then take them out again, let them thaw, then that also will help. Is it a bit like, I mean, there seems to be a trend now to make absolutely everything totally clean. Don't let your kids get outside on the dirt. Can you go overboard and be too clean? Yes, absolutely. You know, is setting yourself up for more illness. Just a healthy proportion of normal dirt is pretty healthy because it helps you build your immune system. But you need a bit of dust, really. Well, you do. But just think about what we have nowadays. It's often more chemicals and these are highly toxic substances, the normal dirt soil without, you know, sprays of Roundup on them. That's healthy. So I don't advocate constantly spraying all the countertops with highly antibacterial stuff, killing 99% of the germs. That's not good. If I came to see you and you wanted to find out what my triggers were, how long would it take for you to eliminate the things around me before I could start on a proper treatment? Well, I just give some common feedback and to find out, okay, do you have maintaining causes? Are you living in a moldy house? Is your house damp? And then, you know, give you some more advice along the lines like I just did. That's actually not the homeopathic treatment. That's just the free advice alongside. Also, recommending to stay away from milk whilst you have mucus, respiratory issues because milk will actually help form mucus. And that's what we are trying to get rid of. So whilst you're sick, with a cough, with a cold, stay away from milk. So those things is more or less when you're ready to go. I'll give you five minutes of advice if you want. Then it's basically finding out when did it start? What are your triggers? So is it damp or is it dry? What time of day or night? Is it better? Is it worse? What does it feel like? What's the sound? Etc. And finding out as much as I can about you and then matching the remedy. As always, Heidi, it's been a pleasure to talk to you but believe it or not, we are out of time. We want to end with your thought for the week. Well, my thought for the week is from Oprah Winfrey. And she said, Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. www.radiokidnappers.org.nz Thanks to New Zealand On Air for making this program available through funding the Access Internet Radio Project.