This article appeared in Four Corners Magazine - Sedona, Arizona

Homeopathic Remedies for an Active Fall Season

by Barbara Seideneck, CCH, RSHom (NA)

Fall in the Great Outdoors!

Beautiful trails in the desert and the mountains offer an irresistible invitation for outdoor fall time activities. Whatever exercise or sport you choose there's always a chance you might get injured. Runner's World sites that two out of three runners get hurt every year, and injuries are common in simple outdoor activities like jogging, hiking and biking. Treating simple injuries quickly and easily with homeopathic remedies is what a lot of active people are doing these days. Consider packing some of the ones listed below. They fit easily into a back pack, or hip bag for quick access in an emergency. Chronic conditions will, of course, need attention from a professional homeopath.

Mother Nature's Pharmacopia

The "magic" of a quick-acting homeopathic remedy can be mind­boggling and effective in putting you back on your feet again. Homeopathic treatment speeds up the healing process by enhancing your body's natural healing response.

Manufactured according to strict pharmacological methods, homeopathic remedies are made from plant, animal or mineral substances. Examples - common and exotic - include frequently used plant remedies like Arnica, Chamomile, Daisy and Poison Ivy. Common salt, oyster-shell calcium, iron and gold can effectively treat chronic conditions like depression, migraines and constipation. Venom from the Rattlesnake, Copperhead and other snakes are used to stop confusion, sadness, various bleeding problems, and severe throat infections. Plants, substances from animals, and many elements are made into homeopathic remedies.

Processing with dilution and succussion (mechanized shaking) renders these substances non-toxic and increases their effectiveness. Unlike stronger herbal medicines, homeopathic remedies cause few adverse effects and no reported deaths. The Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States (HPUS sign on bottles you buy) lists around 3500 remedies, which have been recognized as safe under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, many since 1938.

Homeopathic remedies have been used throughout the world for over 200 years. Health food stores and pharmacies carry a sufficient number of remedies for self-treatment. Very small pellets of milk sugar come in small tubes or bottles, are inexpensive, and are easy to carry. Carrying one remedy, like Arnica, can help many situations. A few pellets taken every couple of hours or put into your water bottle will reduce swelling quickly and re-establish regular blood flow. You can buy remedies in different strengths (usually 6C to 200e), called potencies. Professionals can provide higher potencies. Homeopathic remedies are usually dissolved under the tongue or put into a 4-OZ. glass of water and stirred each time for repetitive use. One pellet dissolved in water, taken a teaspoon at a time, can be repeated as needed until significant improvement occurs.

How can remedies work when they are so highly diluted?

The answer is based on very little known fact, the Law of Similars, formulated by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755­1843). It states that a substance able to create certain symptoms in a healthy individual can heal a person with similar symptoms when ill. For example, too much coffee can have an agitating effect and cause insomnia. Homeopathic coffee (Coffea crud a) can provide relief to people suffering from sleeplessness.

come in small tubes or bottles, are inexpensive, and are easy to carry. Carrying one remedy, like Arnica, can help many situations. A few pellets taken every couple of hours or put into your water bottle will reduce swelling quickly and re-establish regular blood flow. You can buy remedies in different strengths (usually 6C to 200e), called potencies. Professionals can provide higher potencies. Homeopathic remedies are usually dissolved under the tongue or put into a 4-OZ. glass of water and stirred each time for repetitive use. One pellet dissolved in water, taken a teaspoon at a time, can be repeated as needed until significant improvement occurs.

How can remedies work when they are so highly diluted?

The answer is based on very little known fact, the Law of Similars, formulated by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755­1843). It states that a substance able to create certain symptoms in a healthy individual can heal a person with similar symptoms when ill. For example, too much coffee can have an agitating effect and cause insomnia. Homeopathic coffee (Coffea crud a) can provide relief to people suffering from sleeplessness.

Bryonia (White Bryony) - Slow onset (sprained ankle swells two to four hours after injury), can't bear to move the part. Injured part is red, hot and better with ice. The person is very irritable, better left alone and usually thirsty for large amounts of cold drinks. Byronia helps to alleviate pain in rib injuries, when every tiny movement, like breathing aggravates the pain.

Ledum (Wild Rosemary) - Slow onset, swelling a few hours after the incident. Injury feels cool to the touch and is better with a cold pack. Injury is black and blue (like Arnica or Bellis). For a bruise that won't heal, long-term soreness not cured by Arnica; black eye and long-term injuries with coldness.

Natrum sulphuricum (Sodium Sulfate) - Often given for chronic depression, gastric disorders and asthma but very helpful to alleviate headaches after head injury, sometimes accompanied by indigestion and diarrhea in the morning. Sensitive to damp, humid weather.

Ruta (Rue) - Useful for bruised shins, sprained ankles, pains in joints resulting in marked stiffness. Feels better with a little motion, but gets worse when moving too much, worse from cold and damp, better warm.

Rhus tox (Poison Ivy) - Useful for inflamed joints, tendons, fascia, low back pain with restlessness. Feels worse at initial movement but better with continued motion ("the rusty gate"). Pains start after exposure to cold wind while perspiring. Much better from warmth, warm showers and worse from the cold.

Symphytum (Comfrey) - Mostly used for fractures once they've been set. Used acutely and for non-union fractures. It improves reunion of broken bones, shortens the healing process, useful in injuries to the periosteum with persisting pains long after the injury.