Why Mothers Choose Homeopathy

There are a lot of reasons why people decide to try homeopathy. If each reason was a coin, a few piles would be the richest. But the richest of all, is the pile from mothers.

Hoping mothers-to-be can find success in constitutional treatment for issues of infertility...

Mothers may meet homeopathy when their midwives introduce them to this medicine, that is gentle and safe for pregnancy...

Laboring mothers move through slow labors, fear, vomiting, or stopped labors with the rapid efficiency of a well chosen remedy...

Breastfeeding mothers find relief from mastitis, low milk supply, over milk supply, and soreness from delivery (vaginal or caesarean) from appropriate remedies...

Mothers find homeopathic remedies to soothe the tricky colic of crying babies...

Babies and toddlers find relief from teething pain, coughs and colds, fevers and night-terrors...

Some mothers discover the use of homeopathic remedies to educate the immune system gently with homeoprophylaxis, as an alternative to traditional vaccines...

Mothers can soothe themselves from post-partum depression, overwhelm, anxiety and stress with constitutional care...

Mother's find that homeopathic care can greatly assist their children with autism or asperger's syndrome, in some cases reversing their symptoms...

Children receive relief from anxiety or labels from school (ADD, ADHD) without the use of prescription medication with good constitutional care....

They bounce back from sports injuries and the scrapes of childhood with remedies applied for first aid... 

Teens receive welcome emotional support from well-chosen remedies as they navigate the shifting waters of adolescence...

Mothers are empowered to treat their families naturally and gently at home, avoiding unnecessary antibiotics and trips to the doctor or ER, learning to trust their children's immune system and capacity to heal with homeopathic support...

Mother-Earth feels the gentleness of homeopathy's footprint on the earth- no pharmaceuticals or chemicals dumped in city water systems and cruel testing on animals....

To be sure, all individuals who find and choose homeopathy can find these benefits for themselves and their families, parents or no. But in my experience, its the mothers who are looking for the peaceful alternatives, the ge
ntle paths to support their children in being the best of who they are.

Here's to the mothers, and their role in bringing homeopathy to the next generation!

Ease Lyme Anxiety: Homeopathic Treatment of Acute Tick Bites

It's that time of year again. It's getting green and gorgeous, and the ticks are hungry.

Lyme is a big deal, I know. I know people personally with Lyme,  I know stories of people with Lyme I don't know personally, I have treated patients with Lyme. It can be a doozy.

But, you know what's almost worse?

Living in fear. Stress. Nothing to do but wait... and worry.  Folks try and ease this by getting their ticks tested for Lyme, but there's still the waiting. Will symptoms develop? And there can be _so_many_ symptoms, some classic, and some not.  The bulls-eye used to be the tip off...but no more.

So what to do? Avoid the woods? Cower? Run to antibiotics after every tick bite? Even those who do everything to avoid antibiotics in other ailments will fill their prescription.

I'm going to share with you my personal homeopathic protocol for tick bites. If you use homeopathy for nothing else, get yourself some Ledum, and follow this protocol.

In my house, we have tick bites. I have pulled multiple ticks off my son, myself, my husband, after days in the woods. None of us have contracted Lyme. Is it this protocol? I'd like to think it plays a part.

It also keeps me sane. It gives me something to do, to be proactive. An action and remedy that I trust. I don't send ticks in to be tested, but I follow my protocol, and I observe.

We know that fear and stress lower our resistance and immune response. Hitting the roof with fear with every tick bite opens the door to infection, I truly believe that.  How do we begin to shift that fear? When we know stories, we know people, perhaps we have been infected ourselves?

Start with your reaction. Move to your thoughts. Change your words. Make a choice.


Change- "Oh my god! It's a tick! I hope i don't have Lyme disease!" Fear. Panic. Adrenaline rush. Stress, manically saving the tick, sending it out for diagnostic tests.

to

"Oh, I/my child picked up a tick. " Observe what's actually in front of you. Don't project into the future. Note the severity of the bite- does it detach with gentle pulling? is it engorged? Save it *if need be.* Pull out your Ledum and tick-bite dosing protocol. Be proactive, and observe.

Don't even think Lyme disease. There's no Lyme disease yet. It's a tick bite. There's no disease until there are symptoms.

And that protocol? here you go:

1. Treatment for a tick that has latched on, but there's no engorgement and comes off quite easily with gentle pulling, and likely has been on for a couple hours.  

If you pull the tick off, there would be very little reaction- little to no swelling or redness. 

Give/Take 2 doses of Ledum 30c within 12 hours. One dose = 2-3 pellets. Age doesn't matter- this goes for children or adults. Monitor the bite site. If there's a local reaction, you can re-dose the Ledum 30c daily. Stop if the reaction exacerbates. Stop if any additional symptoms - fever, headache, achiness etc.- develop and contact provider of choice.

2. Treatment for a tick that is clearly engorged, is very difficult to pull off and has likely been latched on for many hours or days, give a single dose of Ledum 1M (you can purchase from an online pharmacy, it is not generally sold in stores).

 I have found this will immediately help bring down swelling and tenderness, though the site will begin to itch and continue to itch for several days to over a week. 

If the swelling returns or redness, you can follow the 1M with 30c as needed. The itching doesn't tend to respond to the Ledum, you can use Urtica urens (homeopathically prepared stinging nettle) in 30c to help if needed.  Again if local symptoms exacerbate or additional symptoms- fever, headache, achiness- develop, contact care provider.

The Ledum is stimulating the body to effectively respond to the bite; which may in turn also neutralize the Lyme bacteria and prevent the development of an infection.  This is the same principle by which you give someone with a high fever Belladonna; the remedy stimulates the body in its response to whatever infection or stimuli is causing the fever, often enabling the immune system to complete its work, without moving into a full-blown illness be it cough, flu, croup, etc. 

I think its important to emphasize that Ledum is treating the *tick bite* not Lyme disease. There is no Lyme disease when you get a tick bite. Yes, it *may* develop. And you *may* get the flu from someone at the grocery store. But, you might not.  

This is part of changing your mindset. We need to sever the cord of tick = Lyme always. 

Be proactive about your tick bites. Stay observant of your symptoms, and educated about what to take further action on. 

Having a Ledum protocol gives me great peace of mind, and I hope that it helps you too, feel more empowered and proactive. 

Why I Choose Homeopathy

It's Homeopathy Awareness Week.

Kind of like a birthday, it comes up as a time for reflection for me. Homeopathy is woven into the matrix of my life, enmeshed with significant events in my life and like a photo album, I can review those snapshots in time and remember.

I remember the first conversation I had about homeopathy. My husband- who was not my husband, or even my boyfriend, but my housemate who I had an un-acknowledged crush on- and I were driving in his dad's old truck. He was giving me a lift home from the University. He was telling me a bit about his family, how his dad was a veterinarian and incorporated some holistic approaches. I was a vegetarian and as into natural medicine as one can be at 20, being healthy and therefore never really faced with any big medical decisions anyway.

He said his dad was taking a homeopathy course, or had taken one. I made the classic assertion that it was like herbalism.  Kevin challenged me strongly that no, it was not. He explained that it was an energetic modality and maybe a bit more than that, but mostly I was like, huh? And went back to trying not to focus on the crush.

But like a tiny pebble dropped in a still pool, that ripple resonated.

I didn't think about homeopathy again until years later, our crush not only firmly acknowledged but consummated in marriage and a baby, I sought out a homeopath to treat our daughter. We had moved across the country, starting to set up our life in midcoast Maine. I asked around for a homeopath and my stepfather told me to see Dr. Dirk Vandersloot- the best guy in town.

I remembered the conversation years back with Kevin in the truck, but mostly I wanted to choose something natural and holistic for my baby. Dirk was a doctor, no longer practicing conventional medicine, but as a new mother still figuring this whole thing out, it bolstered my confidence. We used a few remedies with my daughter for teething and fussiness (pulsatilla, of course), and I saw him myself for a transient vertigo I sometimes experienced. I felt well, the vertigo went away. My daughter seemed to respond to the pulsatilla.

But still... I didn't really get it. I knew I wanted to learn more. I was intrigued. Dirk suggested a book, Miranda Castro's Complete Family Guide to Homeopathy. I bought it. I read the introduction. Many times. I acquired some remedies.

Homeopathy at that point remained like a picture on my wall. One I saw everyday, but didn't truly engage with. It was there, I acknowledged it, even stopped to ponder it a bit. But it remained separate, a part.

When my daughter was a month from turning 3, I gave birth to my son. It was fast. Two hours. The midwife barely made it time. The cord was around his neck, he was blue. He needed oxygen. When he came around, he screamed bloody murder, and wouldn't stop. The midwife asked if I had Aconite (for shock, fear, trauma). In fact, I did. The instant the remedy was on his tongue, he stopped screaming, and looked into my eyes.

This is the moment when picture came off the wall, the moment it stopped being something I looked at, and became what I lived.

If that seems strange, because I had already had a healing experience with homeopathy and so why did it take this moment to become three dimensional for me, I can only say that having talked to many people about homeopathy and their experience with it, my situation is not unique.

I have said before that homeopathy is fast, slow medicine. Unless one witnesses an experience like I did with my son, an instantaneous acute response (that's the fast part), the medicine is slow enough and gentle enough that sometimes we almost dismiss it. Maybe it was that I ate better those two weeks. Maybe it was that I slept better. Maybe the symptoms moved off on their own.

We never think - the remedy supported me to eat better.
                         - the remedy supported my sleep
                         - the remedy gently helped my symptoms move away

Many a homeopath, and patient, I have spoken with have concurred that despite having several positive experiences with homeopathy, it took time and some significant event to make them sit up and pay attention.

The instantaneous response of my son to the remedy was undeniable. When he went on to develop consistent croupy coughs, I discovered Aconite, Spongia, and Antimonium- tartaricum moved him through the symptoms within days. Rather than hanging on to colds and coughs for a week or weeks, we were through and moving on.

I needed to know more, and I knew this medicine was to be what I did in this world.

And so it has become that.

I call this post 'Why I CHOOSE Homeopathy' and not why I CHOSE homeopathy, because it is a choice to make, every day, at every opportunity that arises.

While there are a few go-to remedies, say Arnica for an injury, or the Aconite my son received for a physical shock, homeopathy is not, by its nature, 'match the best answer.' It requires us to stop and pay attention. Our symptoms are not a static picture to be looked at, but the story and action of our lives that we live, everyday.

When we view our symptoms as the static picture on the wall, many of the medical options presented to us are the equivalent of moving it to a different wall. Changing the frame. Moving it again. Touching it up.

When we take the picture off the wall, when we step into it, answer all those questions the homeopath asks, consider the present snapshot in the movie of our life, there's a flow, a continuation of one thing to the next, an opportunity to make sense of the whole- and not just the piece.

When you see the whole, you can make decisions for the whole. What does this ear infection need right now? Does it need antibiotics? Again? Does the ear need antibiotics right now, but because it keeps coming back, the child needs to be considered and treated in the bigger picture so the ear infection doesn't come back.

Does this back pain need anti-inflammatories day after day and maybe the opinion of a surgeon, or could this person benefit from a remedy to help manage stress, increase energy to enable exercise, a shift in perspective and confidence that may lead to changing an unsatisfying career, relieving the back pain?

Is more medication the only option for the side effects of cancer treatment, or can the patient consider homeopathic support to help tolerate the symptoms, and then a constitutional remedy for the whole being to help repair the vital force, build strength, and hopefully ensure the cancer does not return- as opposed to living in quiet anxiety from check up to check up?

This past fall, when I discovered that my left ovary had thoughtfully grown a very large cyst, I took that picture off the wall and stepped into it. I chose the advice of my very caring and experienced ob-gyn surgeon *and* I chose homeopathy and other modalities that helped me consider that moment, in the context of my whole life.

Homeopathy helps me to walk through life with my eyes and ears open. When patients come to me, having chosen homeopathy for their own reasons, I show up ready to help, having made that choice too.

"Real things are cured by a process...."

I love telling people that I am a homeopath. I get the full range of responses, from - Wow, that's so cool! To raised eyebrows with polite, 'oh, interesting,' and of course asking my advice about herbs and nutrition of which I am definitely not an expert. If you want to know, my answer to that is moderation.

But there is one misconception I sometimes come across that I feel compelled to clear up because I see it as an assumption that may keep many people from benefitting from homeopathic treatment.

"Don't you have to already be pretty healthy to use homeopathy?"

In short: no.

You can be on death's door, have antibiotic- resistant MRSA, AIDS, cancer, autism, funny pains with no explanation, delusions, nightmares, jealousy, depression... or just curious.

Some people with conditions like I listed above may experience a full cure. This has been documented with autism, depression, anti-biotic resistant infections, and indeed dramatic turn-arounds in AIDS patients (see homeopathyforhealthinafrica.org), as well as thousands of other conditions that have diagnosable names, and many that don't.

Others may experience much improvement, or mild improvement that they were otherwise not finding with other treatment. Still others find that their other treatments- diet, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc...- actually seem to be *more* effective when combined with, or preceded by homeopathic treatment.

I think this assumption may come from the characterization of homeopathy as an energy treatment. Perhaps there is the idea that one's energy must be 'pure' or already in a more 'evolved' state before a remedy can act.  Energy is, and what state it is in does not determine the efficacy of the modality. It does indicate to the practitioner which potency of the remedy is indicated, or which remedies are called for. In very low states of vitality, it may not be appropriate to use homeopathy because the physical body has pathology that is too advanced. In which case, very low potencies and cell salts can be used to palliate and make a patient comfortable. Remedies can be used to ease anxiety and fear when death is near.

But the fundamental principles of homeopathy: like cures like, using a minimum dose, and individualizing treatment- are true and effective no matter the condition, or the starting health of the patient.

Wherever you find yourself this January, 2014, homeopathy can meet you. From 'never well since...(flu, pregnancy, surgery, etc...)' conditions to chronic pains, acute infectious illness, allergies and food intolerances, and so much more, a homeopathic remedy can often bring space and resolution where there was only stagnation. As Richard Grossinger wrote in Planet Medicine:  "Real things are cured finally by a process, not a particular medicine."

If you are curious about how homeopathy may fit into your process, get in touch.

Concentric Healing 2013... an amazing year in review!

It's New Year's Eve. I've never been a big party-girl, so I am perfectly content to sit here on my couch, in front of a glowing fire in the woodstove, at 10:30 pm while the rest of my family is already snug asleep upstairs.

This is perfect, really. We're expecting friends for New Year's Day, and so while I'm roasting acorn squash for a soup and have the stock simmering on the stove, this gives me some time to do a bit of reflection. Earlier this evening after dinner, we read the notes we tucked into our '2013 Memory Jar.' there were about a dozen or so. We lost steam about summertime, and most of them were about a particularly big storm that hit the first week of February. I guess we had some time on our hands to make some memories!

One that I had forgotten was an excited little note that said "Mom launched her website on January 28th!" Wow. I had forgotten about that. I can now recall that push to get content written and pages designed, slogging my way through a process I'd never done before. It felt so exciting to finally stake out my little corner on the web, to hang my shingle in a way that felt so substantial and real... even in cyberspace.

There were no notes about joining Camden Whole Health in March of 2013, a huge step for my little practice, a great opportunity and one that I am grateful for, daily. Though my practice is but a small part of that full office, I love being a part of a place that people in my community recognize and respect.

I also didn't drop a written memory in about my decision to enroll in the Dynamic School for Advanced Homeopathic Studies, but I made that commitment in February, and it came to fruition this past November- and will continue through 2016. I made my first trip to Sweden just before Thanksgiving and tickets are booked for the next class in March- just about 10 weeks away. Studying with Jeremy Sherr through his Dynamis School is a seed that I planted in my little dream garden several years ago. There's something powerful about watching such seeds sprout and grow.

This week I thought back to where my practice was last year, and realized that my patient roster has doubled, and then some. Some patients have moved on, and others continue on, realizing greater and greater benefits of homeopathy with time and consistency.

As I look forward to 2014, I am looking to deepen my understanding of homeopathy and patient care (indeed, there is no bottom to the depths you can understand this medicine). I am leaving behind many pie-in-the-sky plans to offer online classes and videos. I am not launching any new local programs, or dreaming up new and exciting ways to get homeopathy out to the masses.  This year, it's all about patients, and Practice. And patience :)

Wishing you all a peaceful end to 2013, and a loving start to 2014.

Is Gratitude Holding You Back?

Gratitude is everywhere. In the last decade, it seems like gratitude has taken over, oozed out of the churches and into the NewAge and is now squarely in mainstream commodified culture. 'Gratitude' is on mugs and t-shirts, the focus on weekend workshops and transformation exercises. It's the panacea for all that is wrong with your life. Just be grateful.

Gratitude is a powerful emotion, and indeed, a life changer. It can shift perspective, real fast. Every traveled to a country where your heartbreaks from the poverty? Instant reality check.
And when we hone in on people in our life for whom we are grateful, the emotions can be overwhelming, as beautifully shown in this Upworthy video.

But, I have seen in some of my clients a place where gratitude becomes a crutch, or fosters guilt for wanting something different in your life, for believing that things could be better or that you even *want* them to be better! Let alone that you are worthy of having what you desire vs. being grateful and settling for what you have.

What are the signs that gratitude might be holding you back?

1. You are unhappy or frustrated with something in your life, and every time you talk about it, you hear yourself saying, "I know I should be grateful, BUT...."

2. You beat yourself up over the fact that you *do not* feel grateful, or have an 'attitude of gratitude.'

3. Gratitude is icing... over a cake of more complex emotions that you aren't addressing. (For example, you love your partner but there are issues. Instead of addressing them in an authentic way, you keep focused on just having gratitude that you have someone.)

4. When friends or family want to talk to you about something troubling in their life, you tell them just to be grateful and feel annoyed.

5. You don't feel any emotional connection to your gratitude.

All of these dance around a similar theme- and that is leaning on gratitude as a way of avoiding something bigger. Another phrase I like is 'spiritual bypassing' which I did not coin, but comes from a book of the same title. "Spiritual bypassing" is essentially using spirituality and euphemisms (it's all good! just be blessed! have gratitude!) for avoiding what is real, and true. Especially the painful stuff.

There is no question that there is always something to be grateful for, and many of us obsess over problems that might be considered 'trifles.' Understanding where we might be getting wrapped/worked up in issues that really aren't that big of a deal can subconsciously push us into a guilt-gratitude complex. As in, knowing you are obsessing superficially, and then throwing a bandaid of gratitude on top to balance it out.
But again, underneath it all are often deeper issues or real problems to be dealt with such as unhappiness in a marriage, job, or other relationship. Unresolved trauma. Health problems related to lifestyle decisions such as diet, lack of exercise, and taking proactive steps to be healthy. Inauthentic gratitude does not solve these problems.

There is a way out of this maze.

1. It starts will making some space, and stopping excuses. Including gratitude. Finding time to get quiet, simplify your life, find alone time- you can't figure out what's really going on unless you give it the space to reveal itself.

2. Start a *true* gratitude practice. It can be a journal where you take a moment to get centered and write down one thing a day you are grateful for. Or, say a simple grace at dinner. The key is to, again, create the space, and allow an authentic feeling of gratitude to bubble up rather than just saying it off the cuff. Gratitude is not blasé. It's powerful. It should be treated as such.

3. Acknowledge that you can both be grateful for what you have *and* that you deserve all that you desire. It is OK to want more/different/better/smaller... it is creating discomfort in you for a reason. Find out why, then do something about it.

4. According to Brene Brown, people who live whole-heartedly take risks. They allow themselves to be vulnerable. They put themselves out there. I think living whole-heartedly is living from a place of true gratitude. When we have deep gratitude for this life, we take chances, we speak our minds, we make changes because... we are alive. And we are grateful for it.

5. Thanks-giving. It's an action. Turn your gratitude into works of service and helping others.

I'd love to hear about *your* gratitude practice, and maybe how it shows up in your life.

Tiny Space- Big Pain! Homeopathy for Ear Infections Part One

Have you ever heard the story about how someone learned how to prepare a certain kind of roast by cutting the ends off? Then when someone asked her why, she said- I don't know, that's what my mom did. And then that's what the grandma did. And when she finally asked the grandma why, she said, "because I didn't have a pan big enough to fit the roast."

The point of the story being, we do what we know, even when we don't know why. Even when it doesn't make sense.

It isn't an exact fit (kind of like the roast) but the same is true for what parents expect and are told about ear infections. That they are just part of childhood, all kids get them. They grow out of them.
Ear infections are getting passed off the way ADD and ADHD diagnosis' are glossed over- we are so used to them that we don't stop and say, but why?  We just treat them on the surface, and move on.

In the process of protecting and ridding the body of pathogens, the immune system isolates, encapsulates, and discharges material. One of the primary ways this happens is through mucous and pus, and the pathways are lungs, nose, and- you guessed it!- the ears. This is true for routine colds that can go to the ears if the child is susceptible and the body is not able to keep it at a more superficial level, i.e. just a runny nose. Is is also true for when the body needs to deal with foreign matter from vaccinations. Of course, when the doc rushes in with antibiotics for an ear infection then the immune system is suppressed.
Suppression is temporary- the infection will come back, because the job was not done. Or, if it is continually shut down then the body will find another way and after suppression, it will be deeper in the body and can be more serious.
There is a huge fear of a ruptured membrane, but ironically, proactively rupturing the membrane is also done to relieve pain- the pressure is often excruciating. The ear drum will heal; a natural and spontaneous rupture is OK and should have no long term effects. Also, a natural skin break heals better and stronger than a straight cut (think episiotomy!).

Ear infections are not any kind of natural rite of childhood. Not all children get them. And tubes and antibiotics are not the only treatment for them.  Oh- and they hurt like craaaazzzzzy!!!

*Of course* you want to treat them! Your kid is crying and whining and clingy and in pain! The parent is exhausted, nerves frayed, worried for the child, and sad because her ear/s hurt so bad.

Treating ear infections with homeopathy is best done in a two prong approach- have the child treated constitutionally (which means, a nice long intake where he or she is given a remedy that is individual to her and her behavior, patterns of illness, family history, etc...), and then acutely, if necessary, when an infection comes about.
Why?
Because as I said above, not all children get ear infections. This is an expression of the child's susceptibility (for example, another child may not get ear infections, but gets bronchitis every winter).  By giving the child a constitutional remedy, his or her vital force (the unique energy inside all of us) is 'tuned and strengthened' so to speak. She will be less likely to get an ear infection, will get them less frequently and they won't be as serious.

Acute treatment- for when an infection develops- will support the immune system. An appropriate remedy can help shorten the duration of the illness, soothe the pain, and assist the body to get the job done.

I can't treat a child constitutionally through my blog- if only I could! But I can offer up these remedies that you can have on hand. Remember that every child is unique, and these are only a few of the *many* remedies that have an affinity for otitis media (ear infections)...but they are often, and well indicated.

Choosing a remedy: 
Homeopathic prescribing is based in the law that 'like cures like'- that is a substance that can cause an illness in a healthy person, can cure someone who has those symptoms naturally. You are matching the 'remedy picture' with what you observe about the patient. Homeopathy treats the whole person, because it's not just the ears that are sick. When choosing a remedy, you make note of the mental/emotional state, what makes the particular symptoms better or worse (heat, cold, fresh air, etc...), and the general symptoms- is the person chilly or hot? thirsty or not? restless or tired?

You will notice that some of these remedies have an affinity for one side or the other. You may have noticed that your child only gets infections in the left, or right, ear. This is not a fluke! It is an important characteristic to note and prescribe on.

Chamomila (chamomile) 
Particularly indicated for young children, the child is *very sensitive* to the pain. He does not want it to be touched, or examined, or maybe even looked at! He is angry and fretful, but demanding. He may want to be carried and will often reject things he has asked for, or arch his back when crying and upset.  Gentle motion and being wrapped up may slightly soothe. Physically, you may notice that one cheek is pale, while the other is red. A hot pack or warm cloth may soothe the ear. All symptoms may be worse from 9-10am, or 9-10pm, and this remedy is often indicated with teething or diarrhea as well, which may come together.

Mercurius solubilis (mercury. remember- it's only an energetic dose!)
Mercury is indicated for ear infections that tend to be right sided, but if the other symptoms agree, don't hesitate to give for both or the other side. It often comes with a very sore throat, with pain that radiates up to the ear- again typically right sided. The ear ache may be preceded by a typical cold with thick, yellow discharge from the nose. Likewise, there may be thick yellow, or even green discharge from the ear. It may smell offensive, and make it difficult for the child to hear. Symptoms are worse at night, and in the heat. This patient prefers cold applications to the ear, may be sweaty and have excess saliva, and/or bad breath. Mercurius patients can be 'up and down' like the mercury in a thermometer- sensitive to environmental changes, or moody.

Pulsatilla (windflower) 
Pulsatilla can be such a relief for little ones suffering who need this remedy. The tip offs for thinking of pulsatilla are yellow discharge and weepy. This is a patient who is tearful and sensitive and wants much comfort and attention. The left ear is most often affected, but it can spread to both ears and it comes about with a cold, typically. Heat and nighttime will aggravate the symptoms; this child wants cool air and will be much better in the fresh air (notice- are you opening a window for her? does she seem easier going and less fussy if you go outside?). Discharges are yellow and thick, and it can be hard to grasp any firm modalities- at times they seem fine, and other times weepy and sick. Many children benefit from pulsatilla constitutionally, and it can help both with acute and chronic ear infections, as well as when you see these symptoms in teething, or gastric disturbances.

Silica 
Silica is a deep remedy and can really make a difference for children who need this constitutionally as well. Silica helps to push things out that are stuck, and so when there is an infection with thick discharge and hearing loss, this remedy will help move things along. The child may be sticking his finger into his ear and might complain about popping or cracking noises. Silica will help relieve the pain of a ruptured drum and assist healing from suppuration. The ears feel better from being warm and wrapped up- cold, drafts, wind, and blowing the nose all aggravate. In general, a child who needs silica will be the one who catches every cold and is often chilly. They 'lack grit,' and tend to tire easily. not want to go outside, and take a long time to heal from wounds.

Aconite (monkshood) 
For instant, stabbing pain in the ear, particularly when coming in after a day out in the cold, or wind. The ear pain will come before any inflammation- maybe just a thin, clear runny nose. Cheeks can be bright red, or one red one pale. It may come about in the night, tends to be more in the left ear. Also for high dry fevers and croup, under similar circumstances.

Belladonna (nightshade) 
Belladonna is always a consideration for sudden conditions that come with pulsing, throbbing pain. Ear will appear bright red and inflamed. More often indicated for right sided pain, but may start on the right and move to the left.  It's worse around 3pm or 3am, and generally aggravated at night. Belladonna is typically indicated in robust, vital children, as opposed to silica (above).

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To save you from remedy overload, I will continue with a few more remedies in a second post. If you are caught in the ear infection-antibiotic round-a-bout, keep these remedies on hand. Helping your child to overcome an ear infection naturally is a BIG WIN for the immune system. When the body is able to complete its efforts, it reinforces its own abilities, setting it up to handle whatever comes next.

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All of these remedies are available at natural food stores, or online. You can follow the directions on the tube, or my typical instructions for an acute: dissolve 2-3 pellets in a small glass of water, and give two doses (teaspoons) within an hour. Then observe. If symptoms improve, re-dose if the symptoms worsen again or improvement stalls out. If you haven't seen improvement after 3-4 doses, then reconsider your choice. Sometimes if you get a remedy that is close, but not right on, the symptoms will shift a little bit and what you need to pay attention to will be accentuated and guide you to a more appropriate choice. For example, maybe you give Aconite - but there's no relief (which I would expect fairly quickly with an aconite condition). Your child's face seems to become more more flushed and his energy builds and you notice that he starts to complain about his right ear, which is now flushed on the outside as well. He is excitable. This makes you think of belladonna, which brings relief.

Good luck! And let me know how it goes :)