Traveling with Homeopathy

Traveling with Homeopathy

Do you pack homeopathic remedies when you travel?  If not, perhaps you should.  They can come in handy and even save your trip as they did for me last summer at the lake.

Here’s how it began on day one:  I was lying in bed, half awake, on the living room sofa bed when suddenly I was jolted awake by a loud scream coming from somewhere near.  Luckily, my husband was already up and awake and went to help my mom in the garage.  I followed shortly after to find her gripping her hand with blood dripping all over the floor.  Between us was the dog.  All hands were summoned on deck, the dog restrained and pressure applied to the wound.  It was large and deep and definitely needed cleaning and suturing.

We spent most of that morning at the ER instead of at the art show where my mom was supposed to be exhibiting her paintings.   Afterwards, knowing that animal bites are especially prone to infection, I made sure she got some homeopathic Arnica and Ledum to help the wound heal well.  She started taking the prescribed antibiotic but after several doses was having such severe side effects that she refused to take any further doses.  I had visions of her entire hand and arm becoming infected.  More Ledum and Arnica to the rescue along with some antibacterial herbs.  With that, the wound healed quickly and painlessly and she was able to enjoy the rest of the vacation.

Then, two days later, I developed a case of food poisoning after eating at a place I used to love.  This time, it was Arsenicum album to the rescue and I was back to vacation mode within hours.

I’m hoping this years trip to the lake will be more mundane!

I’ll definitely be bringing along my homeopathic kit though we’re lucky to have an excellent health food store in the town where we vacation that carries a line of homeopathics.

What should you bring along?  That will depend on where you’re going, what you’re doing and who’s coming.  Here are some top remedies to consider:


Remedies for injuries

I always carry Arnica in my purse or backpack.  It’s the initial remedy to give for any traumatic remedy.  It stops bleeding and resolves bruising and swelling.   It also happens to be a remedy for jet lag.

Ledum is indicated for any bite.  Consider it for insect bites including tick bites and preventing Lyme disease.

Hypericum is the remedy to use for injuries to nerve rich parts of the body, eg smashed fingers or toes, bruised tailbones.


Remedies for acute conditions

Aconitum napellus is useful for those who have anxiety when they fly.   There is a sudden fear of death accompanied by dry mouth and pounding heart.  It’s also helpful for certain fevers, earaches and croup, when the case fits the aconite pattern (sudden intense onset accompanied by anxiety).
Aconitum can be used initially for jellyfish stings (for the fear) followed by Ledum.

Apis mellifica is the first remedy to consider for an allergic reaction particularly when there is swelling of the face and eyes.  If the person has an epi-pen be sure to administer that as well.

Nux vomica is the remedy for over-indulgence of too much rich food or alcohol.  It is also one of the remedies for food poisoning when there are cramping pains, the person is chilly and overly sensitive to light, noise, odors and movement.

Arsenicum album is also a remedy for food poisoning and for Travelers Diarrhea.  Especially if there are burning pains and the person does not want to be left alone.

Belladonna is the first choice for sunstroke when the person’s face is bright red, head is throbbing, pupils are dilated and they are intolerant of light, noise and jarring.  Belladonna can also be used to ease a sunburn.  Belladonna has many other uses including earaches, toothaches and fevers.

Cocculus can be helpful for those with motion sickness when they feel worse from fresh air, from eating and odors.

Calendula cream or lotion is always great to have along for any skin afflictions.

Rhus toxicodendron is helpful for poison ivy and also to follow arnica for sprains associated with stiffness that is better with continued motion.

These are just a few of the remedies that could be helpful to have.  For most of the conditions above there are multiple possible remedies.  I’d suggest a good reference book to guide their usage.  A couple favorites are Homeopathy, An A to Z Home Handbook by Alan Schmukler and Homeopathic Medicine at Home by Maesimund B. Panos, MD and Jane Heimlich.

In additiion, if you’re traveling abroad you may be interested to know that homeopathic remedies can be used prophylactically to prevent a variety of diseases such as malaria, yellow fever and typhoid.  Please contact me to schedule a consultation for an individualized plan if this is of interest.