… for cold and flu prevention
No one lives with the results of taking a particular preventive but the person who takes it, so the most important thing is that each adult makes their own informed decision because there is much controversy on this subject.
If you have not been taking ‘power’ foods or supplements for some months to strength your metabolism, once flu season arrives, it’s time to make a choice on a preventive. Below is an excerpt from Randall Neustaedter’s book, regarding the homeopathic remedy Oscillococcinum, widely used for 2009-2010’s flu season.
Homeopathic remedies do not carry the risk of side-effects or of causing you to acquire the virus, because homeopathic remedies are not made from large molecules of the actual diseases, like vaccines are. The successful use of homeopathic remedies is a historical fact recorded with epidemics of scarlet fever, typhoid and flu, for example. The success rate in epidemics was far from 100% in either conventional or homeopathic choices, but homeopathy’s success rate was sometimes higher than conventional medical treatment. Until homeopathy encountered adversity with the American Medical Association, there were various homeopathic hospitals throughout North America. Today, homeopathic remedies are available from Homeopaths and from some pharmacies or health store locations. In this area, both Hooper’s Pharmacy locations in Port Credit and Brampton as well as the Village Health Store on Erin Mills Parkway, carry this year’s flu preventive of Influenzinum, and Oscillococcinum which is used in particular for those already experiencing flu symptoms. Influenzinum is taken before flu season arrives, or as soon as you can before onset of symptoms. If you have the flu, homeopathics can lessen symptoms and shorten duration. Homeopathic remedies are inexpensive, under $20 for a package of multiple vials. Informative websites worth reading are listed at the end of the excerpt below.
If choosing any particular supplement, taking Bee Propolis can certainly not hurt, because of its broad antimicrobial activity that includes antiviral properties. More information on propolis is here in the Bee Product section. Vitamin D blood analysis does not appear to be a regular part of blood analysis yet, but you can request it when blood analysis is done. Adequate levels of ‘D’ are vital for proper immune function. Cod liver oil is but one source. Lugol’s Iodine is available at health food stores and is part of a strong immune system. If your body has adequate levels and you don’t need more, a swab of iodine on your arm will still be visible up to 24 hours later. And, Collodial Silver is reported to kill around 650 different pathogens. A strong immune system, coupled with hand and nasal cleansing, is a strong preventive….especially with homeopathic remedies added.
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“FLU: Alternative Treatments and Prevention (North Atlantic Books, 2005).
Oscillococcinum Clinical Study in France
Begin taking the homeopathic preparation………. then switch to the appropriate homeopathic medicine once your symptoms begin to develop clear characteristics.
Oscillococcinum was first studied in France during the 1987 flu epidemic caused by an H1N1 virus. This multi-center study examined the effect of Oscillococcinum (200C) on the early symptoms of flu. Results were published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. More patients in the treatment group recovered completely in the first 48 hours than the control group (17 percent of patients with active treatment compared to 10 percent of controls). More patients in the treatment group also judged the treatment as favorable compared to the placebo, 61 percent vs 49 percent (Ferley, 1989).
In 1990 German physicians replicated the French study of Oscillococcinum. They used the same criteria as the previous study and enrolled 372 patients. After 48 hours of treatment with Oscillococcinum the treatment group had significantly milder symptoms than the control group, and the number of patients with no symptoms from day two onward was significantly greater in the treatment group (17.4 percent) compared to the control group (6.6 percent) (Papp, 1998).
Both of these studies show a significant curative effect of a homeopathic medicine in the treatment of flu in carefully conducted, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. Conventional antiviral drugs reduce the duration of flu by about one day if taken within the first 48 hours of illness (Cooper, 2003). Comparing the results of these studies with the meager effect of conventional treatment shows that homeopathy carries the potential to make a dramatic difference in any flu epidemic without the risk of drug side effects.
Another effective herb for relieving flu symptoms is black elderberry extract (Sambucol). Elderberry proved to cut short the flu by four days in a double-blind controlled study. Nearly 90 percent of patients given elderberry extract were completely cured with 2-3 days. In the control group it took six days for 90 percent of patients to recover (Zakay-Rones, 2004). A second clinical study showed similar results. Among the group receiving elderberry, 75 percent were much improved within two days, and 90 percent were completely cured by day three. The control group took six days before 90 percent were cured (Zakay-Rones, 1995). In that study elderberry was also found to inhibit the replication of both type A and type B flu viruses.
Those researchers also investigated the mode of action of elderberry on viruses. They found that elderberry inhibited the enzyme that attaches the virus to human cells and also inhibited the enzyme that breaks down the human cell wall allowing the virus to enter and kill the cell. Another group of researchers also showed that elderberry activates the immune system by increasing inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production (Barak, 2002).
First-stage treatment for flu (day one)
Oscillococcinum 200C ½ vial 3 times per day
Vitamin C 4–6 grams per day
Vitamin A 10,000–25,000 IU per day
Yin Chiao 3 times per day
Echinacea 900 mg powder per day, or 3 droppers
3 times per day
Sambucol 2 teaspoons per day
Often the initial treatment protocol will stop the illness and the symptoms will go away. If flu symptoms continue, move on to the next phase of treatment. If you have access to an acupuncturist, herbalist, or homeopathic practitioner, seek out their advice.
You can also choose a homeopathic medicine yourself that is indicated for the particular symptoms of your flu. Once specific characteristic symptoms have established themselves, it is possible to find the correct homeopathic medicine. The two most frequently indicated homeopathic flu medicines over the past 100 years have been Gelsemium and Bryonia. Significant differences in the symptom pictures of these two medicines make it easy to decide which is the better fit. They are not the only medicines used to treat the flu, but between them they will probably fit the majority of cases.
Bryonia and Gelsemium type flus both come on slowly over a six- to twelve-hour period. You begin to feel gradually worse over that time. By the second day you have aching muscles, feel pretty bad, and usually have a headache. A Bryonia patient has more pain in the front of the head, which is definitely made worse by moving the head or moving the eyes, and feels better from pressing the hand on the head. A Gelsemium patient has pain in the back of the head with stiffness and aching in the neck and across the shoulders. With a Gelsemium flu you will not want to move much either, and you may feel worse from moving around, but you avoid movement primarily because you are so tired. The characteristic state of Gelsemium is lethargy and fatigue. By contrast, those sufferers who need Bryonia will be tired but also restless. Bryonia discomfort is worse from motion, but at the same time you feel the urge to move about restlessly in the bed. No position seems comfortable. Bryonia patients are thirsty, Gelsemium are not. In fact, those who need Bryonia are generally warmer and drier, with a desire for air and cool temperatures to calm the heat. Gelsemium patients are chilly and sensitive to cold; cold shivers go down their spine. At the same time those who need Gelsemium are clammy with the fever, and feelings of heat and cold may alternate. Bryonia patients have more coughing and chest symptoms, with a painful cough that aggravates the sore throat. The Bryonia cough will also cause chest pains, with the inevitable reaction of pressing the palm to the chest to minimize the movement caused by coughing.
Gelsemium patients do not have the energy to be emotional. Bryonia patients are irritable, worried, and fretful. They want to be left alone. Gelsemium cases are too exhausted to complain.
Contrasting Gelsemium and Bryonia
Gelsemium Bryonia
Chilly, with chills down spine Warm, with desire for cool air
Thirstless Thirsty
Dull, sleepy, heavy Dull, but irritable, worried
Worse from movement All symptoms worse from
movement, but restless
Headache at back of head Headache in forehead, better
from pressure, worse
with motion
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For More Information
National Vaccine Information Center …… www.nvic.org
Australian Vacation Network –
Empowering People to Make Informed Choices …… www.avn.org.au
Think Twice……………………………… www.thinktwice.com
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