Keeping some first aid homeopathic remedies at home can make life so much easier.  They’re cheap, easy to store and keep for years if stored properly.  Best of all they’re non-toxic and safe for the whole family.  So where do you start?  

Arnica is definitely the first remedy for everyone to begin with.  Whether in the backyard, in the gym, at the cottage, or at the playground, it can help for all manner of bumps and bruises.  Arnica’s ability to reduce bleeding, bruising, swelling, pain, shock and recovery time after injuries (sprains, strains, surgery, childbirth, head injuries, dental work or bruises) is well-known.

There are a few indications that will confirm that arnica is the remedy to use.  Generally the pain accompanying the injury is a bruised or aching pain, and the person doesn’t want to be touched (‘I’m fine!”).  This is opposite the state of shock of someone who needs Aconite, who will scream for help.  For injuries take Arnica 6c as soon as possible, repeating every 3 to 4 hours until symptoms begin to subside.

Arnica can also be extremely useful for dental procedures, such as extractions.  Keeping with a 6c potency, take a dose the night before your procedure, another while in the waiting room, again right after your procedure, and then every 3 to 4 hours until symptoms (pain/swelling/bleeding) start to improve.  This may help calm nerves a bit too, for those who get a bit jittery heading in to the dentist.

Moral of the story, keep some arnica with you wherever you go and you’ll be ready for bumps and bruises that life throws your way!

Another GUEST BLOG, this time by Christine Jambrosic. Christine graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology (BKin), with a particular interest in sports nutrition.  She went on to complete her PDHom through the School of Homeopathy as well as the Master Clinician Course through Luminos Homeopathy and has now been practicing homeopathy for 11 years. She sees patients in consultation at Markham Integrative Medicine and can be reached for an appointment at (905)294-2335. (The views and opinions expressed in a guest blog are those of the author, and are not necessarily reflective of Dr. Gannage's own opinions.)

Hello Everyone,

I’d like to take this opportunity to say how pleased I am to have joined the wonderful team here at Markham Integrative Medicine.  I’m really excited to be joining such an amazing group in a setting that really encourages true integrative medicine!   

First off, may I say that the human body is amazingly resilient and  capable of miraculous healing ability, despite the daily abuse that many of us put it through.  Look at our grandmothers who raised large families at home and nursed them through illnesses without hospitals, doctors or clinics...they would certainly say that the body is great at healing itself if given the right care and circumstances.  This is the lovely thing that lends itself to why homeopathy works.  

So what is homeopathy?  It is a well-established form of medicine that dates back to the 18th century and a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann.  It’s based on a principle called ‘The Law of Similars,’ or ‘Like Cures Like.’  For example, we know that poison ivy causes a certain type of reaction, a vesicular rash, in a healthy person.  If you take the homeopathic version of poison ivy, the remedy Rhus Tox (which has been diluted and succussed), it will cure this same kind of vesicular rash that an ill person may have.  So Rhus Tox can be a great choice for instance in some cases of chicken pox or eczematous skin conditions where the rash matches the rash that poison ivy creates.

Homeostasis is the fancy scientific word that describes this inner mechanism that we all have that helps our bodies come into balance if it’s given the right stimulus.  It’s like a pendulum on a clock that gets stuck in a certain position.  A homeopathic remedy is like the nudge you give it to get it swinging again, and eventually it will come to rest in the middle, in balance.  And when our systems are in balance, our bodies can show how fantastic they are at healing themselves.  This is the great thing about homeopathic remedies; they act to remove blocks and imbalances so that our bodies can begin to heal they way they are naturally inclined to.  No bandaids.  No quick fixes.

When you look at health and disease this way, you can see that homeopathy treats the individual then, and not the disease.  This is why it can get to the root of the problem, and not just give a quick but temporary fix.  Seeing this, we could easily find 5 people suffering from an eczematous rash, but only one of them may match up with and need Rhus Tox  as the remedy that will help them.  How do we figure that out?  By looking at the observable signs and symptoms that someone is showing.  These are the signposts letting you know what’s going on inside.  By gathering all of these signs and symptoms from someone, mental, emotional and physical, we can put them together into a snapshot and then look to see which remedy matches up to this snapshot the best. This is a big part of what takes place during an initial appointment with me. This is the practice of matching up the person with the one of thousands of remedies available for treatment.

I’ll be posting future updates to give you a better understanding of homeopathy and how it can play a role in your personal treatment plan. If you’d like more details on how homeopathy works, you can pick up a leaflet from the clinic, or email me with any questions you may have. Or if you’re ready to experience homeopathy for yourself please book an appointment with me by contacting Markham Integrative Medicine.

Wishing you happiness and health,

Christine Jambrosic, PDHom