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Flu
Watch 2001/2
- and much more
presented
by Domenick J. Masiello, D.O., D.Ht.
http://www.integral-med.com
I am fairly
confident that this Flu information will be applicable nationwide and
maybe even worldwide due to the large amount of international travel
(influenza originates in Asia and travels west). I will update this as
often as it becomes necessary during the winter.
Final
Update - May 2002
EASTERN
UNITED STATES:
October
2001
The View from New York
When I signed off last spring after my last installment of Flu Watch, I
couldn't have imagined that when I resumed this feature in the fall that
I would be writing about terrorists attacks, bio-terrorism and war. The
new millennium has started, the new world order has begun.
In addition to this
year's Flu Watch, what follows will have varying degrees of
applicability. I am writing from the perspective of a classical
homeopath and a traditional osteopath working in New York City. Those in
other parts of the United States and the world may or may not find it
useful.
Since the terrorist
attacks last month three remedies have emerged as useful in helping
patients cope with this shock - Opium, Ignatia, and Staphysagria.
Please note that
many patients do not require treatment at this time and that one should
study these remedies and know their differences and similarities.
Persons not medically trained are cautioned not to be cavalier in
prescribing for emotional trauma. Grief has its own rhythm and time
frame and may not respond as physical ailments might. The homeopathic
goal is to support the person through his or her time of grief and not
to somehow eliminate the grieving. Helping patients not fall physically
sick, helping them with insomnia and other functional symptoms is both
noble and realistic. For some people these events provide an opportunity
for previously suppressed emotion to come to the surface and the
assistance of psychologists is advised. Because homeopathy works on
multiple levels we often think that we can do it all with just
homeopathy but this is not true for all patients. If you are in over
your head, swallow your homeopathic pride and get help. Psychotherapists
who are attempting to practice homeopathy should be careful and seek the
help of a skilled homeopathic physician if it seems like many physicals
are emerging from your prescription. Lastly, I would say that what many
of us in New York are experiencing is not text- book post- traumatic
stress syndrome. We are not individuals who have undergone a shock and
are attempting to lead normal lives again. We are individuals who have
undergone a shock and are living life in an abnormal world. What will be
needed by patients in the future is still emerging and only time will
tell.
Bio-terrorism
Homeopathy has been around for more than two hundred years - long before
the advent of antibiotics. Historically homeopathy has been used to
treat infectious diseases including epidemics.
Typically, after treating several cases of an epidemic disease, a
skilled homeopath would notice a common pattern of symptoms and the
simillimum would emerge. This simillimum for the epidemic (the
epidemicus remedy) could then be used to prevent others from getting
sick. Please note that this is NOT a homeopathic vaccine. This remedy is
specific for a specific epidemic at a specific point in time. One could
give the nosode made from the infecting organism as an adjunctive
treatment but this is NOT homeopathy but isopathy. The isopathic nosode
may help treat the case but it is not necessarily the epidemicus remedy
for that specific epidemic.
This is how a homeopath would treat a naturally occurring epidemic. Some
patients might die before the pattern emerged but eventually the
epidemicus remedy would make itself known. We should not forget that the
cure may require more than one remedy. There may be an epidemicus remedy
for each stage of the disease as was the case in the Asiatic Cholera
epidemic which Hahnemann figured out from reading
detailed descriptions of the patients provided by his grand nephew, a
homeopath in Russia.
A genetically
altered organism used as a biological weapon presents a different
challenge to the homeopath. Biological weapons are rapid acting and
lethal. So far, the episodes of anthrax in Florida and New York are not
linked to genetically altered strains of Bacillus anthracis and are
intended to produce fear not mass destruction. In light of the above, I
am recommending that my patients have Anthracinum 1M on hand. If public
health offices declare a health emergency and begin distributing the
antibiotic Cipro (Ciprofloxacin), take the antibiotic as directed and
one dose of the nosode daily for at least two weeks. More than just a
mere nosode, Anthracinum has a substantial materia medica
(See Hering's Guiding Symptoms) and treats cutaneous, gastrointestinal
and pulmonary forms of anthrax (the pulmonary form was called
"inner anthrax" back then). To those purists out there who
would rather die than use an antibiotic, I advise you to read the
Organon. Hahnemann makes it abundantly clear that some emergencies
require the use of anything you have on hand because the assault to the
vital force may be so harsh, there may not be enough time for the
patient to recover.
Flu Watch
October Superimposed on all of this, there is a mild upper respiratory
infection making the rounds. This is not classic flu but probably a mild
rhinovirus. It presents with mild runny nose, mild sore throat, and
fatigue. There may be headache and some body aches but no chills or
fever. Patients are not excessively thirsty. I have found it very useful
to give Influenza Co. 1M (Ainsworth) - just one dose. I then give
Gelsemium 1M about 8 hours after that. I repeat the Gelsemium 1M once a
day for two more days. This has cured virtually all cases this month.
Incidentally, I have not found any specific treatment needed for
patients who live near ground zero. I have visited the site and despite
the horror of what one sees and the acrid smoke and the gray grit
everywhere, no syndrome related to exposure has yet to emerge. As things
develop, I will update the Flu watch and I hope and pray influenza is
the worst thing we have to worry about this winter.
Remedy:
Influenza Co. 1M
Gelsemium 1M
November
2001
The month of
November came and went without the appearance of influenza. However, a
viral upper respiratory infection which made its appearance in October,
continued unabated in November. The symptom picture was pretty much the
same - a mild sore throat with mild fever, some body aches and chills. Influenza
Co. 1M (Ainsworth) and Gelsemium
1M are still working wonderfully as described in
the October entry. Should the window of opportunity for treatment be
missed, however, the symptom picture seems to shift to a progression of
the sore throat into a head cold with sinus congestion characterized by
head and face pain, thick yellow or yellowish-green discharge from the
nose and the back of the throat. Some neglected cases have proceeded to
bronchitis. The remedy which is indicated in the 2nd stage of this
seasonal cold is clearly Kali
Bichromicum. Kali Bichromicum seems to work best
in these cases when the potency changes frequently.I give 200C twice a
day for the first day, 1M once a day for the second day and 10M once on
the third day.
Another word about
bio-terrorism. The recent issue of the Journal of The American Medical
Association (JAMA: Vol. 286, No. 20, Nov. 28, 2001) contains two articles describing the cases of 4
patients with inhalation anthrax. Two survived. Two did not. Although
these allopathic articles don't contain the kind of description
homeopaths need and want, it is fairly clear that both the patients'
symptoms and course of treatment as well as the autopsy findings
indicate that Anthracinum was and is an excellent choice for the
treatment and possible prevention of anthrax. Please refer to the
Anthracinum chapter of Hering's Guiding Symptoms and you will note that
even the post mortem findings are similar. This statement, however, must
be taken in the context of the caveats mentioned above in the October
entry about the nature of the genus epidemicus. One final editorial
comment - In my opinion various homeopathic manufacturers and
organizations have taken a much too timid view toward the issue of
homeopathy and its possible use in bio-terorism. These positions may be
politically correct and cover one's corporate backside, however, they
give too mild a assessment of homeopathy's potential. For instance,
Variolinum is a remedy indicated for the prevention of smallpox. Your
attention should be given to the Characteristics section of Clarke's
chapter on Variolinum. One very rarely sees prevention of a specific
disease as an indication for a homeopathic remedy, even if it is a
nosode like Variolinum. We would do well to study the materia medica of
Variolinum. Is small pox likely in the current war against terrorism?
The US government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to
purchase an old vaccine that has not been upgraded since the 1970s so
there is a potential threat. I know that there is an issue about the
source material of our homeopathic stocks of Variolinum. Despite this
shortcoming, I still think it wise to have some Variolinum on hand, if
for no other reason, than to treat the inevitable reactions to the
conventional vaccine should its widespread use be required.
Additional Remedy:
KALI BICHROMICUM
January
2002
Despite recent
medical reports of the appearance of influenza in the US, the number of
cases in the Northeast of the US have been few and far between. The
winter upper respiratory virus which has been going around the past few
months and changed from the Gelsemium
or Kali Bichromicum
type to the Arsenicum
Album type. Patients are now typically presenting
with fever, chills, sore throat (which is better from warm drinks) and
some body aches. There may be improvement in open air despite being
better from bundling up. As is typical, many patients present with the
gastro-intestinal version, particularly in children. This symptom
complex usually includes a sudden onset of a mild fever, nausea and/or
vomiting and diarrhea. These symptoms seem to last 24 - 48 hours.
Additional Remedy:
ARSENICUM ALBUM
May
2002
Once again the much
anticipated outbreak of influenza did not materialize this year despite
dire warning from various government and media outlets. The past two
months have seen many cases of a viral upper respiratory condition
characterized by fever, dry sore throat, body aches and tiredness. This
initial presentation quickly changes as the sore throat disappears and
is replaced by increasing nasal and sinus congestion with thick,
sometimes greenish nasal discharge and similar expectoration. There is
face and head pressure and congestion. Kali
bichromicum in doses of increasing potency over a
period of 3 - 4 days works ideally.
As the months since
September 11th have flown by, there have been an increasing number of
patients whose psychological peace has been disturbed by the return of
old issues once thought to have been addressed with in previous years of
psychotherapy. The anxiety of this horrible event has resonated with
something in their past and the need to address emerging issues becomes
apparent. The remedies which have helped in these cases now goes beyond Ignatia,
Natrum muriaticum, Staphysagria and Opium
and as always in homeopathy, individualization of treatment is the key.
Some patients have returned to psychotherapy others are exploring
therapy for the first time. Homeopathy is a wonderful aid to
self-exploration.
Recently, there has
been more discussion in the press about the possibility of nuclear
terrorism. The detonation of a "dirty bomb" in a metropolitan
area creates a situation new to homeopathy. There are no homeopathic
references to treatment in this context and conventional medicine offers
little help. Many factors determine the potential effect of exposure to
such a bomb. Distance from the epicenter of the explosion is the most
important factor as are the nature and composition of the device.
Needless to say, what follows are suggestions to those individuals
fortunate enough to have sustained no immediate harm from such an
explosion. Based purely on isopathic considerations it is my opinion
that it would be wise to have on hand Radium
bromatum and X-ray
in the 200C or 1M potencies. Immediately upon a distant exposure one
dose of each should be taken each day for about two weeks. For example, Radium
bromatum 200C in the am and one dose of X-ray
200C in the pm. Potassium
iodide is often used in these cases as a way of
blocking the effects of radioactive iodide from saturating receptor
sites in the thyroid. This helps prevent thyroid cancers in the future.
If potassium iodide is not available in your area, the same protection
can be obtained by taking Kali
iodatum 1X tablets (try Standard Homeopathic
Company). For infants under the age of one, the dose would be 10 tablets
(one grain size) of Kali
iodatum 1X for ten to fourteen days. For children
over the age of one, the dose would be 20 tablets once per day. The
tablets can be dissolved in water, juice or milk. Unfortunately, the
adult dose would have to be about 100 tablets once a day for 10-14 days.
As one can see, this is not the ideal way of taking potassium iodide but
this information is offered in case individuals would like to stockpile
some potassium iodide. The use of homeopathic potassium iodide is just a
way of getting a material dose of iodide to protect the thyroid in cases
where the conventional preparation is not available.
Over the next
several months let us hope and pray that there will not be continued
violence in the world and that this horrible experience will motivate
changes toward a more peaceful world.
Please Note: I would add this
caution - the epidemicus remedy will work when the condition is caught
early. Neglected cases may require different remedies. Also, strep
throat almost always rides along the influenza wave so a high fever with
a sore throat should not be neglected.
Domenick J.
Masiello, D.O., D.Ht.
420 East 51st Street
Suite B
New York, NY 10022
Phone 212-688-4818
Fax 212-888-6395
http://www.integral-med.com
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