Belladonna, remedy of the week.

Belladonna, remedy of the week.
High fevers and throbbing inflammation.

Now here is one remedy no Family can do without. It should be in everyone’s Homeopathic first aid kit. Belladonna…… the Queen of fevers and red hot inflammations.

Big Eyed girls.

“Belladonna” means “lovely lady” in Italian, a name given to the Deadly Nightshade plant commonly found in many gardens. Now in times long gone, of courts and ballrooms, young ladies longed to make themselves look pretty and big eyed. In the hope to attract a charming handsome young suitor for a dance; they would rub their eyes with a little of the Belladonna plant. This would cause their pupils to enlarge and their eyes appear wide and big and it would cause blushing of the face which were all fashionable traits deemed very attractive.

The remedy, not the Belladonna plant.

Now of course Belladonna, the plant itself, is not what we actually take. The homeopathic remedy is a very dilute form of the extract of this plant. So dilute in fact that it is perfectly safe to take without any toxic effect. Even for babies.

We would be risking some nasty symptoms if we were to ingest the plant itself.

We know this because long ago Homeopaths tested the effects of the crude Belladonna plant on healthy people to document what symptoms it would cause. The these symptoms were then recorded. All through the ages (and still today) many substances (from animal, vegetable or mineral origin) have been tested this way in a process called “Proving”. The resulting meticulous toxicology reports are today the most extensive and complete ones used in medicine still.

In an unwell person in order to prescribe a remedy we look for symptoms. We try to recognise these symptoms as being similar to those that a decent dose of the original substance could cause.

And then we give that substance in very high dilution to support the body to heal these specific symptoms.

Back to Belladonna the remedy……. When do we use it and what is it good for?

When to use Belladonna

Belladonna is used in many alarming situations; All those little acute things that freak mums out. It tends to have sudden and severe symptoms like very high fevers at 3pm in the afternoon when the child has been fine all through the day.

Suddely they come down with e.g. tonsillitis at 3 pm. Their face is red, their eyes glaze over, their pupils dilate and their temperature is through the roof. They may even hallucinate or convulse. Such is the intensity and speed of the onset of a Belladonna problem.

Common signs we look for when we think of Belladonna as a possible remedy are; redness, swelling, heat, a sense of fullness or congestion and throbbing pain.

People with some or all of the above symptoms, who may need Belladonna tend to have symptoms that are worse; on the Right side of their body, from heat of the sun (Sunstroke), at 3 pm, from any jarring, motion, touch or noise and they just want to stay quietly in bed, rest and sip drinks (sometimes craving for lemonade) And interestingly sometimes washing the head, cutting hair or having a draft on the head precedes the problems.

Note how I am NOT saying “Use Belladonna if you have this problem” as no Homeopathic remedy is solely just good to use with one kind of ‘disease label’.

Symptoms not disease labels

Belladonna here may be used in ANY situation where the symptoms fit. It could be swollen red hot tonsils with high temperature, It could just as well be a throbbing headache after being in the sun too long, or a red hot and throbbing inflammation left after a vaccination or for the painfully red hot inflamed breast of a nursing mother.

The beauty of Homeopathy is that once you get to understand the picture, personality or symptoms of a remedy you can recognise those characteristics in similar situations everywhere.

Safety first

As Belladonna situations are fast developing and intense; it is always wise to closely monitor the situation at hand. If you feel at all concerned or out of your depth; you should seek the advise of your doctor or visit A&E promptly.

Or if you find yourself in need of advise on remedy dose and repetition in an urgent acute matter you can always contact me or seek help from my after hour service for quick support.

Using homeopathy however never excludes the option of seeking medical help. Remedies can be used while you are waiting for help to arrive, or work in conjunction with your medical treatment to aid healing and after treatment is finished in order to help with convalescence or side effects of medications.

Do get to know this Queen of remedies…..I’m sure she will serve you well.

Posted in Homeopathy, Remedies, remedy of the week

Please feel free to share your thoughts here!

Esther Ritmeester DipHom, RCHom

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