Out of Arsenicum! ---UPDATED--- (Swine Flu p. 1b)

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WARNING!
Even though the Swine Flu is classified as "mild" it can still be deadly.
The pediatrician told me that if my son had trouble breathing
to take him straight to the ER!
The homeopathic remedies are not a substitute for seeing the Dr.
(okay, back to my blog...)
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So, I went to get another tube of Arsenicum Album at the local Super 1 grocery store, and they're all out! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I've been sending all my friends and family to get some since the Swine Flu is going around.

So, what to get? I read through the mini-descriptions on the display, and found one that says "stiffness and bone pain associated with the flu." Sounds like us - we've all been complaining about how achy and tired we are...but does it help the other symptoms?

The lady working in the Huckleberries aisle kindly let me look up the full materia medica for Eupatorium Perfoliatum. I skimmed it:

... it relieves pain in limbs and muscles that accompanies ... malaria and influenza...

...acts upon ... bronchial mucous membrane...

...Vomiting preceded by thirst...

...HOARSENESS AND COUGH, WITH SORENESS IN CHEST...

...Fever ...PRECEDED BY THIRST WITH GREAT SORENESS AND ACHING OF BONES....

...BETTER, by conversation....

Well, it did cover most of our symptoms, so I decided to try it. The bit about conversation took me by surprise! My five year old has been super hyper and talkative since he first got "melty poop." Maybe this will help.

To help you pick the right remedy for you your family here is a list from hpathy.com. If you click the name it will take you the long description:

How to differentiate in these flu medicines?

• If the patient has mild flu like symptoms (runny nose and watery eyes etc) but no other peculiar symptom but is anxious if it might be swine flu - think about Aconite.

• If the flu patient is listless, prostrated, indifferent, has offensive diarrhoea and the parts rested upon feel sore and bruised - think about Baptisia.

• If the flu patient is restless, anxious or fearful, thirsty but drinks small quantities and often, prostrated, diarrhoea after eating or drinking and nausea on seeing/smelling food, burning pains - think about Arsenicum-album.

• If the nausea is more pronounced, the patient is thirstless and has pain felt in bones - think about Ipecac. Also Ipecac should be thought of if a flu patient is developing or has developed broncho-pneumonia.

• If the gastrointestinal symptoms are not marked but the patient has deep pains as if bones are aching - think about Eupatorium perf.

• If the flu patient is feeling dull, dizzy, drowsy, has low thirst, feels chilly, esp in back - think about Gelsemium.

The only one I've used before is the Arsenicum Album, but you should see which remedy most closely matches your symtoms.

------------Update (Sept. 27th)------------

I am not happy with the results of the Eupatorium Perfoliatum. It did help the aches and pains, but I woke up with the pressure building in my chest. So I took my last Arsenicum and diluted it to make more. This probably wouldn't work with other things, but I've tried it and it does work with homeopathic remedies. Strangely, the remedies get more powerful the higher the dilution number (6x, 30c, 200c, etc...). Here's what I did:


Then, before it's all gone I will add more water and shake it up again. I took it this morning and my lungs feel much better! No more cough! If you're in the valley and want some before Super 1 gets in a new shipment, just let me know.

Swine Flu part 1

Some of you have heard by now that my oldest son got the flu...the "swine flu." The Doc said they are not testing anymore due to false negatives, but that it is the only flu in our area, that it is highly contagious, and that it would definitely go through the whole household. Because my son has kidney disease, he qualifies as "high risk" so he got Tamiflu, but the rest of us won't.

The reason for my blog though is to share the other "weapon" I'm using against the flu: Arsenicum Album! I wan't to write more specifically about each of the symptoms, but I don't have time now. I did find this good article about the flu and homeopathy that included a study of the 1918 pandemic:

"...24,000 cases of flu treated [bu doctors] had a mortality rate of 28.2% while 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%."

and this account from WWI:

"Dr. Roberts was working as a physician on a troop ship during WWI. He had 81 cases of flu on the way over to Europe. He reported, "All recovered and were landed. Every man received homeopathic treatment. One ship lost 31 on the way."

Arsenicum Album is the same remedy I discovered when Pablo had an uncontrollable fever. I'll write more specifically about how it is helping when I have more time. For now I just want my friends and family to know what can help if they get hit with this flu. Stay well!

Health Care: Obama's Speech

I just finished watching Obama's address, and talking about it with my brother. If you didn't already see it I highly recommend watching it, so here is MSNBC's full length video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I was very moved by his address, but I suppose that is not surprising. I AM wondering what my Republican friends' responses will be. It felt to me that President Obama was very open to hearing and considering bipartisan ideas. I love that he is looking for the best ideas no matter which "side" the idea is from, but will it feel that way from "the other side?" I don't know.

I do know that when I got the email from Organizing for America (yes, I'm on the list) I clicked the link and asked my representatives to support health reform. Here are the personal comments I added to the form letter:

I am a mother who had to make the choice to take my eleven-year-old son for a diagnostic kidney biopsy all the way to Argentina. My husband and I were self employed and could not afford the cost of health coverage. We usually paid cash for whatever health care we received, or made payments on larger costs, but the biopsy was estimated at $9000. Much to high a cost for us, especially because that would not be the end of the care he needed. We now have excellent coverage which I pay 50% of as a part time teacher's assistant, but when President Obama mentioned parents who are unable to afford health care for their children it brought a stream of tears to my eyes. No parent should be in that position. I understand that Oregon has now promised to insure all the children here, and I am thrilled, but your votes affect the children in the rest of our United States as well! Please support health reform in 2009! The status quo is unacceptable!

Will you agree with me? Maybe, maybe not, but I do hope that we can all talk about the issues facing our country, and the options available to remedy our current situation, in calm, intelligent, open-minded ways.

So Proud!

I am a PK, a pastor's kid, and since I am quite open in expressing my opinions in this blog I have tried my best here to distance myself from my Father. I would hate for the expression of my own strong political views to somehow be attributed to him as a pastor and thus lead to the appearance of impropriety as he has always been VERY careful to remain neutral in the political arena. But, I just have to document how proud I am of the sermon he gave on this historic weekend.

He managed to maintain political neutrality while still celebrating the historic victory for civil rights in our country that the inauguration of our first African-American President represents! He brought a Danish family Bible, printed in 1724, and passed down to him through his father. Beginning in that era, when many were making fortunes in the slave trade he examined the historic struggles of black peoples not only in America but throughout many countries that permitted slavery. He was proud that in 1792 Denmark was the first to outlaw slavery, but lamented that it took so long to implement the law.

(This is not the actual Bible. I will try to get a picture of it posted later.)

He spoke of how Christians could read the Bible and even use portions of it to support the continued oppression of slaves. He told the story of John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, who had a slave ship even as he became a Christian, but eventually came to see it's horror.



He made it clear that each one of us, including himself, will always have prejudices and must guard against our ability to make judgments about any group of people.



Most powerful to me were the shocking stories of racism within our own denomination.

(Sorry about the blurriness - you can click to examine the text of the book online.)

I wish these stories were not true, but sadly we have much to repent of. Even the history of Oregon, which was formed as a slave free state, does not escape shame. Even though they did not allow slavery here, they also did not allow black people at all to live here.

Knowing this history, of our area, and of the majority's political views, I was happily surprised that after he spoke of the civil rights movement, and some personal memories of his father, and came to the historic inauguration of our first African American President Barak Obama - the congregation burst into applause! How amazing!

Tears of joy filled my eyes and I have been breaking into spontaneous smiles ever since. I am SO proud of my Dad, and our country, and I admire those who did not vote for Obama, but are still willing to celebrate this momenteous fullfillment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream for our nation!

To Celebrate

Tears of joy
And tears of sorrow
Mingle slipping down my cheeks
HE WON!
We’re one!
The times of hate and fear are dead!

I want to run into the streets
And sing and shout glad tidings out
To look into compatriot’s eyes
And see the spark of hope alive

But in my town
the streets are bare
And though a few my joy do share
More oft’ then not a frown or sigh
Communicates the fear and dread
That lingers, festers, tears and snares

I long to reassure them then
To clasp their hands
And ask them
Where their deepest fear abides
And then to gently with my words
Un-spin the truth from tangled lies

And reassure all hearts and minds
That even though we don’t agree
I champion the man they flee
BECAUSE he sees both sides
And takes the time to listen well
And takes a breath considering
Each point of view and heartfelt plea

Oh Nation, Neighbors, Countrymen!
A jagged fault line slices through
Dividing up our land
And cracking even family ties
A painful, yawning chasm opens wide

Stretch out your arms
And lift your eyes
To those upon the other side
A house divided cannot stand
So please, oh please, just take my hand!

~ Heather Ann

Overstuffed Ballot Box!

I was home sick with the flu, and thought I was going to cough up a lung, but finally the antibiotics started to kick in and I decided to finish filling out my ballot.

In case you're not familiar with Oregon voting, it is ALL done by mail in ballots. So, after filling it out, I stuffed it in its secrecy envelope, and then into the signature confirmation envelope.


I just had to document it for historic purposes! And then my husband and I drove down to the local police department.

That's where the Official Ballot Deposit Box is located, and usually I go there because I procrastinate till the last day. Tonight, I just wanted to make sure nothing happened to it on the way.

I dropped it in the box, but when I peeked in to make sure it had dropped all the way in - IT WAS JAMMED! I could see at least four other ballots sticking up! I almost stuck my hand in to shove them down, but I could see the officers inside looking my way. All my picture taking must have caught their attention. I walked my wrinkly, sick self down into the station and told them what was going on. They said they would call the County, and send an officer out to push them in. I decided to document the stuffed box, and snapped this before the officer got there.


I thought it was my ballot sitting there, but on closer inspection of the photo at home, I realized it was not. The signature was illegible to me, but just in case others might recognize it, I've pixelized it. It looks like there's GREAT voter turnout this year! Is your vote included?

Wallowa

I've been wanting to post some of the pictures I got on our trip to Wallowa Lake over Labor Day Weekend. I'm finally making time.













Go kart rides coming later. ^_^