Respecting Your Limits

For all of us, whether we are amateur or professional practitioners of homeopathy (or any healing therapy), it's important to recognize those situations when we have reached our limit to help.   Anyone drawn to healing is usually deeply motivated to assist in relieving the suffering of others.  When others respond positively to our efforts, it feels wonderful - but when someone doesn't improve or their disease progresses, it's easy to feel discouraged or disheartened. 

Whether we are learning to use homeopathy for ourselves and family or are more advanced prescribers, there will be times when we just aren't the right fit for the presenting needs of the person we so want to help.  Either our own knowledge and expertise isn't adequate for the situation or there are other blocks hindering a recognizable healing process.  It is important to acknowledge when our efforts aren't creating the desired response even while continuing to support the patient's best interest - which may mean encouraging other professional care, whether allopathic or alternative. 

We need to respect and make peace with our limits.  After all, if our child has appendicitis, a surgeon really is necessary and most of us gratefully head straight for the emergency room, even as we may give homeopathic remedies along the way.  For acute trauma or sudden crises (whether physical or emotional), swift and extreme intervention may be the best immediate treatment.

Recognizing those situations where despite our best efforts we are not facilitating healing can be a painful experience but can also provide an opportunity for our own growth.  Such experiences keep us motivated to further learning and expanding our expertise.  While accepting our current limits is humbling, it is also liberating.  When we respect the unique individual journey and process each of us is on, we release a misplaced sense of responsibility for the world and realign with our deeper commitment - supporting the overall healing process, regardless of the role this particular drama has cast us to play in it. There will always be more to learn, and people more advanced than we are; when a situation is beyond our current abilities, yielding to the need for different expertise may be the wisest and truest healing act we can take.

Into the Great Outdoors:  Wound Treatment and Preventing Infection

The approach of summer's  bare feet and outdoor activities could set the stage for various injuries, from stepping on a rusty nail to abrasions falling from a mountain bike.  Whether your concern is a wound becoming infected or even the more frightening spectre of tetanus, here are some homeopathic tips to help you handle common occurrences. 

1. Good wound care: any wound, including deep puncture wounds, should be cleaned well and all dirt and debris removed.  Particularly for puncture wounds, flushing out all foreign material and exposing the wound to open air will promote healthy healing. 

Calendula cream or gel is an excellent antiseptic for a cleaned wound and will promote healing and minimize scarring.  The gel is also cooling and can feel soothing to inflamed areas.  Continue to clean and dress the wound daily.  See http://www.emedicinehealth.com/pdfguides/first_aid/puncture-wound-treatment-61483.pdf for more information, particularly on puncture wound care. 

Traumeel is one of my favorite combination homeopathic products for all injuries, whether to open wounds or deeper trauma including bruising, torn connective tissue or even fractures.  It comes in a topical cream for bruises and internal injuries, or drops to take by mouth which are appropriate when the injury includes open wounds. Don't use the cream on any open wounds or broken skin - instead take the drops several times per day to support your body in a faster and more complete healing process.

2.  Specific remedies for wound treatment and infection prevention - Ledum is the homeopathic remedy most commonly called for in any kind of puncture wound (including bites), and in classical homeopathic literature is known as a Tetanus preventative.  Hypericum is another excellent remedy, particularly for wounds to areas rich in nerve endings (finger tips, the coccyx, etc.) where the patient might experience sharp, shooting pains and is also known to help prevent infection, as well as Tetanus.  Along with proper wound care, one or both of these remedies can be given in a 30C potency up to 3 times per day for several days after the injury. Give the remedies separately by at least 1/2 an hour - although if the situation is serious, they can be alternated more frequently (every 15 minutes) until the situation is stabilized.

3.  Respect your limits!  If a serious injury has been sustained and you don't feel confident in relying solely on homeopathy or the person's condition seems to be worsening, then get proper medical attention as soon as possible.  You can continue to use homeopathic remedies, even alongside antibiotics or other conventional medication, to stimulate a more complete healing process.  And as always, it's good to touch base with  your homeopath regarding questions of remedy and dose repetition in any kind of prolonged injury recovery situation..