Isn’t it wonderful how nature is rebalancing herself at this present time of lockdown and uncertainty?
Out on my early morning walks with my dogs, I can hear the birds singing with such joy and pleasure to be alive. The wildflowers are coming into their own, having just been given this chance to flourish and thrive. My local farmer has planted wildflower seeds to encourage nature back into his fields. It is so rewarding to see this simple undertaking has allowed a gentle state of repair to happen and an abundance of living things to thrive.
Also, nature is now abundant down in the woods that are near me, where the foxgloves are showing off their splendour in their purple attire. This then got me thinking about the homeopathic remedies from plants especially some of the poisonous ones like the foxglove, aconite, belladonna, agaricus mushroom. In this blog I will only be looking at foxgloves. If you would like to explore further the other remedies do have a read of “From Poison to Medicine, Homeopathic Remedies Made From Poisonous Plants” by Vinton McCabe.
A poison in a drop of water – The Homeopathic remedy Digitalis
These flowers are always looking so beautiful, but they hide a deadly secret – they are poisonous. I was always told as a small child; they should never be picked. Another enchanting story I was told was that the foxes needed gloves to cover their paws so they could not be heard when they went hunting. I much preferred to think of what pretty dresses the foxgloves would make for the fairies in my garden.
The use of foxglove leaves for medicinal and herbal purposes goes back to ancient times, to the Celts and Romans. Some of its uses have been to improve heart health by strengthening the heart muscle and increasing its efficiency and thereby increasing blood flow. But more recently many herbalists are preferring to use alternative herbs such as hawthorn to help clients with heart conditions as it is a milder herb.
When in 1785, William Withering first wrote about the medicine digitalin in medical literature this was the beginning of its real use for heart conditions. Later on, digoxin the active compound was extracted from the foxglove. It is mostly used in medicine for congestive heart failure (CHF), relieving associated fluid retention and irregular heartbeat. The main drawback for its use is it has a very narrow therapeutic window that allows outcomes only within a small dosage range. If you would like to know more detail have a look at the image on this lovely website page:
But I would like to look at Digitalis (Dig) the homeopathic remedy where it has a much more holistic picture by covering physical, mental and emotional symptoms.
So below are examples of a few of these symptoms –
- It can be used to help someone with a slow, irregular and weak pulse
- It may help someone with irregular heartbeat especially of mitral valve disease
- It can help a person with feelings of faintness with possible nausea and vomiting
- Maybe helpful for someone experiencing great weakness with aversion to talking
- Could be helpful for someone who is anxious and fearful about the future
- They may also have feelings of guilt and remorse with tearfulness
- Other areas it covers are – urinary disorders and prostate enlargement usually associated with the characteristic slow weak pulse
There is a much bigger picture of symptoms for this remedy in our homeopathic materia medica books which contain the details of each individual remedy.
Of course, as with all homeopathic remedies there are numerous ones to help with heart symptoms. So, it is always about matching a client’s symptoms to their individual remedy which they need at that particular time. This is one reason why it is so important to have a proper consultation with a homeopath. They have learnt through both their training and experience to be like a detective and to uncover your most applicable and individual remedy. Homeopathy is truly a learnt art.
Foxgloves are poisonous as a plant, in their use both as herbal and medicinal forms they are highly toxic. But as the homeopathic remedies they are succussed (a process of shaking) and diluted to such a degree there is nothing tangible left of the original substance in the remedy, therefore no toxicity can occur.
So, what can we learn from nature after this lockdown?
Nature brings us a cornucopia of gifts throughout the year. More than ever, we need to be aware of these gifts, look after them and research them so that we can benefit from them in a sustainable way. Our challenge is how we use them in the future to be at one with nature, not destroying her like we have done so much in the past. We are now given the opportunity to look at nature with fresh eyes and use her invaluable gifts wisely. For me this is where homeopathy fits in. In the production of homeopathic remedies only an exceedingly small amount of the original substance is required, therefore there is no drain on nature’s resources. Homeopathy is one of the world’s most environmentally friendly forms of medicine, which is without any toxicity to the planet or to us using it. So, it is really important that more people get to hear about homeopathy and benefit from its use. I would suggest if you have benefitted from using homeopathy please do let others know. At least then they can have a choice in the care of their health and which medicine they would like to choose.
How Can You Help by Being Even More “Green”?
Maybe consider using more homeopathy in your own life or learning more about it. This will enable you to take back some control with your own health. You might consider buying a Homeopathy Kit for minor first aid in your home.
I know, I am so grateful to mother nature for the gift of homeopathy in my life and how it has allowed me to help myself, my family, my pets and my clients over the last 30 years.
