A spur of the moment, week-long holiday in France meant packing the homeopathic remedy kit, and so far our holiday party has used it for an injured toe (a few doses of homeopathic Arnica 30c, then homeopathic Hypericum 30c for a day), to help indigestion from rich food and a hangover from (additives in) red wine (homeopathic Nux vomica 30c on both occasions), and an insect bite that started to swell up (homeopathic Apis 30c). We’re staying in a little stone cottage in the Loire that has great views but ridiculously low ceilings, and we’ve also reached for the Arnica 30c when we’ve banged our heads particularly hard on the cottage’s thick stone doorways – ouch!

Nux vomica 30c is a brilliant homeopathic remedy for the ill-effects of overindulgence, and suits people who (like me) have a tendency to work too hard without proper breaks. In day-to-day life, I generally avoid things like coffee, bread, cheese and alcohol, but my view is that it’s be almost criminal to stick to these rules in France, so my digestion has had rather a battering over the last few days. I rarely drink alcohol, though, so two glasses of wine is my absolute limit – in fact, Paul jokes that he married me because I’m such a cheap date.

Many mainstream pharmacies in France, even in small towns, carry a range of over-the-counter homeopathic combination remedies (for example, for stress, for colds and flu, for insomnia and agitation, or for travel sickness) as well as stocking a good range of homeopathic prescription-only single remedies, because homeopathy’s widely used by French doctors.

In the UK, classical (traditional) homeopaths (as opposed to more modern, practical homeopaths) sometimes frown on combination remedies as not being true homeopathy: with classical homeopathy, the idea is that there is one perfect and true remedy for each individual. I was trained in both schools of homeopathic philosophy, so I tend to choose the method to suit the individual patient, and I do use combination remedies where there’s a good justification for doing so.

I tend to be pragmatic: if there doesn’t seem much chance of finding one remedy alone that will gently help all the patient’s mental, emotional and physical symptoms, I might consider using a combination remedy. In fact, I’ve just recommended a combination homeopathic remedy to a stressed-out friend of mine: the combination is one that’s widely available in French pharmacies under the name Zenalia®, and is a combination of homeopathic Gelsemium 9c (ailments from bad news, shock, fright, stress, exhaustion and weakness), Ignatia 9c (ailments from emotional overwhelm, insomnia, after shock, upset or bad news) and Kali-phos 15c (considered to be a tonic for a strung-out nervous system). I’m not expecting the combination remedy to fix the underlying cause of the stress, but it should help my friend to cope until she can get to see a homeopath for a proper consultation.

After my restful French break, thankfully I don’t feel in need of a remedy for stress, though maybe I should order some in from the pharmacy we use, just in case the coming week back at work, and all the post-holiday catching-up, is as frenetic as I anticipate!

For more information about how homeopathy may be able to help you to improve your health and wellbeing, including homeopathy to help with stress, visit www.phoenixhomeopathy.com.

Disclaimer: Any views or advice in this weblog should not be taken as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, especially if you know you have a specific health complaint. Prescribed medication should not be stopped or varied without conventional medical advice. Please remember that homeopathic remedies and other health measures should be individually-selected to match the whole person, not just the unwelcome symptom. Seek professional advice rather than self-prescribing if your complaint is chronic, severe or long-standing, or if you are pregnant, elderly or on orthodox medications.