Last week when half my family battled a stomach bug, I quickly remembered the downside to having the kids back in school. Since I was one of the unlucky ones to catch it, I was not on my “A game.” Much to my dismay, I couldn’t recall a single remedy to alleviate the stomach pain the kids and I were experiencing. So for my own benefit as much as yours, here are seven of the major homeopathic remedies to help ease GI symptoms!
Homeopathic Medicine
Homeopathic remedies are diluted natural substances that stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities. They are super safe and very effective when used correctly. For chronic conditions, it can be quite complicated to utilize homeopathy so these cases are best left for the professional. However, there is much we can do at home for acute conditions, such as GI distress from a virus or food poisoning. Because of this a few years ago, Dr. Brown and I assembled a remedy kit of his top 25 remedies every household should have on hand! We also spent several months writing a Remedy Guide to accompany the kit so that our customers would know when and how to use each remedy. The following information comes from excerpts from this guide. It certainly doesn’t cover every indication for each remedy as that would be one long blog post! But it does reference seven of the remedies in our kit and how they relate to GI symptoms.
Arsenicum Album
This remedy is one I will likely never forget. Unfortunately for me last week, I knew it wasn’t the right one for our particular symptoms. But had we been experiencing relentless vomiting or diarrhea, this would have been the first remedy I would have grabbed! It is one to keep in the medicine cabinet for sure. .
General Symptom Profile:
- #1 remedy for food poisoning, nausea/vomiting, and diarrhea
- A common remedy for cold and flu when the general symptom profile matches (See below for specific conditions.)
- Restlessness, anxiety, and exhaustion – worse at night
- Burning pains relieved by heat
- Sudden feeling of weakness from minor causes
- Changes place continuously
- Chilly – wants to be kept warm
- Thirst for small sips of water, but worse after eating or drinking
Better From: Hot, dry applications, company, warm food and drinks, motion, sitting up, and open air
Worse From: Exertion, after midnight, cold, damp, or wet weather, and cold food and drinks
Condition-Specific Symptoms:
Diarrhea:
- Violent diarrhea with much pain in the stomach and intestines
- Burning in rectum during or following diarrhea
- Diarrhea from food poisoning due to bad water, meat, or fruit often with nausea and vomiting
Nausea/Vomiting:
- Violent nausea, retching, and vomiting after eating and drinking
- Can’t bear sight/smell of food
- No relief of symptoms after vomiting
- Burning pain in stomach
- Ice-cold water is immediately vomited
- Worse at night, esp. 10 pm – 2 am
- Nausea and vomiting from food poisoning due to bad water, meat, or fruit often with diarrhea
Carbo Vegetabilis
Carbo is a remedy that we often use in our household. We have found it helps with indigestion quite a bit. Even more importantly is how effective it is with more serious conditions such as drowning, which is the main reason Dr. Brown included it in our kit. But we will leave that discussion for another post!
General Symptom Profile:
- Body becomes blue and icy cold
- Low vitality from loss of vital fluids
- Appears lifeless
- Air hunger – must be fanned and have windows open • Weak, sick, and exhausted – State of collapse
Better From: Belching, fanning, and cool air
Worse From: Rich, fatty food, coffee, wine, warmth, being run down, and extremes of temperature
Condition-Specific Symptoms:
Nausea/Vomiting:
- Much belching with bloated abdomen
- Violent burning from chest to abdomen
- Warm head with ice-cold hands and feet
- Nausea and vomiting from food poisoning often from bad meat or fish
China Officinalis
We tend to usually use china after dealing with a stomach bug to restore vital fluids, but nonetheless I thought it important to include in this list as it definitely pertains to GI distress.
General Symptom Profile:
- Debilitation caused by profuse, exhausting discharges – loss of vital fluids (blood loss, excessive diarrhea, vomiting, sweating, or urination)
- Weakness from loss of fluids
- Symptoms often come and go
Better From: Hard pressure, warmth, and lying down
Worse From: Drafts, cold, motion, light touch, and after eating
Condition-Specific Symptoms:
Diarrhea:
- Painless, yellow, watery diarrhea that may contain undigested food
- Abdomen bloated – no relief from belching
- Thirsty and sweaty
- Use after diarrhea symptoms have resolved to restore vital fluids and speed recovery
Nausea/Vomiting:
- Vomiting of undigested food with painless, yellow diarrhea
- Belching of bitter fluid or regurgitation of food
- Abdomen bloated – no relief from belching
- Nausea and vomiting from food poisoning often from fish, fruit, or bad meat
Ipecacuanha
Ipecac is the first remedy I think of when I am sure I have food poisoning. If the following general symptom profile + condition specific symptoms match what you are experiencing, then this remedy may just do the trick to help you feel better fast!
General Symptom Profile:
- Commonly indicated for persistent nausea and vomiting
- Pale face with blue around the eyes or lips
- Aversion to all food
- Thirstless
- Irritable and wants to be left alone
Better From: Open air, rest, pressure, and closing eyes
Worse From: Food, warmth (especially damp warmth), slightest motion, and lying down
Condition-Specific Symptoms:
Nausea/Vomiting:
- Persistent extreme nausea and vomiting – vomiting does not relieve symptoms
- Dry heaves, violent cramps, saliva with vomiting
- Nausea and vomiting possibly from food poisoning
Nux Vomica
Nux is a remedy I always have on hand. Whether it’s for the husband who sometimes overeats or the kiddo who is prone to motion sickness, nux seems to be one we need more often than most others!
General Symptom Profile:
- Often useful when symptoms develop after mental stress and strain
- Nervous, irritable, angry, impatient, and oversensitive
- Cannot bear noise, light, and odors
- #1 hangover remedy
Better From: Warmth, covering, napping, rest, wet weather, and strong pressure
Worse From: Early morning, cold, open air, uncovering, mental exertion, fatigue, anger, noise, odors, pressure of clothes, high living (coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and overeating)
Condition-Specific Symptoms:
Motion Sickness:
- Constant nausea with a splitting headache and buzzing in the ears
- Nausea with constipation
Nausea/Vomiting:
- Stomach ache with cramps, retching vomiting and diarrhea at the same time
- Overindulgence in food/alcohol
- #1 hangover remedy
- Feels better with vomiting
- Toxic poison remedy
- Irritable and toxic feeling
- Nausea and vomiting possibly from food poisoning
Phosphorus
We’ve only used phosphorus for GI symptoms a few times over the years, but the times we have it has worked wonderfully.
General Symptom Profile:
- Inflamed, irritated, mucus membranes
- Very sensitive to light, sound, odors, touch, electrical charges, and thunderstorms
- Hemorrhages – small wounds bleed excessively
- Blood-streaked discharges
- Tightness in chest
- Craves ice-cold drinks and food
- Pale, sickly complexion
- Burning sensations
- Afraid to be alone – wants company and reassurance
- Easily startled
Better From: Eating, especially cold food and drink, company, short naps, sitting up, and lying on right side
Worse From: Warm food and drink, being alone, odors, morning and dusk, and lying on left side
Condition-Specific Symptoms:
Nausea/Vomiting:
- A good remedy for nausea and vomiting when the general symptom profile matches
- #1 remedy to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting following anesthesia
Pulsatilla
Pulsatilla is a popular remedy with many uses. In our house, it is one of my go-to’s for my daughter. If clinginess and timidness are present along with the GI symptoms (or other condition-specific symptoms), pulsatilla is likely the right remedy. For instance, my 9 year old daughter had a tummy ache a few months ago. That night she begged for me to sleep with her and cried uncontrollably when I told her I couldn’t. This was very unlike her. Suddenly I realized it was not coincidence but that her clinginess was actually a symptom of her illness! That led me to use pulsatilla, and within a few minutes she was fast asleep. I’m always amazed at how fast this one works for us!
General Symptom Profile:
- Mild and timid — weeps easily
- Desires company and sympathy
- Fear of abandonment
- Changing/shifting symptoms
- Thick, bland, yellow-green discharges
- Thirstless even with dry mouth
- Craves fresh air – can’t stand a stuffy room
- A common remedy for cold and flu when the general symptom profile matches (See below for specific conditions.)
Better From: Company, sympathy, fresh, open air, cold applications, cold food and drinks, gentle motion, and sitting upright
Worse From: Warm, stuffy rooms, being alone, warm food or drinks, rich, fatty foods, lying on left side, and evening/night
Condition-Specific Symptoms:
Diarrhea:
- Diarrhea from rich, fatty foods – especially ice cream
- Diarrhea with green or mucus stools
- Stools constantly change in color/character
- Diarrhea can be from foods eaten long before
Nausea/Vomiting:
- Vomiting of partially-digested food – can be from foods eaten long before
- Worse from hot foods which are vomited immediately
- Not irritable and wants company, clingy (opposite Ipecac)
- Nausea and vomiting from food poisoning due to rich, fatty foods (especially ice cream); often with diarrhea
For more information on these remedies and the other 18 in Dr. Brown’s top 25, please consider purchasing the Acute Care Kit, which comes with the Remedy Guide. Hopefully you won’t have any need for these remedies this school year, but just in case you do you can be ready!
Til’ next time,
