Constipation Remedies – Homeopathic Diagnosis and Treatment

By Steve Olsen ND, DHANP

Homeopathic research began over 200 years ago in 1790. The first remedy that was studied, Peruvian bark turned out to be a remedy that could treat constipation. Since then homeopathic physicians all over the world have contributed to this study and now we have over 400 different remedies listed for this condition.

Which medicine is best for you?

Each homeopathic medicine has the ability to treat a particular type of constipation. They all have a unique profile of symptoms; each one treats a different cause of constipation.

As this is usually a chronic condition (long lasting over many months or years) the best choice is to find a classical homeopathic practitioner to make an accurate diagnosis and find the one remedy that is best suited to you. This interview usually takes about one and a half hours. Many details about you are taken into account to find this remedy. The remedy has to be more than 95 percent correct in order to have a permanent curative effect.

Here are some of the more common remedies that can treat constipation:

Silica 30c

• Constipation – the child or adult goes many days with no bowel movement.
• Easy perspiration of the hands and feet.
• Perspiration on the head at night; especially in children.
• Lean body type; not able to gain weight easily; may even look pale.
• Delicate features.
• Mild character, gentle, sensitive, thoughtful, helpful to others.
• Can be stubborn but aversion to argue.
• Timid and yielding temperament; they find it difficult to stand up for themselves.
• Feel overwhelmed easily by others, need time alone to recuperate.
• Usually have ingrown toe nails.
• Sensitive easily to the cold, can be bothered if above 75 degrees also.
• Wants to stay warm; may have cold  hands and feet.

Usually I suggest a 30c potency to take one time. Then wait a week and see what the effect is. Coffee, tea and essential oils are strong antidotes and should be avoided for a few weeks. If the remedy works well, i.e. there is a 40 to 60 percent change in one week then take a dose of Silica every seven to ten days for up to two months.

Calcarea carbonica 30c

• Constipation
• Easy perspiration of the hands and feet.
• Perspiration on the head at night; especially in children.
• Slow metabolism – for people who tend to put on weight easily and can’t loose weight.
• Soft finger nails, they bend, peel and break easily.
• Chilly and sensitive to the cold; cold hands and feet.
• Wants to stay warm.
• For women who have breast pain before their menses.
• Hard working, responsible, anxiety for others, organized.
• Assertive and can be stubborn but aversion to argue or get angry.
• Can have many different fears; such as fear of heights.
• Out of breath easily from exertion.

Use the 30c potency about once a week and follow the directions as list under the remedy Silica or go to my web site to see a more complete list of antidotes and how best to take the remedy.

Sanicula aqua 30c

• This is a remedy I have used for constipation that results partly from a child who is afraid of having a bowel movement because it was painful during the passing of a large stool.
• Sweat on the head at night during sleep.
• Touchy, irritable, headstrong, obstinate and upset easily.
• Fear of the dark.
• Restless, desire to move from place to place.
• Aversion to downward motion.
• Desire to eat fat and salt.
• Late learning to walk and talk.
• Secretions have the odor of fish brine or old cheese.
• Burning in the soles of the feet, hot feet and want them out of the covers at night.
• Dry skin, or may have eczema.
• May have dandruff.

Alumina 30c

• This is a remedy that can treat constipation for a person who finds that their memory is failing them.
• Constipation
• Very poor memory. Slow in thinking. All functions seem sluggish.
• Dry skin; the skin itches but there is no skin eruption.
• A feeling of blandness to everything, no passion for life, indolent.
• A gradual loss of identity.
• Seems hurried for no reason.
• The expression on the face is concerned and worried.
• Strange impulses when they see a knife.

Calcarea phosphorica 30c

• Constipation.
• Lean and tall body type.
• Intelligent and inquisitive.
• Always wants to go out of the house, to visit with others or go for a ride in the car.
• Very discontented or angry in mood if has to stay home.
• Restless; moves from place to place or from one occupation to another.
• Never seems satisfied with anything; always wants change.
• May have temper tantrums.
• Desire to eat hot dogs, bacon, smoked meat and ham.
• May have growing pains in the legs.
• May have colic from milk.
• May have headaches, arthritis and or stomach aches.

There are other homeopathic remedies that can treat constipation including: Aurum metallicum, Natrum muriaticum, Sulphur, Sepia, Tuberulinum, Veratrum, Hyoscyamus etc. In the course I wrote called: Homeopathy for Acute Conditions these and other remedies are discussed.

If none of these remedies seem to fit your symptoms then see if you can find a homeopathic practitioner in your area.

End.

Strategies in Treating Acute Illnesses and the Current Flu Epidemic

By Steve Olsen ND,  DHANP.

The treatment of an acute illness with homeopathy requires some strategies that when carefully considered allow for a more successful prescription.

If your patient has had the benefit of a constitutional remedy then the acute will be less severe or may only need another dose of that constitutional remedy. In this case the general symptoms, modalities, mental state and keynote symptoms of the acute illness will all be listed under that same constitutional remedy which the patient has been taking all along. After you give this remedy and there is no rapid amelioration within 24 hours then consider a higher potency or consider a new remedy taking into account the following points.

If the virus or bacteria become more virulent or your patient for some reason develops a new susceptibility then the previous constitutional remedy will no longer affect a rapid cure – now a new remedy has to be found.  In fact as the acute symptoms become more severe the chronic symptoms often become temporarily suppressed. In this situation the patient will tell you that after the acute symptoms began then many or all of the modalities, general symptoms, keynotes and emotional symptoms began to change.

The question that needs to be asked over and over during this case taking process is: “What has changed since the acute illness began? Or: “Is that an old chronic modality and general symptom or new modality and general symptom?

As this new constellation of symptoms becomes clear and different from the previous image of the chronic state; one can now confidently look for the new acute remedy. One needs to be open to the idea that that this acute remedy can be very unique with no apparent relation to the previous constitutional remedy or related in some way. Over the past two hundred years there have been many homeopaths who have recorded remedies that followed well after a certain constitutional remedy. For example, Belladonna following well after Calcarea carbonica or Aconite following well after Arsenicum.

This is not a rule but can be taken as one more confirmation – one would still want all the other acute symptoms to agree and line up in the repertorization.

One other way to confirm the acute remedy you choose is to connect the new acute with some aspect of the chronic state that was not helped by the previous constitutional remedy. This is especially true if the acute illness lasts for more than two weeks and or keeps returning. One needs to search into what has been stressful to the patients in the last few months and or an ongoing conflict in that person’s life. Now see if you can find a remedy where this dilemma is confirmed by the modalities and general symptoms of the acute illness. For example for Gelsemium you may find some situation where the patient felt overwhelmed and wanted to run away or became paralyzed with fear. The confirmation is that this patient is thirstless and has the keynote of falling eye lids. Of course all the other typical flu symptoms will be present.

If the acute illness symptoms become similar in all of your patients to the point that you are successful with the same two or three remedies, then you can start to recommend that even patients without the acute symptoms can take those two remedies in say a 6c or 12c potency once every two or three days for a couple of weeks until the ‘epidemic’ is over. This will bring up their immune system enough to prevent that acute illness. As the epidemic becomes milder again this strategy will not work as you will find that each patient who gets the flu will need their own unique acute remedy or a repeat of their constitutional remedy.

One more point. It is often not helpful to repertorize the common physical symptoms of the acute illness such as headache, nose obstruction, sore throat, ear pain, or pain in the muscles. It is better to wait when taking the case until the strong modalities are determined and repertorize these symptoms first. Such as throat pain better from warm drinks or nose obstruction better in the open air or thirst for very cold water. If one can more easily find a remedy where these modalities, general symptoms, keynotes and emotional state all lined up; then check to see if this remedy also treats the common physical symptoms such as headache or sinus infection or the other usual flu symptoms. Most likely it will.

Finally if you could send me the name of the remedy that cured your acute case during this season of flu I will list them on my web site. We may in time see a pattern and find a genus epidemicus. My email is: steveolsen@iinet.com web site is: Be-Well-Now.org