What is Urticaria & How is it caused?
Red itchy lesions that result from a skin reaction. The welts/lesions vary in shape and size and fade repeatedly as the reaction runs its course.
Causes
Urticaria occurs when the cells release histamine in the blood stream, that release may be due to a variety of factors like
- Pain medications
- Insect bite
- Scratching (dermographia)
- Tight bandaging/pressure as from a waist band
- Stress
- Exercise
- Sunlight
- Certain foods or drinks
- Heat/Cold
Symptoms
- Itching
- Redness
- Painful swelling, angioedema, swelling of lips, face etc.
- Welts that may vary in shape size and may fade repeatedly as
Treatment
People often take and get used to anti allergic and antihistamines in the case of Urticaria. Usage of Antihistamines, only give temporary relief in the redness and hives but do not heal it completely.
Some of the homeopathic medicines along with their indications are :-
1. Apis Mellifica
- Regarded as the Top grade medicine for urticaria.
- Red, inflamed, rosy patches of the skin, along with burning and stinging like that of a bee.
- Sudden puffiness of face, lips, under the eyelids with redness and hypersensitivity
- Modalities – The condition is worse from the warmth of bed, heat, night, change of weather. And better by cold application
- Usually gets triggered from insect bite or tight bandaging
- Suited to patients who are usually thirstless and feel hot most of the time
2. Arsenic album
- Urticaria associated with burning and restlessness, both mental and physical which gets worse at night esp midnight at around 1-2 pm
- Hot applications and heat give relief
- Dark red, blackish elevated dried up lesions
3. Rhus Tox
- Ailments from cold, wet damp weather, in august-sept-oct, or caused from cold application (bathing)
- Raised red rashes
- The patient feels worse on rubbing
- Itching burning and smarting, may be associated vesicles and tendency to scale formation.
4. Dulcamara
- Widespread lesions all over the body, worse in cold damp wet weather
- Intense itching, scratches violently, cant control scratching, irresistible desire to scratch
- Better by cold application , worse by warmth, warmth of bed, change of temp
- Sleepless as the bed feels warm and itching is worse at night
- The patches are irregular, widespread, with raised red edges, with a prickling sensation on the skin
- Urticaria before menses
5. Urtica Urens
- Annual urticaria attacks, appears in the same season every time
- Urticaria return after every change of season
- Lesions are red with severe itching and burning,
- Burning and stinging associated with formication and numbness of the body
- Urticaria with rheumatic pains, it often alternates with rheumatic complaints
6. Natrum Mur
- Used for chronic urticaria
- Triggered from SUN, and exertion
- Skin lesions increase in size when the patient exercises, as sweat makes all the skin complaints worse. (cholinergic urticaria)
- Urticaria of scalp
- Intense itching of lesions, with severe irritation
- 30 potency advised
Dietary/Preventive measures for Urticaria
- Avoiding alcohol if it’s a triggering factor
- Abstaining from caffeine or foods that trigger urticaria
- Circumventing stress from yoga meditation etc
- Avoiding processed foods for a while
- Wear loose, light clothing that doesn’t irritate the skin
- Abstain from scratching
- Vitamin C and D recommended
What is Sinusitis & How is it caused?
Sinusitis is a medical condition which occurs when the mucus lining of the sinuses are inflamed and the mucus starts to accumulate in the air cavities that causes congestion, pain and other nasal and throat symptoms. This inflammation can be caused due to an allergy or an infection to the nose or sinuses. A deviated nasal septum and a family history of Sinusitis can be some of the risk factors.
Causes
To understand the problem, some lab investigation may be required to understand and rectify the faulty area that maintains the diseased condition. These tests are to be conducted by a trained and licensed physician.
- CBC – IGE
- GERD – Gastro esophageal reflux disorder
- Physical examination of nose for polyps; throat inspection for suspected laryngitis or pharyngitis.
- Deviated septum
- Ear issue/ discharges
Symptoms of Sinustis
- Post nasal drip (mucus drips down the throat).
- Nasal discharge (thick yellow or green discharge from nose) or stuffy nose.
- Facial pressure (particularly around the nose, eyes, and forehead), headache and or pain in your teeth or ears.
- Halitosis (bad breath)
- Cough
Treatment
- 2 cups warm water with 2 teaspoonful saline solution, baking soda is optional
- Use hands as cups (inhale the water and blow the nose very gently ) or using a neti pot
- Neti pot or saline wash with nozzle – Put the nozzle in one nostril; not any deeper than a finger’s width and breath via mouth then; the water will flow out of the other nostril or mouth. Blow the nose and the do it again with the other nostril
What is Sciatica & How is it caused?
Sinusitis is an aggravation of the sinuses that can make them get impeded and loaded up with liquid. It is normally brought about by cold or sensitivities. Contamination could result from the blockage.
Causes
- Disc herniation- Intervertebral discs (the shock absorbers), herniate, leading to bone-bone fusion that leads to compression of several nerves esp sciatic nerve.
- Spinal stenosis – Narrowing of intervertebral foramen; leads to compression again, most commonly found in RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS.
- Injury to the spine
- Spinal tumor, cysts, abscesses
Symptoms of Sciatica
- Moderate to severe pain in lower back, buttock and down your leg.
- Numbness or weakness in your lower back, buttock, leg or feet.
- Pain that worsens with movement; loss of movement.
- “Pins and needles” feeling in your legs, toes or feet.
Treatment
Homeopathy has tremendous effect on neuropathy and neuralgias. Hence it has a great effect on sciatica too, if the medicine is rightfully selected
Some of the homeopathic medicines along with their indications are :-
1. Rhus Tox
- Suited to people with right sided sciatica
- The complaints are worse on sitting and rest, and better on moving about
- In cases where it is massively triggered from lifting heavy weights
- Complaints worse in damp wet weather
- Worse on lying on painful side
2. Colocynth
- Given in cases of left sided sciatica
- Excruciating pain along the path of left sciatic nerve – long pathway- from buttocks till toes.
- Sharp, shock like electric pains.
- Pressure always gives relief.
- Warm applications give relief in some cases
3. Mag Phos
- For muscular spasms of back that trigger sciatica
- Suited to people having sciatica due to Piriformis syndrome
- Very well indicated for low backache
- Uncovering worsens the pain
- Sharp stitching pains
- 6x preferred potency by some, quick repetitions.
4. Gnaphalium
- Indicated in cases of sciatica of pain with NUMBNESS, or just numbness without pain
- Pain and numbness often alternate
- Altered sensations, tingling, crawling sensation along the path of the nerve
5. Arnica Montana
- Injury remedy
- From a blow to the spine
- Bruised feeling of lower limbs
- Soreness of lower limbs, sensitive to touch, slightest touch is unbearable
- Stiffness from overexertion and trauma
6. Hypericum
- Another sciatica caused from injury remedy
- Pain attended with tingling burning and sometimes numbness in the affected leg.
- Sensitive spine, walking or stooping causes intense pain
7. Ruta
- Sciatica from injury
- Pain worse on lying down
- Pin worse at night
- Weakness of lower limbs at night ++
8. Kali carb
- Low vitality
- Lower back pain
- Sensation of nothing left felt in the knees
- Indicated in sciatica of extremely old people.
- Low potency preferred
Lifestyle changes and exercises.
- Avoid bending forward, backward, stooping
- Absolutely avoid lifting weights
- Too much long standing or sitting avoid
- Eat right, lose weight
- Avoiding high heels for ladies
- Using a firm mattress to sleep
- Stretching and physiotherapy (pushing pelvis forward, asanas, chest up)
What is Nasal Polyps & How is it caused?
- Inflammation of epithelial lining of mucous membranes in the nose
- Tear drop or grape like shaped, non cancerous, usually painless
- Associated usually with respiratory distresses like asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergies immune disorders, sinusitis.
- Can cause restriction in the passage of nose (breathing diff)
- Nasal polyps often return post surgery.
Causes
No particular cause but risk factors include illnesses like asthma, sinusitis, Type 1 hypersensitivity, all rhinitis etc.
Symptoms of Nasal Polyp
It is important to get diagnosed for nasal polyps if one suffers from these symptoms
- Persistent running nose with irritation in the nostrils
- Nosebleeds on blowing nose
- Stuffiness felt in the nostrils
- Decreased or altered sense of smell
- Anosmia
- Pain felt at the root of the nose
- Constant sneezing, recurrent in nature, one after the other.
- Breathing difficulty through nose
Treatment
Since Polyps are non-cancerous, soft growths on the sinus walls, doctors often recommend surgery for it.
Surgery only seems to treat the problem temporarily and the polyps often return. It is due to the fact that the surgeons are able to remove the excessive overlying growth, but they cant remove the leftover tendency of nasal polyps. Hence polyps recur.
Homeopathy has excellent results with respect to nasal polyps where the it doesn’t only shrink the size of the polyp but also helps in restoring the normal functioning of the nose and depletes the tendency of the polyp to occur again.
Homeopathic medicines with their Indications:-
1. Lemna Minor
Top grade medicine indicated in nasal polyps in both ethmoidal and antrochoanal.
- Abundant discharge of crust and pus from the nose
- Anosmia and parosmia – no smell or altered smells (mostly foul)
- Wet weather worsens the symptoms
- Treats swollen nasal turbinates.
- Asthma from nasal obstruction
2. Teucrium
- Nasal Blockage most marked symptom
- Soft nasal polyp with jelly like consistency
- Obstruction the side of the nose on which the patient lies down
- Indicated in ozaena and chronic catarrh
- Anosmia wis very well marked
3. Sanguinaria nitricum
- Indicated in rightt side nasal polyps
- Burning rawness, stuffiness in the nose with sneezing.
- Sneezing in every minute.
- Massively swollen turbinated with constant irritability of the nose.
- Polyps that give a burning sensation in the nose.
4. Alumina
- Left sided nasal polyp
- Extreme dryness felt in the left nostrils
- Associated constipation is often found
5. Allium Cepa
- Constant sneezing upon exposure to allergens
- Acrid nasal discharge, corrodes the upper lip
- Bland lachrymation
- Sensation of heavy or lump in nose
6. Thuja
- Excellent remedy for non-cancerous growths like polyp
- The polyp is soft and painless and no bleeding is observed
- The patient who requires this medicine often has a tendency of developing polyp like growth in the body
- Associated uterine polyp or polyp in the ear.
- Puls
- Sepia
- Senecio Aureus
- Ferrum met/phos
- Apis
- Calc carb
- Xanthoxyllum
- Helonias
- Dulcamara
- Graph
- Ignatia
- Oleaum jac
- Lilium tig
- Cimicifuga
- Conium Mac
- Janosia asoka
- Cyclamen
What is Constipation & How is it caused?
Constipation is the infrequent bowel movement or difficult passing of stool.
Hence the term constipation is not only used for hard stools, it is also used for infrequent and irregular stools, eg passing stool once in 2-3 days. It is also associated with the lack of urge or an ineffectual urge resulting in the sensation of incomplete stools.
Constipation is not a disease itself, it can be a symptom of a disease. It is something that affects all ages, from a child to an old person.
Causes
Occasional or Acute constipation is usually caused by
- Modern lifestyle of less eating and drinking
- Intake of alcohol, coffee, fried food etc
- Excessive intake of meat
- Stress and anxiety
- Excessive intake of milk and milk products
Causes of Chronic Constipation
- Prolonged sedentary lifestyle
- Regular intake of some antacids, steroids, BP medication
- Diseases of digestive tract like Intestinal motility disorder, diverticulitis, colitis, Intestinal obstruction etc
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Taking regular antidepressants
Constipation
Symptoms of Constipation
- Stools (every 2 or 3 days).
- Difficulty in expelling faeces.
- Painful evacuation of stool.
- Hard stools
- Blood in stools which are suggestive of fissures or fistula
- Stomach ache and cramps
- Heaviness and bloating in the abdomen
- Loss of appetite
Treatment
Whether occasional/acute or chronic, constipation demands medicinal and dietary intervention for rehabilitation.
Homeopathic Medicines work as an excellent source to restore the normal bowel movements when given according to the symptom indication.
Homeopathic medicines also help in withdrawal of the consumption of laxatives in chronically constipated individuals
What is Allergic Rhinitis & How is it caused?
Allergic Rhinitis is a disease of allergic nature (Nasal Allergy) and hence can be triggered by a variety of allergens that include dust, molds, pollen etc and it is the defence mechanism of our body that identifies the foreign body and tries to expel it out in the form of sneezes.
Causes
Allergic Rhinitis is mainly caused by the exposure to some allergens like dust, pollen, cold drafts etc that result in release of a natural chemical in our body called histamines, which causes acute inflammation of mucous membranes and results in the symptoms like sneezing, running nose etc.
Causes of Chronic Constipation
- Prolonged sedentary lifestyle
- Regular intake of some antacids, steroids, BP medication
- Diseases of digestive tract like Intestinal motility disorder, diverticulitis, colitis, Intestinal obstruction etc
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Taking regular antidepressants
Symptoms of Allergic Rhinitis
- Sneezing
- Running nose
- Headache
- Itching in the nose
- Watery eyes
- Itchy eyes
Treatment
Homeopathy has great results for the treatment of Allergic Rhinitis, where a carefully selected medicine on the basis of the allergy, duration, symptoms, type etc can bring back the normal health of the individual.
Some of the commonly used medicines along with their indications are :-
- ARSENIC ALBUM
- ALIUM CEPA
- SABADILLA
- ARUNDO MAURI
- ARALIA RACEMOSA
- EUPHRASIA
- NATRUM MURATICUM
What is Amenorrhea & How is it caused?
Amenorrhoea is simply defined as the absence of a menstrual period in a woman in her reproductive age. It is commonly observed during the period of pregnancy, up until lactation and is considered to be normal then. In case amenorrhea occurs when the female is not pregnant or lactating, it becomes a point of concern as it is deviated from normal functioning of the female reproductive system.
Amenorrhea can be of two types
- Primary Amenorrhoea – A female who has never had a menstrual period in her reproductive age – No menarche post the age of 14
- Secondary Amenorrhea – Cessation of menses after having 2 or 3 cycles of a female in reproductive age. Secondary amenorrhea is usually a result of Hormonal disturbance.
Causes
Whether Primary or secondary, it is imminent to understand the cause of Amenorrhea.
In case of primary amenorrhea; it is the delayed development of female reproductive organs which results in delayed menarche. There may be a congenital anomaly as well.
The most commonly observed Amenorrhea is that of secondary type.
Apart from Pregnancy which is the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea, there are other factors too such as :-
- PCOD
- Hypothyroidism
- Low nutrition
- High stress levels
- Obesity
- Anaemia
Symptoms of Amenorrhea
Apart from the main symptom of absence of menses, there are a variety of associated symptoms with amenorrhea
- Hirsutism – Facial hair growth
- Mood swings
- Pelvic pains
- Milky discharge from nipples
- Hair fall
- Acne
- Headache with Vertigo
Treatment
Conventional medicine advises hormonal therapy in case of secondary amenorrhea, which demands the induction of hormones passively to regualarise the cycle.
We at Dr Chawla’s do not advise that, as it becomes a lifelong process of hormonal therapy and the cycle is almost always induced after the hormonal treatment is given, not without it, naturally.
Hence it is advised to opt for Homeopathic treatment for amenorrhea, as it is safe, effective and does not disrupt the normal functioning of the reproductive cycle.
- ULSATILLA NIGRICANS
- SEPIA
- SENECIO AUREUS
- NATRUM MUR
- CIMICIFUGA
- ALETRIS FARINOSA