Ever noticed your palms sweat when you're on the edge of a tall building? Or spotted red sand in your pee? Have you ever felt your ears bubbling? Or had slimy poos?
These are some of the weird and wonderful 'embarrassing bodies' minutia that us homeopaths like to know about, for a multitude of reasons.
Yup. We are pretty nosey, and it can sometimes seem like we want to know the ins and outs of a ducks arse. And fortunately, we don't need to 'see' your symptoms - not even photos, thank you very much! It's just useful to know about them, what is unique about them for you, and work out how to get you better.
And fortunately, we don't need to 'see' your symptoms - not even photos, thank you very much!
I'll go on...
We want to know if you’re a lakes and mountains kind of person, or a salty air and sea breeze type. Can you walk past a beach without the urge to get in the sea, or are you a magnet to the waves?
When it’s blowing a hooley, do you reach for the duvet and binge watch a five series box set on Netflix, or grab your pac-a-mac and brace the elements? Would you have a scarf (or blanket for Netflix!) up around your neck, or do you want to feel the breeze on you - perhaps specifically the back of your neck? Or do you just hate tight things around your neck.
Are you creative? Logical? Sensitive or feisty? Soft and fluffy, or hard to crack?
And what are you like when you are sad? Do you want a hug and a shoulder to dampen, or do you want the world to piss off and leave you the f*ck alone? Would a hug and sympathy literally make you shudder?
Do you have walls up, or are you the over sharer in your group? (They say that if you're not sure - then its probably you!) Or perhaps you have walls up for the deeply guarded stuff, but present an outwardly larger than life exterior. A double disguise for the expert emotion-resister! Does any of this sound like you, or someone you know?
Or perhaps you have walls up for the deeply guarded stuff, but present an outwardly larger than life exterior.
There's more.
Do you love spicy food, or is a vegetable soup more than enough for your delicate tastebuds? Have you lost your sense of smell, or taste? Does coriander now taste nice, when before you hated it? (Do dogs have these issues, or is it just us humans?!)
When you have man flu, does the world have to evolve around you? Sympathy, cuppas and head dabbed with a cool towel while you groan in pain and watch daytime TV with Phil and Kirsty. Or do you want the door closed, the lights off, and zero conversation - because even blinking hurts, and everyone really needs to pack up and move out until you're better?
What are your migraines like? Why do you even get migraines? When did they start? Are yours linked to stress, red wine, spicy food, hot weather, certain medications or food, worrying about an up coming family visit, your periods, or too much screens time? (You don't have to suffer like this you know.)
You get the picture!
Has your doctor ever asked you these questions? Have you ever asked your doctor these questions - about yourself obviously, not about them!
Has your doctor ever asked you these questions? Have you ever asked your doctor these questions - about yourself obviously, not about them!
There’s a huge place for conventional medicine. and our doctors tirelessly deal with long waiting lists, often with little time per person. And so hats off to them. But sometimes, a 'one-pill-fits-many' approach doesn’t work as well as we hope, which is where other forms of medicines compliment conventional healthcare so well.
But sometimes, a 'one-pill-fits-many' approach doesn’t work as well as we hope
With thousands of different homeopathic medicines, it is quite normal for several people with almost identical symptoms, to each require a different course of treatment.
Let me explain.
These weird and wonderful symptoms that make us completely unique, are important not only because they are the small details that help us know what is wrong:
Slimy poo could be a sign that your liver is struggling. Sandy pee could suggest you need some kidney support - although we would always look beyond the kidney, and explore why it is happening in the first place. A new smell to your body odour could mean you are just eating more of a certain food, but could also mean your lymph need a detox - or that it is already detoxing.
But these are also the signs that make your symptoms and situation completely individual - which help me select you a perfectly individualised prescription. Which is why symptoms are the body's red flashing warning sign that something is off, and that if we take all these unique aspects into account, we can nip things in the bud early on, or claim back your health if a few issues have piled up on top of one another.
When you scratch beneath the surface, rarely do people have absolutely identical symptoms.
Which is why we want to know when it started. What else was going on at the time? Has this happened before? Did it come on suddenly? Or gradually? Or annually? What seems to make it even worse? Or a bit better? Are you thirstier than normal? Do you sip or gulp? Is it your left tonsil or your right that hurts? You have had a fear of using other people's loos ever since? That's fine - we'll cover that too.
You have had a fear of using other people's loos ever since? That's fine - we'll cover that too.
And so on...
So when ten people come to me with heavy periods, or the same winter cold, or stress- induced migraines, or recurring bladder infections - they rarely need the same prescription as each other - because we are each susceptible to things for different reasons - we each caught that cold that was going round for a different reason - just the same way that some people in the office didn't catch it at all.
Some of you were stressed or run down, or sat in a draught all day, or were struggling with grief at the time, or have a difficult home life, or are sensitive to mould and damp, or never recovered fully from glandular fever as a kid...
And this is far from an exhaustive list of the uniqueness of the human body!
So if nothing is quite getting to the bottom of your symptoms - give a homeopath a call, and let's see if we can get you back on track.
Lucy Reynolds BSc PDHom Adv
Homeopathic Practitioner
Homeopathy online and in Morpeth, Northumberland, UK