What is the common cold?
It is during the time of autumn and winter when these catarrhal symptoms affect, with different intensity, the vast majority of the population. In fact, it is estimated that an adult suffers between one and two colds a year and in the case of children between four to five. It is easy to understand the latter if one takes into account that the defensive system of the children is in full maturity and it is precisely these first contacts with viruses that your immune system does not yet know that are "training" it and making it increasingly capable of dealing with them effectively.
Symptoms of a cold
It is known that the symptoms of cold they are very variable:
- Nasal mucus
- Feeling unwell
- Fever
- Throat discomfort
- Complications of,, and bronchitis
Cold treatment
The vast majority of these paintings are of viral origin and that's why the antibiotic treatment is completely ineffective. Classic symptomatic treatments will help make the symptoms more bearable while the cold heals on its own.
The problem when treating most catarrhal pictures is that they are viral origin and antibiotics do not work against viruses, so the only alternative left is to treat the symptoms and hope that there are no complications while the cold heals itself.
Homeopathy as a treatment
This is where the homeopathy provides a new dimension because it does not act by suppressing the symptoms that, on the other hand, promote healing, but rather stimulates the the body's own defenses so that they are the ones that manage to overcome the infection in a more effective way.
This means a lower risk of complications and a much shorter and more bearable convalescence. This form of treatment has a great implicit advantage and that is that every time a cold is treated with homeopathic medicines, it is one's own defense system which is reinforced, since homeopathy does not act on the virus but on the immune system by stimulating it.
The homeopathic medicine lacks toxicity. It is one of the safest drugs that can be found in pharmacies, which is why it can be used safely in babies, pregnant women, the elderly or people who are taking other medications.
Another very interesting aspect of homeopathy is that its combination with other therapies or other medications it is always possible. antibiotics or bronchodilators can be used together with homeopathic treatment whenever the doctor deems it necessary. One medicine will enhance the other because each one will be acting on a different and complementary plane.
Another aspect of homeopathy is the individualization of the treatment. The cause of the cold is the same, a virus that colonizes the upper respiratory tract. However, the way to respond will be particular according to the person and their vital moment.
How effective is it?
This is especially interesting in kids that, precisely, are in the process of immunological maturation. If every time a child has a cold he is treated with homeopathy, he will receive treatment effective and safe in that acute picture and you will also be improving your resistance to future colds.
Likewise, homeopathy contemplates another aspect in the treatment of colds, the preventive. In adults and especially in children it is very common to find patients who "take it all". Their defense system, due to a constitutional predisposition problem or due to a lowering of their defenses due to circumstantial causes, cannot effectively fight germs and each time they come into contact with them they become ill.
Here the homeopathic medicine act on the field of that patient improving your immunity and that translates into fewer colds and more strength to heal the ones you contract.
Homeopathic medicines
In the most frequent forms of colds, medications such as, among others, will be used. One or more of them will be chosen in combination according to the particular signs and symptoms that each patient presents.
Thus, strain will be used when the patient has a cold with irritant, watery rhinorrhea with sneezing that improves with fresh air. On the other hand, if the mucus is thicker, even yellowish or greenish, with a sensation of painful pressure in the root of the nose and in the frontal sinuses, swollen nose and edematous eyes and that, in addition, prefers the heat and is worsened by the cool, we will opt for.
However, sometimes the most delicate thing about a cold is its complications and here homeopathy is also extremely effective with medications such as the following:
- Hepar sulfur, Kalium bichromicum, Cinnabaris, or Mezereum for sinusitis.
- Antimonium tartaricum or Ipeca for bronchitis.
- Drosera, Spongia tosta or Corallium rubrum for laryngitis.
- Arsenicum album, Aurum metallicum, Hepar sulfur or Capsicum for otitis.
Medications such as will shorten and relieve periods of convalescence of the catarrhal pictures so annoying and limiting. When treating an acute cold in a patient with the homeopathic medicines that "his cold" needs, the infectious process will be acting on activating the body's own healing resources and, in this sense, improving its immunity.
In addition, homeopathy has medications such as the one that acts as a general immunostimulant, in any individual, against viral processes, both common colds and acute gastroenteritis.
Informative note
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The contents included in this section offer information related to existing therapies explained by spets with experience in the field with a merely informative objective. MAPFRE does not intend in any way to position itself on its suitability or expressly promote its use.
Guillermo Basauri Homeopathy Specialist Collaborating specialist with Advance Medical
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)