There are times when it’s absolutely fine to treat yourself using homeopathic remedies, but you should know when it’s best to hand your treatment over to a homeopath to let them find you a remedy. The question is, do you know how to tell which is which?

First, ask yourself, why do you need a remedy? If it is for something we call ‘an acute’ such as a burn, pulled muscle, a headache or even chicken pox – then you can match the symptoms you are suffering with, to the symptoms of a remedy especially useful for that condition, for example, if your usually outgoing child gets a bad cold with thick yellow mucous and is constantly whining for cuddles, you can look down the typical cold remedies and easily match those symptoms to Pulsatilla – and it will help their cold and relieve their symptoms quickly.

If that same child happens to suffer from a chronic condition, such as anxiety, eczema or asthma then it is time to visit your homeopath for a remedy which is far more carefully selected. It is true that you can treat some of these conditions in the moment yourself to relieve the symptom then and there, but for correct treatment which will lead to cure, you will need a core remedy, which takes so much more into consideration (it’s why we ask all those weird and wonderful questions during a consultation).

For examples if you suffer from anxiety and have a panic attack, then you may be able to find a remedy to help you at the time of the panic attack, such as Aconite – it’s an intense state, easily recognisable and definitely a remedy which will help you at that time if it has been selected correctly. However, to cure the anxiety, and the panic attacks completely you need treatment which gets to the core of the problem, not treatment to help those startling symptoms at the time. Likewise, with asthma, if you are having an asthma attack, you may correctly match your symptoms up to Carbo-veg for example, if you can’t breathe and your face is turning blue. This remedy will help in the moment, but won’t treat the underlying cause and help your asthma in the long term.

So – armed with this knowledge, there are still so many ways you can help your family using homeopathy. I would suggest you start with a homeopathic first aid book, such as mine which can be downloaded immediately for 99p only: First aid booklet. These serve as a great guide in not only treating your family’s problems, but also in which remedies to buy because nobody knows better than you what sort of acutes your family is likely to suffer from!

Remedies can be obtained from your homeopath or from a homeopathic pharmacy such as Helios where you can buy a kit. A few of the most common acute remedies are sold in Chemists or health food shops. As a rough guide, if you are buying single remedies you should spend less than £10 per large bottle, per remedy which will last you for years (unless you are very unfortunate and constantly ill!), or it will be cheaper if you buy a kit with smaller bottles. Many of my patients have a little kit I’ve made up for them and others gradually collect little packets of remedies as they realise which ones will be useful for them.

For self treatment I recommend a 30 or 200 strength and in acute problems I repeat the remedy far more often than needed in a chronic condition because these remedies are being used up by the body quickly and need to be replenished more often. Your homeopath can guide you at first, but as you get used to using homeopathy yourself, your symptoms will guide you and you will know when to stop giving a regular dose as the symptoms ease.

If you want to start slowly, and especially if you have children, start with Arnica 200 and see how it helps injuries and bruising. Calendula is another one which may be invaluable if you have an accident prone family. Whilst Arnica is for injuries with bruising and unbroken skin, Calendula is known as the homeopathic antiseptic and great for preventing infection in open wounds. You can look down the first aid book you have to see which remedies are likely to benefit your family the most.

It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to help your friends and family during illness or accidents, and as you use it your confidence will grow. I would love to hear your success stories of how you have helped your family using homeopathy.  Use my facebook page to share your successes