Covid-19 and Homeopathy

Excerpt from “Covid-19 and Homeopathy”

by Dr. Vatsala Sperling, MS, PhD, PDHom, CCH, RSHom(NA)

from the forthcoming anthology The Coronavirus Transmissions

With its vast arsenal of time-tested and gentle remedies that work on the vital force, homeopathy has a unique approach to the pandemic as it is able to address not just the symptoms of Covid-19 that come up at the physical level, but also the emotional symptoms and the extraordinary degree of fear experienced by humanity as a whole.

At the moment all of us, from 3 to 103 years old, have one word on our lips – Virus! The level of public education about Covid-19 is very different from what it used to be during other flu epidemics and pandemics. Now there is 24/7 real and fake news and many platforms of social media that spread information about Covid-19 as fast as your internet connection would allow. And yet, flattening of Covid-19 curve has remained elusive.

However, what stands out in the report by The Lancet is “Since no vaccines and coronavirus antivirals are available for Covid-19, non-pharmaceutical interventions are the mainstay in containment of the disease.” Non-pharmaceutical intervention implies that there is room for alternative approaches.

India has set an example in this regard by proposing the use of a homeopathic remedy. Unfazed by the harsh criticism hurled at it by the mainstream from both India and abroad, the government of India and one of its ministries, AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), have recommended homeopathic remedy Arsenicum album 30c doses as preventive for Covid-19 and this is being used enthusiastically and successfully by the public.

Reading what the leading homeopaths from India have to say about Covid-19 gives a sense of confidence in the face of this novel threat to the health and wellbeing of humanity. In addition to reading the latest homeopathy journal articles, I’ve also been writing with homeopathic colleagues around the world about their recommendations.

In a recent interview Dr. Ajit Kulkarni has pointed out that dealing with epidemics and pandemics is nothing new in homeopathy. In fact, homeopathy has an extensive track record of successfully reducing morbidity and mortality during outbreaks of infectious diseases. Based on his observation on the evolution and totality of symptoms, Dr. Kulkarni has proposed a homeopathic treatment plan for Covid-19.

However, Dr. Kulkarni cautions that even though many remedies can be considered for treatment of Covid-19, any chosen remedy must augment the immune response toward inhibition of viral replication, promotion of viral clearance, induction of tissue repair, and triggering the adaptive mechanisms. From a homeopathic perspective, he reiterates that the practitioners must adhere to the fundamentals of case-taking with particular emphasis on location, sensation, and pathology, modalities as well as concomitants. At every instance, the practitioner must understand the stage where the patient is and apply the Law of Similars for selecting the remedy.

Kulkarni suggests that the remedies can be repeated frequently as needed.

In Italy, homeopathy is also being used to treat Covid-19. Massimo Mangialavori reported working with 84 patients. He used Chininum muriaticum for those with fever resistant to common antipyretics, rising in the early afternoon, weakness more pronounced in the evenings, frontal headache with painful pressure and intense eye pain, dry cough perceived as discomfort in upper respiratory tract, poor appetite, little thirst, and the patients felt like a victim of the disease.

Mangialvori also used Grindelia robusta for these symptoms: fever with sudden increase in temperature, weakness more evident in early morning, throbbing headache in the occiput, better by sitting, with a desire to lie down but pain does not allow them to lie down, dry cough with desire to expectorate but absence of phlegm, struggles to get rid of the small amount of mucus, paroxysms of suffocating cough, anxiety with breathing difficulty and a feeling that he must quickly go to a hospital, worried about falling asleep and not being able to breath during sleep, wants to sleep with a light on, conjunctivitis moving from one eye to the other, joint pain in lower limbs, fearful, aware of being worried about symptoms.

He also used Cinnamomum camphora for the following symptoms that he observed in his patients: continuous fever, sweating, chills, incipient fatigue worsening with sweating, headache with pressure from inside, wants to find relief by binding head tightly. Cough less than the two previous remedies, but tiring never the less, deep inhalation brings on cough. Shallow breathing seems to bring in insufficient amount of oxygen. Worry leads to more deep breathing and more cough. Shortness of breath from minimal exertion, watery and persistent post nasal drip, diarrhea without abdominal pain, scanty urine, feels confused about being dangerous to one’s family members.

With the use of the three remedies for indicated symptoms, 64 out of 84 patients overcame their symptoms in more or less 3-4 days. They declared clear improvement and reported no relapse.

A study by Dr. Manish Bhatia found that remedies like Bryonia, Lycopodium, Mercurius solubilis, and Kali carbonicum cover the laterality, sequence, and pace of symptoms of Covid-19 infection. He recommends Bryonia as a prophylactic too, and in low potency, it can be taken daily where cases of Covid-19 infection are clustered. Bryonia also covers the seasonality, as presently the northern hemisphere is transitioning from winter to spring and the nights are cold and days are warm. Bryonia covers the respiratory symptoms of Covid-19 very well: cough dry, hard, very painful, at night, as from stomach, must sit up, worse from eating, drinking, wants to take deep breath but cannot as it excites cough, expectoration rusty, blood streaked or tough, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia sharp stitches in chest or at right scapula, worse deep breathing and coughing, pleurisy, coming to warm room excites cough, holds chest, presses at sternum when coughing. Similarly, Lycopodium and Kali carb also cover the symptoms of Covid-19 infection and a detailed description of symptoms of these remedies can be found homeopathy text books.

Drs. Rajan Sankaran and Aditya Kasariyans analyzed the symptom presentation of 30 Covid-19 cases (40-70 years old) in Iran and for 26 out of 30 patients, they prescribed Camphora 1M. Few other patients were given Arsenicum album, China officinalis, and Phosphorus depending on the totality of their symptoms. Patients receiving Camphora were on different stages of the disease. Some had just started having symptoms, some were very sick, and some others had several different complications. Without exception, they showed a dramatic response to Camphora by overcoming extreme prostration, low energy, and nausea. Body aches, soreness, breathlessness, and cough reduced within next 24 hours. Their health improved significantly and oxygen saturation increased. Symptoms improved by 40% within 24-30 hours from the first prescription, and morbidity was reduced significantly. 

Discussing the pandemic with Drs. Sachindra and Bhawisha Joshi, I found they proposed use of Bryonia alba, Arsenicum album, and Phosphorus for early and mild cases and Antimonium tartaricum, Grindelia, and Camphora for severe symptoms with breathlessness and low oxygen.

Dr. Saparishi Banerjea recommends the remedies Sticta pulmonaria, Justicia adhatoda, Spongia toasta, Bryonia alba, Rumex crispus, Rhus toxicodendron, Eucalyptus, Ferrum phsophoricum, Arsenicum album, and Gelsemium.

Offering an integrated approach, Dr. Dinesh Chauhan, in a personal communication, has made the following recommendations:

1. Lobelia purpurascens: Profound prostration, respiratory paralysis, deadly chills without shivering, influenza, oppression of lower parts of chest.
2. Quebracho: Low oxygen (it can be considered as a “homeopathic oxygen mask”).
3. Grindelia: asthma, emphysema, smothering suffocation on falling asleep, desire for light, sunshine, and company.
4. Quillaja Saponaria: colds with dry sore throat, cough with difficult expectoration.

With so many different recommendations from various homeopaths, choosing a suitable remedy might seem to be a daunting task, and rightly so. But what is necessary to remember here is that Covid-19 symptoms are different for every individual. What is apparent from the work of homeopaths from India is that, for every stage of the disease, several homeopathic remedies are available. When chosen with particular attention to the symptoms of the patient, the remedies cut short the morbidity and arrest the progression of the disease.

It is worth noting that in selecting a remedy that matches a set of symptoms, or a stage of illness, the homeopath is trying to boost the vital force and not necessarily battle the germs and annihilate them. When the vital force is at its top form, it does not allow the body to be susceptible to an invading germ. 

I discussed the use of combination remedies with Dr. Michael Yakir, who said: “Mixtures are only for times of war – or when we have a nation on the verge of death.” She recommends a kit of a small selection of remedies at home with clear instructions about what to take for prevention, what to take at the onset, and what to take if the situation worsens.

Does homeopathy offer any preventative support? For the current Covid-19 pandemic, Arsenicum album 30c, a few doses, are recommended by the Indian Ministry of AYUSH, as a prophylactic, as mentioned above. Dr. Bhatia has proposed the use of Bryonia alba and Dr. Sankaran has suggested the use of Camphora.

Homeopathic remedies and prophylactic measures are particularly useful because relapse and re-infection in previously infected sick individuals and emergence of slightly different strains of Covid-19 are being reported and the pharmaceutical / antiviral approach as well as a vaccine are not yet available.

Till the time comes when antivirals and vaccines are invented and Covid-19 is defeated in a military style, people can receive help from homeopathy and experience a transformation in the expression of their symptoms and the level of their wellbeing.