With October officially serving as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Women’s Health Month overall, the homeopath’s mind can’t help but turn to homeopathic remedies Bellis Perennis and Conium. These are two of homeopathy’s best remedies for women (and men!) to help breast health, bruising and more.
Both of these remedies are great for injuries to the (male or female) breast, for any bruise anywhere which turns hard and especially for changes to a breast after an injury. If you can still feel the exact place where you trapped a line drive back in middle school, then that may be just the kind of change to a breast after injury to which homeopathy refers. (The change can be quite subtle; it may not even be detectable by anyone or any exam other than the individual involved.)
Beyond the breast, bruising and injury turf shared by the two remedies, each also has it’s own sphere of influence. Bellis Perennis is sometimes called “the deeper Arnica” because of its ability to speed healing of trauma to tissues deep within the body. This makes it a post-surgical favorite, especially for any surgery to the abdomen or pelvis. (And a natural for any breast surgery, of course.) For an injury to the tailbone or a bruise too deep to show on the skin, think of Bellis Perennis.
By contrast, Conium finds its special action in complaints of nerves and aging, painless paralysis, any process which could be considered a gradual slowing or hardening and in the type of PMS which includes swollen and tender breasts. It also excels for certain health complaints during pregnancy, including a type of morning sickness.
And I can’t close without mentioning Phytolacca, well-known for helping with problems of breastfeeding. Even though the only legal treatments for cancer in the United States are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, our neighbors at M.D. Anderson studied a small group of homeopathic remedies (including Conium and Phytolacca) on breast cancer cells in vitro in 2010. They called for more research in the area, but you can find encouraging results in the abstract by clicking here.
Bellis Perennis, Conium and Phytolacca are some of homeopathy’s greatest remedies and this brief summary barely introduces them. Take a moment to read about the remedies the next time you’re in Peoples or ask our homeopaths if one (or more) have a place in your home remedy kit.
by Lorri Anderson, CCH. Lorri is available for consultations at our South location.