One of the popular CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) that has its roots in Germany, Homeopathy has significant patronage worldwide, including the US, UK, and South Asian countries. The medicine system is believed to help treat and manage several acute and chronic conditions. Skin diseases, including rashes, are a familiar few among the conditions treated by homeopathy.
We asked Giovanna Franklin, a Homeopath practitioner, a few questions on curing skin conditions using Homeopathy. And, in this article, she briefs how Homeopathy can help treat common skin conditions effectively.
Our questions and Giovanna’s answers for you:
1. Can homeopathy help treat common skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, etc.?
Yes, it sure can. Homeopathy can be quite helpful in treating both acute skin problems such as heat rashes and chronic conditions such as eczema that tends to bounce back seasonally.
2. What would be the Homeopathic approach to addressing skin problems?
The approach is the same and is applied to all conditions:
- look at the symptoms in their totality on the physical and emotional level
Homeopathy treats the individual, not the condition. Therefore, the prescription will be different from one person to another, even with the same diagnosis.
3. Can you help understand the probable course of treatments/medicines for common skin conditions?
First of all, I would make a distinction between chronic and acute conditions. Some of the conditions, like sunburn, hives or cold sores, are “acute”. Acute conditions have clear causation (like being too long in the sun, for example), a beginning, a peak, and eventually, they end (whether they are treated or not).
Acute cases are relatively simple and usually require just one consultation and the prescription of one remedy that fits the symptoms. The condition usually clears in a matter of hours.
Some conditions such as psoriasis and eczema are usually “chronic”, meaning that they have been present for a long time, albeit intermittently in some cases. Chronic conditions require a more careful examination. The homeopath will look at current physical symptoms, diet, lifestyle, medical history, mental and emotional state. The right remedy needs to fit the individual as a whole, not the diagnosis or just the physical symptoms. In my homeopathy experience, skin conditions such as rashes are very much related to stress. Often the root cause is found in childhood. Diet plays a part, too, of course.
4. Can homeopathy help treat some of these skin conditions, which are prevalent among children as well?
Absolutely! Homeopathy is safe to take at any age and during pregnancy too. Children usually heal more quickly than adults. This is because their vital force (similar to Chi, Ki in TCM) is still brand new and usually is less exposed to toxins and bad food.
5. How long does it typically take to find relief for skin conditions with homeopathic treatment?
This depends on a few factors:
- how long the patient has been experiencing the symptoms
- the general state of health of the patient
- whether the condition has been suppressed with medication, like steroid creams or cortisone, which masks the symptoms without healing.
I have seen healthy individuals with skin psoriasis rashes heal in less than a month of homeopathy treatment, for example. When I say “heal”, I mean the symptoms disappeared completely and didn’t come back.
6. Does a homeopathy practitioner provide advice to prevent flare-ups of chronic skin conditions such as eczema?
Given the correct homeopathic remedy, there will be no more flare-ups and, therefore, no need for advice!
7. Can a homeopathic doctor be my first port of call in case of any skin issues rather than a GP or a Dermatologist?
Definitely! And here is why: a conventional doctor will give you a one-size-fits-all steroid or cortisone based cream that will suppress and mask the symptoms, providing only temporary relief. The relief stops when you stop applying the cream. Hence, you can see this does not resolve the issue; it’s only palliated at best!
On the other hand, a homeopath will prescribe a remedy that fits YOU, not your skin condition, providing deep and real healing. The proof is you will only need to take the remedy for a very limited time until your immune system is strong enough to deal with the symptoms by itself and heal.
8. Can you share case studies/patient stories if possible(anonymous ones are also fine to protect patient privacy and confidentiality)?
Testimonial 1:
This patient permitted me to use her pictures as testimonials a few years ago. The picture on the right is how her arm was before treatment and on the left is how it looked after treatment. Apart from the discolouration, the itchiness was really intense. It was also present on her eyelids. This patient was a young woman in her early thirties, her diet was very clean, and she was quite healthy otherwise. The homeopathy treatment took a few weeks, and I am happy to report that she didn’t come back about that skin condition again! (she did consult me for her pregnancy and her children later on).
Testimonial 2:
Another case I remember is of a young woman in her twenties who came to me for her eczema. When we started to talk, I realised that her skin issues were only the physical manifestation of her emotional and mental issues. She had “bottled up” her grief about her parents’ substance abuse, her own past drug abuse and an abortion. And, she was emotionally “numb” and depressed, despite having an outwardly “happy life”.
This is one of those cases where you see how patients need to be treated as a whole, with the mental, emotional and physical planes all interacting together. So, therefore, the treatment I chose addressed all those issues.
I only saw her twice in total because she felt so good by the second visit that she decided to go back to college and planned to start a family with her boyfriend.
Testimonial 3:
The picture above is of a then ten-year-old patient with roseola before and after treatment (with the parent’s permission to use these pictures as a testimonial).
For clinical research on the effects of homeopathy on skin conditions, here is a good link: https://homeopathyplus.com/research-homeopathy-chronic-skin-diseases/
Wrapping up,
Some skin conditions are chronic such as psoriasis that might flare up several times. However, Giovanna’s experience and the testimonials ascertain the skin conditions are treated effectively. So, suppose you are troubled with such skin problems, you can definitely try to get help from a homeopathy practitioner who is locally accessible or through online consultation.
Edited by love4wellness | Images: canva.com
