It is proposed that health in New Zealand will be administered under two acts of Parliament: the existing Medicines Act 1981 and the new Natural Health Products Bill which has just had its first reading in Parliament.

Homoeopathy has been placed under the Natural Health Products Bill. This will mean that homoeopathy as we practise it in New Zealand will be illegal. It will also mean that homoeopaths will be prescribing illegal medicines unless the proposed Bill is substantially modified to try and accommodate homoeopathy in a form that is acceptable to allow it to be practised.

This whole question of homoeopathy appears to have been put in the “too hard” basket with not enough thought or understanding given to it.

We discussed this in our June 2010 editorial in Homoeopathica and wrote a submission last year to the Natural Health Products Bill consultation paper. We pointed out that homoeopathic medicines should be under the “Medicines Act” with a clear, concise and accurate legal definition of homoeopathic medicine and a suitable exemption

The exemption is justified in that while homoeopathy is a branch of medicine, homoeopathic medicines have been effectively and safely administered to patients for over 200 years. During that time not one homoeopathic medicine has had to be withdrawn from use for any reason.

Any suggestion that the way out of this impasse could be to split homoeopathic medicines between the two acts must be strenuously resisted. The idea some low risk homoeopathic medicines could come under the Natural Health Products Bill while other medicines, that for various reasons fall foul of the new Bill, could possibly be under the Medicines Act is completely unfeasible. All homoeopathic medicines must be treated the same.

All single homoeopathic medicines should be under the Medicines Act with a suitable definition referencing a recognised homoeopathic pharmacopoeia in official use. No therapeutic claims should be made. A suitable exemption should be given under the Medicines Act covering the practice of homoeopathy.

Being pragmatic, and bowing to the inevitable, we have to accept that pharmacies and health food shops will want to continue selling combination homoeopathic medicines despite not being true homoeopathic prescribing.

Therefore homoeopathic medicines that are suitable, either singly or in combination, for sale to the public with indications for the relief or treatment of minor self-limiting conditions should be under the Natural Health Products Bill. Each individual medicine would already be covered under the Medicines Act. No other material should be in the product. Tight definitions should apply so it does not leave a loophole allowing all the current bogus stuff labelled “homoeopathic” to continue to be available.

Monty Firmin

Spread across the top of a full page pharmaceutical advertisement on the back cover of a recent magazine here in New Zealand: “Don’t chase asthma symptoms with a blue inhaler. Seek control instead.” We need to “seek cure instead”. Homoeopaths have been curing asthma patients for 200 years.

Patient expectations have been lowered. We are becoming conditioned to living with our body in a diseased state with symptoms suppressed by the use of prescription drugs.

Is it because of full page advertisements like the above telling us ad nauseam that all we can expect is “control” rather than “heal” or “cure”? Pharmaceutical companies are spending millions of dollars to set in place “control” rather than “cure” as the health modality.

If you are taking prescription drugs you need to ask yourself.
• Will you be on this medication for the rest of your life?
• Will you need to take more of the current drug or go on to a stronger alternative to get the same relief?
If you answer yes to either of these questions then you can be sure the drugs are not curing the problem.

How often does a leading medical journal like the Lancet use the words healing or cure in its publications? Compare that with how often the words research, trial or treatment are used. A treatment seldom leads to a cure, treatments more often ameliorate a problem only for as long as the treatment is continued. GPs out there at the coal face are not being provided with the tools to cure.

Homoeopaths cannot afford full page advertisements, but this should not stop us from saying it like it is. We have a great advantage, use it to the full. Give the patient what Hahnemann stated in Aphorism 2: a speedy, permanent and gentle cure.

Let the world know - “homoeopaths cure”.

Monty Firmin

Crises due to illness, radiation or chemical poisoning are other emergency situations that are difficult to be ready for. Being prepared can include which homœopathic remedies to quickly respond with.

Homœopathic remedies are fast to react when an immediate response is needed. They can prevent a worse problem from developing, and even resolve the problem. At the very least they should stabilise the situation until the illness or injury is fully dealt with.

We should always seek appropriate medical care and in some situations appropriate does not necessarily mean homœopathic. However, even in serious situations homœopathic remedies are easy and safe to administer in conjunction with conventional first aid procedures.

The timely use of homœopathy can help in many ways, including stemming bleeding, reducing pain, easing breathing difficulties and stabilising a patient after collapse or unconsciousness. This has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of long term effects following on from such emergencies.

In this issue is a list of “immediate response remedies” that covers many of the unexpected situations likely to be encountered, in which an appropriate homœopathic remedy can provide an immediate benefit.

Monty Firmin

Recently a new patient complained that her doctor had not been able to find what was wrong even though she visited a number of times.When asked how much detail she had given to assist the doctor to arrive at a diagnosis, she brusquely replied, “What do you expect from me, he’s the doctor.”

Although she was a difficult patient, careful questioning elicited a number of symptoms sufficient to successfully prescribe on.

To have the best chance of receiving good healthcare one needs to be helpful and proactive with one’s doctor. Whether they listen is another matter.The traditional autocratic doctor and subservient patient should no longer be acceptable.

To get the best out of a doctor’s visit you need to put in some preparation. No one knows your body like you do. Note down how the ailment started, the symptoms as they developed and changed, how they are limiting you, what makes them better or worse.

If visiting a homœopathic doctor you will likely be asked many of these questions; having already thought about them makes for a better visit.

While your doctor has limited time available, do not let this put you off understanding the treatment being proposed, the tests being arranged, etc. Speak up, ask questions, fully understand. You should never leave the doctor’s office with unanswered questions.

If your doctor doesn’t listen to you, you may want to find another doctor or at least get a second opinion. You are responsible for your own health. If you don’t take responsibility no one else will.

Whether it is the appropriate amount of rest and sleep, meals or exercise, being healthy is up to you and depends on your own efforts. Take charge and listen to your body. Nobody has a larger stake in your health than you do.

Our body has a remarkable ability to heal itself. Dr Julian Whit¬aker wrote “. . . the greatest medical discovery of our time is the awesome power within the human body to heal and rejuvenate itself. This tremendous discovery is destined to change the way we practise medicine . . .”

Patients who seek out homœopathic treatment are well on the way to taking advantage of this awesome power and thereby improving their health. Your health and that of your family is your responsibility.

Monty Firmin

Over the last six months, in past journals, we have asked for your ideas for the Society. With your input we can be sure that our activities and services are useful and valued by our members; without your input we may not be aware of additional services that could be helpful to you.

Currently, all our members can borrow from the lending library, purchase books from the bookroom, from anywhere in the country, receive our Homœopathica journal and current booklist. If you are in Auckland you can also come and visit the reference library and attend talks we arrange.

We would very much appreciate your input with regards to your ideas and thoughts about what you would like from the Society now and in the future. We understand our city members and rural members will have different needs. Please email ideas, suggestions, comments or feedback whether it be positive or negative, we would love to hear from you. Send emails to: coordinator@homeopathy. ac.nz, write a letter or phone 09 630-5458. Our committee can then pool ideas and build a future plan for the Society and continue to grow in a way that is serving the needs of the majority of our members.

We have also asked for volunteers to help us organise and run events around the country for our 60th anniversary. So far we have had two people offer their time and energy, anyone else who could offer even small amounts of time would be greatly appreciated. As we have said before, we realise that time is precious.

This year we will be compiling photos and data to build a history of the Society from inception to the present day. We want to honour all the people that have worked and built the New Zealand Homœopathic Society. If anyone has memories or photos from past times they are willing to share, we can arrange to courier, copy and return photos to you. Over this year we will publish articles to do with the history of the Society as we compile this detailed historical timeline. Any input you have will be much appreciated.

Finally I would like to express my appreciation to the many members that have worked and carried the Society through to where it is today, and I am very pleased to be involved in creating this historical timeline and I’m also very excited about our future. There is so much positive activity happening around the globe presently with homœopathy.

I am confident 2011 will be a great year for us all. I look forward to continuing our work with the committee and you, our members as we build and grow the Society and the use of homœopathy here in New Zealand.

Den Illing President

While people usually recover well from their physical injuries, the emotional trauma may continue. Time does not easily heal the emotional damage. Even years afterwards people can still be living it. However most people eventually feel they have recovered but the recovery can be incomplete, leading to functional difficulties and long term mental health issues.

A study was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry concerning 231 children involved in the devastating earthquake in Armenia in 1988. It showed that 18 months after the disaster the children were still suffering from “severe post-traumatic stress reaction”, the severity varying depending on the distance from the earthquake’s epicentre. Admittedly there were many deaths, mainly from the large number of building collapses due to poor design and flawed construction practices, even though the earthquake was of a lesser magnitude than the Christchurch quake.

People whose lives have been dramatically interrupted by the sudden intrusion of a destructive event suffer emotional and psychological distress. At the same time as being more responsive with heightened alertness and a readiness to react, they can feel numbness, be withdrawn and detached from their feelings. They can be easily startled, jumpy and have difficulty relaxing.

They often relive the experience through flashbacks and nightmares. While awake they may re-experience the terrible events over and over in their minds despite trying to keep them out. At night they may have difficulty sleeping with thoughts of the events crowding in on them, may be too afraid to go to sleep due to the nightmares, and can develop sleep deprivation.

Overall health is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, and social well-being. The impact of a destructive event on social well-being can be traumatic. Personal safety, family disruptions, housing problems, loss of income and financial difficulties, uncertainty about the future can all impact on a person’s health.

The great thing about homœopathy is its ability to relieve the physical and emotional trauma, the psychological distress, and the impact on social well-being that can be suffered in a major earthquake such as that experienced recently in Christchurch.

People will be suffering at a deep level and it takes time to work through to fully restore health. Home-prescribed remedies can make a difference; however the right remedies need to be selected and correctly administered to fully alleviate the suffering. If progress is too slow or there are continuing concerns, seek professional homœopathic help.

This issue of the journal includes an article on emotional trauma following an earthquake, with some of the more usual remedies. It will be found in the section “Homœopathy in the home”.

Monty Firmin

Some homœopaths have found it ineffective to treat patients with homœopathy when they are on drugs such as steroids. Others have found it too difficult to take a case when allopathic treatment suppresses symptoms. However a majority of chronically ill patients will benefit from homœopathy, probably more slowly due to the suppression from the allopathic drugs

It can be difficult to establish which symptoms are from the original condition and which have been altered by drug treatment or are side effects. Useful homœopathic symptoms are suppressed, and confusing side effects can make casetaking very difficult.

Careful probing is needed both into the current state and into the past to find previous symptoms, particularly those that were worse but have improved since taking drugs. Most patients can remember symptoms prior to starting medication. These together with current unusual symptoms that do not appear to be due to the drugs can form the basis of a case analysis.

Aggravations are more unpredictable. The drugs may suppress what, in a normal patient, would be a mild aggravation. Alternatively a weakened vitality may exacerbate an aggravation. Much attention to potency and dosage will be required.

Old symptoms may reappear and it can be difficult to keep the patient on course with treatment.

With improvement there will be problems with drug dosage as the patient needs less. Discuss it but do not attempt to have the drug dosage reduced until there is definite improvement.

Involve the patient. Build a strong relationship and work together to overcome the difficulties that drugs put in the way of successful homœopathic treatment. Keep them with you as change takes place.

Involve the other health practitioner. Encourage the patient to tell his doctor of homœopathic treatment being received although this remains the patient’s decision.

The allopathic drugs will need adjusting during the course of treatment, but never encourage the patient to alter their drug dosage without discussing it with the doctor who prescribed it.

Aim to cautiously and with the agreement of the treating doctor begin to taper the drugs as improvement appears.

It certainly is a challenge.

Monty Firmin

The authorities nearly had us signed up to the trans -Tasman Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority (in 2003 the New Zealand and Australian governments signed an agreement for the establishment of a joint regulatory framework for therapeutic products). A lack of political support in New Zealand saved us.

Having seen off the Australians, another wave of regulations is on the way. The authorities have come up with a proposed Natural Health Products Bill to include homœopathic medicines.

They have put out a consultation paper and it talks of: “Natural health products are used to relieve symptoms of minor, self-limiting conditions . . .”

While homœopathy successfully treats self-limiting conditions, it is very effective in treating more serious acute conditions and it excels in the treatment of chronic conditions.

“. . . the intended purpose would be required to be included on the product label . . . and be able to make health claims . . .”  A homœopathic medicine has such a wide range of application to different conditions it is unreasonable to include all intended purposes or make a specific therapeutic claim. The labelling should just include the standard Latin name.

“. . . willow bark would be a suitable ingredient for a natural health product but acetyl salicylic acid (aspirin), which can be derived from willow bark, would not . . .”  This is clearly not consistent with homœopathic medicines where for example, Salicylicum acidum in potency has been administered to patients by homœopaths for well over one hundred years.

“. . . can contain only ingredients from a published list of low risk ingredients . . . they would include substances such as herbs and herbal extracts, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and low risk substances of animal, bacterial or fungal origin.”  The example of Salicylicum acidum acid above clearly falls outside this requirement as do hundreds of other homœopathic medicines that have been in use for up to 200 years.

“Natural health products . . . intended to be administered to animals would not be natural health products.”  Homœopathic medicines are equally successful in treating animals. The authority that looks after the relevant Acts and Regulations relating to animal treatment preparations is the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Group. They have stated that homœopathic medicines are exempt from registration, except where they make claims to treat diseases.

The intention appears to be to split all therapeutic products into two distinct categories, those under the Natural Health Products Bill and those under the Medicines Act (which will need substantial amendment).

Which one of these two categories should homœopathic medicines be in? Should it be under “natural health products” where it clearly does not fit or should it be under “medicines” with a legal definition and a suitable exemption?

Homœopathy is a branch of medicine, and homœopathic medicines have been effectively and safely administered to patients for over 200 years. During that time not one homœopathic medicine has had to be withdrawn from use for any reason.

Homœopaths in New Zealand, right now, have the opportunity to ensure there is an appropriate regulatory environment for the future practice of homœopathy.

The overriding need is a clear, concise and accurate legal definition of homœopathic medicine and a suitable exemption.

Monty Firmin

Note:
The Development of a Natural Health Products Bill Consultation Paper can be accessed on the Ministry of Health’s website www.moh.govt.nz . Put in the search box “natural health products” and the article will be accessible.
A summary of submissions will be placed on the Ministry of Health’s website in due course.

As with recurring headaches, a migraine needs a correct diagnosis to rule out any underlying physical cause. They tend to fall into two categories:

• The classic migraine has a warning associated with it in the form of visual or neurological disturbances that precedes the head pain. There can be nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light often causing momentary visual impairment, double vision, numbness, tingling, vertigo, difficulty speaking and weakness on one side of the body.
• The more common migraine does not have such a warning before the head pain slowly increases in intensity. It is typically accompanied by nausea, vomiting and visual disturbances.They are notoriously difficult to deal with, but as always the right remedy will cure. There are fine shadings to the symptom pictures of headaches and migraines necessitating a large number of remedies to cover these variations.

The last issue covered headaches under a number of sub-headings. This issue covers migraines, which are said by some to not be headaches but, as ever, the symptom picture determines the remedy, and the one which best fits the symptoms should be taken no matter which heading the remedy is listed under.

*   *   *

Positive feedback on the editorial “On the up and up” in the last issue of Homoeopathica is appreciated. Interest was expressed in the detailed historical examples of homœopathy used to prevent disease and its use as a treatment of disease in epidemics by both members reading the journal and others seeing it posted on our website.

Monty Firmin

Early last year about half a million sites made reference to “homœopathy/homeopathy” and “flu”. At the height of the recent so called swine flu “pandemic” this number increased to over one and a half million. Interestingly, many sites quoted the success of homœopathy during the 1918-19 flu epidemic, where homœopathy’s success rate was spectacular and highlighted its benefits in epidemic diseases.

From the time of Samuel Hahnemann to the present day homœopathy has scored over conventional allopathic medicine in the treatment of epidemics. Examples are listed at the end.

Besides treating epidemics, homœopaths have used remedies successfully for over 200 years to prevent disease, often of epidemic proportions. It is called homœoprophylaxis. Samuel Hahnemann used it routinely in his practice. The first recorded example was in the 1799 scarlet fever epidemic where he used the homœopathic remedy Belladonna to successfully prevent the disease in his patients. Further examples are listed at the end.

However, homœopathy does have its critics. Certain people are becoming rattled by homœopathy’s success and must be feeling threatened if the measures being taken are anything to go by.

An upsurge in negative publicity has meant that while a few internet sites were disparaging in the early days we now see over 150,000 sites where “sceptics” are trying to put down homœopathy. These are people who invariably have never used homœopathy but set out to condemn it. However, they say “any publicity is good publicity”.

On the good news front the New Zealand Medical Journal recently published the results of a survey on the use of homœopathy in New Zealand. It was conducted in doctors’ waiting rooms; 65% of participants had used homœopathy, and 92% of these stated that homœopathy had helped them. The survey shows homœopathy is thriving in New Zealand. Hats off to the NZMJ for going ahead and publishing this survey.

A previous editorial stated that not one homœopathic remedy has ever been withdrawn from use in the 200 years homœopathy has been practised. Homœopathy has stood the test of time and is in a period of resurgence.

Monty Firmin

 Examples of homœopathic treatment of disease in epidemics::
1813. The retreating army of Napoleon brought with it an epidemic of typhus. The mortality rate under conventional treatment was 30% while under homœopathic care the rate was 1%.

In the 1830-32 cholera epidemic, deaths under conventional treatment were between 40% and 80% depending on the information source. On the other hand, ten London homœopathic hospitals reported mortality at 9%, Bavaria reported a rate of 7% and the Imperial Russian Council reported 10% mortality under homœopathy.

1847. Typhoid fever outbreak in Ireland. The mortality rate for conventional care was 14%, for homœopathic care it was 2%.

1854. The London cholera epidemic had a mortality rate of 59% under conventional care, while under homœopathic care the rate was 17%.

In the 1850s there were several epidemics of yellow fever in the USA with reported conventional mortality rates of between 15% to 85%. Homœopaths reported rates between 5% to 7%.

1862-64. Diphtheria outbreak in USA. The mortality rate for conventional care was 84% while for homœopathic care it was 16%.

1878. Yellow fever in New Orleans. The mortality rate under conventional care was 50% while 2,000 cases treated homœopathically had 5.6% mortality.

1918-19. The Spanish flu outbreak was well documented in the USA, with medical records of hospitals across the country consistently showed a mortality rate above 28% for those treated conventionally, while those treated homœopathically had a rate of just over 1%.

1930s. During a smallpox epidemic in the USA, Dr W. L. Bonnell treated many patients who had smallpox without losing one, while the mortality rate was 20% in those treated conventionally.

Examples of homœopathy used to prevent disease:
1880s onwards. Dr H. C. Allen, USA, for 25 years gave a homœopathic remedy to hundreds of his patients during diphtheria outbreaks and did not record one case of diphtheria in those treated.

1902. Smallpox epidemic in USA. Homœoprophylaxis used on 2800 people with 14 cases of smallpox.

1910s-1950s. Dr A. H. Grimmer gave a homœopathic remedy to thousands who were exposed to poliomyelitis through many epidemics over a period of forty years. He studied some 30,000 treated patients during this period and not one patient developed polio.

1930s. Dr W. L. Bonnell, USA, protected 300 patients with a homœopathic remedy during an outbreak of smallpox and did not have one case of smallpox in those treated.

1935 onwards, Dr Dorothy Shepherd, England, gave a homœopathic remedy to hundreds of her young patients who had been in contact with a carrier during whooping cough outbreaks, and not one of these children developed the disease.

1957 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 40,000 people were given a homœopathic remedy during a poliomyelitis epidemic and not one of those treated developed polio.

In August 1974 in Brazil there was a severe epidemic of meningitis. Out of 18,000 children who were given a homœopathic remedy only 4 children got the disease.

1998. On the basis of the 1974 trial, the Brazilian government funded a larger study: 65,000 people were given a homœopathic remedy, and 4 suffered from meningococcal infection over the following 12 months.

2005. India had a Japanese encephalitis epidemic. Over 200,000 people were treated with a homœopathic remedy in the affected areas. On a one-to-one follow up of those treated, 3 people who had received the remedy contracted the disease.

2007-08. Cuba has a yearly leptospirosis epidemic. Despite a vaccination programme, thousands get the disease and many die each year. In 2007 and again in 2008 some 2.4 million people in the affected area were given a homœopathic remedy. The number of confirmed cases was below 10 in any month, and there were no deaths.