More Help for Head Injuries

I have helped many people with head injuries during my time as a homeopath, but when it is your own child, it takes on a whole new sense of urgency. 

Fortunately, my son's injury wasn't very traumatic. He missed 4 days of school or so (the timing of the injury assured he didn't miss more), but he was definitely a different boy during that time.

Head injuries are finally getting the notice and attention they deserve? They are very serious and can result in life changing effects, for both the person who got the injury and his or her family. 

Some of the effects of a head injury are often not noticeable or aren't attributed to the head injury.  Sometimes there is permanent damage to the brain, other times it heals on its own.

On March 22, 2011, the Star Tribune carried a story about a man who went on a killing rampage. Just weeks before, he had been hospitalized for five days due to a brain injury.  His brain had been swollen. His family members attributed the drastic change in behavior to his having been hit over the head.

Athletes, whether professional or amateur, are prime candidates for injuries. In the fall of 2011 there were four concussions in one week in the NFL.  Former NFL player, Dave Duerson committed suicide but not before he officially donated his brain to the NFL Brain Bank for research on concussions in football. 

Kurt Warner quit playing football because of multiple concussions (lets admit it, he was also getting old). Then, of course, when you have players incented to injure others, it is only natural you would see more head injuries. 

MN Twins player Justin Morneau came back from missing most of the 2010 season due to a concussion. Female athletes are more likely to suffer long term effects of a concussion because they tend to minimize their injuries.  This is commonly believed to be due to the fact that they don't want to be seen as weak.

My friend, Dan Barrett DC, showed me an article many years ago about a study done on soccer players.  MRI's showed that players who headed the ball with the top of their head (or any other part of the head, for that matter) had more negative effects to the brain than those who headed the ball with the front part of their head and forehead.  Although heading the ball as a single event is generally not traumatic enough to cause a problem, there is a cumulative effect from heading that should not be ignored.  My son:  he headed the ball on the side of his head and it probably was a single event because he tends to NOT head the ball.

What does all this have to do with Homeopathy? 

Homeopathy has had many solutions to head and brain injuries since the time of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the man who founded the principals of homeopathy in the 1800's. 

Let's start with the most obvious remedy, that you can and SHOULD administer on your own.  Arnica Montana.  Arnica is a mountain daisy, related to the daisies you may have growing in your own yard.  Arnica has been used in folk medicine for centuries.  It's healing properties were first discovered when astute herbalists noticed that the sheep and goats that live in the mountains would eat it after fighting or falling down on the rocks.  It is a premier remedy for trauma.  Hahnemann turned it into a homeopathic remedy.  If my children are doing a lot of heading in a soccer game or at practice, I have them take a dose or two of Arnica 30C afterwards, just to prevent that cumulative effect I mentioned earlier. But a serious injury requires a stronger dose of Arnica--200C or 1M or even more.  If all you can locate is 30C, give it every 10 minutes in case of a serious injury, until you notice some improvement, or until you can locate some stronger Arnica.  One thing to be aware of:  One of the symptoms of Arnica is that the person who needs it may insist they are fine and they do NOT need anything.

If you need assistance or stronger Arnica, call Kathryn at 651-748-1556.

What happens after Arnica?  Or what if you didn't know about homeopathy at the time of the injury?  What does homeopathy have to offer those people?

Arnica may help, it may not.  However, this is not the time to experiment on your own.  If you or someone you know has had a brain injury, this is the time to get professional help from a trained homeopath.  I actually got help from another homeopath as I was a bit too worked up to think clearly to find one for my son. 

A study of patients with persistent mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) conducted by Chapman, Weintraub, Milburn et al published in 1999 in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation indicated a significant improvement from the homeopathic treatment versus the control and translated into clinically significant outcomes,

Homeopathy has 50 remedies, including Arnica, that have clinical evidence of helping head and brain injuries. The following are some of the more well known remedies.

Helleborus is a well named remedy, because the state it helps is very "hellish".  One of the more prominent symptoms of this remedy is that the person who needs it knows what they want to say, but they cannot get it out.  What they say may seem incoherent.  Obviously, this could be a stroke or Alzheimer's remedy as well.  There is a great deal of confusion and anxiety.  The latin name for this flower is Helleborus Niger, which means it is a black flower.  The delusions of this flower are very dark indeed--delusions seeing ghosts, devils, phantoms, specters, etc.  Understandably, they have a fear of all things evil.

Hypericum is a remedy you may know better as St. John's Wort.  Hypericum is known in homeopathy as a remedy for nerve pain and nerve injuries.  Smashed fingers, neuralgic pain from dental work all respond well to Hypericum.  Since the brain is the driver if the Central Nervous System, it makes sense that it could also help a brain injury.  Hypericum would be used if the injured individual has a sensation of being lifted, can also see ghosts, and has a fear of downward motion.  They will also have a loss of memory and make mistakes in speaking and spelling, perhaps omitting letters and/or words.  There may be some shooting pains in the extremities as well.

Depression after a head injury is quite common.  Homeopathy has several remedies for that as well.  Natrum sulphuricum is one such remedy.  There will be a lot of grief associated with the injury and may have other mental symptoms from the injury. The sadness may be associated with a loss of honor due to an inability to perform a task one used to be able to perform.  The person needing it may exhibit suicidal tendencies after the head injury.  Frequent spells of unconsciousness after a head injury points to this remedy as well.

Conium and Cicuta Virosa are also known as remedies that help those who are suffering sadness after head injuries.  Both are from the Umbelliferae family which has a common symptom among all of them that they aren't included or liked as well as they used to be.

There are many, many more remedies that can be used for head and brain injuries. The one my son needed isn't even listed here.  Start with Arnica if the injury is new.  If not, call a professional homeopath (maybe even me) to get on the path to healing.

If you or someone you love has a brain injury, please contact the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota for resources.  www.braininjurymn.org