Let’s talk Ledum!

Is it a cure-all for Lyme?

Big News from The Big! I am rolling out a special practical series for paid subscribers to the stack. My philosophical content will continue to be free (but I love the financial love there, too, and it helps me keep the lights on).

This is a great deal, if I do say so myself, because for as little as the cost of an acute consultation, you can develop your facility with the remedies that are readily available at the health food store and in home kits.

My goal when I help clients with acutes is always to support them in learning how to manage acutes themselves. It is such a powerful feeling to have a tool like this at your fingertips, especially in the middle of the night when you have a sick kid! Today’s post will go out to the entire readership so you can get a feel for the types of content I will be creating.

This will be a wide-ranging series. Sometimes I will talk about different remedy possibilities for a set of symptoms or acute conditions (like injury or cold and flu), and sometimes I will be talking about the many applications of an individual remedy. The former is called “therapeutics,” and the latter is called “materia medica.”

Today it is the latter. I am beginning with Ledum because, for those of you that have any familiarity with homeopathy, you may know Ledum as the tick or Lyme remedy.

The homeopathic remedy Ledum is made from Ledum palustre, or Labrador Tea. It is a small, evergreen, ericaceous shrub related to laurel and rhododendron.*

The following paragraphs are going to be footnoted in all these posts because they are VERY important:

All homeopathic remedies have both acute and chronic applications. An acute ailment is something self-limiting (that means short term; it’s going to run a course to recovery or death). A chronic condition can drag on for years.

In both acute and chronic illness, the remedy is there to reflect and assist in the process of the healing through the unwinding dynamic. It’s never intended as a quick fix or a suppressive measure. In truly acute situations, when the vital force is strong, the response can be so rapid to a well-chosen remedy that it can feel magical. Often, though, it can take multiple doses, mild temporary intensification, patience, and even additional remedies to get all the way to the other side. So when you are learning to manage acutes at home, remember:

Slow is always good, patience is always part of healing. Don’t panic if you aren’t getting immediate results.

Home prescribing should be used for acutes, not chronics. Homeopathic remedies are safe, but the vital response is complex and chronic prescribing relies on extensive study of case-taking and analysis, remedy selection, posology (what potency and in what dose), materia medica (the medicinal properties of the remedy), and remedy reactions. It is possible to mess it up in a way that can make it difficult for the person to heal fully.

OKAY, now that’s out the way! Let’s move on to Ledum. Keep in mind that remedies have acute and chronic applications, so there can be aspects of a remedy that you won’t see in the acute illness but that might show up later if the acute becomes chronic. One of the reasons I chose Ledum is because we are all familiar with acute vs. chronic Lyme. Ledum is not the only remedy to think of for chronic Lyme.

(And to answer the sub-header - no, it is not a cure-all for Lyme. Chronic Lyme and co-infections are complex diseases where Ledum may be indicated, but other remedies may apply as well. I almost never use combinations or protocols, for a number of reasons that I can explain another time, but there are situations where I may add an intercurrent remedy. This is the stuff of chronic prescribing, which is complex and beyond the scope of this article).

There are TWO big things to remember when considering Ledum:

·      Puncture

·      Cold

What are bites, stings, piercing wounds? They are punctures. Any time the skin is broken by something pointy, think about Ledum. Whether it’s a hornet or a nail, if it pierces, Ledum is a good place to start.

But you have to look at the response to the injury, too. That’s where the cold comes in. Does the person want ice on it? A frozen steak on that black eye? Ledum to the rescue! Rusty nail in the barnyard? Don’t forget your Ledum!

The person might feel cold and find heat aggravating, but the wound can also feel hot, as long as it is cold that ameliorates, while heat annoys.

That desire for cold is very important, and can point to Ledum in other situations where you wouldn’t necessary think of it because there is no puncture. Don’t forget that Ledum can be used for swollen, bloated inflammation and bruising, in situations where you might go for Arnica, if that desire for, and improvement from, cold applications or bathing applies.

The last piece of housekeeping is how to dose remedies in an acute. Less is more with homeopathy. Here’s how I always start:

·      If there has been an obvious tick bite and it is itchy and irritated, but no signs of illness or bullseye rash, I give one dry pellet of Led 30c, dissolved under the tongue.

·      If there has been an obvious tick bite with reason to be concerned about tick-borne infection, I will give a single dry pellet of Led 1M, dissolved under the tongue.

·      If there is a sting, bite, inflammation or injury that is highly active, I do a water dose in the following way:

o   One pellet dissolved in four ounces of pure water. I will use bottled or well water, but not chemically-treated water. Don’t touch the pellet with your fingers.

o   Once dissolved, swirl or stir gently with a non-metallic spoon.

o   Give one tsp.

o   Wait 15 min, give another tsp.

o   Wait 15 min, give another tsp.

o   WAIT.

o   If symptoms do not improve, repeat the three doses after an hour.

o   If symptoms DO improve, wait until they relapse or stop improving to redose.

o   Always wait a couple hours between rounds and don’t do more than 3-4 rounds

in 24 hours unless the situation is emergent, in which case it is wise to get a professional on the phone to offer some support (that’s me!)

That’s my introduction to The Big Homeopathy paid channel of The Big At Large. I know it will be of value to you and aim to overdeliver in every way. Look forward to more theory and practice in this most profound of healing arts.

Health IS Freedom.

Sarah

*Homeopathic remedies are made by extracting, through tincture or grinding, the crude properties of the substance and then putting that extract through a series of dilutions and hard impacts which isolate the healing properties while eliminating any toxicity.