Croup - The Homeopathic Treatment
Dr Francesca Swainston, homeopathic doctor, author and well-known pioneer of natural medicine talks about croup, a debilitating barking viral cough in young children that has no conventional treatment other than trying to suppress the inflammation.
In most cases, when the child has reasonably good health and is well-nourished and kept in a warm and safe environment, the cough resolves relatively quickly without complications. However, croup can develop into a frightening condition due to the fact that the inflammation of the breathing passages make it difficult for the child to inhale and the dry barking and high-pitched sawing sound can send terrifying chills through concerned parents. The child may even turn blue due to lack of oxygen. A serious complication of croup is heart damage.
Here are some common homeopathic remedies that are useful for the treatment of croup:
Aconite: Effects of fright or exposure to cold winds. The condition comes on suddenly and there is high fever, general inflammation with little perspiration. Very thirsty. Croup with fever. Hoarse dry cough with loud laboured breathing. Shortness of breath. Hacking dry cough worse at night especially after midnight. Child grasps the throat at every cough. Anxious expression with one red hot cheek. Pain at root of nose with much sneezing. Dry mucous membranes. Vomiting with fear.
Belladonna: Effects of getting head wet, exposure to sun and wind. High feverish states with delirium and fury, dilated pupils and a desire to escape. Thyroid involvement. More advanced than aconite when sepsis starts to develop. Could be due to worm infestation. Swollen glands, earache. Desire for lemons or lemonade, very thirsty. Cold feet with hot head.Stitches in chest when coughing, tickling short dry cough worse at night. Irregular respiration and difficult shallow breathing, moaning with each breath.Feels as though something were in the throat which is very painful. High piping voice.
Bromium: Cough has the croupy sound with much loose rattling in the larynx with breathing and coughing, but no choking. Croup due to membranous formation in the larynx with a sense of suffocation. Dry cough with burning pain behind sternum. Spasmodic cough with rattling of mucous in larynx. Croup once the fever stage has subsided.Coughs on every inspiration. Lungs feel coated with fluff. Difficult to get air into lungs. Desire to take deep breaths but cannot as it triggers fits of coughing. Nose and face feel covered with cobwebs. Nostrils dilate on breathing. Pressure at root of nose. Glands swollen and hard. Thyroid involvement. Enlargement of heart with pain extending to armpit and can cause lameness in left arm.
Calcarea sulph: Choking croup. Cough with fever and lots of purulent sputum that can be bloody. Last stage of sore throat with discharge of yellow matter. Suppurating stage of tonsillitis. Pus forming in the lungs. Mucous discharges are yellow thick and lumpy. Feels better in open air. Fistula or recurring abscesses. Infants with bloody nasal discharge, diarrhea or eczema. Can have difficulty hearing with discharge of matter from the middle ear sometimes mixed with blood. Can have inflammation of the eyes with discharge of thick yellow matter. Recurring croup.
Drosera: Harrassing and irritating cough in children as soon as their head is on the pillow at night, and absent during the day. Paroxysms of coughing where the child can barely get in a breath between fits of coughing, can lead to retching. The throat constricts with every word spoken. Difficulty swallowing solid food due to narrowing of the throat. Feels as if crumbs lodged in throat. Yellowish green discharge. Hoarseness with difficulty speaking, with a deeper tone.
Hepar sulph: Stage of croup just before Calc sulph at the beginning of, suppuration has started but is not consolidated.Very similar to Calc sulph but more sensitive, gets chilled easily and very irritable, even ferocious..Croup with loose rattling cough, worse in the morning. Cough is triggered if the body gets cold or uncovered. Quinsy, pus development behind tonsils. Pain in throat extends to ear on swallowing. Feels like there is a splinter in the throat. Painful ear infection with a sensitivity to wind and touch. Discharges may smell cheesy.
Iodium: Croupy cough with difficult breathing, wheezing. Raw and tickling feeling in the throat excites cough. Pain in larynx. Child grasps the throat when coughing. Inspiration difficult as though the chest would not expand. Can develop into pneumonia. Can have swollen adenoids. Can be caused by nervous shock or emotional trauma. Ravenously hungry. Thyroid involvement. Feels too hot and the cough is aggravated by warm damp environment. Very active and thin.
Kali bich: Membranous croup extending to larynx and sinuses with a lot of yellowish sticky glutinous mucous that comes out in strings. Snuffles in fat chubby children. Sinusitis. Feels like there is a hair on the tongue or in the nostril.
Phosphorus: Hard, dry, tight,racking cough. provoked by strong odours, the presence of strangers and worse lying on left side. Tight suffocative breathing. Can develop into pneumonia. Feels like they are about to die. Nausea and vomiting. Exhausting diarrhea. Excitable and impressionable, and need sympathy. Very fearful even of thunderstorms. Craves ice cream
Sambucus: Turns blue with cough. Bouts of coughing triggered by fright. Constantly distressed and irritated, can look like Aconite, but has profuse sweating whereas Aconite skin is dry. Can have acute kidney involvement with inflammation, general swelling and frequent urination of small amounts. Tends to wake suddenly, around midnight, unable to breathe, turns blue and cannot exhale.
Spongia: Croup worse during inspiration with the typical 'sawing' croup sound, usually before midnight. Often thyroid involvement, with a burning dry sore throat that feels as though there is a lump lodged in the passageway. The cough improves from eating or drinking and there is generally increased hunger and thirst. Heart involvement, such as palpitations and enlargement with valvular insufficiency. Gets exhausted easily.
Give 30C potency every 15 minutes for 1 hour, if no improvement, change the remedy. If 30c potency of the indicated remedy is not available, give the potency on hand. When improvement is experienced, then give the remedy three times daily for two days. The problem should be cleared by then.
There is a Tubercular influence in the susceptibility to croup. Give Tuberculinum 30C once a week for 4 weeks as constitutional treatment.
For more information about homeopathy click here
For more information about Dr Fran Swainston click here
In most cases, when the child has reasonably good health and is well-nourished and kept in a warm and safe environment, the cough resolves relatively quickly without complications. However, croup can develop into a frightening condition due to the fact that the inflammation of the breathing passages make it difficult for the child to inhale and the dry barking and high-pitched sawing sound can send terrifying chills through concerned parents. The child may even turn blue due to lack of oxygen. A serious complication of croup is heart damage.
Here are some common homeopathic remedies that are useful for the treatment of croup:
Aconite: Effects of fright or exposure to cold winds. The condition comes on suddenly and there is high fever, general inflammation with little perspiration. Very thirsty. Croup with fever. Hoarse dry cough with loud laboured breathing. Shortness of breath. Hacking dry cough worse at night especially after midnight. Child grasps the throat at every cough. Anxious expression with one red hot cheek. Pain at root of nose with much sneezing. Dry mucous membranes. Vomiting with fear.
Belladonna: Effects of getting head wet, exposure to sun and wind. High feverish states with delirium and fury, dilated pupils and a desire to escape. Thyroid involvement. More advanced than aconite when sepsis starts to develop. Could be due to worm infestation. Swollen glands, earache. Desire for lemons or lemonade, very thirsty. Cold feet with hot head.Stitches in chest when coughing, tickling short dry cough worse at night. Irregular respiration and difficult shallow breathing, moaning with each breath.Feels as though something were in the throat which is very painful. High piping voice.
Bromium: Cough has the croupy sound with much loose rattling in the larynx with breathing and coughing, but no choking. Croup due to membranous formation in the larynx with a sense of suffocation. Dry cough with burning pain behind sternum. Spasmodic cough with rattling of mucous in larynx. Croup once the fever stage has subsided.Coughs on every inspiration. Lungs feel coated with fluff. Difficult to get air into lungs. Desire to take deep breaths but cannot as it triggers fits of coughing. Nose and face feel covered with cobwebs. Nostrils dilate on breathing. Pressure at root of nose. Glands swollen and hard. Thyroid involvement. Enlargement of heart with pain extending to armpit and can cause lameness in left arm.
Calcarea sulph: Choking croup. Cough with fever and lots of purulent sputum that can be bloody. Last stage of sore throat with discharge of yellow matter. Suppurating stage of tonsillitis. Pus forming in the lungs. Mucous discharges are yellow thick and lumpy. Feels better in open air. Fistula or recurring abscesses. Infants with bloody nasal discharge, diarrhea or eczema. Can have difficulty hearing with discharge of matter from the middle ear sometimes mixed with blood. Can have inflammation of the eyes with discharge of thick yellow matter. Recurring croup.
Drosera: Harrassing and irritating cough in children as soon as their head is on the pillow at night, and absent during the day. Paroxysms of coughing where the child can barely get in a breath between fits of coughing, can lead to retching. The throat constricts with every word spoken. Difficulty swallowing solid food due to narrowing of the throat. Feels as if crumbs lodged in throat. Yellowish green discharge. Hoarseness with difficulty speaking, with a deeper tone.
Hepar sulph: Stage of croup just before Calc sulph at the beginning of, suppuration has started but is not consolidated.Very similar to Calc sulph but more sensitive, gets chilled easily and very irritable, even ferocious..Croup with loose rattling cough, worse in the morning. Cough is triggered if the body gets cold or uncovered. Quinsy, pus development behind tonsils. Pain in throat extends to ear on swallowing. Feels like there is a splinter in the throat. Painful ear infection with a sensitivity to wind and touch. Discharges may smell cheesy.
Iodium: Croupy cough with difficult breathing, wheezing. Raw and tickling feeling in the throat excites cough. Pain in larynx. Child grasps the throat when coughing. Inspiration difficult as though the chest would not expand. Can develop into pneumonia. Can have swollen adenoids. Can be caused by nervous shock or emotional trauma. Ravenously hungry. Thyroid involvement. Feels too hot and the cough is aggravated by warm damp environment. Very active and thin.
Kali bich: Membranous croup extending to larynx and sinuses with a lot of yellowish sticky glutinous mucous that comes out in strings. Snuffles in fat chubby children. Sinusitis. Feels like there is a hair on the tongue or in the nostril.
Phosphorus: Hard, dry, tight,racking cough. provoked by strong odours, the presence of strangers and worse lying on left side. Tight suffocative breathing. Can develop into pneumonia. Feels like they are about to die. Nausea and vomiting. Exhausting diarrhea. Excitable and impressionable, and need sympathy. Very fearful even of thunderstorms. Craves ice cream
Sambucus: Turns blue with cough. Bouts of coughing triggered by fright. Constantly distressed and irritated, can look like Aconite, but has profuse sweating whereas Aconite skin is dry. Can have acute kidney involvement with inflammation, general swelling and frequent urination of small amounts. Tends to wake suddenly, around midnight, unable to breathe, turns blue and cannot exhale.
Spongia: Croup worse during inspiration with the typical 'sawing' croup sound, usually before midnight. Often thyroid involvement, with a burning dry sore throat that feels as though there is a lump lodged in the passageway. The cough improves from eating or drinking and there is generally increased hunger and thirst. Heart involvement, such as palpitations and enlargement with valvular insufficiency. Gets exhausted easily.
Give 30C potency every 15 minutes for 1 hour, if no improvement, change the remedy. If 30c potency of the indicated remedy is not available, give the potency on hand. When improvement is experienced, then give the remedy three times daily for two days. The problem should be cleared by then.
There is a Tubercular influence in the susceptibility to croup. Give Tuberculinum 30C once a week for 4 weeks as constitutional treatment.
For more information about homeopathy click here
For more information about Dr Fran Swainston click here
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