We have all experienced the grim reality of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or simple indigestion. Whether from a stomach bug, food poisoning or traveller’s diarrhea…homeopathy can help relieve these symptoms and restore your well-being quickly!
Here is a list of remedies to consider when a member of the family is down for the count with indigestion, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea:
- Arsenicum*: Often restless and chilly, with thirst for small amounts of water. Can have burning pains in abdomen relieved by heat. Can have vomiting at the same time as cramps with diarrhea. There is great weakness in general, especially after diarrhea. Anxious and wants company/reassurance. A great remedy to consider for patients suffering from food poisoning.
- Carbo vegetabilis: Great distention of the abdomen with gas. Much belching and flatulence. Gets relief from belching. Chilly and craves fresh moving air and being fanned. Can complain of a sour stomach.
- Chamomilla: Spiteful and irritable disposition. Very oversensitive to pain. Restlessness with a desire to be carried. Vomiting of bile. Can complain of obstructed gas. May have greenish stool.
- Colocynthis: Frequent vomiting. Vomiting caused by pain. Severe cutting abdominal pain causing the person to double over; pain is worse from anger or indignation; better with strong pressure and warmth.
- Ipecac: The most characteristic symptom of a person needing the homeopathic remedy Ipecac is constant and continual nausea which nothing relieves (not even vomiting); profuse saliva; cramping intestinal pains; usually a great deal of vomiting, sometimes continuous; can also have diarrhea with nausea.
- Nux vomica: Chilly and worse from cold. Bitter, sour belching; abdominal bloating a few hours after eating; inclination to vomit; no appetite, contractive squeezing stomachache, headache; irritable; easily offended or angered. “Wants to but can’t”: hard to vomit or pass a stool, despite urging. Great for hangovers, or after over-indulgences (can take preventatively before bed to insure a better morning J).
- Phosphorus: Nausea, vomiting, burning in the stomach. Excessive thirst for cold (even icy) water. May vomit as soon as water gets warm in the stomach. May have a sense of emptiness and weakness in abdomen. Wants and is better from company.
- Podophyllum: Yellow or greenish diarrhea, very offensive-smelling which is painless (no cramps). Gushing and forceful stool with urgency. Pieces of undigested food in stool.
- Pulsatilla: Dry mouth with putrid taste. Thirstless. Heartburn with frequent belching; queasiness; sensation of sickness after eating. Worse – warm room. Better in cool open air. Sad and discouraged, loves sympathy and reassurance. Indigestion due to improper diet, especially rich, fatty foods, ice cream.
- Sulphur: Diarrhea gets you out of bed in the morning, around 5am. Very smelly, like rotten-eggs. Sudden urging. Person generally feels too warm, especially at night. Thirsty, tired at 2pm. Worse from heat.
- Veratrum album: Coldness is a hallmark of this remedy. Person feels very cold and is cold to the touch. Cold sweat, especially on forehead. Person may feel exhausted and also may feel as if they will faint from the violent vomiting and diarrhea that often can be simultaneous.
*Arsenicum Album can also be taken preventatively in a low potency (ie, 6ch, 9ch or 12ch) to prevent traveller’s diarrhea. Take one pellet twice a day for the duration of the trip, am and pm, and for a few days after your return.
In general with these symptoms, make sure to stay hydrated. If diarrhea is prolonged, try pro-biotics to restore the balance of flora in the intestine. Most stomach bugs and food poisoning last only up to 48 hours…. If symptoms persist, best to consult your ND or MD.
I recommend remedies be used in a 200 potency, every 2-4 hours depending on the severity of the symptoms.