Natural Remedy Guides
Nerve pain is a world apart from an ordinary ache. Neuralgia burns, stabs, shoots and tingles along the path of a nerve — across the ribs, over the face, down a limb — often out of all proportion to anything you can see. It can be exhausting, unpredictable and hard to soothe with ordinary painkillers.
This guide explains how the antihomotoxic approach addresses neuralgia, and which Heel remedies the Biotherapeutic Index chooses according to where the nerve pain is felt.
Understanding nerve pain and neuralgia
Neuralgia is pain generated by an irritated or inflamed nerve rather than by damage to the tissue the nerve serves. In the homotoxicology framework it is placed in the neurodermal impregnation phase — the nervous tissue itself has become burdened and over-reactive (Biotherapeutic Index, Therapeutic Index, 'Neuralgia').
Because a nerve can be irritated almost anywhere, the compendium does not offer one blanket remedy. Instead it makes a point that shapes the whole approach: 'according to the location in each case, various remedies are indicated.' The art is to match the remedy to where the pain is felt, while a single basic remedy runs underneath the whole treatment.
The antihomotoxic approach
That basic remedy is Neuralgo-Rheum-Injeel, which the Index directs practitioners to use 'for basic remedy always... especially intradermal in the segmental region' — in other words, whatever the location, it is the constant thread of neuralgia treatment.
Around it, the compendium selects by site: Gelsemium-Homaccord and Spigelon for neuralgia of the head and the cervical (neck) syndrome; Ranunculus-Homaccord for intercostal neuralgia and herpes zoster; Cimicifuga-Homaccord for intervertebral neuralgia; and Berberis-Homaccord for funicular neuralgia. For the pain itself it names Spascupreel 'for stabbing and spasmodic pains of all kinds' and Bryaconeel, 'often effective in alleviating pain.'
Recommended remedies
The basic remedy, plus the location-specific and pain-relieving picks the compendium names:
- Neuralgo-Rheum-Injeel — the basic remedy used in every case, placed segmentally by a practitioner.
- Gelsemium-Homaccord and Spigelon — for neuralgia of the head and the cervical (neck) syndrome.
- Ranunculus-Homaccord — for intercostal neuralgia and herpes zoster.
- Cimicifuga-Homaccord — for intervertebral neuralgia.
- Spascupreel — for stabbing and spasmodic pains of all kinds.
- Bryaconeel — often effective in alleviating the pain generally.
- Berberis-Homaccord — for funicular neuralgia.
- Osteoheel S and Cruroheel S — where the pain settles in the muscles, tendons and periosteum.
- Cerebrum compositum — the compendium's remedy for the neural functions, used in support.
How to use them
Start by matching the oral remedy to the site of the pain: Gelsemium-Homaccord or Spigelon for head and neck neuralgia, Ranunculus-Homaccord for the ribs or shingles, Cimicifuga-Homaccord for pain arising from the spine. These are typically taken at 8-10 drops (or one tablet), and the compendium notes several may be taken together two to six times daily. Add Spascupreel for stabbing, spasmodic pain and Bryaconeel for general pain relief.
Underneath the location-specific choices, Neuralgo-Rheum-Injeel is the constant: practitioners place it intradermally in the segmental region of the affected nerve, and it may also be given intramuscularly, subcutaneously or intravenously. For longer-standing neuralgia, Cerebrum compositum supports the neural functions, while Osteoheel S and Cruroheel S are used where the pain has settled into the muscles, tendons and periosteum.
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Source: Protocols and quotations from the Heel Biotherapeutic Index — Ordinatio Antihomotoxica et Materia Medica, 5th revised English edition (Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH, Baden-Baden, 2000): Therapeutic Index, 'Neuralgia', with the Neuralgo-Rheum-Injeel, Gelsemium-Homaccord, Spigelon, Ranunculus-Homaccord, Cimicifuga-Homaccord, Spascupreel, Bryaconeel, Berberis-Homaccord, Osteoheel S, Cruroheel S and Cerebrum compositum monographs.