Top Homeopathic Remedies for Post-Partum Depression

Friends today I am discussing about a problem known as Thyroid Disease & Pregnancy. Thyroid disease is a group of disorders that affects the thyroid gland. The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck that makes thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones control how your body uses energy, so they affect the way nearly every organ in your body works—even the way your heart beats. The thyroid is a small gland in your neck that makes thyroid hormones. Sometimes the thyroid makes too much or too little of these hormones. Too much thyroid hormone is called hyperthyroidism and can cause many of your body’s functions to speed up. “Hyper” means the thyroid is overactive. Too little thyroid hormone is called hypothyroidism and can cause many of your body’s functions to slow down. “Hypo” means the thyroid is underactive. If you have thyroid problems, you can still have a healthy pregnancy and protect your baby’s health by having regular thyroid function tests and taking any medicines that your doctor prescribes. What role do thyroid hormones play in pregnancy? Thyroid hormones are crucial for normal development of your baby’s brain and nervous system. During the first trimester—the first 3 months of pregnancy—your baby depends on your supply of thyroid hormone, which comes through the placenta . At around 12 weeks, your baby’s thyroid starts to work on its own, but it doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone until 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Two pregnancy-related hormones—human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen—cause higher measured thyroid hormone levels in your blood. The thyroid enlarges slightly in healthy women during pregnancy, but usually not enough for a health care professional to feel during a physical exam. Thyroid problems can be hard to diagnose in pregnancy due to higher levels of thyroid hormones and other symptoms that occur in both pregnancy and thyroid disorders. Some symptoms of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism are easier to spot and may prompt your doctor to test you for these thyroid diseases. Another type of thyroid disease, postpartum thyroiditis, can occur after your baby is born. Hyperthyroidism in Pregnancy Some signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism often occur in normal pregnancies, including faster heart rate, trouble dealing with heat, and tiredness. Other signs and symptoms can suggest hyperthyroidism: fast and irregular heartbeat shaky hands unexplained weight loss or failure to have normal pregnancy weight gain Causes of hyperthyroidism in pregnancy Hyperthyroidism in pregnancy is usually caused by Graves’ disease and occurs in 1 to 4 of every 1,000 pregnancies in the United States.1 Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder. With this disease, your immune system makes antibodies that cause the thyroid to make too much thyroid hormone. This antibody is called thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin, or TSI. Graves’ disease may first appear during pregnancy. However, if you already have Graves’ disease, your symptoms could improve in your second and third trimesters. Some parts of your immune system are less active later in pregnancy so your immune system makes less TSI. This may be why symptoms improve. Graves’ disease often gets worse again in the first few months after your baby is born, when TSI levels go up again. If you have Graves’ disease, your doctor will most likely test your thyroid function monthly throughout your pregnancy and may need to treat your hyperthyroidism.1 Thyroid hormone levels that are too high can harm your health and your baby’s. Pregnant woman having her blood drawn If you have Graves’ disease, your doctor will most likely test your thyroid function monthly during your pregnancy. Rarely, hyperthyroidism in pregnancy is linked to hyperemesis gravidarum —severe nausea and vomiting that can lead to weight loss and dehydration. Experts believe this severe nausea and vomiting is caused by high levels of hCG early in pregnancy. High hCG levels can cause the thyroid to make too much thyroid hormone. This type of hyperthyroidism usually goes away during the second half of pregnancy. Less often, one or more nodules, or lumps in your thyroid, make too much thyroid hormone. Untreated hyperthyroidism during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage premature birth low birthweight preeclampsia—a dangerous rise in blood pressure in late pregnancy thyroid storm—a sudden, severe worsening of symptoms congestive heart failure Rarely, Graves’ disease may also affect a baby’s thyroid, causing it to make too much thyroid hormone. Even if your hyperthyroidism was cured by radioactive iodine treatment to destroy thyroid cells or surgery to remove your thyroid, your body still makes the TSI antibody. When levels of this antibody are high, TSI may travel to your baby’s bloodstream. Just as TSI caused your own thyroid to make too much thyroid hormone, it can also cause your baby’s thyroid to make too much. Tell your doctor if you’ve had surgery or radioactive iodine treatment for Graves’ disease so he or she can check your TSI levels. If they are very high, your doctor will monitor your baby for thyroid-related problems later in your pregnancy. An overactive thyroid in a newborn can lead to a fast heart rate, which can lead to heart failure early closing of the soft spot in the baby’s skull poor weight gain irritability Sometimes an enlarged thyroid can press against your baby’s windpipe and make it hard for your baby to breathe. If you have Graves’ disease, your health care team should closely monitor you and your newborn. How do doctors diagnose hyperthyroidism in pregnancy? Your doctor will review your symptoms and do some blood tests to measure your thyroid hormone levels. Your doctor may also look for antibodies in your blood to see if Graves’ disease is causing your hyperthyroidism. Learn more about thyroid tests and what the results mean. How do doctors treat hyperthyroidism during pregnancy? If you have mild hyperthyroidism during pregnancy, you probably won’t need treatment. If your hyperthyroidism is linked to hyperemesis gravidarum, you only need treatment for vomiting and dehydration. If your hyperthyroidism is more severe, your doctor may prescribe antithyroid medicines, which cause your thyroid to make less thyroid hormone. This treatment prevents too much of your thyroid hormone from getting into your baby’s bloodstream. You may want to see a specialist, such as an endocrinologist or expert in maternal-fetal medicine, who can carefully monitor your baby to make sure you’re getting the right dose. Doctors most often treat pregnant women with the antithyroid medicine propylthiouracil (PTU) during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Another type of antithyroid medicine, methimazole , is easier to take and has fewer side effects, but is slightly more likely to cause serious birth defects than PTU. Birth defects with either type of medicine are rare. Sometimes doctors switch to methimazole after the first trimester of pregnancy. Some women no longer need antithyroid medicine in the third trimester. Small amounts of antithyroid medicine move into the baby’s bloodstream and lower the amount of thyroid hormone the baby makes. If you take antithyroid medicine, your doctor will prescribe the lowest possible dose to avoid hypothyroidism in your baby but enough to treat the high thyroid hormone levels that can also affect your baby. Antithyroid medicines can cause side effects in some people, including allergic reactions such as rashes and itching rarely, a decrease in the number of white blood cells in the body, which can make it harder for your body to fight infection liver failure, in rare cases Stop your antithyroid medicine and call your doctor right away if you develop any of these symptoms while taking antithyroid medicines: yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes, called jaundice dull pain in your abdomen constant sore throat fever If you don’t hear back from your doctor the same day, you should go to the nearest emergency room. You should also contact your doctor if any of these symptoms develop for the first time while you’re taking antithyroid medicines: increased tiredness or weakness loss of appetite skin rash or itching easy bruising If you are allergic to or have severe side effects from antithyroid medicines, your doctor may consider surgery to remove part or most of your thyroid gland. The best time for thyroid surgery during pregnancy is in the second trimester. Radioactive iodine treatment is not an option for pregnant women because it can damage the baby’s thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism in Pregnancy Symptoms of an underactive thyroid are often the same for pregnant women as for other people with hypothyroidism. Symptoms include extreme tiredness trouble dealing with cold muscle cramps severe constipation problems with memory or concentration Woman with a coat shivering outdoors You may have symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as trouble dealing with cold. Most cases of hypothyroidism in pregnancy are mild and may not have symptoms. What causes hypothyroidism in pregnancy? Hypothyroidism in pregnancy is usually caused by Hashimoto’s disease and occurs in 2 to 3 out of every 100 pregnancies.1 Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder. In Hashimoto’s disease, the immune system makes antibodies that attack the thyroid, causing inflammation and damage that make it less able to make thyroid hormones. How can hypothyroidism affect me and my baby? Untreated hypothyroidism during pregnancy can lead to preeclampsia—a dangerous rise in blood pressure in late pregnancy anemia miscarriage low birthweight stillbirth congestive heart failure, rarely These problems occur most often with severe hypothyroidism. Because thyroid hormones are so important to your baby’s brain and nervous system development, untreated hypothyroidism—especially during the first trimester—can cause low IQ and problems with normal development. How do doctors diagnose hypothyroidism in pregnancy? Your doctor will review your symptoms and do some blood tests to measure your thyroid hormone levels. Your doctor may also look for certain antibodies in your blood to see if Hashimoto’s disease is causing your hypothyroidism. Learn more about thyroid tests and what the results mean. How do doctors treat hypothyroidism during pregnancy? Treatment for hypothyroidism involves replacing the hormone that your own thyroid can no longer make. Your doctor will most likely prescribe levothyroxine , a thyroid hormone medicine that is the same as T4, one of the hormones the thyroid normally makes. Levothyroxine is safe for your baby and especially important until your baby can make his or her own thyroid hormone. Your thyroid makes a second type of hormone, T3. Early in pregnancy, T3 can’t enter your baby’s brain like T4 can. Instead, any T3 that your baby’s brain needs is made from T4. T3 is included in a lot of thyroid medicines made with animal thyroid, such as Armour Thyroid, but is not useful for your baby’s brain development. These medicines contain too much T3 and not enough T4, and should not be used during pregnancy. Experts recommend only using levothyroxine (T4) while you’re pregnant. Some women with subclinical hypothyroidism—a mild form of the disease with no clear symptoms—may not need treatment. Pregnant woman with a pill in one hand and a glass of water in the other Your doctor may prescribe levothyroxine to treat your hypothyroidism. If you had hypothyroidism before you became pregnant and are taking levothyroxine, you will probably need to increase your dose. Most thyroid specialists recommend taking two extra doses of thyroid medicine per week, starting right away. Contact your doctor as soon as you know you’re pregnant. Your doctor will most likely test your thyroid hormone levels every 4 to 6 weeks for the first half of your pregnancy, and at least once after 30 weeks.1 You may need to adjust your dose a few times. Postpartum Thyroiditis What is postpartum thyroiditis? Postpartum thyroiditis is an inflammation of the thyroid that affects about 1 in 20 women during the first year after giving birth1 and is more common in women with type 1 diabetes. The inflammation causes stored thyroid hormone to leak out of your thyroid gland. At first, the leakage raises the hormone levels in your blood, leading to hyperthyroidism. The hyperthyroidism may last up to 3 months. After that, some damage to your thyroid may cause it to become underactive. Your hypothyroidism may last up to a year after your baby is born. However, in some women, hypothyroidism doesn’t go away. Not all women who have postpartum thyroiditis go through both phases. Some only go through the hyperthyroid phase, and some only the hypothyroid phase. What are the symptoms of postpartum thyroiditis? The hyperthyroid phase often has no symptoms—or only mild ones. Symptoms may include irritability, trouble dealing with heat, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and fast heartbeat. Symptoms of the hypothyroid phase may be mistaken for the “baby blues”—the tiredness and moodiness that sometimes occur after the baby is born. Symptoms of hypothyroidism may also include trouble dealing with cold; dry skin; trouble concentrating; and tingling in your hands, arms, feet, or legs. If these symptoms occur in the first few months after your baby is born or you develop postpartum depression , talk with your doctor as soon as possible. What causes postpartum thyroiditis? Postpartum thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition similar to Hashimoto’s disease. If you have postpartum thyroiditis, you may have already had a mild form of autoimmune thyroiditis that flares up after you give birth. Woman holding her baby. Postpartum thyroiditis may last up to a year after your baby is born. How do doctors diagnose postpartum thyroiditis? If you have symptoms of postpartum thyroiditis, your doctor will order blood tests to check your thyroid hormone levels. How do doctors treat postpartum thyroiditis? The hyperthyroid stage of postpartum thyroiditis rarely needs treatment. If your symptoms are bothering you, your doctor may prescribe a beta-blocker, a medicine that slows your heart rate. Antithyroid medicines are not useful in postpartum thyroiditis, but if you have Grave’s disease, it may worsen after your baby is born and you may need antithyroid medicines. You’re more likely to have symptoms during the hypothyroid stage. Your doctor may prescribe thyroid hormone medicine to help with your symptoms. If your hypothyroidism doesn’t go away, you will need to take thyroid hormone medicine for the rest of your life. Is it safe to breastfeed while I’m taking beta-blockers, thyroid hormone, or antithyroid medicines? Certain beta-blockers are safe to use while you’re breastfeeding because only a small amount shows up in breast milk. The lowest possible dose to relieve your symptoms is best. Only a small amount of thyroid hormone medicine reaches your baby through breast milk, so it’s safe to take while you’re breastfeeding. However, in the case of antithyroid drugs, your doctor will most likely limit your dose to no more than 20 milligrams (mg) of methimazole or, less commonly, 400 mg of PTU. Thyroid Disease and Eating During Pregnancy What should I eat during pregnancy to help keep my thyroid and my baby’s thyroid working well? Because the thyroid uses iodine to make thyroid hormone, iodine is an important mineral for you while you’re pregnant. During pregnancy, your baby gets iodine from your diet. You’ll need more iodine when you’re pregnant—about 250 micrograms a day.1 Good sources of iodine are dairy foods, seafood, eggs, meat, poultry, and iodized salt—salt with added iodine. Experts recommend taking a prenatal vitamin with 150 micrograms of iodine to make sure you’re getting enough, especially if you don’t use iodized salt.1 You also need more iodine while you’re breastfeeding since your baby gets iodine from breast milk. However, too much iodine from supplements such as seaweed can cause thyroid problems. Talk with your doctor about an eating plan that’s right for you and what supplements you should take. Learn more about a healthy diet and nutrition during pregnancy . Homeopathy provides remedies which treat not just the above symptoms but the person as a whole. Sepia Officinalis: Used when the patient presents with the following symptoms. Weak, slightly yellow appearance Tendency to faint, especially when in cold temperatures Extreme intolerance to cold, even in warm surroundings Increased irritability Hair loss Increased menstrual flow that occurs ahead of schedule Constipation Increased desire for pickles and acidic foodstuff Calcarea Carbonica: This popular medicine is useful when patients present with the following symptoms. Fat, flabby, fair person Increased intolerance to cold Excessive sweating, especially in the head Aversion to fatty foods Peculiar food habits including craving for eggs, chalk, pencils, lime, Increased menstruation that is also prolonged and is associated with feet turning cold Lycopodium Clavatum: Useful in patients who present with these symptoms: Physically weakened Increased irritability Excessive hair fall Face is pale yellow with blue circles around the eyes Craving for foods that are hot and sweet Acidity that is worse in the evenings Gastric issues including excessive flatulence Constipation with painful, hard, incomplete stooling Graphites: Presenting symptoms where Graphites are mainly used include: Obesity Intolerance to cold Depressed emotionally, timid, indecisive, weeping, listening to music Bloated, gassy abdomen Chronic constipation with hard, painful stooling process Lodium: Good appetite but lose weight quickly Tendency to eat at regular intervals Excessive warmth and need to stay in a cool environment Anxiety about present Excessive palpitations Lachesis Mutus: These patient present with the following symptoms: Feeling extremely hot, so inability to wear tight clothes Generally sad with no inclination to do any work Tendency to stay aloof and alone Excessive talkativeness Women around menopausal age

KANGAROO MOTHER CARE. Kangaroo mother care is the method of holding the baby in skin-to-skin contact with the mother. Earlier, this was promoted to hold a preterm baby in skin - to - skin contact to keep stable preterm infants warm where incubators are unavailable or unreliable. Those children who have no secure bonding relationship with the parents do poorly in school and suffer from depression. Skin - to - skin contact not only promotes bonding but has multiple benefits. 1.IT HELPS BABY ADAPT. Baby finds it easier to adapt to post birth environment once the baby is put in a skin-to-skin contact with the mother as temperature is well maintained. 2.IT BOOSTS BABY'S MENTAL DEVELOPMENT Babies who received kangaroo care had better brain functioning at adolescence when compared to babies placed in incubators. 3.IT PROMOTES HEALTHY WEIGHT. As kangarooed babies are warm,they don't need to use their energy to regulate their body temperature. Also they enjoy increased breastfeeding rates and have a healthy weight gain. 4.IT MAKES BREASTFEEDING EASIER. Kangarooed babies seek the nipple and begin breastfeeding faster and longer. 5.IT INCREASES MILK PRODUCTION. When mom and baby are together, hormones that regulate lactation are well balanced, helping in more milk production. 6.IT REDUCES BABY'S STRESS &PAIN. The levels of cortisol are reduced in a kangarooed baby and the levels of "cuddle hormone" oxytocin are increased, which stimulates the para sympathetic nervous system to make the babies feel calm and safe. 7.IT HELPS BABY SLEEP. Less stress-better sleep. Kangarooed babies sleep more deeply and wake up less often than those babies kept in incubators. 8.IT PROMOTES BONDING WITH DAD. From their time in the womb,babies recognise their father's voice.Babies find skin-to-skin contact with their father calming and it helps them bond. 9.IT PREVENTS POST PARTUM DEPRESSION Activity in the mother's adrenal axis is negatively influenced by childbirth .In Kangarooed babies, these pathways are reactivated to minimize the risk of depression. Oxytocin also decreases maternal anxiety and promotes attachment with the baby. THERE IS A PRECIPITOUS DROP IN NEONATAL MORTALITY IN KANGAROOED PRETERM BABIES COZ THE BABY HAS STABLE HEART RATE. MORE REGULAR BREATHING IMPROVED OXYGEN SATURATION LEVELS NO COLD STRESS LONGER PERIODS OF SLEEP. MORE RAPID WEIGHT GAIN MORE RAPID BRAIN DEVELOPMENT REDUCTION OF PURPOSE LESS ACTIVITY DECREASED CRYING LONGER PERIODS OF ALERTNESS MORE SUCCESSFUL BREASTFEEDING EPISODES SO PROMOTE EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING AND KANGAROO MOTHER CARE

LUMBAR SPONDYLOSIS... A patient female31yrscame to my clinic with a severe pain in lumbar region with stiffness, she also complaint of the numbness in left leg with pain at hip.....REQUIRED REPORTS ARE ATTACHED.... she said all her complaints arised due to C-section performed 5yrs ago during her second pregnancy.... mentally she was uneasy, silent, gloomy, uninteresting.... never happy at anything, headache due to confusion.... sensation as if stomach is always empty... fear of pain, death, future.... very chilly: “ normal resistance to temperature destroyed”. Catches cold from every exposure to open air. agg-motion, exertion, winter, cold, change of weather... amelioration warmth, covering, lying down.. D/D, RX, PROGNOSIS....

Benefits Of Breastfeeding For Mothers Lose Pregnancy Weight: When you breastfeed, the babies are literally sucking the nutrients out of your body, and a great deal of that is in the form of fat and protein. You end up burning quite a few calories just from breastfeeding, and it has been known to speed up the metabolism, an ideal situation for women trying to lose their baby weight in those first few postpartum months. Reduce Uterine Bleeding: One of the hormones released when lactating is oxytocin, which can help protect the uterus and return it to its pre-delivery size and condition. Excess bleeding can often lead to postpartum complications, and even increase your chances of developing uterine or ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding can successfully lessen those risks for mothers. Prevent Breast Cancer: Breast canceroccurrence has been directly negatively correlated to breastfeeding, and it significantly affected by your total lifetime breastfeeding time. More specifically, the longer the amount of time you spend breastfeeding your children, the lower your chances of developing breast cancer. This finding has been corroborated in a number of studies around the world. Promotes Emotional Wellbeing: Postpartum depressioncan be a dangerous and delicate condition that many mothers will struggle through, but maintaining that physical and nutritional connection to your infant can help develop the bond that has been growing for nine months. You see reduced occurrences of postpartum depression in women who breastfeed their children, as well as lower levels of anxiety and a higher quality of overall emotional health. Stronger Bones: One of the benefits of being pregnant or lactating is that the body increases its ability to uptakecalcium. This more efficient means of accessing this important mineral has a long-term effect on a woman’s body. In fact, women who breastfeed are 4x less likely to develop osteoporosis as non-breastfeeding mothers.

We can appropriately conclude that we have within us a fluid that is analogous to the waters of that primitive ocean from which all life sprang. Mother Ocean is within us, surging and swelling with the waves and tides of our emotions. Nat mur is truly the MINERAL OF OUR EMOTIONS, and when called for can heal a broken heart. Mother Ocean is not like Mother Nature. She is not like the apple tree, which gives shade and bears fruit in abundance: a nurturing, protecting image. Walk to the point of a rocky promontory, jutting out into the ocean, and gaze down at the sea and rocks in conflict below. Cast your eyes out to sea on a windy, heavily overcast day and look into the depths of your mother. She is chill and forbidding. Unlike Mother Nature the ocean is an aloof, impersonal and often harsh mother. She does not cosset or spoil her children; she stands back and leaves them to fend for themselves. She appears distant, cold and unfeeling and applies discipline with uncompromising strictness and severity. To spare the rod is to spoil the child. It is often the lot of the Nat mur child to be born into a family in which these qualities are valued and applied; in which emotions are not expressed, sympathy and love are not demonstrated, and a stiff upper lip is expected. The child is encouraged to achieve independence without the sheltering warmth of maternal nurturing. There is a lack of mothering. Paradoxically, this mother whose maternal instincts are so repressed, is often herself manifesting a Mother Ocean archetype – Nat mur or Sepia. The Nat mur personality The role of the mother figure is particularly critical in the healthy development of the Nat mur personality. There is a deep and often unfulfilled need for the security and warmth of maternal love, protection and nurturing in the Nat mur being, with an inability or unconscious reluctance to solicit, attract or accept the very sustenance they long for. The conditioning that it is weak to reveal dependency and needfulness compounds this. As a result they experience a sense of having been rejected or forsaken, left to their own fate, and therefore feel that they must be unimportant, unworthy of love and unlovable. In Nat mur this conclusion is attended by a persistent, even life-long feeling of resentment and grievance. There is no warmth in the childhood memories of mother, possibly only an awareness of indifference, criticism, harsh discipline and even neglect or abuse. The “absence” of the mother may be experienced pre-natally if the mother emotionally rejects the baby within her, or feels great disappointment when being told the sex of the baby after a scan. A most important cause is when incubation of the baby becomes necessary. This occurs at a time when bonding with the mother is so vital. The infant perceives the mother as absent; however good the supporting care it receives, this cannot compensate or substitute for the lack of maternal nurturing, warmth and love, which is so important to the Nat mur child. Other causes of “absence” may be due to failure to breast feed, illness of the mother, such as post­partum depression, a working mother, or an indifferent mother who is too busy with her own life to lavish affection and attention upon her newborn. Boarding school is often as important as incubation, especially when the separation from the family occurs in the primary school years. In the typical Nat mur household a child is not permitted to participate in decision-making, explanations are not given and input from the child is not invited; the child is expected to conform to parental wishes and emotionalism is frowned upon. “Big boys don’t cry.” “Children must be seen and not heard.” The family are not only undemonstrative and unemotional; they are also often serious, conservative, proper, moral and principled. To be proper and mature, all emotions must be controlled or hidden – there may be no tears, no fears and no outer manifestations of longing, need, anger or passion. This is a breeding ground for secrecy, deceit, guilt and abuse. In such families there are often hidden and repressed emotions, which despite appearances seethe and smoulder beneath the surface. Sexual abuse, incest and rape are often the cause of severe emotional trauma in Nat mur. Their upbringing often leads to walling-up of the experience and secretiveness. They suffer alone, in silence, turning to no one for help and taking on guilt and shame, which can warp their emotional life forever. Often there is a history of frequent quarrels and serious and traumatic fights with parents, especially at the time of puberty when the Nat mur ego is expanding and asserting itself. This may lead to grievances that are harboured for a lifetime. The death of a family member, often a beloved and supportive grandparent early in the child’s life, can leave profound effects. In the Biblical story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife did not heed the warning, not to look back, as she fled with her husband from the burning cities. She was turned into a pillar of salt. This is the personal tragedy of the salt child and the salt adult. They are constantly looking back, often unconsciously, at their past hurts, their grief and their guilt. They cannot forgive others or themselves, they cannot forget, let go or move on; their emotions and their unshed tears crystallise into a pillar of salt, sometimes hidden deep within the unconscious mind, which weighs them down and may crush them, unless they receive a dose of salt in homeopathic potency. In myths, idioms and sayings, the intuitive mind reveals its perception of these cryptic correspondences. So it is that if you wish to prevent a bird from flying away, throw salt on its tail – the bird being an emotion; if you want to freshen up and feel the pain of an old wound, rub salt in it; if you wish to spare yourself the consequences of having spilt salt – of having spilt an emotion, throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder – over and behind your heart! Salt preserves and it retains – not only fluids, but also old emotions, and unfortunately hoards them like a miser hoards his gold (and Aurum is so similar). Like salt to the palate, Nat mur given to a salt patient restores their appetite and taste for life, and aids the digestion of life’s tribulations. If the salt energy of the body is increased, fluid retention results, with lymphoedema, swelling of the subcutaneous tissues; panty, bra and sock lines that remain forever; rings that no longer fit and a face that is puffy in the morning; the dreaded cellulite appears; there is unwanted weight gain; sebaceous glands become overactive producing oily hair and a greasy skin with blackheads and acne; watery or milky discharges develop; the blood pressure tends to rise, especially in the presence of prolonged stress and suppressed emotions; and they may develop anaemia. Nat mur is a wonderful remedy for people who abuse the salt cellar, for those who even before tasting their food, powder it liberally with salt. Never a wise thing to do! The Nat mur subject may crave salt and take it neat. As a result they often suffer from immoderate thirst and drink prodigiously. Chocolate is another of their fancies, often used to pacify them when tense, or as a reward when they have been through some ordeal. Others simply cannot do without it, despite the fact that it increases their thirst and their catarrh, and may give them a headache. If the salt energy is diminished they become dried out, the skin appears prematurely aged, withered, dry and scaly; the hair is dry, lustreless and falls out alarmingly; the scalp is dry and produces large amounts of dandruff; the face becomes hollowed and haggard; a crack may characteristically develop in the middle of the lower lip; the lips and corners of the mouth become dry, ulcerated and cracked; mucous membranes are dry and vaginal dryness may become a problem, especially at the menopause. In women a growth of fine, downy hair may appear along the sides of the face. They are very inclined to develop recurrent fever blisters and mouth ulcers. They progressively lose weight even though eating well, and often the weight loss is particularly about the face and neck, which becomes scrawny, and about the shoulders, arms and chest, whilst the lower body may remain rounded and full. Much to her discomfort, the Nat mur woman, may notice that her breasts have shrunk or lost their tone. They too have increased thirst, and often an excessive hunger, which is satisfied after only a few mouthfuls. Others may show a mixed salt picture, with irregular distribution of fluids; some parts having an excess production of fluid, such as watery eyes and nose, others having a lack of fluid, such as dryness of the skin and hair, or there may be swelling of the face and extremities with dry eyes and mouth. They are also “the salt of the earth” – often the wounded healer, unable to help themselves, but so able in counselling others. Unable to confide, others readily confide in them, and find an understanding and compassionate ear. They know what suffering is, they have experienced it themselves, and are deeply and sincerely empathetic and give good advice. They feel very responsible for the welfare of others. This sense of duty and service may extend to animals and even become a global concern for the sufferings of the world. They may sublimate their own grief by caring for others. They disguise their pain by immersing themselves in the pain of those they help. They are able to cry for others whilst finding it hard to cry for themselves. They need to appear strong, to show no weakness, but inside they are exceedingly vulnerable and afraid of being hurt. Often there is a history of a broken relationship, a love disappointment. Since that time they have never permitted anyone to get too close to them emotionally. They will even avoid getting into a position where someone might get attached to them. It is not the attachment that they fear, but the outcome, which they anticipate with dread: the end of the relationship, the betrayal, the disappointment, the terrible loss, the grieving and the humiliation. In this we can fully understand the symbolic significance of the “fear of robbers” in the psychology of Nat mur. Their deepest fear is the violation and theft of their emotional trust and happiness; by constantly “looking back” and by hanging on to the past they seek to protect themselves from the present. When you detect sadness in them, and imagine a tear in their eye, and when in reply to your concern they avow that there is nothing wrong, take their words with a “pinch of salt”. Schooled in self-control and the suppression of emotions, they are uncomfortable with sympathy and avoid it lest it should break down their composure and resolve. If pushed it may arouse them to anger. Yet in Nat mur there is always a silent solicitation for the love, sympathy and nurturing that they possibly never received in their childhood or in their marriage. With care and patience you may reach out and touch their wound. At first they will avoid your eyes and remain silent, possibly gazing at their hands which are tightly clenched or fiddling agitatedly with some object, and then they will look up, their eyes wide and staring, as if in shock. At that moment the floodgates of their suffering open. Suddenly their eyes are swimming with tears and their body is racked by sobs, which seem to come from the depths of their being. It is then that you may take them in your arms and comfort them.