Positive Health Online

Over the last few years there have been a large number of books on the use of Homeopathy in the home, and when I was asked to review this one I must admit my first thought was “Here we go again”.  However this is a well organized and good, clear read… if a little misplaced in its target audience!

Colin Griffith has written this book as a self-help guide to the use of homeopathic remedies in the home by the unqualified lay person. In the Foreword he says that he intends it to be a book of “…Homeopathic household management” and that it serves to save frequent calls to the professional Homeopath by the patient about which remedy to take for which First Aid situation. Colin writes in a style that is both easy to read and understand.  The book can easily be picked up and put down without losing the thread, and is ideal for dipping in and out of. Its clear organisation means that it is also easy to find the relevant component you might be looking for when trying to pacify a sick child or help an injured person.

The book is split into three main parts.  Part I The Who, What, Where, Why and How of Homeopathy deals with the background of what remedies are, how they are made and how to prescribe them. It covers what a Homeopath looks for when analysing a case i.e. which are the important symptoms, and how to choose the potency (strength) of the remedy. I was very pleased to see that it also includes some don’ts of prescribing remedies, e.g. not giving Nat mur before or after Nit Ac, or repeating remedies with great frequency over extended periods of time. Where I feel this section goes too far is when Griffith starts to discuss the concept of miasms and their importance in a case; this is all way beyond the lay person with no background in Homeopathy, except that they may have read the first few pages of this book.  The concept of miasms, understanding them in a case and the prescribing of anti-miasmatic remedies, should be left in the realm of the qualified Homeopath.

Part II Prescribing the Remedies forms the main part of the book. Here Griffith runs through 26 chapters on various conditions, situations and diseases.  Some of these chapters are definitely what the non-qualified person in the home can and should be prescribing on such as cuts and bruises, colds and ‘flus, coughs, acute ear and eye infections, upset tummies etc.  However, I feel quite strongly that other chapters deal with areas that should be the remit of the qualified professional Homeopath, as the remedy selection and the person’s reaction to the remedy need to be monitored and carefully interpreted, as these could be complex cases. I am particularly concerned to see him writing about the person in the home self-prescribing on emotional trauma, kidney stones, genital herpes, Crohn’s disease and colitis etc.  Griffith does cover himself by advising that people seek professional help at times.  However, the mere fact that he covers these (and more like them) and mentions various remedies, in a book that states it is written for the non-qualified person, will have people trying out the suggested remedies before they seek professional help.  Griffith does sensibly state for some emergency conditions when it is time to call the GP or attend casualty.

Part III The First-Aid Kit has Griffith describing “Fifty Remedies for the First Aid Kit”; he admits that having 50 to call on is a bit much for most non-Homeopaths to juggle so as you read through the list he highlights 15 remedies which are an absolute must (I think he could easily have expanded this to 20, as he fails to highlight very useful remedies such as Ruta, Ledum and Bryonia). Each remedy is given a short profile and its main prescribing symptoms are clearly stated. Griffiths also discusses invaluable mother tinctures and how to use them in the home.

The book ends with a very useful Appendix of Suppliers, Pharmacies, Homeopathic organisations and Colleges and is well referenced/indexed. I found this book a very interesting read, but would say that about half of it is beyond the scope of what I would advise a non-qualified person to be self or family prescribing. However, the more detailed information is brilliant for the student Homeopath or indeed the experienced professional looking for a quick remedy reference. I am sure my copy will soon become a well thumbed addition to my bookcase.

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