Clinics
I run a number of clinics in Lichfield, Worcester and Bitton near Bristol.
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Friary Clinic The Stables R/O 3 Church St Lichfield WS13 6DZ |
Holistic Health 20 Dam Street Lichfield WS13 6AA |
Naturally Gifted 50a Upper Tything Worcester WR1 1JR |
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Appointments
You can contact me on 07845 099385 or by completing the online contact form.
Headline Homoeopathy
To read my latest newsletter please go to:
http://www.homeo-sapiens.com/headline_homeopathy_bryant.htm
Breaking News for 2010
The Daily Mail 29th May 2010
Not everyone has a pet name for their eczema, but actress and TV presenter Nadia Sawalha called hers 'my John rash' after a mild attack was triggered as a 17-year-old after she broke up with her boyfriend.
And as mysteriously as the skin condition arrived, it disappeared. But then, in 2002, at the age of 39 and six months after the birth of her first daughter Maddie with TV producer Mark Adderley, Nadia noticed tiny bumps on the little finger of her left hand.
Known as vesiculation, these bumps are a classic symptom of eczema, as is the erythema or redness that next appeared.
'The bumps began to itch before splitting open and weeping,' she says. 'They quickly spread to the rest of the hand and then to the other one, too. They were red raw. I looked like something from a horror film.'
Nadia, 46, is best known for playing Annie Palmer in EastEnders, while her younger sister Julia, 41, found fame as Saffy in BBC hit comedy Ab Fab and Dorcas Lane in Lark Rise To Candleford.
The stress of being a new mum was playing a huge part in exacerbating Nadia's problem.
'I was on location in Ibiza filming the TV series Living In The Sun, working 13-hour days, while Maddie was staying in a villa with my mum and dad and her nanny,' she says. 'I was hating the job and being away from my baby. They were fine. I was the problem.
'I saw the eczema as a sign that I wasn't coping. My twisted logic was to brush away any enquiry about my hands - which by now had no skin on them at all. It got so bad that the cameraman had to shoot around them.'
Eventually, Nadia was persuaded to buy over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream, a mild steroid drug that reduces inflammation, which worked temporarily.
However, when filming later moved to mainland Spain, her hands became infected and the itching was so bad that her hands bled. In desperation she went to the A&E department of the nearest hospital.
Doctors were shocked that she had let her skin deteriorate to such an extent and prescribed a course of antibiotics to stop the infection.
A few months later, in October 2003, Nadia was presenting City Hospital, a live TV programme every weekday morning on BBC1, when the eczema returned on her hands with a vengeance.
'I'd visit the skin ward and immediately identify with patients, but I thought how on earth can I moan when their conditions are far worse than mine?'
Believing her condition was not that bad, Nadia did not seek medical help but was clearly driven to distraction by the terrible itching.
'Whenever I could, I'd hold my hands above my head to relieve the pain. To get to sleep at night, I'd tie them to the bedstead. If I let them hang down, the pain was intolerable. It felt like lead flowing into my hands.
'By Maddie's first birthday that Christmas, I was no longer able to pick her up. I couldn't cook, something I love to do. And yet, I was still in denial. I'd go up to my bedroom, cry my eyes out and then come down and pretend everything was fine.'
Finally, in desperation, Mark, 39, made his wife an appointment with her homeopath, Rachel Packer.
'I first went to see Rachel when I was about 20,' says Nadia. 'I was having headaches every afternoon, and my GP advised me to drink more water and prescribed pills, but it did not get rid of them.'
Then her younger sister Julia told Nadia how she had bumped into an old classmate who had suffered badly from acne. And yet, here was this girl now with perfectly clear skin. When Julia asked how she had managed to get rid of the acne, the girl said it was due to homeopathy.
'At the time it sounded pretty wacky and I was very sceptical but, on the grounds I had nothing to lose, I made an appointment with Rachel who had a practice in New Cross, near to where we live in South London.'
Far from being wacky, the NHS spends £4 million a year on homeopathy and there are four dedicated hospitals that have treated 55,000 patients a year since the formation of the health service in 1948.
An estimated 400 GPs use homeopathy in their everyday practice and treat 200,000 patients annually, according to the British Homeopathic Association.
'From my first consultation with Rachel I felt that here was someone interested in all of me,' says Nadia. 'Homeopathy is based on a holistic approach.
For an hour, she asked me every question under the sun about my physical and emotional wellbeing, the stresses in my life, my likes and dislikes, the food I craved.
'In time, we moved from discussing daily recurrent headaches to terrible period pains. Rachel prescribed a remedy in pill form. I've no idea what it contained but then, like most people, I suspect, I have no idea what's been in any antibiotics I've been prescribed.
'I took one each day for two weeks and the headaches gradually faded and then disappeared for ever. I was grateful although, if I'm honest, part of me still thought it was all a bit of a fluke.'
Nadia began to wonder if other ailments could also be tackled with homeopathy. 'I was in a play at the Edinburgh Festival and began suffering from a severe urinary tract infection - although I was convinced I'd caught some hideous disease. My insides felt as if they were being wrung out.'
Her GP prescribed antibiotics which cleared up the bladder infection but, as is common with antibiotics, triggered a yeast infection. 'So I saw Rachel and she gave me one remedy - a single pill - and it cleared up. When I got another flareup a couple of months later, I remember thinking, "Here we go again!"
'But it lasted only about six hours. That happened twice more down the months and then never again.'
All of which makes it hard to understand why Nadia did not seek homeopathic advice as she battled her crippling attacks of eczema.
'What can I say? Maybe I was suffering a form of postnatal depression but I got it into my head that this was something I had to deal with on my own.'
For her eczema, Rachel prescribed mezereum, a Eurasian shrub extract traditionally used to heal skin complaints. 'The effect,' says Nadia, 'was what I can only describe as biblical. Over the next 48 hours, I watched as my skin renewed itself.
'On one occasion, I had gone to casualty when my hands had become reinfected. I'd been told that there was little that could be done as there was no cure for eczema. The expectation was that I'd have to visit my GP twice a week to have my hands dressed.
And yet, now I was cured. It was little short of a miracle.
'To this day, if I'm stressed or frightened about something, my little finger will occasionally itch, but no more than that.'
As she became won over by the effectiveness of homeopathic cures for her own ailments, Nadia turned her attention to Mark, who helps run their TV production company.
'He's an asthma sufferer who used his nebuliser every day. I made him see Rachel and after a detailed discussion, she gave him a two-week course of pills and now he uses his inhaler once every fourth day at most.'
Nadia says her daughters Maddie, now seven, and Kiki, two, have never seen a GP and not had any childhood vaccinations. Rather, they consult the homeopath every few weeks.
'I see it as an MOT, if you like, or a pre-emptive strike. Rachel will prescribe a remedy to strengthen my immune system, for instance, so if I do get a cough or cold, it clears up quickly.'
But Nadia also acknowledges homeopathy will not solve everybody's problems. 'People used to get angry when I sang its praises, especially when I couldn't say what was in a remedy. So I've stopped being so evangelical.
'I'm not anti conventional medicine - and nor is Rachel. When Maddie had a chest infection, Rachel listened to her breathing down the phone and told me to go to hospital without delay. She was given a nebuliser, put on Calpol and it cleared up.
'Homeopathy might not be for everyone, but it works for me.'
The Independent Friday 26th February 2010
Homeopathy: Tinctures or a trick of the mind?
This week, a Commons committee declared that the NHS should stop funding homeopathy, describing its remedies as no better than a placebo. Jeremy Laurance hears what the patients think ;
The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital may be under siege but the staff and patients remain relaxed. There has been no run on Gelsemium, the homeopathic remedy of choice for people paralysed by fear, in the pharmacy. Indeed, the only sign of trouble is the poster affixed to a pillar in the third floor waiting area alongside the stall selling Tick Tock redbush tea – the kind Precious Ramotswe drinks in The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
"Save NHS homeopathy", it says. Another poster urges supporters to join a lobby of parliament. Long before MPs from the cross party Commons committee on science and technology gave the thumbs down to homeopathy on Monday, people here knew what was coming. The remedies worked no better than a placebo, the committee said, and the NHS should cease funding.
It was a withering verdict but the hospital remains undaunted. There are no placards or demonstrators here. Just the usual crowd of patients – predominantly middle aged and female – that you find in any hospital waiting area. Supporters of homeopathy – practitioners and patients alike – are used to controversy and another bout of negative publicity, of which there is never a shortage, is not going to change their minds
Sunday Times 21 February
Debbie Moore, famous for being the first women to launch a company on the London Stock Exchange "Pineapple" the dance studio and clothing company was profiled in "Money".
When asked what's been your best investment ?
She replied - In my heath and my daughter's health. I do homoeopathic and complementary medicine. I don't believe in doctors who dish out statins and and antibiotics like sweeties.
Positive Homoeopathy News
The Health Minister in Northern Ireland decided on a soft launch for the results of the complementary medicine pilot project and has made the independent evaluation report available to download on the Department’s website. As well as an extensive report with detailed responses from patients, GPs and practitioners, using a validated
audit tool, focus groups and surveys, the report has made recommendations about the way forward.
http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/hss/complementary-alternative-medicine.htm
The Results:
Following the pilot, 80% of patients reported an improvement in their symptoms, 64% took less time off work and 55% reduced their use of painkillers.
In the pilot, 713 patients with a range of ages and demographic backgrounds and either physical or mental health conditions were referred to various complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies via nine GP practices in Belfast and Londonderry.
Health improvement
• 81% of patients reported an improvement in their physical health
• 79% reported an improvement in their mental health
• 84% of patients linked an improvement in their health and
wellbeing directly to their CAM treatment
• In 65% of patient cases, GPs documented a health improvement,
correlating closely to patient-reported improvements
• 94% of patients said they would recommend CAM to another patient
with their condition
• 87% of patient indicated a desire to continue with their CAM
treatment
Painkillers and medication
• Half of GPs reported prescribing less medication and all reported that patients had indicated to them that they needed less
• 62% of patients reported suffering from less pain
• 55% reported using less painkillers following treatment
• Patients using medication reduced from 75% before treatment to 61% after treatment
• 44% of those taking medication before treatment had reduced their use afterwards
Health service and social benefits
• 24% of patients who used health services prior to treatment (i.e. primary and secondary care, accident and emergency) reported using the services less after treatment
• 65% of GPs reported seeing the patient less following the CAM referral
• Half of GPs said the scheme had reduced their workload and 17% reported a financial saving for their practice
• Half of GPs said their patients were using secondary care services less
Despite initial scepticism, the GPs involved were almost unanimously in favour after seeing tangible results. In 99% of patient cases GPs said they would refer the patient, or a different patient, to the scheme again and in 98% of cases GPs said they would recommend the service to other GPs. However, they also called for more information to help build their understanding of CAM therapies.
Homeopathy in Cuba
The year started with very positive news about homeopathy:
“Cuba prevents an annual epidemic outbreak of Leptospirosis among 2.5 million people using homeopathic prophylaxis” (for those of you who are homoeopaths: they used a nosode of Leptospirosis).
[Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. In humans it causes a wide range of symptoms, and some infected persons may have no symptoms at all. Symptoms of leptospirosis include high fever, severe headache, chills, muscle aches, and vomiting, and may include jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or a rash. If the disease is not treated, the patient could develop kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, and respiratory distress. In rare cases death occurs.]
Two doses were given over a period of 7-9 days, which brought down the indicence of infection to ten people with no fatalities. Below is a copy of the summary of the paper by the authors; the paper was presented at the International Meeting on Homeoprophylaxis, Homeopathic Immunisation and Nosodes against Epidemics , 10-12 December 2008 , at the Havana Convention Centre.
Homeoprophylaxis: Cuban Experiences on Leptospirosis Dr. Concepción Campa, Dr. Luis E. Varela, Dr. Esperanza Gilling, MCs. Rolando Fernández, Tec. Bárbara Ordaz, Dr. Gustavo Bracho, Dr. Luis García, Dr. Jorge Menéndez, Lic. Natalia Marzoa, Dr. Rubén Martínez.
“The Finlay Institute is a centre dedicated to development and production of vaccines; we also bring our WHO qualified facilities for all homeopaths and homeopathic medicine. The Finlay Institute acts as supporting institution for research, production and development of high quality homeopathic products." However, according with the social objective addressing prevention of infectious diseases, we are focused on homeo- prophylaxis as strategy to attenuate the impact of preventable diseases on developing world, the ones that need it the most.
Thus, development and evaluation of nosodes, appears to be our main approach to fill up the breakthrough on current conventional strategies based on vaccination. Similarly with vaccination interventions, massive applications of prophylactic nosodes give rise to a greater impact on population health compared with individualized therapies. In addition, the easy administration and low economics resources needed, become this alternative really suitable and accessible for developing countries and almost the best for emergency situations comprising epidemic outbreaks and natural disasters. The Cuban experiences of massively administrated nosodes supports it use as promising solution to confront epidemiological dangerous situations.
On October November 2007, three provinces of the eastern region of Cuba were affected by strong rainfalls causing floods of big areas and several damages to sanitary and health systems. The risk of leptospirosis infection raised extremely dangerous levels with about 2 million of peoples exposed to potentially contaminated water.
Considering this situation, the Finlay Institute prepared a leptospira nosode 200 CH using 4 circulating strains and following international quality standards. A multidisciplinary team travelled to the affected regions to conduct the massive administration of the nosode. Coordinated action with public health system infrastructures allowed the administration of a preventive treatment consisting in two doses (7- 9 days apart) of the nosode to about 2,4 million of people (4,8 million of doses). The coverage of the intervention rose up to 95% percent of total population of the three provinces at risk.
The epidemiology surveillance after the intervention showed a dramatic decrease of morbidity two weeks after and a reduction to cero of mortality of hospitalized patient. The number of confirmed leptospirosis cases remains at low levels and below the expected levels according with the trends and rain regimens.
A reinforcing application was given after the hit of the hurricane IKE but using the nosode diluted up to 10 MC.
Strict epidemiologic surveillance is carried out on this provinces. Up to date result will be presented.
The results supported the design of new strategies for leptospirosis control. This experience could be extended to other diseases and other countries. The Finlay Institute is offering our facilities and specialists to spread this alternative to all regions needing emergent alternatives for epidemic control and prevention".
