For those of us who enjoy travel to different countries and cultures, health while away is often a concern. Different food, water supply, sanitation, rest/sleep, and time changes can be significant. The biggest time change for me was our trip to India last year…a full 12-hour difference!
Add flights, airports, long line-ups nose to back of stranger’s heads waiting in customs…the downside of travel. The last thing you want is to be sick on your holiday!
Katie Kiemeny has some great suggestions for your homeopathic kit in today’s post. Just a few remedies and you will be well covered, no matter where your destination is in the world! Your homeopath will also help you create an individualized travel kit. Book a consult and together you can individualize for you and your family’s specific health concerns.
Enjoy the terrific memories of India last year this time. Thank you, Katie!
Last January, I embarked upon the adventure of a lifetime. I traveled with the Western College of Homeopathic Medicine to India. As I sit and reminisce about my homeopathic studies abroad, I recall the preparation involved to travel.
While travel can be exciting, fun, and even life changing, it can also bring changes in our regular diets and sleep patterns, which leave room for susceptibility to illness. This is why you will always find me with my homeopathic travel kit close by when I am venturing far away from home. Homeopathic remedies are small, convenient, and lightweight to bring aboard!
Before I was a homeopath, I spent some time in the Dominican Republic nursing in very impoverished areas, and I chose to vaccinate myself against any possibility of disease. I was terrified of being in a third world hospital and filled my mind with all the “what ifs” I could imagine. I knew nothing of homeopathy at the time and was unaware of any alternative to protect myself from the risks of the travel frontier.
Throughout the year, the risk of exposure to disease, such as dengue fever, malaria, and typhoid, differ depending on geographical areas and weather. Most of these diseases may not be familiar to us here in North America, but we may encounter them in the tropical destinations we choose to travel to around the holiday time.
In preparation for my trip to India, I equipped myself with a homeopathic kit containing specific supportive remedies for the area I was headed. I also brought probiotics and ginger tincture to support my immune system. Some of my biggest concerns were Malaria and Hepatitis A. Also, I knew that I would need to make a 12-hour time change and a complete diet makeover, which included a new water supply and food. I had no time to be sick, as I was scheduled for a full four weeks of clinic learning and yoga. So a supportive bout of homeopathics was important for me to have on hand. I also included homoeoprophylaxis as part of my travel kit. Homoeoprophylaxis is a program designed for those who have made a decision to employ an alternative method of protection, other than immunization. It is not a program intended to replace vaccination. However, homoeopathic remedies have been used for this purpose since 1801 (i). Clinical evidence shows that the method is comparably effective to vaccines. Extensive trials have shown an effectiveness of around 90% (ii).
In India, we were immersed in a clinical experience where advanced illnesses were treated with homeopathy and Iyengar Yoga. On our days off of clinic, we traveled through the surrounding areas to spend time in rural India, exploring caves, and the ocean-side.
India embraced us. The people were some of the most hospitable out of all the countries I have traveled to. Food was clean and prepared well. Our living space was nice and a close walk to our clinic. I made it home alive, well, and able to confidently share my travel “must-have” homeopathic remedies with you! Along with the small list of remedies, which follow, I thought I would share my first day’s journal in India with you to give you a glimpse into my first impressions of India.
January 8, 2014
Good morning from the other side of the world! Today was our first full day in Pune, India. Our team arrived early this morning, around 3:30am, at Pune International Airport. The airport was pretty empty apart from our flight. We were hit by the smell of burning wood and the warm damp air of the early morning in India as we left the airport.
Our driver was ready to receive us and take us through Pune to our hotel. The city was busy in the early morning hours. There was a lot of whistle blowing and horn honking. I have learned quickly this is the mode of communication on the roads here. It was a pleasant, interesting drive. There was a lot going on around town. The dogs were out on their early morning prowls, the rickshaws were all parked on the side roads, and we were just happy to be on solid ground.
We arrived at a beautiful hotel in the midst of Pune’s busy streets. Kind help greeted us, bringing in our bags. Settled into bed for a quick morning rest until the sun came up. Breakfast was brilliant! A grand buffet offered flavors of all kinds.
Around lunchtime, an associate from the clinic we will be studying at met us. He offered us a welcome and some general information, such as how to walk to clinic, how to get a SIM phone card, and he really wanted to show us that Pizza Hut and MacDonald’s were near by. We were way too interested in our new Indian cuisine to give a thought to fast food.
The staff here and the doctors from Prana Clinic have been so hospitable and attentive to our wishes. People in India have been kind, and helpful which makes the adjustments easier.
We are adjusting to the change of time, and getting adequate rest now from the extensive hours of travel. Tomorrow we will undertake some shopping, exploring, and maybe make it to a local museum.
Before I leave you for the night, I must say the flavors of Buttered Chicken and fresh garlic buttered naan are still dancing in my mouth. It has been an exhausting 24-hours of travel; it feels as if someone has taken me and dropped me in the middle of the ocean. It is a feeling that I recall, not too long ago, when I began homeopathy. Everything seems a bit strange still, new, out of touch, yet there is something extraordinary about this journey we embark upon today.
Remedies for Travel
Here are a few remedies I recommend having on hand for any travel. My travel kit consists of 30C potencies, in which I repeat based on severity of the symptoms. One dose of the remedy is typically 3-5 pellets, as stated on the homeopathic vial. So for example, in an acute state of fear or diarrhea, you could take the remedies every 20-30 minutes, until the symptoms lesson or stop. In jet lag, you may only repeat twice a day.
PLEASE NOTE: I always take my remedies on board the airplane and request for a hand inspection. I have had no problem with this request, however some protocols may require a prescription for medications to be hand inspected. Remedies are sensitive to x-ray and electromagnetic radiations. I actually have gone to the extent of using a camera film bag because I travel regularly with the remedies. However, you may choose to bring a few main remedies with you and replace them more frequently. There is little research to support how many times remedies can tolerate x-ray radiation, so I recommend caution.
Jet Lag
COCCULUS INDICUS
Cocculus is a remedy for ailments from night watching. For example, nurses who sit up all night watching their sick patients, or mothers up with their nursing children. In my case, I used this remedy for the repercussions of jet lag. The time change and travel to India is very long, and the loss of sleep is more than usual. When the loss of sleep produces oversensitivity to one’s nerves, causing oversensitivity to noise, to riding in a vehicle, or to odors, this remedy can help.
ARNICA
Typically a remedy you should think of for injury, contusions, and falls, it is also a remedy you should consider for jet lag. You may have an overall sensation and feeling of being sore, bruised, and beaten. You mat also feel generally fatigued and exhausted, which makes Arnica a good remedy for tired travelers. The remedy reduces swelling and helps the effects of sitting in the same position for long hours on the airplane.
Motion Sickness
TABACUM
The nausea of individuals needing the remedy tabacum is more severe than that of cocculus, so much that it is called a death-like nausea. The person needing this remedy will be pale, vomiting, with cold sweat. They may have the desire to uncover their abdomen. They would feel worse with any motion. They will be better by fresh air. They may have a desire to spit. It is a remedy for sea sickness or feelings of motion sickness.
PETROLEUM
If you need this remedy, your nausea is worse from motion or riding in a vehicle, and will be accompanied by vertigo; the vertigo comes on especially when you raise your eyes. You may have great hunger. There will be much pain in the upper stomach area, which makes you feel you should eat, and eating relieves your pain. You typically have an aversion to fat food and to meat.
Tummy Troubles
NUX VOMICA AKA COLUMBRINA
We think of a person needing this remedy for overindulgence, from rich foods, too many foods, or even liquor. The individual experiences acidity, heartburn, belching, with either an impaired appetite or abnormal hunger. The belching may be painful, bitter, or sour. The person experiences a great deal of nausea. The person will often say: “If I could only vomit, I would feel a great deal better.” The stomach is sensitive to pressure, so one’s natural tendency is to loosen the belt or pants. Anyone who has ever eaten too much around the Christmas dinner table, knows this experience all too well. The pains come on about half an hour after eating; they start in the upper abdomen, just above the stomach, and radiate in various directions.
ARSENICUM ALBUM AKA METALLICUM ALBUM
Is a remedy for intense irritation of mucous membranes, which is indicative of gastroenteritis. This is an invaluable remedy for traveler’s diarrhea and food poisoning. The person needing this remedy has violent burning and/or griping pains in the stomach, vomiting, and diarrhea (offensive and burning). The person will generally have great tiredness after the stool. Their burning extends throughout their gastrointestinal tract. They will have great thirst for small sips of fluid frequently. As soon as the person drinks water, and the stomach warms the water, the person will vomit.
Insect Repellents
MOZI – Q
A formulation of about 5 homeopathic remedies that are known to reduce the frequency of insect bites and take care of the reactions ensued by the insect bite. In essence, this is an oral insect repellant. One of the remedies within the combination is recognized in homeopathic books to address the symptoms and chills of the periodic malarial fever. I don’t know about you, but this was one must-have when I ventured into rural India. It comes in one potency and it is recommended to repeat dosage every 2-3 hours depending on density of exposure.
Katie Kiemeny is a traditionally trained Registered Nurse and Homeopath. She holds a current registration with The College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta and a Diploma in Homeopathy. She specialized in obstetrics the last 10 years, working in labour and delivery in Calgary and teaching Natural Childbirth with the Academy of Husband Coached Childbirth. Katie is a graduate of the Western College of Homeopathic Medicine and has completed 5 years clinical training with Linda Miller, DCH, CCH, RSHom (NA).
For more information or continued learning, please inquire about my introductory homeopathy classes at Xerion Homoeopathie. Contact Katie at kailohomeopathy(at)gmail(dot)com.
Thank you, Katie!
In health and healing,
Donna
