WEST NILE VIRUS HOMEOPATHY HANDOUT

Right off the top, you have at least a couple of remedies in your kit that are excellent
for insect stings, especially when there is swelling and itching. Most of the time, you
endure the mosquito bites, but occasionally, you might want some healing help if the
bites are especially bothersome or if there appears to be some infection occurring.
Apis mellifica (Apis mel or just Apis)
Its the bee sting venom remedy and along with Arnica, probably one of the remedies
that brings people to homeopathy. The insect bite is often healed very quickly with a
single dose of the remedy. You can use Apis with any insect bite but use it especially if
the following keynote symptoms are present (and the keynote symptoms are exactly
like a bee sting itself):
Heat; you can actually feel the heat coming off the persons skin.
Swelling or edema; there will be a puffiness around the area where bitten.
Cold cloths or water or ice will be wanted and helpful; the person wont want
anything warm near them or the bite.
Stinging/burning pain; just like what you would expect from a bee sting!
Eyes sensitive to light.
Emotionally, someone needing Apis might be quite weepy for no reason at all.
(Although I can imagine that with enough mozzies bites, crying might be
expected.)
Oddly enough, the person needing Apis might say they are OKeven if they
start to get very sick after being bitten. You take one look at them and you know
they are not OK. This might even be the stage where you start to suspect that
this is more than just a bite and that the person may have a viral infection.
You may notice that there is confusion and complaints of headache or head
pain with a fever. Apis is a remedy that can be extremely helpful if there is a
possibility of meningitis or encephalitis. Remember the swelling and edema of a
bite on the skin? This inflammation or swelling can possibly be happening in the
lining of the brain as well. Give Apis and you are on your way to the doctor or to
emergency.
Ledum palustre (Led)
This is the remedy to think of with any puncture woundsafter all, what is a mosquito
bite? A teeny tiny puncture wound! Both Apis and Ledum want cold on the bites, but
there are some slight differences:
Well-known historically for mosquito bites.
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Itching and scratching until bleeding.

Coldness of the puncture wound (Apis will likely be hot and swollen).
Pains shooting upward.
Tender area around the wound/bite and sensitive to touch.
Possibly bluish/purplish spots.
Aching/bruised feeling (this could possibly be a symptom with a viral infection
like WNV).
The itching is definitely worse from getting warm in bed.
You might want to consider this remedy for tick bites, as well, when there is a
suspicion of Lyme disease. Best to consult with your homeopath and doctor
though!

FEVER STAGE
If, after a mozzie bite, a fever develops and the Apis or Ledum does not help, you can
turn to Belladonna or Aconite according to the symptom picture and remedy picture. If
the fever is slow to develop over the 2-15 days, you can consider Ferrum phos. If the
fever is high and sudden, you have a choice between Belladonna and Aconite.
A CURED CASE
About five years ago, I had a young woman come to me. After receiving a diagnosis of
West Nile Virus and after the acute fever/illness, she was left with an almost flu-like
symptom picture. There was little that conventional medicine could offer after her
recovery, but she still felt quite unwell and it was keeping her from working. The
remedy I gave her was not based on a diagnosis of the symptoms of WNV, but was
given based on her unique symptoms, which happened to be very flu-like and fit the
picture of Eupatorium perfoliatum.
Eupatorium perfoliatum (Eup-per)
This is a remedy well-known for flu symptoms and it has its own picture, which makes
it unique from other homeopathic remedies known for helping support healing with flu.
This is the symptom picture of the young woman who came to see meand these are
the keynote symptoms of the remedy:

Aching pains, as if in the bones, with moaning.

Bruised feeling, as if broken, all over the body (this will remind you of Arnica,
which is in the same plant family as Eup-per).
Intense aching of the shin bones and lower back, as if broken.

After 3-4 weeks, the young woman came for her follow-up appointment feeling much
better overall, and there were no remaining flu-like symptoms that were part of the
WNV picture. Before she left, though, she asked if it was possible that the remedy for
WNV could have helped her chronic back pain. It turns out that for years her back had
been a constant problem, limiting her in the kind of activities she should do. The back
pain in Eupatorium perfoliatum is as if broken, as if beaten, and this is exactly the kind
of pain she had been enduring for so many years.
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All of that to say, this is the beauty of homeopathy. The name or diagnosis can be very
helpful (essential in emergency situations), but whether it is the flu or WNV or Lyme
disease, when the symptom picture of the person is similar to the symptom picture of a
remedy, homeopathy can support the healing process in a person. Giving the most
similar remedy at just the right time can even possibly head off any possible
complications from a mozzies bite or viral infection.
Internet Resources:
http://nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/content/west-nile-virus-casey-2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Nile_virus
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/wn-no/symptom-eng.php
http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=288&channel_i
d=1020&relation_id=71085

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