Influenza… the good, the bad and the self-sufficient

While we haven’t seen the end of this current flu epidemic, the anxiety seems to be subsiding. The mortality rate is falling fast even as the current illness quickly spreads. The World Health Organization (WHO) has ratcheted up their “Richter” scale of pandemic crisis mainly due to the increasing speed and geography of human to human transmission. So where are we now?

Hopefully everyone that has followed this illness has been wary of what may have happened if it had been closer to the pandemic of 1918. Even though it was nowhere near this historic crisis and probably won’t be any time soon, we do have some significant fallout from the current situation and can extrapolate some possible scenarios for future reference.

First, Mexico as the epicenter of this flu is experiencing its own quarantine from within and without. Local businesses are off tremendous business as people have shut themselves in their homes. Airlines are leaving fully occupied and arriving empty in most of the major cities (esp Mexico City). Cruise lines are bypassing the coastal cities for other less contaminated destinations. Add it all up and you have billions of dollars in lost income. This is at a time when their tourist industry was already experiencing a downturn due to increasing violence along the US-Mexico border region.

The Federal Government is predicting that by August or maybe it’s now October, we should see a flu vaccine that will handle this current strain. That is if this strain doesn’t mutate like many flu strains eventually do. The Center for Disease Control is very wary of these flu outbreaks simply because they can mutate and spread quickly.

Locally I can tell you from the first cases to pop up in the USA (close to my location), schools, government agencies, and the like have been closed from the first sneeze and cough. The schools have been closed for a week and will be closed for another week as well. The neighborhood grocery in this area also started a huge hand sanitizing parade while packaging produce in individual containers. Parents have had to either take time off from work to supervise their homebound children or hire babysitters.

We are here…

I don’t think it takes a genius to realize that a pandemic can be devastating. Not only because of the risk to health for yourself and family, but for the economic chaos and disruption or possible closing of local businesses (including basic necessities). How long can a typical household subsist without that local grocery store visit?

If you were sick today with a flu and waiting for a government provided flu dose (Tamiflu/Relenza), you would be waiting for a generic fix that may or may not help. Even the currently available flu shots would be in short supply in a disaster situation, not to mention an actual vaccine that is months away from first stage testing.

If there is one word that comes to mind as this crisis hopefully passes us by, it is self-sufficiency. In a time where a flu pandemic causes untold damage in health and economic terms, relying on oneself is not only smart, but probably the best alternative.

Fortunately, you are aware that homeopathy can provide some measure of immediate help where most other forms of medical attention are lacking. Take some time to read past epidemics of cholera, diphtheria, yellow fever, scarlet fever and flu that were readily treated by homeopathy. And, take some time to study the subject of acute homeopathy in detail.

Look into the purchase of a “Top 100” remedy kit when you are more familiar with how to use it. The top remedies are also known as “polychrests”. They should stand you well in the event that you require a remedy for any acute situation.

Also, keep in mind that the pandemic Spanish Flu of 1918 came in at least two waves and that even a small mutation of existing flu types could prove a much more worthy opponent than even our best medical efforts could absorb.

Thanks for following this blog and here are some helpful links to get you started…


A generic account of the 1918 pandemic. Some good links from this page seem oddly self-explanatory as to what we may experience in future pandemics- here.

A quick set of statistics from homeopathy in several epidemics of the last 150 years is here.

A short article on the basics of dealing with acute illness is here.

My own short list of homeopathic flu remedies is here.

NOTE: While there is generally a certain subset of homeopathic remedies that are effective against the flu, homeopathy is NOT allopathic pharmaceutical prescribing. Homeopathy DOES NOT generally work by giving the same remedy to everyone that has a particular illness. Epidemics are an exception to this rule. To fully realize the efficacy of homeopathy, the user must detail all symptoms of the illness and patient, find the remedy that “fits” that particular set of symptoms and prescribe the remedy in an appropriate potency. For more information, see LikeCure.com.

Edit:
I have gotten several questions on this blog entry and will answer them with the following:

I realize my implications from the above post and here are the facts as far as I can extract them...

The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 started in about March of that year with a mild flu that was based on much the same as our current flu (pig, avian, and human viruses). It really wasn’t until the second wave in about September of that year that it had mutated to become a very virulent form of the previous version. I believe it killed about 200,000 in the first month. Approximately 50% of the population came down with that flu.

The current antiviral drugs (Tamiflu/Relenza) will likely have no effect on a mutated version of the current virus. I have now heard that the “swine” flu vaccine (H1N1) provided by the government will most likely be available in January of next year.

I do believe that the current situation can be viewed as a “dry run” for our government and us. If you believe that you will be looked after, that current measures have been adequate, and a forthcoming pharmaceutical antiviral drug will take care of a possible flu outbreak in the future, then fine. I hope you are correct. If you believe that you must be self-sufficient, then I believe that homeopathy is your best bet. It has more than proven itself to any practicing homeopath whether they are a licensed doctor or layman treating their family ailments. You must only understand the proper way to apply it and hopefully I have given you some insight as to this throughout these posts.

I don’t believe anyone knows what will be the outcome of this current flu or whether it will mutate as did La Grippe of 1918. I do know that probability says a pandemic will eventually test our resolve (sooner than later). You can see what past pandemics have caused and you should be well aware of what necessities need your attention in this event.

Sorry if I seem overly cautious, but I have witnessed the frenzy first hand with this current “dry run” and it was not even warranted. A truly virulent epidemic should not take the world by surprise, but it will.

For those that have asked, the course can be found here.

If you don’t think homeopathy works, you don’t know how homeopathy works.