The Natural Medicine Guide For Travel & Home by Richard Pitt, Review

published in Dr Isaac Golden. 5/1/14

The Natural Medicine Guide for Travel and Home

Pitt is ambitious in offering a book with goalsof describingnatural remedies for home use, but also of providing a valuable reference for remedy use during local and international travel. He could have produced a book which did neither particularly well, but has cleverly used a Chapter structure and condition descriptions which make this book both a comprehensive compendium for home use as well as one of the first resources to pack before travelling.

The book title says “natural medicine” because although Pitt is an experienced homeopath and always describes “homeopathic care” for each condition, he also describes “general care” and often “herbal care” (which sometimes includes nutritional guidance) which makes the reference more broadly useful. So although it is not exclusively a homeopathic text it still is of potential value not only to lay people who rely on homeopathy, but also to homeopathic practitioners who want a reliable reference to the prevention and treatment of conditions they would not be used to in Australian conditions.

The book has 18 Chapters. The first three Chapters talk about natural medicine in general, and how to prepare and use natural medicines for home treatment and for travel. The next Chapter covers Accidents, Injuries and Trauma in sufficient detail to allow appropriate treatment is most acute situations. Eight Chapters then follow looking at general conditions from emotions to common infectious diseases, and then from digestion to skin. The next three Chapters are directed specifically towards diseases that may be encountered during overseas travel and a fourth looks at immunisation options especially for travel. The final two Chapters outline remedy lists and other resources and references. The fact that the information given in the middle eight Chapters is also of potential value whilst travelling enhances the usefulness of the entire book.

On a personal note, I can attest to the value of the information in the four travel Chapters. The coverage of diseases is both thorough and well organised. Pitt initially and appropriately focuses on Dengue, Malaria and Typhoid, but then examines 20 other infectious diseases and finally five tick bite diseases. During recent research I had a call to use both Colin Lessell’sThe World Traveller’s Manual of Homeopathy as well as Pitt’s book. I found them to be complementary and using both together gave a near faultless resource. This is a great compliment to Pitt as Lessell’s book is, in my opinion, a classic in its field. The fourth travel Chapter is titled “Prevention” and considers immunisation options. Pitt reviews briefly the vaccine and homoeoprophylaxis options and describes both options when discussing individual diseases. His advice is thoughtful, and responsible, and he does not shrink from a conversation that is, for some, simply too controversial to have.

So Pitt’s book can be recommended to one’s patients with confidence. It provides an excellent first-aid reference for home use, and is of particular value for families deciding to travel internationally. It provides sufficient information for both purposes. It is also an excellent reference text for practitioners wishing to provide their patients with expert advice about overseas travel. I commend Richard Pitt for a job well done.