Again and again I receive enquiries from students and patients who want to know how to deal with mastitis. Breast gland inflammations can be extremely painful and can greatly impair both an infant’s ability to feed and the mother’s well‑being.
The effectiveness of homeopathy in treating this predominantly bacterial inflammation is well documented in the homeopathic literature. Numerous materia medica and repertories deal with the subject. As long as the correct remedy is prescribed, one can be confident of a successful treatment – and this has been the case for 200 years.
Indeed, a mother treated for a breast inflammation at the end of the 18th century would have taken one of the three remedies that are still successfully used by many breastfeeding mothers today.
Like good, honest food, genuine remedies endure for centuries – without chemical patch‑ups or pharmaceutical gimmicks. They are simple, effective and safe. Here I would like to introduce the three most important homeopathic remedies for treating mastitis:
1. Belladonna 30
2. Phytolacca 30
3. Hepar sulph 6
1. Belladonna is indicated when the breast is very red, hot, swollen and extremely painful and the symptoms are made worse by jarring, for example when the mother knocks herself. Often the affected areas look very shiny and fever is a common accompaniment. In short, the patient shows the symptoms we describe in homeopathy as a Belladonna picture.
If this picture fits, take Belladonna 30 every 3–5 hours (usually 4 pellets, please see the package leaflet!). In an acute illness the homeopathic remedy is taken until a clear improvement is seen. After that the remedy is stopped!
If no improvement occurs after five doses, a different remedy must be chosen.
2. Phytolacca 30 - if the symptoms are not quite so intense and extreme, then Phytolacca 30 is very likely the appropriate remedy. Phytolacca should be taken in the same way as Belladonna, i.e. every 3–4 hours until an improvement occurs. Again I would like to stress that the remedy must no longer be taken as soon as the patient feels better.
3. Hepar sulph 6 - regardless of the current symptom picture, Hepar sulph 6 has proved useful in resolving a breast inflammation and can be taken alongside one of the other two remedies twice daily. Hepar sulph is also administered at three‑ to four‑hour intervals, but should not be taken at the same time as the prescribed single remedy; take it in the intervals between doses.
This treatment protocol will in most cases successfully resolve even the most painful mastitis and helps prevent further inflammation. Should, unexpectedly, another inflammation occur, you are prepared and can act accordingly.
Homeopathic remedies are not only effective and affordable, but also safe for mother and child. They are easy to use and have, in many cases, helped to avoid antibiotic treatment.
Benefit from your knowledge
Of course you can treat yourself! The responsibility for the welfare of the family traditionally lies with mothers. I still believe that becoming a mother is a woman’s greatest privilege. We can and should accept this responsibility as something tangible and powerful.
I would like to encourage you to network with other mothers and to stand up for our rights as mothers, to fight to care for our families in the way we think is right.
We campaign for the autonomous raising of our children – without industrially produced foods and without synthetic medicines.
That means: with homeopathy and a lot of common sense.
Please pass on your knowledge to other mothers and grandmothers.
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This article was published on www.interhomeopathy.org
Photos: © istockphoto.com/stock-photo-16081421-breastfeeding-portrait - vgajic
Category: Cases
Keywords: Mastitis
Remedies: Belladonna 30, Phytolacca 30, Hepar sulph 6c
