As we all know, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” often comes with its fair share of headaches. So today I’m going to talk about all of the little ailments and acutes that can come into play when you are traveling on vacation or having family come in from out of town. 

I’ve noticed a pattern in my own life that whenever the holidays come around—that’s when I tend to get sick. It’s like my body knows that I’m about to have a break from my busy schedule and decides it is time to get sick. And this pattern comes with an added misery because nobody wants to be sick when they are supposed to be enjoying their vacation!

So I’ve thought through a few different situations that can arise during the holidays and want to share some awesome homeopathic remedies and other tips to get you through them!

Gelsemium

Let’s start with an emotional one. If you are here reading, it’s probably because you have some level of interest in homeopathy—or at least are more natural-medicine oriented. And when the holidays come around, it can be really hard to be around family that doesn’t share that same mindset.

I was just talking to a friend, and she was telling me about how her daughter had recently had a really high fever. It only lasted for about a day, but it was up in the 104-ish degree Fahrenheit zone. Her dad was in town visiting, and he was more than a little bit upset to see that his grandchild had a fever, and my friend was not giving her daughter any fever-reducing medication.

And I hear stories like this over and over and over. Situations where grandparents are concerned and get upset because we are doing something they don’t understand. We are learning that some of their methods or ideas about health, such as putting too much trust in the pharmaceutical industry, have not helped us and we want to do something different. And it’s really hard for them to understand that shift, so I try to be as empathetic as I can.

If you see yourself in this story, then Gelsemium can be a really great remedy to consider for anticipatory anxiety. This is for when your anticipation is high, and you are nervous about how your encounter with family is going to go (this can be for any reason, not just health differences). Wondering “What are we going to talk about?” “Am I going to have to defend my health choices?” “Will topics such as organic, gluten-free, or pesticides come up?” 

Another common symptom, along with the anticipatory anxiety, is loose stool or diarrhea. If I ever have both of these symptoms, Gelsemium is always a dead ringer for me!

Nux vomica

Nux vomica is a great holiday-time remedy. In fact, I would argue, Nux vomica might be the best holiday remedy because it covers a variety of situations that are very relevant to the holidays. I’m talking about overeating, overindulgence of alcohol, overstimulation, and traveling. Essentially, it comes into play when ‘too much of a good thing’ happens to you.

While living in Budapest for three years, my kids didn’t have an opportunity to dress up or partake in any of the fun Halloween activities that they love. So when we returned to the US and finally had the chance to do Halloween again, my daughter went all out. Now, usually, we have a tradition where my kids can keep a limited amount of candy and then get to trade the rest for a toy, but after three years, I had forgotten about this tradition and did not intervene with the candy. Long story short—my daughter ate way too much candy!

The next day, she said to me, “Mom, I have the worst stomach ache EVER.” And I knew immediately she needed Nux. So I gave her the remedy—and replaced her candy with real food—and she felt so much better. 

Nux vomica can also be great for digestive problems in general. Think alcohol, rich foods, coffee, sugar—all of those really stimulating substances. You’ll often have sour or bitter burping, gas, and/or cramping after eating. For modalities, generally, warmth makes a Nux vomica situation better. This can look like sips of a warm drink, a warm compress, or a desire to be bundled up in blankets.

Tabacum

Do you remember watching those old cartoons where a character would smoke tobacco in the form of a cigar and then their skin would turn green because they were so nauseous? That symptom picture is basically the Tabacum state. When we apply it to traveling, Tabacum is a great remedy for the person who is suffering from motion sickness and is feeling very nauseous and queasy.

I had a friend once who was going on a cruise, and she luckily brought her homeopathy kit with her. At the very first port with a connection, she texted me saying everyone on the ship was sick because they had a storm the first day, and it was expected to continue. She was in a panic, wanting to know what remedy to take. Based on the situation and symptoms, my first recommendation was Tabacum. She said it was amazing how much it helped!

I do want to point out that I’m referring to one-off, acute instances of motion sickness that aren’t in play during your everyday life. If you are someone who is dealing with severe car sickness that is affecting your everyday life, you likely have a chronic underlying condition and should seek out treatment from a professional homeopath. 

When my son was younger, he would get nauseous almost instantly in the car, often to the point of vomiting. I tried several common remedies with no luck. Finally, I had a professional homeopath take his case, and the homeopath selected a remedy that matched my son’s entire symptom picture, and the amount of relief he had was incredible! It was a deeper issue that needed professional treatment.

Calms Forte

For my final topic, I wanted to discuss difficulty sleeping. And I’m going to go a little bit outside of the box because, while I am usually a strong advocate for using a single remedy at a time, Calms Forte is actually a combo remedy from the Highland brand.

I used to have extreme insomnia. Like, cry your eyes out. I feel so bad for you. You are going to go insane, Paola, kind of insomnia. While I sleep great now, I still think my body has side effects from the trauma of those days. It was awful and dark, and I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy.

And when I was at my worst, Calms Forte helped A LOT. It wasn’t consistent, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a long-term solution, but until I found a wonderful professional homeopath who helped me untangle the whole web, it was what got me through the days.

And as an added tip, while not homeopathic, I always bring a ziplock bag of dried goji berries when traveling. If you’re like me, you probably can never sleep the first night in a hotel—why are the pillows so big? I feel like I’m sleeping sitting up! But goji berries are amazing. I can’t tell you how many people I know who have gotten off their prescription sleep medication after I recommended goji berries to them.

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When it comes to holiday illnesses, it is so much better to be prepared with a plan in place beforehand, rather than scrambling to find a solution at the last minute. And if you have my handbook or my curriculum, you should be prepared! They cover the 19 most commonly used remedies for everyday illnesses and acute situations.

Chris C. shared how homeopathy helped resolve a literal holiday headache:

“Last night I had the most horrific headache. Normally, going to bed for a nap or for the night makes them go away. Sadly nope. In the middle of the night, I woke up to go through my homeopathic repertory to figure it out, because sleep wasn’t happening. 

Symptoms:

Extreme pain at the occiput ie, based on the skull.

Not wanting to move my head, the rest of my body was restless

Thirsty – didn’t realize this was a symptom til I was reading the suggested remedies.

Result:

Turns out I had a Bryonia Alba headache. Took it (between 2 and 4am) and fell asleep. My stress tracker on my watch showed I went from extreme stress to low to no stress. Woot! Took another when I woke up, when the husband woke for work. Passed back out for another 2 hours to no pain and the knowledge that my body finally got some energy. Homeopathy works!”

Again, if you have my storybook/handbook and/or my curriculum, you can be prepared for any acute situation that arises. And while you’re at it, grab my Homeopathy Heroes card game to put in your kids’ stockings. Or gift one to a friend! It’s great for the friend who enjoys playing games and needs that first step to get introduced to homeopathy or the friend who’s already using homeopathy. Merry Christmas!

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Evie and the Secret of Small Things 1-12 Curriculum