My husband had surgery on his big right toe. He had an ingrown toenail which was completely removed and the growth plate cut back. The surgery was done almost 2 1/2 weeks ago on Friday. The toe was healing OK last Monday, but the doc wanted to keep the stitches in. My husband being a carpenter and feeling OK went back to work this past week. Today when he went in to the doc to have stitches removed they were quite concerned because of redness and swelling of toe. Also, there is a small hole (probably from the suture) that is open to the bone. He is on an antibiotic, doing epsom salt soaks and putting antibiotic cream in that hole. I have been giving him Hepar Sulph today and wonder if there is something else I should give him instead. Thanks in advance for your help.

I have to say that I think there is very little point in giving your husband any remedy at all. If he is taking antibiotics and also putting antibiotic cream on the wound, then a remedy is unlikely to work through the antibiotics so it would be a waste of a remedy. Also, it is highly unlikely that you would be able to tell what is working.

Now, it would have been a different matter if you had got to your husband before the antibiotics - a good remedy would have worked well.

The only thing you could do is to get him to substitute the antibiotic cream for some Tea Tree Oil, which is a natural antiseptic. If he is taking antibiotics internally, then there is no need for the cream too.

From what you have said, I don't think that Hepar Sulph is the correct remedy anyway. Normally, the wounds of Hep Sulph are very painful to touch and the people are normally very chilly and very irritable/angry.

Sorry to be negative about this, but with all those antibiotics around I really think you are wasting remedies rather.

It would be better to get your husband to go and see a classical homeopath after this has cleared up so that he can get a good constitutional remedy that will help him more.

Also, remember to make sure that he either eats some live yogurt or takes Acidophilis capsules to re-balance the gut flora after taking antibiotics. One can often end up with stomach problems after taking antibiotics as it knocks out the good gut flora as well as everything else.

Thanks Sarah for the input. I agree about the antibiotics, but I was hoping there was something that might work with them. I wish we had a good homeopath near us because I would work with them exclusively. I am just not as remedy savvy as I would like to be and I get scared-my husband is a self-employed carpenter and when he doesn't work we don't have any money coming in. Sorry to sound so whiney! Dr. Panos was our doctor when our kids were young and I always trusted her.

I posted this ? on another board and someone there suggested pyrogenium 6C and echinacea 6C used 4 times a day. Maybe I shouldn't even bother trying to find them locally. I am going to have my husband switch to the tea tree, though. I don't know if he will go for stopping the oral antibiotics. He may, though; we have seen some amazing things happen with homeopathics.

Hi,

Don't whatever you do get him to stop taking the oral antibiotics. Once you have started a course you do need to finish them. I only really meant to stop the antibiotic cream and switch to the Tea Tree. It is just that antibiotic cream in addition seems a little like overkill.

I would disagree about Pyrogen. Pyrogen is not a remedy to be used lightly and is indicated in cases of severe sepsis which from the sound of it, your husband does not have. The last time I heard of someone using Pyrogen was in someone with an abdominal sepsis who was extremely ill.

Echinacea is a boost to the immune system, but rather than taking it as a remedy, perhaps he should take it in tincture form for a while. At least if you use the herbal equivalent it is ok and you need not be more specific as is the case with a remedy.

By all means, substitute Tea Tree Oil and use Echinacea tincture, but DO complete the full course of antibiotics and then take Acidophilis or eat live yogurt afterwards to re-balance the gut flora.

To be homeopathic a remedy needs to match the symptoms and it sounds as if Pyrogen and Echinaea do not. It is also better to take one remedy that covers all the symptoms rather than a mixture. By doing this you would have no idea which remedy is working.

Good luck

Sarah, thanks so much for your kind reply. I can not find either of those remedies locally, anyway, and do not have them in my own personal little stock pile. Should I give him the acidophilis when he is completely done with the antibiotic or give it to him during the course but a few hours out from when he takes the antibiotic? I don't want to mess up the antibiotic as I want it to work-since he's already on it. I have Echinacea in capsule form, not tincure. Would that work? I'm sure I could get the tincture at the health food store if that would be better. Thanks, again.

Also, is there a good directory of homeopathic doctors somewhere on this website? We live in Ohio, USA.

Dear Thr, dear Members

I agree with Sarah-I's post and want to add from my experience, that Antibiotics can be stopped working when taking homeoapthic remedies simultaniously.

In the event, that the antibiotics are left off and sufficient time is given, that the process shows its true nature, then the case has to be taken in detail.

There are a number of remedies which may suit, depending on the symptom picture:
ACON, ASAF, ARS, BELL, CHAM, HEP, MERC, MEZ, NIT-AC, PHOS, PHOS-AC, PULS, RHUS-T, SIL, SULPH.

__________________
Hans Weitbrecht
Consultant Homeopath

Hi,

You can take Echinacea in tablet form, but the reason I suggested the tincture is that it is better absorbed by the body.

Acidophilis is a mixture of the good bacteria that naturally colonize the gut, so will do no harm to the antibiotics. Should be ok if he takes the antibiotic at different times to the Acidophilis. Probably only need a couple of these daily or it is probably better to wait until he has finished the course and then take them to help re-colonize what the antibiotics have killed off.

I think there are sites that list American based homeopaths. Not sure whether there is an American Society, but there is a website that lists ND's who practice homeopathy. Dana Ullman's site might be a good starting point, or http://www.homeopathyhome.com, a site that list homeopathic resources. I think you can also search for practitioner in Britain and the US.

Anyway, hope this helps and good luck?



Sarah