Adam Sinicki The lymph nodes are tiny bean shaped organs distributed throughout the body and linked by lymphatic vessels. They contain white blood cells forming part of the immune system and act as filters for foreign particles. This makes them an important part of the functioning of the immune system, but also means that they can act as indicators of other condition, becoming swollen in a range of conditions from throat infections to cancer. The shape of the lymph nodes is in fact used for cancer staging and determining a prognosis. Some diseases will affect the lymph nodes in a specific pattern again helping with their diagnosis. The lymph nodes are located in the groin, on the sides of the neck, under the armpits and below the abdomen, so patients suffering from infection or other illnesses should check these areas for swelling.
Swollen lymph nodes then are more of a symptom than a condition in themselves. This makes them a good target for homeopathy which focuses on individual symptoms rather than an infection or illness, as such the homeopathic remedy for lymph nodes is becoming increasingly popular as is homeopathy in general.
Homeopathy is an alternative form of medicine developed by Sammuel Hahnemann in 1796. He originally created the idea upon noticing that the medicine used to treat malaria would create symptoms very similar to malaria when given to healthy patients. From this he surmised that all effective remedies should produce similar effects to the illness itself; the theory being that this would encourage the body to fight both the medicine and the original cause of the symptoms. For this reason, when using a homeopathic remedy for lymph nodes, it’s common to experience a slight worsening of the swelling before the condition begins to improve. Meanwhile homeopaths often advise that to go ‘against’ the symptoms with traditional medication will ‘drive’ the illness into the internal organs and that only homeopathic treatments that work ‘with’ the symptoms can work.
The other distinctive feature of homeopathic remedies is that they are heavily watered down. The reason for this is that worsening the symptoms of most illnesses would be dangerous and unpleasant for the patient. You would not for example seek to increase someone’s fever if it was already high.
Thus homeopathic mixtures are heavily diluted, normally using distilled water (though alcohol, sugar and lactose are often used). In homeopathy it is actually thought that the more a remedy is watered down, the more potent it will be in treating the condition. In most homeopathic remedies the original active ingredient has been watered down to such an extent that not even a single molecule exists in the final medicine. Hahnemann believed that the water retained properties of that original ingredient through its ‘vital force’, and later this has been suggested to work via a memory system within the water.
Homeopaths also treat every case of an illness as unique and look very precisely at the symptoms as well as the individual. All illness is thought to come from an innate susceptibility rather than foreign invasion and for this reason the characteristics of the individual – their personality, preferences and history – will be taken into account when selecting a homeopathic remedy for lymph nodes. However as a general rule a homeopath will likely prescribe Berryllium Metallicum or Calcrea Carbonica.
Homeopathy is slowly gaining momentum and widespread acceptance in the West, to the point where even traditional doctors and nurses recommend the remedies and chemists stock them. This is surprising given that homeopathy is considered a ‘pseudoscience’ and does not subject itself to the rigorous objective testing required to be a mainstream science. At the same time there is no evidence for the existence of a ‘vital force’ nor of a memory function in water (and the molecular makeup of water makes it highly unlikely). Critics then argue that homeopathic remedies are in no way different from plane water or sugar (anatomically at least this is true), and studies testing the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies have found them to be no more useful than placebos. While the experiences of individuals will vary and some find homeopathy helpful, a homeopathic remedy for lymph nodes should not be used in the place of traditional medicine and those suffering should seek the opinion of a health expert.
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I just wanted to know a remedy for my swollen lymph node. But no I had to read the whole article which I chose not to do. It is always the same, one reads and reads and somewhere stuck in the article is maybe a tip. Why don't you put the answer at the beginning then go on the explanation, because if someone is searching for a homeopathic answer they are already at least somewhat familiar with what homeopathy is. In conclusion this article did help, (in the 6th paragraph) but was also irritating as always.
I share frustration at these sights. One needs quick, easy, clear information, not the entire history of homeopathy or whatever. Give us the straight facts, including possible avenues for purchase. Remember, doctors–natural and mainstream–are utterly failing a lot of people. According to the National Institutes of Health one in three people has a genetic or epigenetic illness that clinical medicine is REFUSING to acknowledge or treat. So, unless we help ourselves, what do we do?
Wow, this is an incredible ignorant article about homeopathy. The authors understanding of homeopathy is so comically ignorant that the rest of the advice is questionable.
Homeopathic medicines are not “diluted because it will reduce the worsening of the symptoms”. In general homeopathy is not addressing the symptoms; it is addressing the underlying cause so the effect on the symptoms is not that important – what matters is the improvement of underlying health.
The medicines are certainly diluted with water but they are successed and potentized making the further diluted medicine more potent – which also means that it is more likely to cause an apparent increase in symptoms. It is a complex matter to understand the correct potency determination which cannot be discussed in a few words here.
Saying that homeopathy is not subject to “rigorous testing” is a canard to say that basically homeopathic medications are not subjected to the precise multi-phase clinical trials for allopathic drugs that modern medicines are subject to.
That certainly does not mean they are not subject to testing – it is not possible to include a homeopathic drug in the pharmacopeia without testing. It just isn’t the identical testing which the author considers “rigorous”. Most popular homeopathic medicines are over 100 years old and have been subject to more testing and field use than all drugs. The author just doesn’t like that testing that’s all.
Further, modern clinical trials are just a form of statistical analysis which I question the rigorousness of to begin with. Drugs like Vioxx followed the full modern testing protocol and were found to be defective. Because all a statistical method does is give a qualified probability of achieving a specific clinical goal. It cannot meaningfully measure a complete comprehensive return to health.
So yeah, use modern medicines if you want to. But there isn’t a need to come up with arbitrary delusional arguments against older approaches that people are using because they can see the evidence with their own eyes that they are working. Let people choose rather than pseudoscientists.