Then let me show you my must-have remedies and how they can help you take care of you and your family the holistic and natural way!

Aconitus Napellus: the key notes of this remedy are: “sudden, shock and scary”, so remember the three S! Anything that starts really quickly, like a cold or an accident or a bad cough that wakes us up in the night. Think Aconite for croup in the night that is better for fresh air or sudden high fever. Any traumatic events also call for Aconite, even from the past, if they are still bothering us. One important remedy to use for PTSD, for example.

Allium Cepa: this is no other than the humble onion. And when you think of onions, what comes to mind? Burning and itchy eyes and tears! That’s why Allium Cepa is a great remedy for hay fever and allergies when there is a lot of sneezing or colds that make our eyes watery and sneeze a lot.

Antomonium Tartaricum: this remedy has an affinity with respiratory system and it can be very effective for mucus rattling in the chest that is difficult to bring up. Children in particular are more and more susceptible to coughs these days and it takes ages to go away! The mucus is thick and white and the child has difficulty breathing, because there is so much of it! Also another useful remedy for whooping cough and chicken pox.

Apis: I will never forget the first time I tried this remedy on my son! He was about six years old and had just gone outside with his scooter, but five minutes later he ran into the house screaming, from a bee or wasp sting and his hand was red and swollen already! I popped a pellet of Apis 30c in this mouth and waited…I didn’t have to wait long, because not even half an hour later, there was no trace of the sting on my son’s hand, he was happy again and went back outside to play! Basically, any condition that has symptoms of stinging, burning, swelling with redness, no thrist and better for open air would require this remedy. Very good for cystitis and hives caused by certain foods, like berries or shellfish.

Argentum Nitricum: this remedy reminds of Chicken Little. Remember the story? “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” This is the remedy for irrational fears, the ones that sound ridiculous even to the person having them, but they do cause a lot of anxiety, with diarrhea. When I was at Uni, I was always a mess before every exam; I remember one time on the way to the exam I was convinced I had appendicitis because of a slighth pain in my side and it was really hard for me to stay calm and not call 999…Palpitation can also occur. This is a great remedy for stage fright, exam funk and fear of public speaking. Cravings for sweets and chocolate is very marked. It is also a great remedy for colic in babies, along with Chamomilla.

Arnica Montana: whatever you do, never go without this remedy! I can’t tell you how many times this remedy has helped my kids when they were younger and very lively! My son in particular always seemed to have a knack for hurting his head every time he fell, there were some scary moments! Arnica is fantastic at absorbing the blood under the skin, which is what happens when we get a bruise or a haematoma. Any sports injuries can be helped by this remedy or the muscle pain we sometimes get after the gym for excercising too much. Even in cases of flu, when the predominant feeling is “bruised all over” and we don’t want anyone to touch us. Fantastic remedy for jet lag too!

Arsenicum Album: This is another “never leave home without this” remedy. Especially when on holiday, eating exotic food or not-so-great-food that gives us food poisoning, this is a life saver! The symptoms are those associated with acidity and “corrosive feeling”. There is great thirst for small sips of cold water (that can cause vomiting immediately after), stomach cramps, great restlessness and anxiety about not getting better. Arsenicum is also very effective in cases of colds, where the nose is constantly running, clear mucus that irritates the upper lip. Hay fever that require this remedy too, with sneezing and difficulties breathing.

Belladonna: throbbing, pulsating, redness, sudden onset are the characteristics of this remedy. Very useful in sudden fevers that small children often have: their eyes are wide and shining with high fever, but no perspiration. The face is typically red and hot, but the hands and feet are cold. Very good for throat infections or ear infections.

Bellis Perennis: It has an affinity for the female pelvic area and it should really taken routinely after childbirth. Any type of trauma of the flesh: surgery, childbirth, where the wound is deep. It can be used together with Arnica.

Bryonia: very common remedy to take for cold or flu symptoms, particularly headaches. The key feature of this remedy is that the person does not want to move at all, because any movement causes pain, particularly above the eyes or there is a feeling of pressure on the eye balls. There is a bruised feeling that feels better for pressure or lying on the painful side. When the cold goes down to the lungs and there is cough, this is a good remedy to try, to avoid the condition getting worse. I find Bryonia alternated with Rhus Tox very effective in cases of flu.

Calendula: this is the very familiar garden marigold, the beautiful yellow daisy, I love it! This is the remedy of cooks and chefs, because it is so effective in cases of cuts and burns! Arnica should not be given when the skin is broken, but Calendula speeds up the “knitting” process of the skin cells and soothes burns. It is also an effective antiseptic, which helps in cases of open wounds. You can find it in cream form, but homeopathic remedies are always more effective when taken internally.

Cantharis: Cantharis is also known as Spanish fly, which is a beautiful, emerald green bug. If you touch this bug, your skin will be burning and painful in no time, because the insect releases a very irritating substance as self defence. For this reason, think about this remedy for cystitis, when the pain is burning and very painful, rather than just stinging (as in Apis). Second degree burning and sunburn also benefits from this remedy.

Chamomilla: everybody knows that this is the best remedy for teething pain in babies! It is also very good for colics, when the whole picture fits. The child is extremely irritable and the only thing that calms them down is carrying them in your arms and rocking them. It can be very helpful to mothers during labour pain: the woman who is in pain and gets really angry with everyone around her,no matter what you do or say to help.

Ferrum Phos: usually taken in tissue salt form, 6x potency. It is very effective in cases of hose bleed that is recurrent (like Phos) and the initial stages of a cold or cough that has unknown origin and doesn’t react to anything else. It is also indicated at the end of an illness, when the person is still tired and weak.

Gelsenium: “drowsy and dopey” are typical symptoms of this remedy. It is the classic flu remedy: tiredness, heavyness, chills, must lie down, shaking with the chills. Trembling is a characteristic symptoms for this remedy; that is why it is effective in cases of anticipatory anxiety, where shaking is the main symptom. For some reason of the main fears is “fear of the dentist”, which is something I wish I had known when my mother was alive, because she was terrified of going to the dentist!

Hypericum: this remedy is commonly known as St. John’s Wort and it has been recently recognised as a natural anti-depressant. Well, homeopathy has been using this remedy for over two hundred years and its properties go way beyond that of anti-depressant! because it does have an affinity with the nervous system, it is also very effective as pain-killer in cases where nerves are involved: toothache, trapped nerve, sciatica, as well as anxiety.

Ignatia amara: a must-have remedy for cases of grief and emotional trauma. The person needing this remedy can have very “random” symptoms, emotional ups and downs. It affects appetite: either turning to food for comfort or turning away from food altogether. Young girls suffering from bulimia or anorexia often benefit from this remedy.

Kali bichromicum: this is a great remedy to clear the sinusis of stuck mucus, that is thick, yellow and green and is difficult to shift from the lungs.

Ledum: Ledum is the first remedy to think of after wound from a piercing object, like a nail. It is also a good idea to give Ledum right after vaccine jags or insect bites. It can even be very useful to treat dogs from flea bites. It is basically about “trauma”: a puncture or a bite.

Nux Vomica: most people remember this remedy as an effective help for hangovers! But there is more to it than that: indigestion, nausea, gastric flu. On the emotional side, this remedy suits people who are high achievers, but easily irritated and with a tendency to eat too much rich foods or drink too much coffee or alcohol.

Phosphorus: this is a well known remedy for nose bleeds and in general when blood doesn’t coagulate. It has also an affinity with the lungs and it can help in cases of viral pneumonia, with hard, racking cough that hurts the chest and burns in the throat. The person who needs this remedy is usually very thristy for very cold drinks, even likes to chew on ice.

Pulsatilla: this is usually considered a “child remedy”, for children that are clingy and tearful and want to be cuddled, especially when they are not well. This is only part of the story. It is a very useful remedy in cases of colds, when the mucus is thick and green, the person needs fresh air and is worse in a stuffy and warm room; in cases of sinusitis, with stuffy noses and difficulty breathing. It is very useful during pregnancy for morning sickness.

Rhus Tox: Poison Ivy will make you very itchy and sore if you come in touch with it. That is why this remedy is very useful for skin conditions where the exactly those symptoms are present. It is one of the main remedies for chicken pox. The person is better for movement and heat and worse for damp and wet weather. Conditions like arthritis can be ameliorated by this. In the early stages of flu, where there is stiffness of muscle and joints, this remedy is very useful in combination with Bryonia.

Sepia: every mother on the planet should have a good stash of this remedy at all times! This is a life-saver and sometimes a marriage-saver too! The over-worked mother that has a full time job, has to look after kids and a husband will understand what I am talking about! Sometimes it all becomes too much, to the point where the mother just wants to be left alone and will snap at family members, shout and scream in irritation, then feel terribly guilty and cry! It is a great remedy to take for PMS and when menses are too heavy and painful.

Silica: this remedy is essentially a “purifier”. This means that it is very useful when you want to expel something from the body, like a splinter from a finger, for example, but also after taking antibiotics. It is a great remedy for children who are often ill with ear infections or enlarged tonsils. The child is usually very “mild” but with a delicate constitution. Very helpful to speed up recovery after a bone fracture, to strengthen the bone (together with Symphytum).

Sulphur: very good remedy for lots of skin conditions, like eczema, where there is burning, itching and rashes. Worse for heat. It used to be given routinely as first remedy in the past, because it has always been considered a good remedy to “flush out” the system. Homeopaths don’t do this anymore, however, it is still good as last remedy to get rid of a stubborn cold.