Influenza is a viral disease that is more common in winter, and because a viral infection causes it, antibiotics are ineffective. Homeopathy is totally safe and can help you recover from the flu and cold symptoms of sore throat and blocked nose much faster. You may have already heard about Anas Barbariae 200c for flu prevention! This is the first homeopathic remedy for flu to think off if you are coming down with it and are unsure which homeopathic remedies to take.

​The main symptoms include tiredness and weakness, a blocked nose, body aches, headache, high fever, sore throat and a chesty cough; some of these symptoms can be confused with a cold but can be distinguished because the intensity is usually much higher in the flu virus.

Some people may experience a sore throat and swollen glands, but this symptom will be less severe than the other ones.  If you have the flu, these symptoms tend to come suddenly and are intense, especially the body aches.

Although most people feel better in a week’s time, the general feeling of weakness and cough can last up to 3 weeks. For lingering coughs, have a look at these homeopathic remedies.

Both colds and flu have different stages where the person will experience different symptoms. It depends on where you are in the process, that you can start to look into these homeopathic remedies to get relief.

Homeopathy for colds and flu is completely safe for toddlers,  pregnant women or elderly people.

​Look at the different stages below to find the best remedy for you.

BANERJI PROTOCOL

For the first symptoms of coming down with a cold:

• Aconite200+Bryonia30 every 3 hours

FIRST-STAGE COLDS AND FLU AND THE BEST HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES

During the first stage, you know you are coming down with something; you either start feeling very tired, with a headache, or simply start sneezing. Your temperature may shoot up at this point!
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Aconite 200 : symptoms may start after exposure to cold wind, dry cold weather or exposure to drafts while in perspiration. Sudden onset of high fever and feeling very restless and anxious.

The patient is worse at night. Although the face may be red and flashed, the face becomes pale on rising up from the bed. Face alternating red and pale. The patient may be very thirsty for cold water.
 
Ferrum-phos 200: the feeling of tiredness and inability to move about and pains in the joints that are worst by any movement.

Sore, bruised pain in the body. Wrists ache and lose the power to grasp. May have a fever but not as hot as Belladonna or Aconite. The face may be flushed.
 
Belladonna30, 200: symptoms are sudden and very violent, developing a very high fever[39.9C] where the patient is very hot to touch and looks very red on his face and may be delirious with the fever.

Although the patient is burning hot, he may have cold hands and feet. The patient may have red glassy eyes and dilated pupils. Pains are throbbing and burning, and the patient is not usually thirsty. He feels worse in the afternoon.
 
Sometimes, these remedies manage to abort the whole process and other times, they help with the initial symptoms.

However, if more than 24-48 hours have passed since the first symptoms, it is unlikely that the above remedies will help. If symptoms remain after the first 48 hours, the following remedies will be more helpful.

If you are also experiencing inflammation of the tonsils and sore throat at this point, check my blog for other remedies to add.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES FOR THE SECOND STAGE OF COLDS

At this point, you know if you have the flu or a cold, and you will be glad to be reading this blog for homeopathic remedies for the flu! The symptoms are full-on, and you are confined to be in your sofa feeling miserable. You may have gone off food completely and feel very congested.

​Allium Cepa 30 : A streaming cold with much sneezing and watery eyes. Eyes feel burning and smarting and are sensitive to light. 

The watery discharge from the nose is burning and can make the upper lip and nose raw.  All symptoms are better in the open air, and the person feels worse in the evening and in a warm room.
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Mercurius Sol 30: cold with alternating sweats and chills worse at night. Watery discharge. Inflamed throat and glands.

Sweetish, metallic taste in the mouth, and you may have mouth ulcers.

Arsenicum Album 30: very restless and anxious, thin watery discharge that burns. My nose is blocked, sneezing without relief. Intense thirst, little and often.

Feels better with hot applications, hot food and drink. Worse at night and in cold air.

The head is hot, but the body is cold. Maybe feeling a bit breathless from a dry or wheezing cough.

Pulsatilla 30: this is for colds with a lot of congestion and a thick discharge that can be green-yellow.

The nasal congestion tends to be on alternate sides of the nose and is worse inside the house but better in the fresh air. Loss of smell with the cold. Thirstlessness.

The person feels miserable and wants sympathy and comfort.

Nux-Vomica 30: the nose feels blocked but is running at one side.  It may alternate between a watery discharge and being blocked.

The discharges tend to flow during the day and in open-air but are obstructed at night.

​The person may be very irritable with the cold.

There is a lot of abortive sneezing.
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Kali-bi 30: this is for thick, stringy, lumpy discharges and congestion at the root of the nose. Tough and elastic plugs.

Complete obstruction of the nose. Sneezing is worse in the morning.

Tickling in the larynx with a cough worse when eating.

For coughs that remain and are really bothering you, I have put together some remedies to help you deal with those annoying coughs.

BANERJI PROTOCOL TIP

The Banerjies use:

• Arsenicum Album 6c for sneezing as often as needed

• Sanguinaria 200 twice daily for nose congestion and sinus pain

You can alternate these remedies with any other.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES FOR THE FLU

Gelsemium 200: this is one of the most common homeopathic flu remedies needed. This is a more established flu state that came gradually.

The person is weak, tired, and muscles ache throughout the body and feel so weak that he may tremble. He feels drowsy and dizzy, his eyelids feel heavy, and he can hardly open them.

The person feels cold and may have shivers up and down the spine. In general, the person feels very heavy and dull.
 
Eupatorium perfoliatum 200: this remedy has much soreness and aching of the whole body. Bone pains; he feels like bones are breaking or broken.

He is usually very thirsty and may be vomiting after drinking. A cough hurts the head and chest; the person feels like holding the chest when coughing.

This remedy may be useful in the early stages.
 
Rhus-tox 30:  the patient is very restless and has aching limbs with the stiffness of the joints; he feels like he must move all the time to ease the pain and feels worse by being still in bed.

The flu may come or be worsened by cold and dampness.  He feels better from the warmth and stretching of the limbs.

The fever is accompanied by bone and muscle aches, and the person may develop fever blisters or cold sores around the lips.
 
Bryonia 30: this is also a very indicated flu remedy; when this remedy is needed, the person feels like he must keep still at all times as he feels worse by any movement he makes so the person wants to be alone, quiet and still.

The person is very irritable and wants to be left alone. He usually feels very thirsty and feels like dryness in all mucous membranes and may have a bursting or a splitting headache as if hit by a hammer inside.

The cough is dry and hacking, and the person may experience stitches in the chest after coughing.

Baptisia 200: the Baptisia stage is a very heavy stage.

A low-grade fever lingers, and the person feels very sore and heavy with strong aching of all muscles.

There is a tremendous weakness, and the patient feels like staying in bed all day; the feeling of drowsiness is quite strong if the remedy is required. This remedy is a key remedy for influenza.
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BANERJI PROTOCOL TIP

For Influenza, this Banerji Protocol can be very useful:

• Rhus tox 30 and Bryonia 30, one dose every two hours in alternation

For Fevers, The Banerjies use:

• For very high temperatures, give Arnica3c+Cuprum Metallicum 6c to stop the temperature from rising and prevent convulsions. Give every 15 minutes for 3 doses and wait an hour. Continue with the other remedies for fevers as well as this protocol.

For generalised Fevers:

• Eupatorium Perfoliatum 30c+Belladonna3c. It can be used every hour until the fever starts to come down.

If there is a high temperature, Belladonna 30c can be used as often as needed to get some relief.

For Continues Fevers:

• Baptisia 200 daily

​DOSING THE SINGLE REMEDIES

You may take a remedy 3 times a day or every 3 hours for a few days and then on, as the symptoms improve and the frequency of repetition reduces.

​If you have not noticed an improvement after the second day, then you may need a different remedy from the one chosen.

A PROTOCOL FOR HOMEOPATHIC FLU PREVENTION DURING THE WINTER.

Every year, patients come to the flu season and ask for homeopathic remedies to help prevent the flu.

There is no single remedy or protocol that can prevent the flu. Every homeopath has their own kind of variation in what they give to their patients. However, a few remedies seem to be more effective than others, and those remedies are the basis for the different prescriptions.

The most well-known remedy is the branded homeopathic remedy Oscillococcinum,  which active ingredient is the homeopathic remedy Annas Barbariae. Either of these remedies holds the same properties and will be equally effective. One is the branded, and the other is the unbranded version.

Other good remedies that can help are called Influenzinum or Bacillinum. These are very specific homeopathic remedies for the flu.

However, most homeopaths will have their own house protocol that can range from any of these remedies, single or combined, in very low potency, the 30s or 200s and any additional remedies that are well known for combatting the flu symptoms.

For instance, some may contain Gelsemium or Baptisia. The combinations and dosing are endless, and they all be helpful.

Personally, my family do not take any flu prevention remedy. I think that general homeopathic treatment is the best prevention as it will enhance your immune system, and having the odd flu one every few years, is a good way of cleaning your inner house!

But in some cases, such as when the patient is ill, elderly or very anxious, I like to ensure the chances of getting the flu are kept as low as possible.

This is my recommended FLU PREVENTION IN HOUSE MIXTURE:

• Annas Barbariae200+ Bacillinum200+ Influenzinum30

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I would recommend one dose monthly for a few months during the Flu season. 

If there is a flu epidemic and you are at work with a few people that have gone with the flu, then in that case you can take it weekly for a few weeks until the threat is gone. 

Dose: one globule or pill is one dose.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES TO HELP WITH COVID

This is my recommended PREVENTION IN HOUSE MIXTURE:

• Annas Barbariae200+ Bacillinum200+ Influenzinum30+Gelsemium200+Baptisia 200+Eupatorium P200+ Arsenicum 200

 

Take once a week for general use during this epidemic if the contagion rate is very high in your area or twice per week if you are in a place that has a very high incidence of cases and it is very close to you. As general, I would recommend once per month.

This is in line with the Cuban Homeoprophylaxis recommendations (slightly changed) that have got good results so far. 

Take for a couple of months and then rest unless you take it monthly and then take it during the winter months. 

Bacillinum has a very good record of treating the beginning of colds and flu and is used as a prophylactic. Bacillinum is excellent for reducing susceptibility to colds, and Influenzinum is the nosode for influenza. I think this gives a good chance of reducing susceptibility to start with. But remember that this is not the only possibility! It is my way but by no means the only way. 

​Active flu infections- 
There are many possibilities on the blog so choose a remedy that fits the stage of the infection. First or second-stage remedies or you can choose the Banerji Protocol for Flu as it seems to fit well. 

• Arsenicum 30c​ seems to fit well if the cough is dry and wheezy and as a general lymphatic cleanser and for fear of contracting a disease. ​

• Bryonia 30 is also good for painful chesty coughs that are dryer in nature. That is also a remedy that fits well. 
• Arsenicum 30c​ has been the most useful remedy in my clinic so far for people with active infections and for lingering symptoms after. This is again a specific potency and covers well gastric issues or changes in bowels and tightness in the chest.

I recommend having a look at remedies from this blog for coughs: 
Homeopathic Remedies for Cough and Congestion 

I would like to add that for some people, the virus seems to take a turn and go straight to the lungs causing wheezing and lung congestion. Then, a further set of remedies would probably be more indicated at this point. 

These would be my top remedies to go with: 

• Kali Carb 200 one dose every other day or twice daily if needed. Chelidonium 6x alternated with Hepar 6c every 3 hours
• Ipecac 30 for wet coughs
• Aconite200+Bryonia30 for productive coughs or pain in the chest
• Lachesis 200 one dose every other day for severe chest congestion
• Arsen 30 or Kali Iod 6c for wheezing as often as needed or every few hours. Any remedy that matches to relieve symptoms from the blog. 

OTHER SYMPTOMS

If you are suffering from loss of smell, I have found this remedy to be helpful:

• Sanguinaria 200 twice daily taken for weeks as this symptom is very stubborn

One of the most effective remedies for persistent tiredness and lethargy after the active phase has ended is:

• Phos Ac 200 twice daily