When you face a cold or flu there are a number of options to choose from that are readily available to address your symptoms. I’m sure at one time or another you have experimented with each of these. As a child, the choices for your acute care were based on your parents’ understanding of health, but as an adult, you have more than likely adopted a method of your own. What you might not realize is that how you respond to simple symptoms has a profound impact on your immune system.
For instance, taking over-the-counter medications to thin mucus or to quiet a cough or congestion can prolong the presence of symptoms. Why might that be? The release of discharge whether it be from your nose, ears, eyes, or bronchial area is just the body cleaning. When this cleaning process is suppressed you are working against your own immune response and re-routing that discharge. Have you given consideration to where it might go? Discharge that’s not eliminated will search for another outlet and when not found lead to chronic inflammatory states.
Taking antibiotics produces a similar challenge as the use of over the counter medications. Antibiotics, however, come with the added disadvantage of disrupting the bacterial balance that’s necessary to maintain your immunity. This disruption takes considerably longer to restore than one would expect. To learn more about this topic in particular, I highly suggest reading Dr. Martin Blaser’s book Missing Microbes.
Doing nothing and riding it out also has its disadvantages, particularly if these types of symptoms occur more than once or twice a year. Unless you happen to be the proud owner of a body with perfect immunity and optimal elimination, your organs could use some support, and with the right support they improve their function.
The answer I propose to you is to provide your organs the support of meristem cells in the form of Gemmotherapy extracts. Meristem cells are the plant equivalent to human stem cells and contain all the growth material for the entire plant. It’s the presence of meristem cells that makes Gemmotherapy extracts unique. When it comes to acute support, there is nothing Plant-based or pharmaceutical that is currently comparable.
Learning to use Gemmotherapy extracts for acute symptoms is pretty straightforward. You’ll find proven protocols for common acute symptoms in my books Introduction to Acute Care and Restoring Immunity in Babies and Children. Your success with addressing acute symptoms will, however, be improved by becoming familiar with the effect of each extract allowing you to adjust the protocols according to specific needs.
Keep in mind that the protocols shared have been successful because of the synergistic effect of the combined extracts. So when making modifications, be sure to substitute extracts that offer a similar action.
Before we get into the specifics of extracts, I’d like to share with you an acute care plan for successful restoration of your health that I recommend to my clients. This plan is based on the assumption that you’ll begin caring for yourself upon the first symptom and not wait until you have worn down your vital force and immune system. This may be a brand new concept to many; however, if we provide ourselves with the proper support from the start, symptoms will have a shorter duration.
The plan
Acute Dosage Guidelines
Below you will find a list of suggested dosages. These are the amounts I have found to be successful for the majority of my clients. There are some who are extremely sensitive who will need a lower dosage. If you are one of these individuals then begin with a few drops and find a dosage that’s enough to support your symptoms but not so much that it produces or aggravates other symptoms.
General Maximum Dosage:
10 yrs old to Adult: 25 Drops per extract (up to 3x daily)
5 to 10 yrs old: 15 drops per extract (up to 3x daily)
3 to 6 yrs old: 10 drops per extract (up to 3x daily)
This information is not to replace a consultation with your health practitioner to determine the correct dosage for you.
Precautions
The following extracts for acute symptoms should not be used by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Common Alder
- Mistletoe
Individuals taking steroids and/or heart medications should consult with their health practitioner before beginning a Gemmotherapy protocol for acute support. Both of these types of medications are suppressing a natural organ rhythm and Gemmotherapy works to restore harmony to organ function. Due to the opposing actions, the supervision of your health practitioner is necessary.
The Acute Care Extracts
Descriptions of each of these extracts can be found in the resource section at the back of my Introduction to Acute Care book as well as symptom-specific acute protocols.
Adrenals
Black Currant
Oak
Digestive/Elimination
Common Fig
Lingonberry
Lithy Tree
Silver Birch Sap
Walnut
Upper Respiratory
Black Honeysuckle
Dog Rose
Sea Buckthorn
Bronchi and Lungs
Black Honeysuckle
Hazel
Hornbeam
Lithy Tree
Musculoskeletal
Silver Fir
Giant Redwood
Immune System
Common Alder
Blackthorn
Field Maple
Hazel
Sea Buckthorn
Nervous System
Sea Buckthorn
Silver Lime
Lithy Tree
The holistic path for restoring immunity is one I teach and practice. For more information on the path, I propose you read my blog posts on Influencing Immunity and Rethinking Elimination. If you would like further information on Gemmotherapy extracts you’ll want to read my Beginner’s Guide on Gemmotherapy.
For individualized support, I recommend you consult with a practitioner trained in Gemmotherapy to restore immunity or consider working directly with me. Looking for a deeper understanding? Consider taking my next Foundations of Gemmotherapy series.