Dengue Fever

Echinacea angustifolia in Dengue Fever

Acon., Ars., Bell., Bry., Chin., Coloc., EUP-PER., Ferr., Ham., Ip., Merc., Nux-v., Podo., Rhus-tox., Sec., Sul-ac.

I hope to prevent and treat Dengue Fever,  Arsenicum album, Belladonna atropa and China officinalis are important remedies. Ferrum metallicum, Ipecacuanha, Secale cornatum and Hamamelis virginicus, Phosphorus and Crotalus horridus are useful for Haemorrhagic Dengue fever.

Echinacea angustifolia is not in the Dengue fever rubric! It is a fever remedy and treats Malaria as recorded in the Lotus Materia Medica. The Boericke Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica records the following symptoms: great debility, tired feeling and aching in limbs.

Echinacea not only increases blood cell production but can decrease the production when it has been higher than optimum levels. This confirms the dynamic and systemic nature of the remedy’s action on the vital force – the ability to regulate cell production as the situation demands.

 As Dengue treatment, I advise and prescribe Echinacea 200 twelve doses over twelve hours and blood counts show a favourable response – it works quickly which is vital in any acute disease and more importantly stimulates the accurate immune response. When the immune function is restored, the fever as well as HCT/PCV is regulated and the infection does not overwhelm the patient.

According to the article ‘Echinacea’, in the herbal form it:

• Promotes Macrophage activity

• Stimulates T-cell production

• Stimulates Interferon production

• Increases Phagocytosis

The best method of prevention is avoiding mosquito bites and eliminating breeding sites, but this is not always possible. Stagnant water and garbage provide rich breeding ground for the mosquitoes in close proximity to homes, and schools, and government resources cannot cope with eradicating this menace completely without the concerted help of the public. The changeable weather patterns may also contribute to the unpredictable incidence of Dengue. It is sobering to think of repeated attacks of this disease in a person’s lifetime and that the virus can mutate.

Constitutional remedies and Echinacea to support the immune function are prescribed during peak seasons and offer effective protection – with emphasis on a diet rich in antioxidants and adequate hydration. As preventive medicine I usually prescribe Echinacea angustifolia 30c one pill daily for two weeks when Dengue is imminent. It has been six years since that epidemic and Echinacea has become a familiar and dear remedy to my patients, family and friends and indeed to me!

Conclusion

Diseases such as Dengue are physically debilitating, have a long recovery phase, can be lethal and result in a lot of anxiety and depression. In 2011 approximately 28,000 cases were reported (55.9 percent of cases from the Western Province) and nearly 2,000 people died in all world. Homeopathy has the potential do so much more in improving these mortality rates and incidence of the disease.