Homeopathic Treatment For H1N1 - Gelsemium

First published in Homeopathy Today in December, 2002:
Gelsemium sempervirens, also known as yellow jasmine or wild woodbine, is a beautiful climbing plant found in moist woodlands and along seacoasts in the southern states of the U.S. It climbs high up in trees, forming festoons from tree to tree and perfuming the air in the spring when it flowers (March - May). It belongs to the same botanical family (Loganiaceae) as Nux vomica, Ignatia, Curare, Strychninum , and Spigelia (all homeopathic remedies) and should not be confused with the true jasmine plant, which belongs to the Jasminaceae family.
The homeopathic preparation is made from the fresh root.
Yellow jasmine is poisonous in large quantities and produces a state of great mental and physical weakness. The mind is sluggish, the muscles are sluggish, and the limbs feel so heavy they can hardly be moved.
The medical history of this plant is interesting and dates from the beginning of the 19th century when it was used in error by a Mississippi farmer. The farmer mistook Gelsemium root for another root that was prescribed for his fever. After recovering from the poisonous effects of Gelsemium, he was cured of the chronic fever from which he had been suffering. This accidental poisoning and cure led to Gelsemium being marketed as a (herbal) cure for fevers--and eventually, after a century and more of use and homeopathic experience, as a treatment for certain flus.

The two most frequently indicated homeopathic flu medicines over the past 100 years have been Gelsemium and Bryonia. There are significant differences in the symptom pictures of these two medicines that make it easy to decide which is the better fit. They are not the only medicines used to treat the flu, but between them they will probably fit the majority of cases.
The anecdotal reports I have heard are favorable. Dosage must be followed precisely, according to a homeopathic physician who has knowledge of the herbs.I have heard that Gelsemium relieves the symptoms of the H1N1 virus we are presently faced with.

Homeopaths and health stores can't keep up with the demands since the information has become more widely known. It is mixed with other soothing herbs and is usually infused into a tea. There are other ways to ingest it.I think it comes in a gel also.

I'm not an expert on the herb. I just report the information I find out there, floating around the planet. Alternative medicine is the choice of a growing number of people. Frankly I think there is room for both kinds of medicine(traditional and homeopathic). I'm all for whatever works.

People are buying up this herb to use in case they get sick. It couldn't hurt....It may help.

Gelsemium was very successful in dealing with the 1918-19 flu pandemic. Here is a quote from the famous historian Julian Winston:
"Perhaps the most successful use of homeopathy in a major epidemic was during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. The Journal of the American Institute for Homeopathy, May, 1921, had a long article about the use of homeopathy in the flu epidemic. Dr. T A McCann, from Dayton, Ohio, reported that 24,000 cases of flu treated allopathically had a mortality rate of 28.2% while 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%. This last figure was supported by Dean W.A. Pearson of Philadelphia (Hahnemann College) who collected 26,795 cases of flu treated with homeopathy with the above result.
The most common remedy used was Gelsemium, with occasional cases needing Bryonia and Eupatorium."

"Dr. Herbert A. Roberts from Derby, CT, said that 30 physicians in Connecticut responded to his request for data. They reported 6,602 cases with 55 deaths, which is less than 1%. Dr. Roberts was working as a physician on a troop ship during WWI. He had 81 cases of flu on the way over to Europe. He reported, "All recovered and were landed. Every man received homeopathic treatment including Gelsemium. One ship which used traditional treatment lost 31 men on the way."

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The following signs may be seen in a swine flu patient taking a turn for the worse. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says patients showing these symptoms should seek medical care immediately.
CHILDREN: Fast or troubled breathing; skin turning bluish; not drinking enough fluids; being unusually hard to wake up or not interacting; being so irritable that the child doesn't want to be held, flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough; fever with a rash.
ADULTS: Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen; severe or persistent vomiting; sudden dizziness; confusion.