Your digestive system starts at your mouth and ends at your anus, and so has many vagaries. it is essential to your well being as no day goes by without its function. We take it for granted as mostly it does its own thing below our consciousness. Its only when something goes wrong wrong wrong that we give it attention.
Mostly we are taught from young to eat well in order to sustain ourselves, but this is not always the case. Many children are given the worst nutrients mostly as pacifiers, and can grow up eating badly. Fortunately, our digestive systems are forgiving but can respond negatively with bad habits developed over years. These are fairly easy to identify and health starts with recognising what is causing our upsets. Very few conditions develop on their own. Homeopaths can identify the triggers and help to support you.
Another unfortunate habit, is taking many kinds of over the counter medications for everything from acid reflux, to feared ulcers to bloat and constipation or diarrhoeia to indigestion after a rich meal, headaches after coffee and haemorrhoids, to name a few. the problem with these medications is that they are often too strong. They give relief, and so we assume our condition is “cured”. However, every concentrated medicine causes side effects of some sort. Our bodies regard these as poisons, and also fights against the medication, thus enhancing the problem when the effects wear off. As homeopaths, we see these medications as “simply switching the warning light off”.
Homeopaths, with much questioning look for the root causes and effects. These are treated with gentle but powerful remedies that bring about balance so that your system can again function optimally.
Sometimes digestive complaints arise outside the system. This is not always obvious, but homeopaths are trained to look at all systems together. This can lead to a complex picture. We treat the patient first and the system second. Frequently, the complaint can resolve in a short time. Homeopathic remedies are gentle but powerful and in addition do not lead to side effects. Many times they resolve more than one problem at a time. One common problem is Haemorrhoids. These actually belong to weaknesses in the circulatory system and can indicate liver problems, as blood congests below the liver and puts pressure on delicate vessels in the anus. A homeopath will pick this up and treat the causing condition.
Gastric reflux is also a common problem that does have much to do with what we eat and drink, but also can have other causes. Many people are not aware that there is no sphincter closing the stomach after eating. What closes the stomach is the muscle of your diaphragm which is involved in breathing. Strengthening this muscle through breathing exercises will also help to close the stomach.! Also, as the diaphragm muscle becomes lax, the stomach can actually grow through the diaphragm so that the stomach will keep open causing constant burning. This can be resolved with exercises and homeopathic remedies fairly easily. Many people fear that they have stomach ulcers and will take antacids and protein pump inhibitors (PPI). These can exacerbate the problem, as the stomach produces MORE acid to compensate!
If you are prone to digestive upsets, do yourself a favour and consult a homeopath. You wont regret it.