Homeopathic remedy for hot flashes
Homeopathic remedy for hot flashes
In my article on ways to stop the hot flashes, or flushes depending on where you live, that can result from cancer treatments, I talked about black cohosh. But I appreciate that not everybody is comfortable with taking herbs and some oncologists may ask you not to do so, so when I came across a piece of research on the use of a homeopathic remedy for hot flashes I thought I’d share it with you.
I don’t usually talk about homeopathic medicine because the number of clinical trials is fairly limited. Homeopathy is usually individualised and prescribed on the basis of a person’s personality. That makes it quite difficult to set up a clinical trial. But there are also standard remedies that are prescribed for particular conditions, and this research covers one of those.
The trial was randomised, double blind, and placebo-controlled, making it a high quality trial. It was conducted in 35 active centres in France and 101 menopausal women took part. They were all suffering badly, with the majority having severe hot flashes and night sweats and all found that it had a significant effect on their personal and professional lives. They used a commercially available homeopathic combination called BRN-01 (Acthéane®). They were given 2 tablets a day, but they could increase it to 4 per day if they needed it, and the trial lasted for 12 weeks. The group receiving BRN-01 experienced a significant reduction in the number and severity of hot flashes and night sweats and also a significant reduction in the effects on their personal and professional lives compared with the group that received the placebo (1).
BRN-01 is a highly diluted combination of the following:
Actaea racemosa (Black cohosh)
Arnica montana (Arnica)
Glonoinum (a homeopathic remedy derived from nitroglycerine)
Lachesis mutus (derived from the venom of the Bushmaster snake)
Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot, a North American native).
All of these remedies are known to help with hot flashes in homeopathic medicine. It seems that this particular commercial preparation is only available in France. But any natural health practitioner who is able to compound homeopathic preparations can make it up for you. The dilution to use is 6C, as this allows for it to be taken several times a day as needed. Once your symptoms stop, you should stop taking it. You’ll find that the effects are permanent.
In the study, there were no more adverse effects in the study group than in the placebo group. Nor does it interact with any medication. This is as you would expect, as the dilution is so weak that there is almost nothing of the original combination left except its energy signature.
Hot flashes aren’t confined to women. Men on hormonal therapies can also suffer them, and this remedy works for them too.
Homeopathy works at the quantum level, using the energy signature, and nobody understands the exact mechanism. Such highly diluted preparations attracts the criticism that they are effectively just water and therefore cannot have an effect. However, as the study I’ve been discussing demonstrates, they do.
This isn’t an isolated incident: there are quite a few random, placebo-controlled studies of homeopathic treatments for a multitude of conditions. The National Center for Homeopathy has a list of just a few of them (2) but there are many more. And a wonderful paper has been written by some doctors and scientists, arguing that the criticism that it cannot have an effect is unscientific, with many trials quoted (3). Unfortunately, it’s behind a paywall so you can’t access the whole article unless you pay for it. However, it’s worth reading if you’re sceptical.
I was a convert after having my dog treated homeopathically. He’d started dribbling profusely when he was asleep and I was worried that he’d had a stroke. So I took him to the vet, who said he could treat him with regular medicine but asked if I’d like to try the homeopathic route. I agreed and we had a lengthy consultation talking about the dog’s personality, after which he prescribed some pillules for him. The pillules were ridiculously inexpensive. But after 2 days the dribbling had stopped and it never returned. It certainly wasn’t a placebo effect!
The wonderful thing about homeopathic remedies is that they are remarkably inexpensive. The main cost involved is the consultation. You would need to shop around to see who could make you up the remedy for the right price.
If you have found this article useful and informative, please take a look at my other blog articles which can help you to reduce treatment side effects and improve your quality of life. If you like what you see, you would benefit from reading my book. You can find out more at the book page and you can buy it by clicking the button below.
References
1. Colau J, Vincent S, Marijnen P, Allaert F. Efficacy of a Non-Hormonal Treatment, BRN-01, on Menopausal Hot Flashes. Drugs R D. 2012;12(3):107-119. doi:10.2165/11640240-000000000-00000
2. National Center for Homeopathy. Quotable Homeopathic Research. National Center for Homeopathy (NCH). https://www.homeopathycenter.org/quotable-research-library/. Published 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022.
3. Rutten L, Mathie R, Fisher P, Goossens M, van Wassenhoven M. Plausibility and evidence: the case of homeopathy. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. 2013;16(3):525-532. doi:10.1007/s11019-012-9413-9
