An acquaintance related his story to me about how his attempts to help his  poison ivy with homeopathy led to inflammation of his eye, giving cause for a miraculous cure with homeopathy.

“I suspected that a red itchy patch on my fingers was poison ivy. I am not particularly sensitive to P.I. so I decided to try applying a topical over the counter P.I. scrub called Tecnu Extreme which contains a 3x potency of Grindelia. Grindelia is a homeopathic remedy which in its proving causes skin rash similar to poison ivy and is thus capable of curing persons of P.I. when their symptoms are similar. I applied Tecnu Extreme for a few days and this was enough to see me through the most uncomfortable part of the cycle of my eruption.  I stopped  as soon as I began to feel better. The cycle was shorter with less inflammation and itching, the blisters dried up faster and I felt less irritable.

But, I woke up one of the mornings with one of my eyes feeling rather irritated – not really red, but definitely as if I had a foreign object in my eye. I could see nothing in my eye, nor could my wife.  I rinsed it with over the counter eye drops, but that did not help much. I happened to have felt some gritty material on my cheek bone. I surmised I had rubbed my eye during my sleep or on waking, getting some of the gritty scrub stuff from Tecnu Extreme on my hand into my eye and thus, the irritation.

I know that the remedy, Aconite, has been called the ‘Arnica of the eye’. So, I took a dose of Aconite 6c.  I gave it several hours to help my eye which it barely did. It did create some quite uncomfortable pain and aching which I had not previously experienced and some bland tears.   I decided not to repeat it for this reason.

I got out one of my first aid books – this time to look up trauma for eyes. I looked in the book by Dr. D.M. Gibson – First Aid Homeopathy – in accidents and ailments. One of the recommendations for irritation that persists after removal of foreign material – either manually or by eye bath – is Euphrasia drops. I decided to try this since I felt that any gritty material from Tecnu Extreme was gone from my eye and what I was experiencing was remaining irritation – as if the upper inner eyelid had an abrasion.  Euphrasia drops can be made by putting 2 drops of mother tincture of Euphrasia into a small over the counter bottle of saline eye drops. Strangely enough,  someone in my family had used this just 2 weeks prior. Gibson says if you do not have Euphrasia mother tincture you can take the remedy, Euphrasia 6c, internally.  He also says another useful fluid for eye wash is an infusion of tea leaves.

I was quite pleased that over  two days my eye irritation improved. I very happily stopped the drops and waited for complete resolution.  Had this improvement not happened, I was prepared to visit my eye doctor.

But, alas, my eye had more to say.  A day or two after my eye felt better the inner corner began to itch very intensely.  I remember thinking I really wanted to apply cold compresses but did not take the time. Then the inner half if my eye got very red, bloodshot and began to sting with the itching.  I put the Euphrasia drops in the frig and used cold drops – it felt good but did not help the symptoms get better. The next AM the inner half of my eye was still red, itched, had stinging / pricking pains, felt too warm, was a bit achy and half of the white area was swollen. Cold made it feel a lot better.  I consulted my homeopath and we decided I could benefit by a dose of Apis 6c.  One dose of this  remedy made me want to kiss a honey bee !  In a few hours I was 50% better, in 24 hours 98% better and all better in 48 hours !

Nature works in ways I am beginning to appreciate more and more.  Last Fall my neighbor made two honey bee boxes and this Spring two hives were delivered. These blessed creatures have been busy pollinating my fruit trees, flowers and flowering native shrubs. What a joy to see them covering my Winterberry bushes during their flowering time.  And just to the right of the Winterberries, creeping under the fence from my other neighbor’s yard, is the P.I. that I came in contact with. ”

Editor’s notes: Apis mellifica is the Latin name for the honey bee. The remedy is made from the venom but the bee is not sacrificed. Anyone stung by a bee knows about the swelling, redness, heat and stinging pain. The remedy, Apis, because of the Law of Similars ( likes Cures likes) of homeopathy, can cure similar symptoms in a suffering person.  Not only stings but hives, sore throats and muscular skeletal pains in addition to mental/ emotional suffering, to name a few areas, can be made better and cured. Always consult a professional homeopath for a constitutional case taking when symptoms have become chronic.

Euphrasia is also known as Eye Bright. This plant has an affinity for eyes. The mother tincture is still an herbal preparation but when it has been diluted and succussed in accordance with FDA guidelines by pharmacies, it becomes a potentized homeopathic remedy allowing it to act more deeply with one’s vital energy to cure eye and sinus problems and more. Be sure to consult a  professional homeopathic practitioner if your symptoms have lasted for more than three to five days and have not resolved with your well chosen remedy.

Grindelia robusta is a plant growing along the Pacific coast in California. It is a member of the daisy family.  As a homeopathic remedy it can be healing for people who are suffering from skin eruptions and respiratory problems to name a few.

You can read more about poison ivy help and these homeopathic remedies on the internet at the website for the National Center for Homeopathy – http://www.homeopathycenter.org.