As the spread of COVID-19 has slowed its burn through the Navajo Nation, several Indigenous filmmakers and creators have managed to complete part of the production of a documentary. (Copy)

Healing Modality

Through pandemic, Indigenous creators film documentary about the parallels of homeopathy and traditional methods for holistic healing on Navajo Nation Donald Denetdeal is the primary consultant for the documentary on the Navajo holistic perspective of healing. | Jai Antonio

By Katherine Lewin

| September 29

Help keep local journalism fighting for you. Donate today to Friends of the Reporter.

As the spread of COVID-19 has slowed its burn through the Navajo Nation, several Indigenous filmmakers and creators have managed to complete part of the production of a documentary. Its focus is even more relevant in today's modern pandemic life: the striking parallels between homeopathy and traditional Navajo healing practices and how homeopathy could be used as another mode of healing on the reservation.

Hózhóogo Iiná—Homeopathy for Indigenous America, directed and produced by Leahn Cox and funded by donations to GoFundMe and a John Pinto Grant from the New Mexico Film Office, is both a personal and professional endeavor.

Cox is a member of the Navajo Nation who grew up in Gallup, though she now lives and works in Santa Fe. Her upbringing as a Diné woman and her experience and education in homeopathy and other healing arts drove her to start the project, which she plans to screen in chapter houses across the Navajo Nation, as well as in Albuquerque and border towns.

"I definitely have had interest in bringing homeopathy and making it more available in places with limited access to these types of alternative resources, particularly now in the Navajo Nation," Cox tells SFR. "I have been trying to offer [homeopathy] where I live, where I'm from, and to family members. But there's so much confusion and so that's one reason the film, I think, could put it in terms of understanding it in the sense of talking about ancient Indigenous knowledge."

Read more

x

The GoFundMe has raised $2,475 of a $20,000 goal. The state grant named after a late Navajo senator gave the project $5,000, which has funded the bulk of the work. Cox aims to raise at least another $5,000 to pay for an animator for a portion of Hózhóogo Iiná. She also hopes to turn it into a larger project where she explores the use of homeopathy in other Indigenous communities across North America.

Germans developed homeopathic medicine over 200 years ago, and based it on two main premises: that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people and that the lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The medicines used in homeopathy come from plants, animals and minerals.

The fundamentals of homeopathy tie in neatly with Navajo traditional healing practices, Cox says.

"Homeopathy is about this vibrational signature of substances in the environment and you take it and inspire your own vitality to heal," Cox says. "So through ancient knowledge you have…this understanding there's an inner spirit form in our environment and that when you really understand that you use that knowledge for healing."

Cox interviews several people in Hózhóogo Iiná to get the connection across to viewers. Donald Denetdeal, one of the interviewees, is also the primary consultant for the project on the Navajo holistic perspective. Denetdeal is a retired professor of Navajo Studies from Diné College. In the documentary, he discusses the Navajo idea that an inner spirit existing within everything in nature is what's doing the healing, just as homeopathy recognizes an energy form in plants and other elements.

But Hózhóogo Iiná is about more than just the parallels between the two healing modalities, one formed many thousands of miles away and another here in the Southwest. The documentary intends to explore, in a practical way, the potential of the use of homeopathy on the Navajo Nation as well as to increase Indigenous peoples' interest in their own traditional healing.

"In this time of increasing health inequality and especially now, in quarantine, we have had to start thinking of utilizing the wisdom of our heritage when it comes to healing our communities," says project photographer and editor Dax Thomas, whose heritage is of Acoma and Laguna pueblos and who now lives and works in Laguna Pueblo.

"With homeopathy there is an inherent respect for nature and a holistic perspective that is certainly compatible with our traditional methods of healing. It could provide safe and effective solutions, especially in our rural areas where there are less options and a primary reliance on [Indian Health Service]. It supports self sufficiency—as we return to healing with nature around us—using
herbs, prayers."

As the spread of COVID-19 has slowed its burn through the Navajo Nation, several Indigenous filmmakers and creators have managed to complete part of the production of a documentary. (Copy)

Healing Modality

Through pandemic, Indigenous creators film documentary about the parallels of homeopathy and traditional methods for holistic healing on Navajo Nation Donald Denetdeal is the primary consultant for the documentary on the Navajo holistic perspective of healing. | Jai Antonio

By Katherine Lewin

| September 29

Help keep local journalism fighting for you. Donate today to Friends of the Reporter.

As the spread of COVID-19 has slowed its burn through the Navajo Nation, several Indigenous filmmakers and creators have managed to complete part of the production of a documentary. Its focus is even more relevant in today's modern pandemic life: the striking parallels between homeopathy and traditional Navajo healing practices and how homeopathy could be used as another mode of healing on the reservation.

Hózhóogo Iiná—Homeopathy for Indigenous America, directed and produced by Leahn Cox and funded by donations to GoFundMe and a John Pinto Grant from the New Mexico Film Office, is both a personal and professional endeavor.

Cox is a member of the Navajo Nation who grew up in Gallup, though she now lives and works in Santa Fe. Her upbringing as a Diné woman and her experience and education in homeopathy and other healing arts drove her to start the project, which she plans to screen in chapter houses across the Navajo Nation, as well as in Albuquerque and border towns.

"I definitely have had interest in bringing homeopathy and making it more available in places with limited access to these types of alternative resources, particularly now in the Navajo Nation," Cox tells SFR. "I have been trying to offer [homeopathy] where I live, where I'm from, and to family members. But there's so much confusion and so that's one reason the film, I think, could put it in terms of understanding it in the sense of talking about ancient Indigenous knowledge."

Read more

x

The GoFundMe has raised $2,475 of a $20,000 goal. The state grant named after a late Navajo senator gave the project $5,000, which has funded the bulk of the work. Cox aims to raise at least another $5,000 to pay for an animator for a portion of Hózhóogo Iiná. She also hopes to turn it into a larger project where she explores the use of homeopathy in other Indigenous communities across North America.

Germans developed homeopathic medicine over 200 years ago, and based it on two main premises: that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people and that the lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The medicines used in homeopathy come from plants, animals and minerals.

The fundamentals of homeopathy tie in neatly with Navajo traditional healing practices, Cox says.

"Homeopathy is about this vibrational signature of substances in the environment and you take it and inspire your own vitality to heal," Cox says. "So through ancient knowledge you have…this understanding there's an inner spirit form in our environment and that when you really understand that you use that knowledge for healing."

Cox interviews several people in Hózhóogo Iiná to get the connection across to viewers. Donald Denetdeal, one of the interviewees, is also the primary consultant for the project on the Navajo holistic perspective. Denetdeal is a retired professor of Navajo Studies from Diné College. In the documentary, he discusses the Navajo idea that an inner spirit existing within everything in nature is what's doing the healing, just as homeopathy recognizes an energy form in plants and other elements.

But Hózhóogo Iiná is about more than just the parallels between the two healing modalities, one formed many thousands of miles away and another here in the Southwest. The documentary intends to explore, in a practical way, the potential of the use of homeopathy on the Navajo Nation as well as to increase Indigenous peoples' interest in their own traditional healing.

"In this time of increasing health inequality and especially now, in quarantine, we have had to start thinking of utilizing the wisdom of our heritage when it comes to healing our communities," says project photographer and editor Dax Thomas, whose heritage is of Acoma and Laguna pueblos and who now lives and works in Laguna Pueblo.

"With homeopathy there is an inherent respect for nature and a holistic perspective that is certainly compatible with our traditional methods of healing. It could provide safe and effective solutions, especially in our rural areas where there are less options and a primary reliance on [Indian Health Service]. It supports self sufficiency—as we return to healing with nature around us—using
herbs, prayers."

Dr. Bhatia on Covid 19 symptoms (Copy)

Dr. Bhatia recommends Bryonia alba 6CH or 30CH, as a prophylactic. It can be given (only to affected population) once a day, till days become warmer and the epidemic subsides (hopefully).

As the spread of COVID-19 has slowed its burn through the Navajo Nation, several Indigenous filmmakers and creators have managed to complete part of the production of a documentary. (Copy)

Healing Modality

Through pandemic, Indigenous creators film documentary about the parallels of homeopathy and traditional methods for holistic healing on Navajo Nation Donald Denetdeal is the primary consultant for the documentary on the Navajo holistic perspective of healing. | Jai Antonio

By Katherine Lewin

| September 29

Help keep local journalism fighting for you. Donate today to Friends of the Reporter.

As the spread of COVID-19 has slowed its burn through the Navajo Nation, several Indigenous filmmakers and creators have managed to complete part of the production of a documentary. Its focus is even more relevant in today's modern pandemic life: the striking parallels between homeopathy and traditional Navajo healing practices and how homeopathy could be used as another mode of healing on the reservation.

Hózhóogo Iiná—Homeopathy for Indigenous America, directed and produced by Leahn Cox and funded by donations to GoFundMe and a John Pinto Grant from the New Mexico Film Office, is both a personal and professional endeavor.

Cox is a member of the Navajo Nation who grew up in Gallup, though she now lives and works in Santa Fe. Her upbringing as a Diné woman and her experience and education in homeopathy and other healing arts drove her to start the project, which she plans to screen in chapter houses across the Navajo Nation, as well as in Albuquerque and border towns.

"I definitely have had interest in bringing homeopathy and making it more available in places with limited access to these types of alternative resources, particularly now in the Navajo Nation," Cox tells SFR. "I have been trying to offer [homeopathy] where I live, where I'm from, and to family members. But there's so much confusion and so that's one reason the film, I think, could put it in terms of understanding it in the sense of talking about ancient Indigenous knowledge."

Read more

x

The GoFundMe has raised $2,475 of a $20,000 goal. The state grant named after a late Navajo senator gave the project $5,000, which has funded the bulk of the work. Cox aims to raise at least another $5,000 to pay for an animator for a portion of Hózhóogo Iiná. She also hopes to turn it into a larger project where she explores the use of homeopathy in other Indigenous communities across North America.

Germans developed homeopathic medicine over 200 years ago, and based it on two main premises: that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people and that the lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The medicines used in homeopathy come from plants, animals and minerals.

The fundamentals of homeopathy tie in neatly with Navajo traditional healing practices, Cox says.

"Homeopathy is about this vibrational signature of substances in the environment and you take it and inspire your own vitality to heal," Cox says. "So through ancient knowledge you have…this understanding there's an inner spirit form in our environment and that when you really understand that you use that knowledge for healing."

Cox interviews several people in Hózhóogo Iiná to get the connection across to viewers. Donald Denetdeal, one of the interviewees, is also the primary consultant for the project on the Navajo holistic perspective. Denetdeal is a retired professor of Navajo Studies from Diné College. In the documentary, he discusses the Navajo idea that an inner spirit existing within everything in nature is what's doing the healing, just as homeopathy recognizes an energy form in plants and other elements.

But Hózhóogo Iiná is about more than just the parallels between the two healing modalities, one formed many thousands of miles away and another here in the Southwest. The documentary intends to explore, in a practical way, the potential of the use of homeopathy on the Navajo Nation as well as to increase Indigenous peoples' interest in their own traditional healing.

"In this time of increasing health inequality and especially now, in quarantine, we have had to start thinking of utilizing the wisdom of our heritage when it comes to healing our communities," says project photographer and editor Dax Thomas, whose heritage is of Acoma and Laguna pueblos and who now lives and works in Laguna Pueblo.

"With homeopathy there is an inherent respect for nature and a holistic perspective that is certainly compatible with our traditional methods of healing. It could provide safe and effective solutions, especially in our rural areas where there are less options and a primary reliance on [Indian Health Service]. It supports self sufficiency—as we return to healing with nature around us—using
herbs, prayers."

Dr. Bhatia on Covid 19 symptoms (Copy)

Dr. Bhatia recommends Bryonia alba 6CH or 30CH, as a prophylactic. It can be given (only to affected population) once a day, till days become warmer and the epidemic subsides (hopefully).

The Pandemic Tests Germany's Love Affair With Homeopathy (Copy)

BERLIN — As coronavirus continues to spread and doctors across the world scramble for an effective treatment, here in Germany we have some wonderful (some would say unbelievable news): The cure has been found.

The key, according to Germany's Hahnemann Society, is homeopathic medicine. "It has been shown that even the first seven days of the illness can be effectively treated," the organization's website announces triumphantly.

And the Hahnemann Society is not alone in vaunting the healing powers of homeopathy for COVID-19. Prominent Swiss doctor Jens Wurster claims to have used homeopathy to achieve "impressive treatment outcomes" for 70 patients, "both those with mild symptoms and severe cases."

The Locarno-based doctor has split opinion in German medicine. Before moving into COVID-19 treatment, he persuaded cancer patients to switch to homeopathic globules, earning himself a reputation among many as "an absolute charlatan," as oncology professor Jutta Hübner from Jena University Hospital succinctly puts it.

But Michaela Geiger, a doctor of integrated medicine and chair of the German Central Association of Homeopathic Physicians (GCAHP), sees things differently. "Just as mainstream medicine is still debating the best treatment, so is homeopathy," she says. Geiger sees Wurster's reports of healing through homeopathy "as a contribution to this ongoing exchange of experiences."

Homeopathy is the most popular alternative therapy in Germany. There are around 7,000 registered doctors in private practice who specialize in it, and half of Germans say that they have tried at least one homeopathic treatment, according to a survey by a homeopathic medicine manufacturer. Now the coronavirus pandemic has opened up a new, lucrative and almost boundless market.

Critics abound

In the early days of the virus, homeopaths in Germany held back. And at first, the GCHAP distanced itself from members who jumped on the opportunity to claim their globules had antiviral properties.

Since then, however, there has clearly been a change of heart. The Association is now calling for its members to document their homeopathic treatment of corona patients: "Against the current background of rising COVID-19 infections, with this project we can find out how homeopathy can contribute to treating COVID-19."

It wasn't long before scorn began pouring in from abroad. "German homeopaths launch a placebo offensive against corona," commented the Austrian newspaper Der Standard. "Scientists are tirelessly working to develop vaccines and treatments, and we hear again and again the sobering news that it will be a long wait before we have a vaccine. Meanwhile, German homeopaths are making reckless promises."

In Austria, homeopathy is generally regarded with suspicion, if not outright scorn. The Medical University of Vienna distanced itself from "charlatanism" and removed homeopathy from the syllabus.

In other countries too, the tide has turned against homeopaths. The French Ministry of Health has ruled out any health benefits from homeopathy, while the Spanish government classes it as "pseudoscience" that must be combated. And the European Academy of Sciences makes it clear that homeopathic treatments are no more effective than placebos. In the United States, homeopathic remedies on sale must display a clear label saying that they have no proven health benefits.

A piece of licorice has more medicinal content.

And in Germany? "In my view, it is completely irresponsible for doctors to treat COVID-19 patients using homeopathic methods," says Karl Lauterbach, a health expert with the Social Democratic Party. "The consequences for some patients could be deadly. Health insurance should not cover it and doctors should be forbidden from prescribing it."

Andrew Ullmann, a health expert with the Free Democratic Party, has a similar take. Patients should have to pay the cost of "these so-called therapies" themselves, he says. "For severe cases of COVID-19, my only recommendation is to see a qualified doctor."

In other countries too, the tide has turned against homeopaths. — Photo: Tampa Bay Times/ZUMAPRESS

Even Green Party members are distancing themselves from homeopathy. It should only be used as a complementary treatment, says Maria Klein-Schmeink, the party's health spokesperson.

A natural affinity

And yet, the fact remains that amid the confusion and fear of the pandemic, more and more people are turning to homeopathy. According to a survey by the Forsa Institute for Social Research and Statistical Analysis, two thirds of Germans would support the use of homeopathic remedies in treating COVID-19. That is not representative of the rest of Europe, or the world.

"Most people confuse homeopathy with natural remedies or plant-based medicine. That's a misunderstanding, a result of false labeling, which is enabled in Germany because sugar pills can be labeled as medicine," says Christian Lübbers, an eye, nose and throat specialist and spokesperson for Information Network Homeopathy.

"Studies have shown that only 17% of people know what homeopathy really is. But it's so simple: homeopathy is not plant-based medicine. It is a placebo," he adds.

Christian Weymayr, spokesperson for the group Münsteraner Kreis, which takes a critical stance toward homeopathy, agrees. "A piece of licorice has more medicinal content than homeopathic globules," he says. "People don't realize that homeopathy is ineffective because most people with COVID-19 only have mild symptoms."

Kreis goes on to say that in a climate of fear, when there will be a long wait for a vaccine, there is a growing danger that people will believe in things that give them false comfort.

That may well be the case in Germany. Homeopathic remedies can only be bought in pharmacies and their packaging is labeled with information about risks and side effects. Many health insurance companies will pay for them. And doctors often present their additional qualifications in homeopathy as if they were of equal value to their training in emergency medicine or diabetes treatment.

Dubious claims

The practice of homeopathy is contentious, and its critics often voice their opposition with something akin to hatred. The same goes for backers of the practice. In his blog, German homeopathy lobbyist and PR advisor Christian J. Becker boasts about journalists who have been "hit by complaints to the German Press Council."

Becker relies on audacious claims about history to justify the use of homeopathic remedies in the treatment of coronavirus. He says that during the 19th-century cholera epidemic, 92% of sufferers could have been healed through homeopathy, and that during the Spanish Flu epidemic, only 1% of hospital patients treated with homeopathy died, while the figure for those who underwent conventional treatment was 30%.

Doctor and homeopath Wolfgang Springer follows a similar argument, claiming that the success of homeopathic treatments during the historical epidemics of cholera, yellow fever, scarlet fever and encephalitis has been well documented.

What they fail to mention — or perhaps don't realize — is that the apparent success of homeopathy during the cholera outbreak, when the father of homeopathy Samuel Hahnemann was active, was because it had one advantage: It protected weakened patients from the harmful treatments of the time.

Alternative medicine only seemed to be effective, in other words, because the standard treatment of bloodletting and laxatives finished off most patients. Hahnemann's treatment, in contrast, involved camphor and mineral water.

https://worldcrunch.com/coronavirus/the-pandemic-tests-germany39s-love-affair-with-homeopathy

Literature review of the in vitro and in vivo evidence for homeopathic medicines in the treatment or prevention of malaria

https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/pdf/10.1016/j.homp.2015.12.047.pdf

https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1016/j.homp.2015.12.047

Literature review of the in vitro and in vivo evidence for homeopathic medicines in the treatment or prevention of malaria

Elena Cecchetto* Access Natural Healing Centre, Canada *

Correspondence: Elena Cecchetto, Access Natural Healing Centre, Canada. E-mail: el@accessnaturalhealing.com (E. Cecchetto)

Background: Malaria is a vector borne infectious disease that affects over 200 million people worldwide every year. Access to treatments on a large-scale is challenging due to the vast geographical and rural spread. Homeopaths have treated infectious disease throughout its 200+ year history however robust data on the efficacy and effectiveness of homeopathic treatments for malaria are lacking. Objectives: To explore the research that has been conducted regarding the use of homeopathy for malaria. Methods: A literature search was performed on the following databases: EBSCO,CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Humanities International Complete Medline with Full Text, Social Sciences Abstracts (H.W. Wilson) and Google Scholar. The search terms used were: “malaria and homeopathy” and “plasmodium and homeopathy”. Articles were deemed ‘relevant’ if the article discussed homeopathy in relation to malaria or anti-malarial properties, and/or if they indicated treatment decisions. Results: Three studies were deemed relevant in this search. Rajan and Bagai studied an in vitro culture, Bagai, Rajan, and Kaur explored an in vivo test and the State Health Resource Centre in Chhattisgarh explored the distribution of a homeopathic intervention to almost 100,000 people. Conclusions: There is minimal data examining homeopathic treatments in the treatment and prevention of malaria. The few studies have shown some interesting findings and further research is needed to discern details such as an ideal choice of potency and ideal amount of remedy repetition for optimal results in this population. Keywords: Homeopathy, Homeoprophylaxis, Malaria, Plasmodium, anti-malarial, China, China sulph Ratio

Systemic Contact Dermatitis from Herbal and Homeopathic Preparations Used for Herpes Virus Treatment. →

Systemic Contact Dermatitis from Herbal and Homeopathic Preparations Used for Herpes Virus Treatment.

Abstract:

Systemic contact dermatitis may occur in contact-sensitized individuals when they are exposed to haptens orally, transcutaneously, intravenously or by inhalation. We report the case of a woman developing a diffuse skin eruption after the topical use of Rhus toxicodendron alcoholic extract and the oral introduction of a homeopathic preparation of the same substance for herpes treatment. An open test, performed with the Rhus toxicodendron tincture, showed an erythemato-oedematous response at 48 h and vesicular reaction at 96 h that was still present after 7 days. Patch test with 65% ethyl alcohol gave negative results. The open test performed, as control, in eight healthy informed subjects revealed negative responses to Rhus tincture application. The result is interesting because in Italy, allergic contact dermatitis to Rhus is uncommon and this case increases the understanding of the pathogenetic mechanism leading to systemic contact dermatitis development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authors:

Cardinali, Carla1
Francalanci, Stefano1,2
Giomi, Barbara1
Caproni, Marzia1
Sertoli, Achille2
Fabbri, Paolo1 Fabbri@unifi.it

Source:

Acta Dermato-Venereologica. May2004, Vol. 84 Issue 3, p223-226. 4p.

Document Type:

Report

Subject Terms:

*SKIN inflammation
*HAPTENS
*ANTIGENS
*HERPESVIRUS diseases
*IMMUNITY
*CARCINOGENESIS

Author-Supplied Keywords:

herpes virus infection
herpes virus infection.
homeopathy
mother tincture
plant extracts
Rhus toxicodendron

NAICS/Industry Codes:

325410 Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing
325414 Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing

Copyright of Acta Dermato-Venereologica is the property of Society for Publication of Acta Dermato-Venereologica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Author Affiliations:

1II Dermatological Clinic, Department of Dermatological Sciences, University of Florence, Italy
2U.O. Allergological Unit, Department of Dermatological Sciences, University of Florence, Italy

ISSN:

0001-5555

DOI:

10.1080/00015550410023293

Accession Number:

12946175