Staycation or vacation… homeopathy kits for your summer holidays

When the kids were small school holidays were always the time when I brought out my basic homeopathy kits most. If it wasn’t that tiny patch of skin we’d missed with the suntan cream, it was holiday constipation or mosquito bites that swelled up a whole leg. And then there was the summer we all got stung by jellyfish on a late-night dip…

SPECIAL OFFER: At The Hub we have some neat little kits for sale (£25) that are ideal for family summer holidays. They look like a purse, so they tuck easily into your luggage or handbag, and contain 14 remedies in tablet form (details below) covering just about all eventualities, plus full instructions on all the remedies and how to take them.

Accidents & emergencies

If you take no other homeopathic medicine on holiday you should pack arnica – it is such a cure-all. Its chief use is for shock and bruising, but it’s brilliant for helping someone cope after anything sudden or untoward: from a bite to a fall to a knock on the head to a serious accident. It’s also a fabulous reviver for when the day’s just been that bit too long for everyone!

Bumps & bruises

Take arnica tablets. You can also soothe with arnica spray, cream or gel.

Cuts & wounds

Calendula is the homeopathic antiseptic. Take tablets or use the cream or tincture to soothe topically.

Eyes

Euphrasia is a fabulous all-rounder for any eye problems, from hayfever to eye strain to conjunctivitis. Take tablets, or a few drops of tincture in water are the homeopathic equivalent of Optrex.

Food poisoning

Arsenicum album is our no1 remedy for food poisoning. It works excellently when the person is restless, anxious and whacked out by vomiting. When nothing will stay down and all someone can bear is little sips of water, then arsenicum is called for. Take china after you’ve had a bout of food poisoning to speed recovery.

Hangovers – or too much paella!

If someone is sick after overeating or a rich meal, give them nux vomica. It’s also the homeopathic hangover cure.

Heat rash

If your skin is sensitive to the sun or you’re prone to heat rashes, take sol as a preventive. Then urtica urens will calm a heat rash – this was also the remedy we all took after our jellyfish stings.

Mozzies

Ledum is the no1 for bites or puncture wounds: take it at frequent intervals after a mosquito bite and bathe the area with calendula. To make your body less ‘juicy’ for mozzies and midges, take chelidonium for a month before you travel, while on the trip and for a month afterwards. For other tips on avoiding mozzy bites, read our naturopathic nutritionist Rhi’s summer survival guide.

Sickness & diarrhoea

Veratrum album is the Dehli belly remedy, for times when you have such acute sickness and diarrhoea you don’t know what your body will do next and you daren’t move from the bathroom because you know there will be dire consequences! Take china after you’ve had a bout of Delhi belly (to restore all those bodily fluids you lost!).

Stings

Apis, made from bee venom, brings down the classic allergic reaction to a bite (insect or animal), where the skin swells and it burns and stings like mad. Again, a few drops of calendula tincture in water are excellent for applying to stings.

Sunburn

Belladonna is our no1 for sunburn and sunstroke. It’s excellent for any condition or injury that is bright red, hot, dry and angry-looking.

If someone complains more about a burning, smarting dryness, then cantharis may be better. Cantharis is good for burns and scalds – and a must for anyone prone to holiday cystitis.

If your skin gets spotty and itchy in the sun, try urtica urens. This is made from nettle and so is good for any nettle-like hot, irritated rash.

Jetlag

A tailormade combination of a whole number of remedies that offer a high-potency antidote to all those jetlag bugbears: sleep deprivation from flying, body-clock disarray and radiation.

NOTE: tinctures mentioned are not supplied in the kits but can be bought separately at The Hub.

Pop in for free advice on these homeopathy kits from our homeopath Sue Leach, who will advise you on using the remedies and whether they are appropriate for your family.