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Why I became a homeopath

Nurse Karen Hooton tells Health and Homeopathy how she’s used homeopathy both professionally and as a mother.

I don’t really remember when I was first introduced to homeopathy. I know my mother didn’t use it when I was a child, although after I’d been successfully treated with homeopathy for my chronic asthma and eczema in adulthood, I wish she had known about it when I was younger as I’m sure it would have helped me.

Sadly, some healthcare professionals sneer at all forms of complementary therapies and after I’d completed my nursing training at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, I clearly remember some of my colleagues raising their eyebrows when my nine year old son said he preferred homeopathic rather than conventional medication.

I’d become interested in holistic healthcare and had decided to take a degree in reflexology but, purely by chance, I discovered the homeopathy course and decided to transfer. What fascinated me about homeopathy was that it could be used from the cradle to the grave and didn’t cause side-effects like many conventional medicines. I was confident it would enhance my skills as a nurse and would be useful if other forms of treatment were not appropriate or if a patient couldn’t tolerate orthodox medicine. There was also a chance of using this method of healing while working in the NHS.

Nine years ago, I and four other NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) registered nurses qualified as the first Specialist Nurse Practitioners in Homeopathy by gaining a BSc (Hons) degree in homeopathy at Edinburgh Napier University, as well as achieving membership of the Faculty of Homeopathy. Theoretical and clinical sessions were split between the university and the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital. Our teachers included Dr Bob Leckridge, Dr Tom Whitmarsh, Dr Julie Geraghty and Dr Raymond Sevar. Their knowledge and insight into this huge and fascinating subject was extensive and all succeeded in bringing the subject to life for the students. I will never forget the first remedy taught to us by Dr Leckridge – Sulphur. He ingeniously used the characteristics and personalities of the fictional characters Winnie the Pooh and Homer Simpson to illustrate specific patient constitutions. As these characters were so familiar to us all, it was easy to understand them as patients and how their characteristics and personalities influenced the remedy they needed to take.

Instead of taking a job in the NHS, I took a part-time position with a voluntary sector charity called Midlothian Sure Start (winners of the Foundation for Integrated Health Award in 2007), which was funded by the Health Improvement Fund from NHS Lothian.

Working alongside NHS health visitors I used homeopathy to treat new mothers suffering from post-natal depression (PND), who didn’t want to be prescribed antidepressants. This could often involve working with the whole family and giving remedies to the children who were not coping well with their mum having PND or were struggling to adjust to having a new baby in the family.

From those early days I remember one case in particular. It involved a mother who had previously lost one of her babies at eight days old. The birth of another baby was causing her terrible feelings of guilt. She found it hard to be happy and was finding it difficult to bond with the new baby. During the day she concentrated on routines; getting her older children ready for school and preparing meals for the family, but really she wanted to be alone so she could cry when she wanted to. On a good day she could have company. It was clear she was a worrier and quite an anxious person. She also had a fear of doing new things or going to new places, which restricted what she could do out of the house. She also suffered from headaches which were worse in sunlight.

After I prescribed Natrum muriaticum she started noticing an improvement within a couple of weeks; she noticed she was less tearful and had started to interact with her baby more. Four months later her bad days had reduced from nearly everyday to one every few weeks and her anxiety levels were lower too. She continued to improve on the homeopathic medication and eventually returned to work.

Homeopathy can also be useful in conjunction with baby massage for colic. The health visitors knew about homeopathic Colocynth but found the results were a bit hit or miss. I introduced the parents to Lycopodium and Chamomilla which often work better. Chamomilla is also good for helping with teething pains; just ten granules can make such a difference! Other homeopathic remedies I’ve used include Opium for constipation and Coffea to treat toddlers and older children who have sleep problems.

I’ve been a mother for 20 years and have used homeopathy to treat a whole range of my son’s childhood ailments. He prefers Arnica to paracetamol for headaches and pain relief, even when he’s suffered fractured bones (he’s had a few). And even though he appears to have inherited travel sickness from his mother, thanks to homeopathic Coccus, Petroleum and Tabacum we can travel by plane, train and car without suffering from the worst symptoms of this unpleasant condition.

Karen Hooton
BSc (Hons) MFHom RSCN