Kidney failure is a common and dangerous disease with ramifications affecting all other organs of the body. Mild deficiencies in kidney function may show no symptoms, but when the disease advances, it can cause many severe symptoms, such as seizure, tissue wasting, gastrointestinal bleeding and coma. Complete kidney failure requires routine dialysis until a transplant operation can be performed. Homeopathic medicine has had success in treating kidney disease--a disease for which mainstream medicine provides no cure.
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The Facts
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According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 26 million Americans either have kidney disease or are at risk of developing kidney disease. Untreated kidney disease leads to chronic renal failure (CRF), also known as chronic kidney failure. However, the underlying cause of kidney disease may vary. Hypertension and diabetes are common contributors, but genetics, chronic infection, lupus and kidney stones are other causes of kidney disease.
In the Encyclopedia of Homeopathy, Dr. Andrew Locke notes, "Homeopaths believe that good health derives from an equilibrium between the mind and body, which is maintained by a "vital force" that regulates the body's self-healing capabilities."
Unlike homeopathy, modern, conventional medicine does not cure kidney failure. Drugs, kidney transplants and kidney dialysis procedures are not definitive cures. Drugs simply delay complete failure while dialysis and transplantation only act as substitutes for the normal healthy function of the kidneys. Homeopathy, however, has medicines that treat damaged kidneys. The medicines stimulate the body's immune system to repair the kidneys.
Methods of Treatment
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There at two dominant approaches to homeopathic medicine: the classical and the complex. The classical homeopathic approach treats illnesses with a single remedy that precisely matches the patient's "inherent constitutional type and symptom picture." On the other hand, homeopathic practitioners generally employ the complex approach, using several remedies to treat serious ailments and symptoms associated with kidney failure.
Dr. Harshad Raval, MD Homeopathy, in Gujarat, India treats chronic kidney failure using this complex homeopathic approach. His selection of remedies depends on thorough medical tests and in-depth patient analysis, taking into account a wide range of variables, including but not limited to a patient's medical background, symptoms, personality and mental state.
Remedies for Kidney Failure
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Homeopathic medicines--referred to as remedies--that treat kidney failure vary depending on the patient and the rubrics (conditions) associated with the remedy. However, there are some common remedies that homeopathic doctors often use because the remedies' rubrics address cardinal symptoms of kidney failure.
The following are some of the common remedies and the rubrics they cover that are associated with kidney failure: Ammonium carb's rubrics are frequent and painful urination, white, bloody, scanty, turbid or fetid urine, mental sluggishness and fatigue. Apis mel's rubrics are general edema or swelling, kidney inflammation and suppression of urine. Arsenic alb's rubrics are difficult urination, uremia, nephritis, scanty and burning or involuntary urination.
Aurum met's rubrics are painful retention of urine and urine with mucous like sediment. Belladonna's rubric is inflamed kidneys. Berberis' rubrics are hypertension, renal (kidney) stones, dark yellow or green urine and neuralgic pain coming from the kidneys. Cannabis ind's rubric is urinary tract infections. Cantharsis' rubrics are tenderness in kidney areas, renal colic and nephritis (kidney inflammation). Chelidonium's rubrics are frequent night urination, copious urination and pale white urine. Cicuta's rubrics are frequent urination, forceful urination, retention of urine and convulsions. Colocynthis' rubric is cramping in the kidneys.
Cuprum Aas's rubrics are poor kidney function, painful urination and discolored urine. Cuprum met's rubrics are bed-wetting, suppression of urine, clear watery urine, frequent urination of fetid, viscid urine and shooting pain in the urethra. Glonoine's rubrics are frequent night urination and kidney inflammation. Helonia's rubrics are kidney inflammation, albumenous (white) urine, anemia, irritability and dullness. Juniper's rubrics are water retention and heaviness in the kidney region. Kali carb's rubric is kidney stones, and it is general remedy for diseases of the kidneys.
Opium's rubrics are uremia (a form of blood poisoning), general edema, black stool, white urine, suppression of urine, swelling of the chest, mucous urine, uremic convulsions and sluggishness of the body. Phosphorous' rubrics are kidney swelling, extreme fatigue, uremia and turbid urine with sediment. Plantina's rubrics are red cloudy urine and slow but frequent urination. Sanicula's rubrics are bladder irritation, kidney stones and kidney inflammation. Solidago's rubrics are kidneys feeling distended, sore kidneys and difficulty urinating. Terebinthum's rubrics are discolored urine, kidney inflammation and urinary tract inflammation. Urea''s rubrics are general edema (swelling due to water retention) and weakness.
Dr. A. S. Chatterjee, a homeopathic doctor in Calcutta, India, has found that urea is one of the best medicines used in treating kidney failure, while Dr. Rajneesh Kumar Sharma of the Homeo Cure and Research Centre in Uttaranchal, India says that the top remedies for treating this disease are opium and apis mel.
Benefits of Homeopathy
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All stages of kidney failure can benefit from homeopathy, even end stage kidney failure when dialysis is imminent. Also, homeopathic medicine has benefits after a kidney transplant operation by decreasing the chances of donor rejection. Depending on the severity of the kidney failure, homeopathic medicines can promote kidney reparation. This means that successful treatment of kidney failure with homeopathy can eliminate the need for the lifelong treatment that conventional medicine requires.
The cost of homeopathic remedies is only a fraction of the cost of allopathic medicine (non-homeopathic medicines such as pharmaceutical drugs). This makes homeopathic remedies a viable choice in treating kidney disease by themselves or in conjunction with conventional medicine.
Results of Homeopathic Medicine
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Before the 1980s, clinical trials testing the benefits of homeopathic remedies were rare. Still today, scientific research on a scale that compares to large pharmaceutical testing is rare. Therefore, the stated claims of homeopathic medicine in treating kidney failure have not been widely proven according to standard scientific study.
However, small trials and outcome base practices, such as those of Dr. Harshad Raval and Dr. Rajneesh Kumar Sharma, have showed verifiable benefit of homeopathic remedies used in treating kidney failure. In his January 2009 article "New Hope for Renal Failure or Kidney Patient in Treatment of Homeopathy," Dr. Harshad Raval reports that in the 10 years prior to 2009, his practice had seen more than 2,200 kidney failure cases. Long-term patient follow up of these patients has showed that 25 to 40 percent of patients were cured.
Medical Warning
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Kidney failure is a complex disease with many associated ailments and diseases. For instance, hypertension often accompanies kidney failure. The National Kidney foundation states, "Hypertension causes CKD [Chronic Kidney Disease] and CKD causes hypertension." This makes kidney disease a dangerous condition that must be treated by a qualified medical professional. Patients must not self prescribe remedies in an attempt to self treat. This is ill advised. A trained homeopathic doctor must prescribe the remedies to treat kidney failure after proper diagnosis and in-depth patient analysis.
With homeopathic medicine as with allopathic medicine, diet is an integral component of treating kidney failure. Patients suffering from this condition must follow a strict diet reducing sodium and protein and controlling potassium, calcium and phosphorous. The prescribed diet also includes a high caloric intake along with vitamins and essential amino acids.
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