Can Weather Affect Your Health?

Everyone knows the story of an elderly relative whose arthritis acts up when rain is coming.  But largely, Western Medicine ignores weather as a factor in either health or illness. Can weather affect your health?

Change of seasons can affect your health

Homeopaths say YES!

In homeopathy, it is different.  We are just moving out of what has been a very warm summer in Minnesota.  And then into a cool Autumn and back to a Warm Autumn! The yo-yoing of the weather has caused a good deal of sickness this fall.

The following are a few remedies you might find helpful throughout Autumn for acute illnesses that come up. This list is not exhaustive by any stretch. The general symptom of worse from change in weather from warm to cold has 33 remedies in it.

Dulcamara

Fall is a typical season for the remedy Dulcamara, which has the symptom of being worse with Warm Days and Cool Nights. It is especially well known for illnesses that come up when the weather is damp! It is a 4 on a scale of 1-4 in the homeopathic repertory of symptoms. This remedy could be used for digestive disorders, coughs, colds, any acute illness that comes on under those weather conditions.

Aconite

Another important remedy to keep in mind with winter coming up is Aconite.  An Aconite state produces a high fever and anxiety about their illness, being certain that they will be dying soon.  The weather condition that is most likely to produce this state is cold, windy weather.  I’ve seen children and adults, who are exposed to cold wind, develop a high fever and need Aconite for ear infections, bronchitis, and even pneumonia. Aconite is also one to consider when Autumn brings about weather changes, but the frigid cold hasn’t appeared yet.

Nux Vomica

Nux Vomica is another remedy to consider with the change from warm to chilly weather. General Nux-v symptoms include sensitivity to light, noise and, well, change of temperature. But that change of temperature could be that someone opens a door. Irritability, desire for stimulation (maybe watching TV if your patient is a child). Difficulty sleeping is also a common Nux-v symptom that may show up this time of year. Although we mostly think of constipation with Nux Vomica, when the weather gets cold, it can bring on diarrhea as well.

Rhus Tox

Change of seasons can bring up all sorts of pathology, acute or chronic.  One remedy that has this symptom is Rhus Tox.  It is a common remedy for injuries that are better from heat.  Most of the remedies in the symptom General, Seasons, Autumn, Aggravates are remedies that are better from heat.  Most of us probably also would not be surprised to find that the season that aggravates more people is Winter, followed by Summer, Spring and then Autumn.  So we are in the best time of year, health wise.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Anyone who lives in the Northern climate knows that the lack of sunshine can cause depression all winter long.  This is sometimes known as Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I call it the winter blues.  Light boxes are an option and can make things better. But healing the problem with Homeopathy is better than managing the symptoms.

My Homeopathic Repertory lists 80 remedies under the symptom, General Weather, Cloudy, Aggravates.  There is also a symptom Mind, Weather, Cloudy, Aggravates with 27 remedies. That seems like too few to me. This condition would require a full intake.

So if you are dreading the approach of a new season, whether it is the season itself or just the transition to a new season, homeopathy can help you through it.

Remember, the answer to the question Can Weather Affect Your Health is a resounding YES. If you or someone in your family is troubled by weather changes, schedule an appointment here.

This blog post was originally created in October of 2011 but has been updated.