Preparing for the Cold and Flu Season
Clinical Experience Treating Cough with ImmunoPhase, AllerPhase and BronchoPhase
Mitchell A. Fleisher, M.D., D.Ht., D.A.B.F.M
As a busy homeopathic family physician, I see a lot of patients, of all ages, come down with many variations of viral influenza. Usually my patients respond well to a series of specific, acute homeopathic remedies uniquely suited to the individualizing characteristics of their flu symptoms, along with additional buffered vitamin C and hot lemon ginger tea. But when the virus is particularly aggressive and the immune system is unprepared, more is required to support the healing process.
Last month, my nurse and I unfortunately experienced this dilemma firsthand. Put simply, we practice what we preach, take good care of ourselves and we’re virtually never ill. However, my lovely wife returned from a faraway seminar infected with a very virulent, nasty strain of viral influenza that apparently spread from the Belgian participants at her conference.
This was a new bug, freshly introduced to the Americas that none of us have developed immunity to, i.e., effective antibody defenses to this particular virus. Needless-to-say, after being exposed to my wife’s constant sneezing and hacking cough for a week, I too began to come down with symptoms over the weekend.
Beginning as slight burning in my throat and upper chest, my symptoms rapidly progressed into a severe sore throat, accompanied by thick, copious, sinus congestion, postnasal drip, raspy, irritating cough, lightheadedness, fatigue and severe muscle aches in my lower back and thighs. I felt sore all over, as if I‘d been beaten with a club, and worried about being able to work the following week, since I had to attend to a full schedule of patients coming from far and wide.
At first a series of acute homeopathic remedies took the edge off, but my symptom patterns changed so rapidly that it was difficult to keep up with them and I often relapsed. High dose vitamin C, tinctures of Echinacea, Astragalus, Lomatium and Aloe helped somewhat, but didn’t hold.
Finally, in desperation, I happened to email a friend and colleague on the west coast to ask if they were also experiencing this horrible flu out in California. Sure enough, he’d already seen several cases and warned me that, without adequate treatment, the illness was lasting three to six weeks, and some elderly patients required hospitalization for viral pneumonia.
My colleague strongly recommended the following regimen: ImmunoPhase, 3 capsules every 3 to 4 hours; BronchoPhase, 4 capsules every 3 to 4 hours; and, AllerPhase, 2 capsules every 3 to 4 hours. I had several bottles overnighted for myself, my poor ailing wife, and my nurse, who’d also been struck by this belligerent bug.
“3 Phases” of Rapid Healing
We all began with the prescribed regimen and soon thereafter, within 24 to 36 hours, noticed significant improvement. I augmented the therapeutic program with 2,000 mg of buffered vitamin C every 3 to 4 hours. Thankfully, I was physically able to tend to my scheduled patients that week without mishap. It was a fortunate thing too, because many of my patients were also suffering with a similar, nasty viral illness for which the usual remedies weren’t working well. Consequently I prescribed a lot of the “Three Phases,” as we now like to call them, and was able to observe rapid recoveries in my afflicted patients.
Many of these patients reported that their neighbors, friends and co-workers had been sick for several weeks with this virus. After they caught the bug they were very grateful to heal so much more rapidly.
To reiterate the antiviral flu regimen that really worked the best: ImmunoPhase, 3 capsules every 3 to 4 hours; BronchoPhase, 4 capsules every 3 to 4 hours; AllerPhase, 2 capsules every 3 to 4 hours; and buffered vitamin C with bioflavonoids, 2,000 mg every 3 to 4 hours.
Healing Mists
When the cough is very deep and there is an obvious viral bronchitis (for which antibiotics are useless and probably harmful), I also recommend the following supportive care that I call the “Healing Mists:” purchase a cool mist, ultrasound humidifier and several pint bottles of 3% hydrogen peroxide at your local pharmacy; pour the entire contents of a one pint bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide into the reservoir of the humidifier; next, pour two pints of water into the reservoir (this results in a 1% solution of hydrogen peroxide); set up the ultrasound humidifier by your bedside, or wherever you’re resting, and breathe in deeply the cool vapors for several hours; this will help your immune system fight the viral infection in your lungs (your white blood cells actually use little packets filled with hydrogen peroxide to fight off infectious pathogens).
Finally, what has been working very well as an antiviral flu ‘prevention program’ is the following: ImmunoPhase 2 capsules daily; BronchoPhase 3 capsules daily; and, buffered vitamin C 2,000 mg daily.
Good luck, be prepared and stay healthy this flu season.
About the Author
Mitchell A. Fleisher, M.D., D.Ht., D.A.B.F.M., Dc.A.B.C.T., is a board-certified family physician specializing in classical homeopathy, nutritional and botanical medicine, chelation and bio-oxidative therapy with over twenty years experience practicing the gentler art and science of integrative medicine.