Tissue Salts are a great tool to support the body when symptoms of cold and flu flare up. As a remedy that exists somewhere between the large, material doses of supplemental minerals and the minute, energetic doses of homeopathic remedies - tissue salts provide small, energetic doses of the core 12 minerals present in the human body to help you move through symptoms.
Under the philosophy of Tissue Salts, symptoms are merely indications of deficiency of certain salts - by matching those symptoms to the specific salts, you can equip your body with the support it needs to move through acutes.
Should I use tissue salts or homeopathy?
Short answer, you can use both! These two complement each other beautifully!
But when it comes to intervening with acutes like cold and flu, less is more. Generally I like to intervene as little as possible to give the body the best opportunity to heal itself and go through what it needs to go through to recover.
From my course "Beyond Sick: a homeopathic approach to cold and flu", I recommend considering the cascade of interventions when approaching acutes:
Do Nothing: is your body handling it just fine? Do you need to intervene?
Gentle Supports: what is your body asking for? What needs aren't being met? Consider an increased need for hydration, rest, or nourishment - make sure your body has what it needs to heal itself.
Consider tissue salts here!
Homeopathy: if symptoms are stuck or getting in the way of your ability to rest, consider using a well indicated homeopathic remedy to shift the healing and get your body back on track. (Learn more about how to use homeopathy at home here)
Natural Suppression: if none of the above is helping and symptoms are getting out of hand, you might try an herbal suppressant to give the body a break or a bit of a "reset". This might include ice, essential oils, herbal antivirals/bacterials/inflammatories or herbal decongestants.
Pharmaceuticals: if symptoms are causing threat to life or overall safety or none of the above is helping curb the symptoms, pharmaceutical interventions can halt the process and keep you safe.
The question I always return to is: what's the smallest intervention I can offer my body while it heals? This question assumes something important: your body can heal itself and does so all the time. So if you feel some stickiness around that belief, ask yourself, why?
So let's dive into some Tissue Salts for Cold & Flu!
First, individual salts for specific cold and flu symptoms. You can mix and match these based on your unique symptom picture - tissue salts blend together beautifully! For more information on individual salts, check out my other Tissue Salt blog posts.
1. Ferrum Phos (#4)
For inflammation of any kind, especially at first signs of fever, cough, flu or cold.
May have nondescript symptoms, "just feeling off", headachey, fatigued, dizziness.
2. Calc Sulph (#3)
For cold and flu with yellow, thick mucous.
Sore throats and headaches, tongue may be coated yellow.
3. Kali Mur (#5)
For stuffy, swollen symptoms like in head colds and cough, especially in the "secondary stage" when discharge is ramping up.
Also great for childhood dis-eases of the skin like chicken pox.
Swollen glands, stuffed up sinuses, earaches, cough, white mucous
4. Kali Sulph (#7)
For the end of infections when thick yellow mucous appears, especially chest infections.
Discharges are difficult to bring up, blocked ears, sinusitis, chronic cough, whooping cough.
Great for the first signs of flu.
5. Mag Phos (#8)
Any kind of muscular pain, cramping, spasms - affects the motor nerves.
Neuralgic headaches, tension and pain in flu, bronchial spasms, croup
6. Nat Sulph (#11)
For asthmatic type cough, wheezing, and yellow/green sputum, worse from dampness.
Great for coughing fits and tight chest, especially supportive for the first signs of flu.
7. Silicea
For slow to heal cold and flu or infections, may have excessive mucous build up.
Colds that settle in the clear or nose then don't budge, or daily support for someone who gets sick all the time.
Go-to Combos:
Sore throat as first sign of cold
Calc Sulph + Ferrum Phos
Recurrent sore throats and tonsillitis
Kali Sulph + Calc Sulph
General cold with runny nose and sore throat
Calc Sulph + Kali Sulph + Ferrum Phos
Weak respiratory system with cough and stuck mucous
Ferrum Phos + Kali Sulph
Loss of smell and taste
Kali Sulph + Nat Mur + Nat Sulph
The Flu combo
Calc Fluor + Ferrum Phos + Kali Mur +Nat Mur + Nat sulph
How much to take, when?
For general cold and flu symptoms, start with 2-4 pellets every 20-30 minutes. Reduce the frequency to every 1-2 hours once symptoms start to shift and improve.
If supporting very mild symptoms, start by taking 2-4 pellets 2-4 times per day.
Please remember this is not individualized medical advice, this is educational content only. Always consult with your practitioner to best meet your needs and seek emergency care as needed.
