New Delhi [India], October 29 (ANI/NewsVoir): Homeopathy can be very valuable in the management of stroke in the acute and chronic phases. Indeed, there have been instances where no allopathic management was required because homeopathic treatment had been started before the patient arrived at the hospital, said India's two best known homeopaths, Padma Shri Dr Kalyan Banerjee (M.D. Hom.) and Dr Kushal Banerjee (M.D. Hom.), from Dr Kalyan Banerjee's Clinic in Delhi.
According to the two doctors, the main contribution of homeopathy to patients of stroke lies in the restoration of movement and sensation. Here, conventional medicine has a very limited role to play. Most of the improvements noted by the patients are due to the body's natural healing or rehabilitative physiotherapy or a combination of these. Patients who take homeopathic treatment find that they need shorter periods of rehabilitative treatment or notice improvement when improvement has stopped.
"Homeopathy is able to heal nervous tissue to a great extent. It can also help strengthen muscle tissue which has atrophied due to paralysis. This combined action contributes to improved movement of parts which had decreased or stopped moving. Similarly, homeopathic medicines are able to address chronic pain resulting from stroke. Stroke induced emotional issues are extremely well addressed with homeopathy. Some of the medicines used in our protocols include Arnica, Aconite, Natrum Sulpuricum, Causticum, Hypericaum, Lachesis and Rhus Toxicodendron. There are many other medicines, and their selection depends on the presentation of the patient," said Dr Kalyan Banerjee of the Delhi-based Dr Kalyan Banerjee's Clinic.
"Stroke is a medical emergency and should be investigated and managed in a hospital setting. Homeopathy has often played a significant role in patients who have inadvertently presented at Dr. Kalyan Banerjee's Clinic with acute symptoms of stroke. Once an evaluation reveals that the patient is suffering from stroke, arrangements are made for the patient to be immediately transferred to a hospital. In the interim, we initiate homeopathic management of the symptoms. This is vital as it can start thrombolysis (dissolving of the clot) and restore hemostasis (stop bleeding)," said Dr Kushal Banerjee.
"A key advantage of Dr. Kalyan Banerjee's Clinic protocols is that the homeopathic medicines for both these apparently opposite functions is achieved by the same combination of medicines. As you know time is vital in the management of stroke. So, initiating even a small improvement or arrest of the process of stroke while the patient is transported to a hospital can result in significant differences in the damage that can be caused by the stroke. However, the bulk of our patient groups come for management of the complications of stroke. For these cases, homeopathy has a lot to offer," Dr Kushal Banerjee added.
"There have been some very promising studies using Arnica in the acute management of stroke. There have also been other studies where a protective role of homeopathic medicine was found by measuring levels of metabolic byproducts of stroke in animals. Homeopathic literature is full of instances where the use of homeopathy has made significant improvements to patients of stroke. At Dr Kalyan Banerjee's Clinic, we are seeing indications of shortened period of disability (total improvement, restoration of normal functioning of affected parts), increased partial improvement (after improvement had plateaued) of disability, longer survival, lower incidence of recurrence, and overall higher quality of life in patients who are undergoing treatment with us. Since the Clinic treats patients with complications arising from stroke in significant numbers, we are encouraged by these bits of anecdotal evidence," sadi Dr Kalyan Banerjee, talking about scientific evaluations of homeopathic remedies for stroke.
Homeopaths at Dr Kalyan Banerjee's Clinic see about 4,000 new cases of stroke every year. These patients suffer from a minor loss of sensation or mobility to significant impairment of these functions. Sometimes, the area of the brain affected can result in impairment of processes like swallowing and speech, resulting in a poor quality of life. Patients also complain of pain in limbs which have been affected by the stroke.
They may develop emotional issues like an inability to control their emotions or displaying childlike emotional states due to stroke. Memory loss is also common. The bulk of patients of stroke come to the Clinic to try and restore mobility and sensation. These are the patients who have understood that their improvement has come to a standstill.
"Although those patients who start homeopathic treatment early receive the maximum benefit, even those who visit us after several years of their stroke are surprised to notice improvements in the functioning of their body parts. Rehabilitative processes including physiotherapy etc. also help these patients while they are on homeopathic treatment. Patients who have had Transchaemic Ischaemic Attacks (TIA's) are at a high risk of suffering a stroke within the next year. Homeopathic medicines are important to help prevent this from happening," said Dr Kalyan Banerjee.
"We are often called upon to help patients who are on life support in intensive care units and the doctors have given up all hope. There have been repeated instances of remarkable improvements in some of these patients after starting homeopathic treatment. Our doctors attempt to understand the underlying causative factors in patients of stroke. Body weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, alcohol, smoking and tobacco use and a host of other modifiable risk factors can all be addressed with homeopathic medicines. By focusing on these issues, we are able to lower the risk of suffering another stroke in patients," Dr Kushal Banerjee further added.
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