A little over a year ago, my son woke up complaining that he was itchy. After looking him over, I didn’t see anything alarming, but I gave him the appropriate homeopathic medicines for his symptoms. Among others, I employed Arsenicum Album 200, because—as many of you know—it is excellent for itchiness, especially when accompanied by a sense of frenzy.
It clearly acted, because I didn’t hear another complaint until hours later. Around noon, he came to me scratching again and had started to develop clusters of hives on his torso and arms. I continued using the same remedies but increased the potencies and frequency. Other than the itchy hives, he had no other symptoms. I decided to keep him home from soccer practice that night, as the hives were getting larger and spreading across his body. When I saw them creeping up his neck and onto his face, I grew concerned—not panicked—but I recognized that this was more serious than it initially seemed.
I had him lie down and applied ice packs to the most irritated areas while I did some quick research and consulted with my like-minded tribe. With a new plan in place, I adjusted the remedies and potencies, and within about 4½ hours, his hives began to disappear. This was the first time I witnessed Hering’s Law in action—his hives literally faded from top to bottom. It was so fascinating!
Before he went to bed, his body was nearly clear, except for the tops of his feet, which were the last place affected. The next day, the hives returned briefly—this time just on his face. I repeated the same remedies from the night before, and within an hour, he was completely cleared up. They never returned.
You can probably guess the winning remedy: Urtica Urens, made from the stinging nettle plant. This remedy is excellent for allergic reactions involving welts or hives, especially when the rash is smooth and red—exactly what my son’s hives looked like.
It’s similar to Apis, but according to Robin Murphy, when Apis doesn’t act, we move to Urtica Urens. He says, “Apis and Urtica go together like Hypericum and Ledum.”
Urtica is also indicated for burns, second only to Cantharis. A keynote of Urtica is stinging pain. So, if you have a burn with a stinging sensation, you might first consider Urtica.
There are many uses for Urtica Urens, including gout, sunburn with stinging pains, and urticaria. I encourage you to read more about this remedy—it’s important to know your remedies well so you can remain confident in moments of crisis.
Here are a few important takeaways from this experience:
- Own as many remedies as you can—and in various potencies. One reason I didn’t panic was because I knew I had what I needed. My confidence and composure helped settle my son, which in turn reassured my husband.
- Give remedies time to act. I gave 4–6 doses of the initial remedies before switching to different ones and adjusting potencies. When I saw the hives spreading, I reassessed and changed course appropriately.
- Don’t obsess over the cause. While I was curious about what triggered the reaction, it wasn’t my focus. In the moment, it didn’t matter. We use symptoms to guide us to the right remedy.
- Don’t be discouraged by recurrence. When symptoms returned the next day, I didn’t throw up my hands in frustration. On the contrary, I felt empowered—I knew exactly what to do. Recurrence didn’t mean the remedies hadn’t worked; it gave me another opportunity to strengthen my confidence and apply what I had learned.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7
