| Infections are an almost daily occurrence, but if we are healthy our immune system deals with them before we notice any symptoms. Most micro-organisms enter the body through the nose and mouth - in the air, in our food, sometimes on dirty fingers. Some enter through cuts and abrasions. Others invade the urinary or reproductive tract through the urethra or vagina.
Many of the micro-organisms with which we share this planet are harmless. Some permanently inhabit the inside and outside of the human body; a few even produce substances useful to it and prevent harmful bacteria from finding a foot-hold. This is true of certain bacteria in the large intestine and vagina. Some bacteria are harmless in one part of the body but damaging in others; this is true of E. coli, benign while it is in the colon or rectum but harmful if it is transferred to the urethra, vagina, or mouth.
Each kind of micro-organism, whether it is a bacterium, virus, fungus, or blood parasite, carries special chemical markers known as antigens. Some strains of lymphocyte (the kind of white blood cell produced in the lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow, adenoids, tonsils, and the wall of the gut) recognize antigens and stimulate other lymphocytes to produce proteins called antibodies, which then disable the carrier organism; other lymphocytes directly attack and destroy the invading organism. For about six months after birth babies are protected by their mothers' antibodies; after that, the immune system is sufficiently mature to start manufacturing its own.
Artificial immunity can be given by injecting large numbers of antibodies or small quantities of antigen to provoke the production of antibodies; this is orthodox immunization. Homeopathic immunization does not involve introducing live or dead viruses or antibodies into the body; instead remedies are prepared from disease tissue or secretions using the traditional dilution and succussion method. Like other homeopathic remedies, they contain, in highly potent form, the essence of the source material used, in this case the essence of the disease organism and its toxins. The body reacts to such remedies, known as nosodes, by sharpening up its immune response. If you are worried about the side effects of orthodox immunization or are likely to come into contact with potentially serious infections, consult your homeopath.
The production of antibodies in response to antigens, the so-called immune response, is not the body's only line of defence. The body's first-line trouble-shooters are neutrophils and macrophages, two kinds of white blood cell which constantly patrol the bloodstream and tissue fluids and respond immediately to the chemical and thermal signals sent out by tissues when they become inflamed. If inflammation is suppressed, white cell activity is impaired. Neutrophils and macrophages gobble up and digest offending microbes, foreign particles, and other noxious elements. The resulting pus is a mixture of necrotic tissue, dead bacteria, and dying white blood cells.
Infections can be treated by killing the germs which cause them or by helping the immune system to deal with them, or both, depending on general health and the virulence of the infection. Antibiotics can deal with bacteria, but not viruses; after a course of antibiotics live yoghurt, eaten daily for at least 5 days, helps to repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria. Homeopathic remedies, improved nutrition, fresh air, exercise, and rest can restore the coping ability of the immune system. In some cases homeopathic remedies and antibiotics may be necessary. Constitutional homeopathic treatment is always advisable after serious infections.
Occasionally, as the result of ageing or exposure to certain viruses, bacteria, chemicals, and environmental factors, the body loses some of its ability to discriminate between self and non-self or fails to recognize and destroy its own abnormal cells. The first kind of impairment leads to autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus; the second leads to cancer. Allergies - distressing reactions to certain drugs, chemicals, foods, and other substances which seem to be tolerated by the majority of people - are the down side of having an immune system. |
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