The Healing Crisis

[Res]

Very informative and backs up just about everything Burroughs says about detoxing.

**Newbies and the Rest of us need to read this- it's very encouraging:

The Healing Crisis

AKA: The Cleansing Reaction, The Detox Reaction, and The Herxheimer Reaction
Jon Barron

The Healing Crisis was originally observed while administering antibiotics during the treatment of syphilis, but was later identified during the treatment of other illness and in a wide variety of natural healing programs. It is characterized by a temporary increase in symptoms during the cleansing or detox process. Reactions may be mild or they may be severe. You should expect it and work with it. It is an indicator that the cleanse is working.
There are several causes:

The body must go through an elimination process to achieve good health. There will be ups and downs. You do not go immediately from disease to good health. This elimination process is what we call the "healing crisis." The healing crisis is the result of every body-system, in concert, working to eliminate waste products through all elimination channels and set the stage for regeneration. The end result: old tissues are replaced with new.
There are three distinct categories of Cleansing Reaction

1. When any treatment or cleansing program causes a large scale die-off of bacteria, a significant amount of endotoxins (toxins within the bacteria itself) are released into the body. The more bacteria present, and the stronger their endotoxins, the stronger the cleansing reaction.
2. When any treatment or detox causes the organs of the body (particularly the liver, which is a storehouse of drug and poison residues) to release their stored poisons and toxins, a cleansing reaction may occur.
3. Any program, such as fasting or the use of weight loss herbs which causes a rapid breakdown of fat cells (which are a storehouse for toxins), can be accompanied by a detox reaction.

Specifically, we can now see that a variety of cleanses and/or products can initiate a detox reaction.

• Category 1
  • Intestinal Cleansing and Detox Programs can obviously trigger a die-off of bad bacteria in the intestinal tract and colon.
  • Likewise, use of the probiotics will cause a die-off of bad intestinal bacteria (as much as 3 1/2 lbs worth) as new beneficial bacteria take their place.
  • Digestive enzymes when first introduced can literally eat up colonies of bad bacteria, thereby releasing their endotoxins.
  • And use of immune enhancers and pathogen destroyers can produce die-off, not only in the intestinal tract, but throughout the entire body.
• Category 2
  • The liver is the primary processing and storage organ for drug residues and poisons in the body. The primary purpose of the Liver/Gallbladder detox program is to flush those toxins out of the body. The bottom line is that this makes the use of this program one of THE most important for improving your Baseline of Health, but also the program most likely to cause a healing crisis.
  • Use of an herbal blood cleansing program can likewise initiate a Herxheimer reaction
• Category 3
  • Rapid weight loss, when fasting for example, can also produce a healing crisis as toxins previously lodged in the fat cells are released into the blood stream

Symptoms

The healing crisis will usually bring about past conditions in whatever order the body is capable of handling at that time. People often forget the diseases or injuries they have had in the past, but are usually reminded during the crisis. Reactions may include:

• Increased joint or muscle pain
• Headaches
• Diarrhea
• Extreme fatigue and/or its opposite, sleeplessness
• Nausea
• Sinus congestion
• Fever (usually low grade) and/or chills
• Frequent urination and/or urinary tract discharges
• Drop in blood pressure
• Skin eruptions, including: boils, hives, and rashes. Note: skin eruptions are often misdiagnosed as allergic reactions, resulting in the premature cessation of the cleansing program.
• Cold or flu-like symptoms
• You may think that you actually feel worse or that the treatment is not working at all during a cleanse. Do not despair. These are all signs that your treatment is working and that your body is going through the process of cleaning itself of impurities, toxins and imbalances.
• Such reactions are temporary and can occur immediately -- or within several days, or even several weeks, of a detox. Symptoms usually pass within 1-3 days, but on rare occasions can last several weeks.

If you are suffering from a major illness, the symptoms you experience during the healing crisis may be identical to the disease itself. A cleansing, purifying process is underway, and stored wastes are in a free-flowing state. Sometimes discomfort during the healing crisis is of greater intensity than when you were developing the chronic disease. This may explain why there may be a brief flare-up in one's condition. Often the crisis will come after you feel your very best. In fact, most people feel a surge of energy during the first few days of a cleanse. It is at that point that your body dumps toxins into the blood stream for elimination. Thus the healing crisis. Do not be upset. It means your body is eliminating the toxins. Go as slowly as your body needs to so that your elimination is gradual and comfortable.
With a more serious condition there may be many small crises to go through before the final one is possible. Everything must be considered and given its proper place in the build-up to a healing crisis. You should expect it and work with it.
Easing Your Way Through the Healing Crisis

• Drink plenty of fresh water (especially water), juices, and herbal teas to flush the body of toxins.
• Use colon stimulation formula to make sure that you are eliminating waste promptly. Symptoms frequently disappear immediately after a good bowel movement.
• Use ground flax seed daily to absorb toxins and to help speed their transit through the system.
• On occasion, a good enema or colon-irrigation can provide relief.
• Sometimes, rest is the best therapy.
• And, on rare occasions, a reduction of the dosage or temporary cessation may be required.

[Res]

The Herxheimer Reaction - Feeling worse before feeling better

The Herxheimer Reaction is a short-term (from days to a few weeks) detoxification reaction in the body. As the body detoxifies, it is not uncommon to experience flu-like symptoms including headache, joint and muscle pain, body aches, sore throat, general malaise, sweating, chills, nausea or other symptoms.

This is a normal — and even healthy — reaction that indicates that parasites, fungus, viruses, bacteria or other pathogens are being effectively killed off. The biggest problem with the Herxheimer reaction is that people stop taking the supplement or medication that is causing the reaction, and thus discontinue the very treatment that is helping to make them better. Although the experience may not make you feel particularly good, the Herxheimer Reaction is actually a sign that healing is taking place.

What Is The Herxheimer Reaction?

The Herxheimer Reaction is an immune system reaction to the toxins (endotoxins) that are released when large amounts of pathogens are being killed off, and the body does not eliminate the toxins quickly enough. Simply stated, it is a reaction that occurs when the body is detoxifying and the released toxins either exacerbate the symptoms being treated or create their own symptoms. The important thing to note is that worsening symptoms do not indicate failure of the treatment in question; in fact, usually just the opposite. ( no more "I thought I had the flu so I quit and ate ice cream" )

A Rose By Any Other Name

Technically known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction, this syndrome goes by many names, including JHR, the Herxheimer Effect, the Herxheimer Response, a Herx Reaction, Herx or Herks. The most common terminology used is the Herxheimer Reaction. It is also often referred to as a healing crisis, a detox reaction, or die-off syndrome.

History

The phenomenon was first described by Adolf Jarisch (1860-1902) working in Vienna, Austria, and a few years later by Karl Herxheimer (1861-1942), working in Frankfort, Germany. Both doctors were dermatologists mainly treating syphilitic lesions of the skin. They noticed that in response to treatment, many patients developed not only fever, perspiration, night sweats, nausea and vomiting, but their skin lesions became larger and more inflamed before settling down and healing. Interestingly, they found that those who had the most extreme reactions healed the best and fastest. The patient might be ill for 2-3 days, but then their lesions resolved.

A Medical Example

The Herxheimer reaction is caused by the release of toxic chemicals (endotoxins) released from the cell walls of dying bacteria due to effective treatment. The Herxheimer Reaction is well recognized in medical circles and is certainly not confined to the world of natural medicine or supplements.

For example, a recent study report (Feb ’04) on the treatment of Sarcoidosis found that, “. . . without exception, the improving patients are reporting periodic aggravation of their symptoms as an apparent direct response to the antibiotics. In other words, these patients say that their treatment makes them feel much worse before they experience symptom-relief.” The abstract of the study goes on to say, “This phenomenon is known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction (JHR) and is often referred to informally as Herx. JHR is believed to be caused when injured or dead bacteria release their endotoxins into blood and tissues faster than the body can comfortably handle it. . . . This provokes a sudden and exaggerated inflammatory response . . . . In Sarcoidosis patients, the Herxheimer reaction seems to be a valuable indication that an antibiotic is reaching its target.” In the conclusion, the author states: “In my work with Sarcoidosis patients, it is my experience that recovering MP patients understand and welcome the Herxheimer reactions even when they must endure temporary increased suffering. They accept it as the price that they must pay in order to get well and they even seem to find it gratifying to experience tangible evidence of bacterial elimination. “


(Right here there was a huge reference to Colloidal Silver - which I use - but didn't really have any bearing on the particular detox symptoms I was hoping to bring out. But if you're interested in the entire article, click here)


What To Do In The Event of a Herxheimer Reaction

If the reaction is mild enough that it can be borne without grave discomfort, the best approach is to continue treatment (this is referring once again to Colloidal silver but I like what they say because it goes along with what Peters says about decreasing the cayenne temporarily) and assist the body in eliminating the toxins as quickly and as thoroughly as possible by the methods below. If the reaction is too severe, cutting back on the dosage or frequency of use can be very helpful in lessening symptoms but allowing the healing process to continue. Sometimes stopping for a day or so and then beginning again at a lesser dosage can allow for quick relief.

The best assistance for the body is drinking plenty of spring water (a half gallon a day is recommended).

Other helpful suggestions include:

• Getting plenty of sunshine
• Minimizing exercise for the detox period
• Keeping the organs of elimination (the bowels, lungs, skin, kidneys, lymph) functioning properly
• Keeping the diet relatively pure during the detox period so that the body is not loaded with additional chemicals and toxins to eliminate while it is already working hard.

Adding lemon to the water, taking cold press olive oil first thing in the morning, taking sea salt baths and/ or steam baths and saunas, plus liver and elimination system supports can also be helpful, though any herbal supplements should be kept to a minimum and should be very mild and gentle in nature.