A Herkimer diamond
As much as Herxheimer sounds like “Herkimer,” such as a Herkimer diamond found in Herkimer, New York, the Herxheimer reaction has nothing in common with quartz crystals. Nor is it a particular hex from the world of Harry Potter.
Instead, the Herxheimer effect is often an unfortunate part of the healing process. Read on to learn more about why something good for you can feel so bad and how to avoid it as much as possible.
Enjoy, and have a great week!
What is a Herxheimer Reaction?
Why something good can feel so bad
Lily of the Valley flowers
Imagine a man, let’s call him Atlas, who has been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders for a long time. He’s tired. His knees feel like buckling beneath him. His heart is pumping hard and sweat pours off of him, forming puddles on the ground. In addition, he hasn’t been able to eat or drink much, because his arms are holding up the world.
Seeing you, a healer, walking by, he cries, “Help me please! I’m exhausted! I haven’t been able to move from this spot for ages and have moss growing on my feet and ivy climbing up my legs.”
What would you do for Atlas?
a. put some scaffolding around him to take some weight of the world off his shoulders
b. feed him.
c. immediately set a fire to burn away the moss and ivy from around his feet and legs.
d. a. and b
e. while a and b are being done, add c
You may laugh at c and e as choices, imagining poor Atlas with his feet on fire in addition to his list of problems, but that is exactly what happens to a lot of patients during their holistic healing process. Clinicians, in their eagerness to take care of the problem, will immediately start to kill off infections and remove heavy metals, creating a Herxheimer reaction from increased inflammation.
The narrow official definition of a Herxheimer reaction is:
A Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction is a reaction to endotoxin-like products released by the death of harmful microorganisms within the body during antibiotic treatment. Efficacious antimicrobial therapy results in lysis (destruction) of bacterial cell membranes, and in the consequent release into the bloodstream of bacterial toxins, resulting in a systemic inflammatory response.
Jarisch–Herxheimer reactions can be life-threatening as they can cause a significant drop in blood pressure and cause acute end organ injury, eventually leading to failure. (Wikipedia: Herxheimer reaction)
Some homeopathic clinicians will call the Herxheimer reaction a “healing crisis.” Atlas would agree if his feet were on fire. A homeopathic remedy will increase the killing off of certain pathogens. If the die-off reaction leads to increased inflammation that the body cannot handle properly, it will cause a Herxheimer reaction.
The Herxheimer reaction is basically an increased state of inflammation and oxidative stress. Because the illness is also a reflection of inflammation and oxidative stress, adding the Herxheimer reaction to the healing process will feel to the patient as if their illness has gotten worse. They will say that they’ve “regressed,” even though they may have less illness creating pathogens.
I’ve found that it’s difficult to avoid a Herxheimer reaction if the patient has remaining difficulty with detoxification, oxidative stress, or inflammation, which is going to be for quite a while if the patient has been sick for many years like poor Atlas.
Here are five basic approaches I use to minimize the Herxheimer reaction:
Limit the die-off reaction by giving the body time to heal first, i.e. feed Atlas (nutritional supplements and dietary changes) and build some scaffolding around the world on his shoulders to offer relief first (e.g. glandular and probiotic support). As his strength returns, he’ll be able to move around more and the moss and ivy will naturally fall off around his feet and legs.
Apply energy medicine to help with detoxification and infections. I created a recording that has been very helpful for my patients. Click here for the Star Trek Guided Visualization for Toxins and Infections. The imagery is helpful for avoiding the Herxheimer reaction. I usually ask patients to do it two or three times over a week or two, often at the beginning of their treatment.
Support the Liver and GI system’s ability to detoxify and the immune system’s ability to protect the body (liver extract, probiotics, and vitamin C). The infection will decrease gradually and naturally over time. However, just a word of caution, remember that the liver detoxifies medications as well, so medication withdrawal can complicate the process if the liver is detoxifying more quickly.
If you want to use an herbal or homeopathic remedy to kill off a pathogen, begin with small doses at a low frequency. If you encounter a die-off reaction, stop killing pathogens to give the body time to clear the dead pathogens and detoxify the endotoxins.
Use homeopathic remedies such as Lymph Drainage or Herx by DesBio during the die-off process to help clear the toxins and to decrease the Herxheimer effect.
Healing doesn’t have to be a painful process. As long as the patient is starting to improve and feeling better, why do we healers have to push for more by killing off pathogens and chelating out heavy metals before the patient can handle the die-off or detox effects? Just let the body heal at its natural pace and let’s not assume that we’re doing Atlas a favor when we set his feet on fire.
Have a super week!