What is a Healing Crisis?

In most systems of alternative medicine, such as traditional Chinese medicine or homeopathy, treatment consists of bringing the whole body back into balance rather than simply treating symptoms. As the body heals, old diseases or conditions that have been trapped in the body for years or even decades may come to the surface as they are being released. This is known as a healing crisis. Once the healing crisis has passed, the person will be rid of the condition and feel much better.

How You Know if You are Having a Healing Crisis

How can you tell whether you are having a healing crisis or if you are actually sick? There are differences between a healing crisis and an acute illness. A healing crisis only lasts for 1-3 days, and once it has passed, you feel better than before. The symptoms during a healing crisis may be the same as those of the original condition that is being treated. It often manifests as skin eruptions, diarrhea, cold symptoms, nausea or infections, which are ways that toxins are eliminated from the body. A healing crisis may also cause an emotional response with anger, grief or other emotions that have been repressed coming to the surface.

My Experience with a Healing Crisis

I have not experienced a healing crisis myself, but my daughter did. When my daughter was a baby, she had eczema on her ankles, knees and elbows. She was suffering from terrible itching, so I took her to the pediatrician, who prescribed cortisone cream. I wasn't happy about using steroids on my baby, but at that time didn't know what else to do, so I went ahead and used it. It did promptly clear up her symptoms of rash and itching, which was a relief for both of us.

Then when my daughter was about 4 years old, she started breaking out in an itchy red rash all over her torso. I didn't want to take her to the pediatrician, who would probably prescribe more steroids, so I found a homeopath. The homeopath told me the rash was a manifestation of my daughter's eczema. She said the cortisone had not cured it, but had forced it deep into her body. Now, years later, it was coming out as a rash. She prescribed a homeopathic remedy, which consisted of tiny white pills that are dissolved under the tongue. She told me that after my daughter had taken the remedy for three days, the rash would become much worse and she would come down with what appeared to be a terrible cold. She told me to keep giving her the remedy in spite of this, and the symptoms would pass and she would then be free of the eczema. Sure enough, three days later that is exactly what happened. After the cold had passed and the rash cleared up, she did have a couple of mild outbreaks of rash but I again gave her the homeopathic remedy, and the rash cleared up.

This worsening of the rash, along with the cold symptoms, was a healing crisis. The old disease was coming out of my daughter's body, and once it was eliminated, she was healed of the eczema. She is now 19 years old and to date, the eczema has never returned.

Sources:
Personal experience
Tierra, Lesley. Healing with the Herbs of Life. Crossing Press, 2003.