Hydrophobia
Hydrophobia is known to be the fear of water.
Tried googling and almost all search results indicate Hydrophobia to be symptom of Rabies instead of describing what it is. Have been struggling to relate it to how the fear of water can originate from the bite of an animal. On probing it seems to be more about fear of drinking water due to throat spasms and difficulty in swallowing.
Tried to read about the mechanism of bites leading to fear of drinking water and this is what I found though I am not in any position to make any conclusions however I am very skeptical of the fact as to how the virus/toxin travels to the brain ONLY???
The following theory is not satisfactory to me at this point:
When a person is bitten by an infected animal, the virus travels to the brain, the virus then moves down to the salivary glands, the virus causes muscle spasms in the throat, especially when trying to swallow.
In an article entitled Dr. Pasteur a Fraud — There Is No Such Thing as Hydrophobia, Dr. J. M. Crawford states that the bite of a mad dog is no more dangerous than the bite of a normal dog. He describes how sickness resulting from the bite of a animal could be blood poisoning from the improper care of a wound.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89053706/1888-03-13/ed-1/seq-11/
Source: https://aldhissla.substack.com/p/pasteurs-rabies-deception
Animal bites/attacks can lead to extreme fear and may affect the brain and the nerves however if the same fear can lead to throat spasms is not clear to me.
It may be the case that this fear of drinking water can cause extreme dehydration which can be fatal.
This write up is quite logical and helps answer some of the questions -
“The fact that the power of swallowing is effected has given rise to the idea that people bitten by rabid animals are afraid of water. The whole truth of the matter is that they know they cannot swallow, and when any substance, whether food, medicine or water, is offered them, they manifest a horror and attempt to push it away simply because they fear that they will be strangled.”
A number of other diseases besides “rabies” have the common features of dread and inability to swallow water.
This condition is non-specific and can be featured in at least 30 other diseases besides rabies.
https://aldhissla.substack.com/p/pasteurs-rabies-deception
Read about this particular case cited below and found it very strange that the clinical diagnosis from a homeopathic doctor for these set of symptoms was called “Rabies” .
https://kavithakhomeo.com/a-case-of-rabies/
“…was bitten by dog two months back and certain symptoms started appearing…” No mention of the depth of the wound or what treatments were given. Traditional homeopaths would take the history and determine the cause but the head injury three year back seems to be taken lightly/mildly in this case.
The homeo medicines given seem to be the ones treating mental issues of fear and anxiety which helped cure the patient but the diagnosis was labelled Rabies but the set of symptoms could be due to multiple factors.
Treating hydrophobia
Suggestions on how to treat hydrophobia include managing symptoms of anxiety, agitation, and difficulty in swallowing. Though popular search results indicate vaccine as the remedy, it is clearly not logical how a vaccine can cure the above symptoms.
The treatment of the wound however may need a totally different approach as everyone who is bitten may not be gripped in fear to the same extent. In this case, the healing of the physical wound is important.
If one listens to this video on homeopathic treatment of hydrophobia, the medicine recommended has its state in the symptom of “fear”, “aggression”. This makes sense as the person chased/attacked/bitten by an animal is likely to be fearful.
Hypericum can be used to treat pain from animal bites. It can also help with the healing process. Hypericum is used to treat pains related to nerves, puncture wounds.
Hydrophobinum seems to be useful for treating sore threat, issues of the nervous system. It’s effectiveness in treating bites needs to be studied further.
Ozone Therapy
Ozone therapy uses a hydrophobic patch to deliver ozone to wounds. Ozone therapy may have potential benefits for treating certain nervous system conditions by improving blood circulation, reducing oxidative stress, and potentially promoting nerve regeneration. Whether it is needed for animal bites/minor wounds or whether it provides relief / resolution to chronic issues is something that needs to delved deeper. It’s working on the body needs to be studied further(by me).
Aquaphobia on the other hand is the fear of water that can cause people to feel anxious when they think about or see water. Aquaphobia can be caused by a traumatic event during childhood, such as a near-drowning.
Aquaphobia treatments include exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy and medications.
Other forms of spasms/phobias
Since google search returned everything related to fear of drinking water to Rabies, I modified the search criteria to find a term called emetophobia which is a specific phobia characterized by an intense fear of vomiting; this fear can lead people to avoid drinking fluids even when they are nauseous, as they worry it might trigger more vomiting. The reason I chose to search this as I have watched it closely in my mother’s case who had travel related motion sickness.
Also esophageal spasms can make it difficult to swallow, which can cause a fear of drinking water if it’s a chronic condition. Esophageal spasms seem to be related to abnormal nerve activity in the esophagus.
Homeopathy prescribes a different remedy for a given illness, depending on a multitude of factors, such as the personality, or constitution, of the individual, their state of mind and lifestyle. In other words, the illness may be the same by name, but the presentation in no two individuals is the same — so, they are given two different homeopathic remedies that suit their unique personality, or ‘individuality.’
https://thinkwellness360.com/beat-your-phobias-with-homeopathy/
