Calendula cream is a homeopathic remedy. It’s designed for cuts, scrapes burns and other forms of minor skin irritation.

This homeopathic cream is sold over the counter. You’ll find it at Whole Foods and at local health food stores. It’s also available online.

Calendula cream is not an herbal remedy.

Instead, it’s a homeopathic remedy. It contains low-potency homeopathic calendula, along with various inactive ingredients.

If you’d like more information on homeopathy and how it differs from general holistic medicine, here’s a link to an earlier post that explains the distinction.

I’ve been using homeopathy for decades. But I hadn’t tried this cream until recently.

That’s when I took my puppy to the vet, who noticed one of her ears was infected.

Our vet is very open to natural remedies. So she gave me the choice of trying the cream or using drugs.

Naturally, I wanted to go natural.

So I drove 30-plus miles to my closest Whole Foods to get some of this cream.

I should note that Whole Foods sold by the cream and the ointment. My vet specific that I use the cream. It was a little pricier than the ointment, which had a petroleum jelly base.

Petroleum jelly is a byproduct of the petroleum industry. I didn’t want to put this byproduct in my dog’s ear. This is probably why the vet specified that I use the cream.

What is Calendula Cream?

The cream contains very low dose homeopathic Calendula officinalis.

This means it is a very low dilution.

Homeopathic medicine works on a principle of “like cures like.”

This means a highly diluted poison it will cure the symptoms it causes.

Homeopathic remedies are made from substances that would be toxic if given full strength. However, they are diluted so much that typically none of the original matter exists.

Ironically, homeopathic remedies become stronger the more they are diluted.

The calendula cream has a very low dilution. In theory this means it could be applied more frequently.

But with homeopathy, oftentimes, less is more. Too many doses and you run the risk of increasing the symptoms you’re trying to get rid of. Some people tell you this shouldn’t happen with a super low dose remedy. But it can and does.

Here is an earlier post I wrote about what happens if you take too much homeopathic Arnica montana.

Does Calendula Cream Work?

First of all, I do need to stress up front that I’m not a doctor or a veterinarian. Just a dog Mom who likes using natural remedies on her fur baby.

Please make sure your own vet has the final word on homeopathic remedies.

I’ve been using homeopathy for decades.

I  wouldn’t have continued with this healing method if I didn’t see good results.

Actually, great results.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much homeopathy has helped me personally. My children too. Homeopathy was our “go to” healing method when childhood illnesses hit. (Of course, I also worked closely with our pediatrician.)

So I used the calendula cream with full confidence.

I applied a little to by puppy’s infected ear at night, when I returned from my Whole Foods trip.

The next day the redness and crusty appearance in my dog’s ear had greatly improved.

A couple of days later I applied another dose.

This seemed to totally clear the redness.

Then I made the classic mistake.

Thinking that just one more dose would “seal” the healing, I went ahead and put more cream in my puppy’s ear.

Big mistake. Stupid mistake.

Within a couple of days I noticed more redness. In both ears.

Why didn’t I just leave well enough alone?

So the moral of the story is that I do believe calendula cream works.

If you let it.

Calendula Cream for Your First Aid Cabinet

Nonetheless, I still think homeopathic calendula cream is a good addition to my natural medicine cabinet.

I can use it for future ear infections on my pup, provided I stop as soon as I notice healing.

There is still the chance it will heal this infection, provided I let it.

It’s been a few days since I stopped dosing my poor pup with this remedy. After an initial flare up of symptoms, which to me, appears as if it was caused by too much of the remedy, the inner ears are once again becoming light pink, instead of light red.

I hope this means it worked, and that I don’t have to resort to a popular canine ear infection drug, linked to deafness.

My pup is going back to the vet soon, for an ear check.

Meanwhile, fingers crossed.

At the very least, I have a new natural remedy in my stockpile, which can potentially be used for minor skin irritation, a much better first line of defense than steroid-based creams.

Disclaimer

These statements have not been approved by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.