What exactly is a healing crisis?

What exactly is a healing crisis?

A healing crisis is also known as the Herxheimer Reaction, which occurs when the body is detoxifying too rapidly and toxins are being released faster than the body can eliminate them. A healing crisis is in effect when the body is in the process of elimination. Reactions may be mild or they may be severe. One should expect this and work through it.

The body's inherent desire is for perfect health. We have the ability to earn our way back to that state.

The body must go through an elimination process to achieve good health. There will be ups and downs. One does not go immediately into good health. This elimination process we call the "healing crisis."

A healing crisis is the result of every body-system working in concert to eliminate waste products and set the stage for regeneration. Old tissues are replaced with new. A disease crisis, on the other hand, is not a natural one and works against the body's natural processes.

A Disease Crisis occurs:

- When the body is too full of mucus and clogged to the limit.

- When the immune system is stressed and enough germs are multiplying.

- When body strength and vitality is lowest.

- In order to save the life. If clogging continues at the rate it is going, the person would die because of injury to body organs, poisons in the blood, pumped through the heart, crowding vital organs, as in cancer, etc.

- May last several weeks.

- Sometimes when the body becomes extremely cold, causing the body to squeeze like a sponge, starting an elimination process.


Symptoms are identical to the disease, because the names for diseases are simply groups of symptoms listed under a common name. But there is an important difference -- elimination. 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 building the chronic disease. This may explain why there may be a brief flare-up in one's condition.

The 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.

A Healing Crisis:

- Happens only as the body is naturally restored to normal structure and function.
- Happens only when the body has enough vitality to stand the shock.

- Happens when a person feels the best.

- Usually takes about three months of correct eating to bring about a healing crisis.

- Only lasts two or three days at most. No need to take over-the-counter medications or help in any way


Sometimes can be lessened by correct eating, semi-fasting, etc., during which the body picks off the waste a little at a time. Each time this occurs, the body has more capacity to heal further, a kind of never-ending upward spiral.

Herxheimer Reaction:
The Herxheimer Reaction occurs when the body is detoxifying too rapidly and toxins are being released faster than the body can eliminate them. When this occurs, one will suffer from headaches, nausea, vomiting, and malaise. Even though this is but a short period of the health program, it can be severe and deter one from reaching their intended goals. Also, the person may not know what they are experiencing and think that they are regressing.

To minimize the Herxheimer Reaction:

- Drink lots of water, preferably filtered and/or reverse osmosis.
- Get minimal exercise daily.

- Get lots of sunshine.

- Take detoxification slowly ... one step at a time.

- Don't increase the dose of herbals.

- Keep the organs of elimination (bowels, lungs, skin, kidneys) open.

- Take detox baths.

- Use aromatherapy oils for aches - like peppermint, birch and wintergreen.

- Sweat by using exercise, saunas, baths and herbs.

- Avoid foreign chemical and refined processed foods.


If the Herxheimer reaction occurs, cut back on your health detoxification program. Reduce the dose of herbs and follow the above outline to reduce the symptoms of toxin elimination. The more toxins there are to eliminate, the sicker one is when they come out. Generally, one will feel better when all is over and health is restored again. Just remember, don’t give up.

http://www.azurechiropractic.com/healingcrisis.htm