A Healing crisis or the “Herxheimer Reaction” as it is also know occurs when the body tries to eliminate toxins at a faster rate than they can properly be disposed of. The more toxic one’s body, the more severe the detoxification, or healing crisis. Symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on your case. Most people when they start to feel worse conclude that the treatment is not working, when in fact it is a sign that the treatment is working perfectly and that your body is going through the process of cleaning itself of impurities, toxins and imbalances. Healing crisis can occur at any time during detox and normally pass within 1-5 days, but on rare occasions can last several weeks. If you are suffering from a major illness, the healing crisis will more than likely mimic the disease itself. It’s perfectly normal to feel ill, tired and sleepy during the first few days of a cleanse because it is at that point in the detox that your body is dumping the most amount of toxins into the blood stream for elimination. Some toxins that we detoxify from are medication,drugs, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, nicotine, sulfur, phthalates, azo dyes, junkfood, meat, dairy, grains, soda, artificial sweetener, hormones, mercury and other chemicals. Below I have compiled a list of symptoms that are very common during detox.
Acid Reflux
Acid Urine
Anal Itching
Anxiety
Arthriticflair up
Aches, Pains
Bleeding Gums
Bloating
Blood Clots
Bloody Stools
Bloody Urine
Body Odor
Bubble in the Stools
Bubbles inthe Urine
Burning or Warm Sensation in the Chest
Burning Sensation in the Throat
Cramps
Chills
Cold and Flu-Like Symptoms
Cold feet and hands
Coughing
Constipation
Dandruff
Dark Stools
Drop in blood pressure
Diarrhea
Ear Pain
Extremefatigue and/or its opposite, restlessness
Erect Penis
Excessive Urination
Fatigue
Fever(usually low grade) and/or chills
Frequenturination and/or urinary tract discharges
Flatulence
Foul bodyodors
Floating Stools
Green Stools
Halitosis
Headache
HerpesOutbreak
Headache(believed to be caused by buildup of toxins in the blood)
Itching
Increased joint or muscle pain
Itchy Throat
Insomnia
Lethargy
Mood swings
Nausea
Nose Bleeds and itching
New phobias develop
Perspiration
Post-Menses Discharge
Puffy Eyes, swollen eyes
Red/ burning Eyes
Ringing in the Ears
Runny Nose
Rectal bleeding (red)
Sinus congestion/pressure / drain
Skin eruptions, including: boils, hives, and rashes.
Swollen Lymph Nodes
Sneezing
Strong emotions: anger, sadness, fear, etc.
Suppressed memories arise
Trembling
Twitching
Vaginal Discharge
Vomiting
Watery, sticky Eyes