Why I Often Prescribe a Cytokine Remedy Blend
When I work with a client, whether it's a child with PANS/PANDAS, an adult unraveling from long COVID, or a teen deep in long Lyme fatigue, I’m not just looking at the diagnosis. I’m listening for the language of the body that is expressing a pattern. Again and again, especially with the population of people I work with, the pattern includes one thing: too much inflammation due to chronic immune confusion.
That’s why I often prescribe a cytokine remedy support blend - a combo of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines to help cue the body to re-pattern both the pro- and anti-inflammatory sides of the immune system. Read on to learn more about what cytokines are, why they’re important to a healthy immune system, what happens when they get out of balance, why there’s a rise in chronic cytokine imbalance, and how a homeopathic remedy made from cytokines can be helpful.
What Are Cytokines?
Remember hearing about cytokine storms during the active COVID years? These are the same cytokines I’m talking about. Cytokines are a natural, important part of the immune system and an over-simplified way of thinking about them is in two broad groups: pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are the emergency responders of the immune system. They’re created when a threat is detected, such as infection, injury, toxins, or stress. Anti-inflammatory cytokines are the balancing and guiding part of the immune response; they help the immune system know when to stop fighting, how to repair, and how to return to balance.
In a well-regulated system, both types of cytokines are balanced, which means the immune system is in balance.
In many of the kids and adults I work with, the cytokine creation process is imbalanced over a long period of time, which can lead to chronic inflammation.
What Does an Imbalanced Cytokine Pattern Look Like?
An imbalanced cytokine pattern can have many presentations. Sometimes it looks like:
Rage
OCD
Anxiety
Fatigue
Joint pain
Brain fog
Mood changes
Sensory hypersensitivity
Flare-ups triggered by stress, mold, or menstruation
In many cases, the original threat to the system has passed, but the cytokines are in a stuck loop and are unable to balance the inflammation without additional support. Homeopathy can be extremely effective at providing the necessary support.
Why Use a Remedy Blend for Cytokines?
Homeopathic remedy blends don’t, and can’t, suppress anything. They’re not anti-inflammatory in the pharmaceutical sense. Instead, they gently stimulate the body to re-balance and regulate itself. In cases where the pro-inflammatory cytokines have gotten “stuck” on, this can be incredibly helpful to stimulate the body to re-balance itself.
In my practice, I’ve seen cytokine blends:
Improve energy
Improve mood
Reduce the intensity of flaring, tics, rage, OCD, sleep disturbance, and other PANS/PANDAS symptoms
Why Are We Seeing More Cytokine (Immune) Imbalance?
Research shows a sharp rise in chronic cytokine imbalances since the early 2000s, with a major acceleration after COVID. Several factors are understood to contribute to the rise:
COVID is known to disrupt cytokine balance long-term, even after recovery.
Glyphosate, heavy metals, microplastics, and endocrine disruptors affect cytokine expression and immune tolerance.
The microbiome directly controls cytokine signaling through gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). Antibiotics, poor diet, and formula feeding in infancy contribute to dysbiosis and increased gut permeability (“leaky gut”). This triggers systemic inflammation and misdirected cytokine release.
Chronic stress upregulates some pro-inflammatory cytokines and dampens some anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Trauma (especially in utero or early childhood) alters HPA axis + immune calibration for life.
How a Homeopathic Cytokine Remedy Can Help
I prescribe cytokine support blends because this is the terrain we’re in: chronically inflamed, over-signaled, under-repaired systems trying to function in a modern world. These remedies don’t fight inflammation. They support the body to know what it already knows how to do, which is re-balance and regulate itself. When the balance returns, symptoms can lift.