What is the Herxheimer Effect?
The Herxheimer Reaction describes a process in which the individual experiencing detoxification will generally feel worse before feeling better. This is a reaction that is a short term phenomena, lasting from a few days to sometimes weeks. As the body eliminates toxins, it’s not uncommon to experience a general feeling malaise and flu like symptoms. These may include a sore throat, headache, body aches, joint and muscle pain, chills, sweating, nausea, etc. The Herxheimer Reaction is quite a normal and healthy process, and suggests that the body is actively eliminating pathogenic waste from parasites, viral loading, fungus and the like. The biggest issue is that many stop the ingestion of the supplement or medication that is driving the detoxification. Whilst the Herxheimer Reaction is not particularly pleasant, it is still necessary to pass through in order to emerge from the other side. The sickness and ensuing feeling of nausea is an immune reaction in response to the elevated toxins
