Clinical Cases

Fear of Insects

sch aug image
Written by Val Lawrence

Aggressive and fearful behavior in a child is treated miasmatically.

 Southern College of Homeopathy

 

Female, 3 ½ years old

Appointment 1

Presenting complaint:

For a year Jessie had been suffering from a blocked nose that at times is so congested with mucus that she is unable to breathe through it. It disturbs her sleep, she wakes crying “my nose, I can’t breathe”, usually around 2-3am and 4am. There is never a mucus discharge and Jessie hates to blow her nose. On the rare occasions that her mother has been able to get her to do so, the mucus has been thick, clear or green. The nose is less congested in the open air. At the same time this problem began, a rash developed around her mouth and her lips looked as if they had been outlined with a red lip liner. This has gone.

No problems with the pregnancy or birth. Breast fed for 6 months. Jessie has had a couple of courses of antibiotics between 12 & 20 months for chest infections. She always gets a rattling cough after a cold, as they go into her chest. She had measles with no complications when she was a year old. She hasn’t had any vaccinations.

Jessie had been a happy, calm baby, but at 18 months she became a different child, nothing unusual happened around this time. Her mother described her as a Jekyll and Hyde character, fluctuating between good and horrid behavior. Jessie has several temper tantrums a day, becomes wild, hits out and throws things around. It can happen because she is told “no”, or for no reason her parents can see. She hits and slaps children of her own age, won’t share her toys. She is very bossy and tries to order her parents around.

Since 18 months she is difficult to settle down to sleep, full of energy. She wants her mother there until she finally falls asleep around 9.30-10 pm, because she is afraid of the dark. Her sleep is restless and she easily overheats in bed, throwing covers off. She often has nightmares, usually about insects or bees. She wakes “cranky”, nothing pleases her, she fusses and whines, > after breakfast. She needs lots of cuddles in the morning.

Jessie also developed a fear of insects and spiders around 18 months ago. She completely freaks out, becomes hysterical if she sees any of them; she hates to go out in the garden because of them.

Tall for her age but on the thin side.

Chilly child, but does overheat in bed.

She is dairy intolerant; her nose is more blocked when she has it.

Family history:

Mother has lots of food allergies, recurrent sinusitis, Candida

Father – chesty coughs as a child; tonsillitis resulting in a tonsillectomy as a child.

Maternal grandmother had breast cancer; Candida

Maternal grandfather had prostate cancer, diabetes, recurrent sinusitis

Paternal grandfather died of heart attack at 53 yrs.

Paternal grandmother vitiligo, arthritis

Jessie was very shy during the consultation, avoided eye contact with me. Although there were toys to play with she quickly lost interest in them, wanting her mother’s attention, which she got by poking or pinching her. She wouldn’t talk to me and only spoke to her mother in whispers. Jessie didn’t sit still, one minute she wanted to be on her mother’s lap, the next she wanted a seat of her own, or to climb all over her mother.

Prescription:

Lycopodium 30 daily

I decided to give Lycopodium to Jessie as it was strongly indicated and even covered her fear of insects. I could see indications of the sycotic miasm and I wondered if the miasm was active in her, especially as she had had antibiotics to suppress chest infections.

Appointment 2

Slight improvement with her blocked nose but she still woke most nights saying “my nose, I can’t breathe”. Jessie’s temper was worse! Her parents were finding her very difficult to cope with as they felt that she was being malicious. She was still not settling down to sleep until 10pm and they were not having time to themselves. Still afraid of insects, she becomes hysterical, screams and sobs on seeing any. Other symptoms were much the same.

Prescription:

Medorrhinum 200 c.s.d. then 1 a week

As the indications for Lycopodium were still present, but there had only been a slight improvement with her blocked nose and a worsening of her behavior, I decided to prescribe on the Sycotic miasm. A couple of the indications for Medorrhinum were more pronounced, such as her not settling down to sleep until 10pm and her maliciousness. I wondered if it would help with her fear of insects, as they have nightmares about insects.

Appointment 3

Nose about the same, however about 10 days after starting Medorrhinum Jessie had a couple of days when her nose ran with greenish catarrh. Jessie then developed a chesty, loose cough with a loss of appetite because she felt sick. When she coughed she would go red in the face. Ipecacuanha 200 was given until the cough was completely gone. Her parents were pleased to avoid antibiotics. Once the cough was better Jessie began to settle down to sleep earlier in the evening, and was happier for her mother to go downstairs before she actually fell asleep. At the same time her temper tantrums became less and she was happier in herself. She was not hitting out at other children any more, and was more sociable. But, she was hitting her parents if they didn’t do what she wanted. She was very bossy to her parents and would try to order them about!

She was still terrified of insects, was ‘cranky’ in the morning and was chilly but was not getting so hot in bed. A new symptom was that she was hungry all the time which the mother was pleased about, because Jessie was underweight for her height.

Jessie was still shy, made little eye contact, would not talk to me even when I sat down on the floor to show her how some of the toys worked, and whispered in her mother’s ear if she wanted to say something to her. She was less restless during the consultation than she had been at previous ones. Instead of poking or pinching her mother to get her attention, she would hit her quite hard on the arm.

Prescription:

Lycopodium 1M c.s.d.

Medorrhinum had brought about many positive changes mentally and emotionally and there had been a good physical clear out with the chesty cough, so I was hopeful that Lycopodium would unblock her nose, help with her fear of insects and deal with her abusive behavior towards her parents. As the symptoms relating to Medorrhinum had lessened so Lycopodium ones became more pronounced and I felt that a miasmatic layer had been removed to reveal a constitutional one.

Jessie’s mother contacted me 17 days later to let me know that Jessie’s nose had become completely clear 5 days after the appointment, but had been blocked, although not as bad as previously, for the past 2 days. She also said that she felt she was getting her little girl back, as she had been more affectionate, less bossy and waking up in a good mood. I prescribed 1 dose of Lycopodium 1M.

Appointment 4:

Jessie’s nose had cleared a couple of days after the last dose of Lycopodium and remained so. She was not hitting her parents as much, was going to sleep at 8pm, her hunger had levelled out and she had put on weight, so she no longer looked too thin. She even drew me a picture during the consultation and chatted to me about what she had drawn. Her fear of insects had greatly lessened, she was happy to play out in the garden, although she would run to Mum or Dad if she became aware of an insect… but she no longer became hysterical.

Prescription:

Lycopodium 10M c.s.d.

Given as she was still hitting her parents, albeit less than before, I felt that a higher potency would deal with this, and reduce her fear of insects if not cure it.

Jessie’s mother phoned me a couple of months later to let me know that her daughter was like a different little girl and she felt that whatever had brought about the changes from around 18 months had been reversed. She said “Jessie is a joy to be with”. There had been no return of the blocked nose, she had had a slight cold, but it cleared quickly and didn’t go onto her chest. Her fear of insects is virtually gone. She won’t touch one, but she likes to look at them and even chose a library book about insects and spiders.

This little girl’s case was not complicated by vaccines and she had only had a few courses of antibiotics, so it was easy to see which remedies she needed. Unfortunately this is not usually the situation. In the majority of children I see in my practice, they have had lots of vaccines, antibiotics and many are on steroid inhalers. I often have to deal with the drug layer by using tautopathy and/or de-tox before prescribing for the ‘whole person’.

www.southerncollegeofhomeopathy.com

About the author

Val Lawrence

Val Lawrence MCPH MARH qualified from the College of Practical Homeopathy in 1995 and has been involved in homeopathic education and supervision since 1998, being one of the core team members of the South East College of Homeopathy, receiving a Fellowship from the college in recognition of her commitment to the college and their students. In 2009 Val along with Mary Ellis started the Southern College of Homeopathy in Kent, UK. She runs a thriving practice in Bexhill, East Sussex. Val has considerable experience working with the elderly, plus an in depth knowledge of homeopathy for pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period with her background as an antenatal teacher for the National Childbirth Trust.
Email:[email protected]
Website:http://www.southerncollegeofhomeopathy.com/

6 Comments

  • Dear sir / Madam ,
    I read this case .I t was intreasting and we learn that manta symptoms are more important than physical symptoms. But I want some suggestion that Master Hahneman worte in ORGANON OF MEDICINE for mentle disease b/c her physical symptoms are suppresed and fear is developed ( insects ,spider). It is explain in aphorism 216 in fifth edn of ORGANON OF MEDICINE . Dr Hahneman wrote that in case of mental disease firstly prescribed acute medicine then after anti miasmatic /anti psoric . Psora is mother of all disease.

    THANKS
    Dr Vikas Jaiswal

  • What is the instruction c.s.d.? Not familiar with that dosage instruction – can someone enlighten me

    Thanks

    • c.s.d. means collective single dose. In this case the remedy was given pm (evening), am (next morning) and pm (next evening).

  • I also have the same doubt about the c.s.d. Now it is expanded as collective single dose. How high potency medicine is repeated in pm(evening), AM(next morning) and PM(next evening). Is it 3 doses with in two days ? May some body come forward to expalin.

  • It is a very interesting case.
    what was the time interval between followup visits, and at what time interval was the same remedy in higher potencies given?

  • very chaotic prescription. no need to give MED. lyc is the polychest medicine and it was working well.THESE STEPS LESSEN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HOMOEOPATHY.

Leave a Comment