Clinical Cases

Ulcerated Toe in a Man of 60

Dr. Parinita Srivastava’s treatment of a chronically ulcerated toe in a man of 60 included Arsenicum album and a nosode. Nightly aggravation and indolent ulcer were repertorized to find the remedy.

This is the case of a 60 year old man who had come to me for the treatment of his ulcerated toe. He entered my cabin with a restless look on his face. When I asked him about his illness, he narrated that he is having severe burning pain in his toe. He has been suffering for the last year and the pain and ulceration is increasing gradually. He’s been a patient of type 2 Diabetes mellitus since 10 years and has been taking allopathic medicines for the same. His sugar levels were under control. He had been taking allopathic medicines for the ulceration as well but it was not helping.

I saw that the affected toe was swollen with a bluish discoloration of all the toes of the foot. The toe nail had turned very soft and seemed somewhat detached from the nailbed. It was deep yellow in colour. The patient did not allow me to examine it properly due to extreme soreness and said that even a slightest touch aggravates the pain. He thus kept the toe wrapped with cotton. He was very restless and was constantly rubbing the dorsum part of his toes. He said that rubbing gives him some relief. These were the only symptoms that could be elicited from the patient. His agony was such that detailed case history did not seem possible.

Analysis

The etiology was important in this case. Bluish discoloration of toes is due to venous congestion. This means that the circulation of blood is not proper in the lower extremities. Because of this the toe was becoming septic and if the condition was not checked it might have proceeded towards gangrene.

A remedy was needed that covered the following symptoms:

  1. restlessness
  2. burning pains ameliorated by rubbing and wrapping
  3. sepsis
  4. affects the circulatory system.

The medicine covering all these symptoms was Arsenic Album. I gave it in 200 potency single dose and placebo for a week and asked him to report after a week.

The patient was much better in his pains and his toe had also started healing. Arsenicum was repeated in infrequent doses as and when the case stood still. After a couple of months the patient said that despite getting a lot of relief in his complaints, the pain recurred at night and the ulcer was not completely healed.

Based on this, I prescribed a single dose of Syphilinum 1M (nightly aggravation, indolent ulcers). The next week he reported being completely free of pain and the ulcer also healed rapidly and completely.

This case helped me in understanding the importance of a miasmatic prescription and how rapidly and wonderfully it works when symptomatically indicated. Homoeopathy is a vast science requiring perseverance and constant study. A homoeopathic physician is a lifelong student. The more you dive into its deep ocean of knowledge the more you start witnessing the enormous scope this field has to offer.

About the author

Parinita Srivastava

Dr. Parinita Srivastava graduated from the National Homeopathic Medical College Lucknow in 2011. She’s has had a private practice in Lucknow, India for the last five years. Prior to opening her current practice she assisted two senior consultant physicians for more than four years. Dr. Srivastava currently focuses especially on chronic ailments, gynecological and pediatric ailments.

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