A male child aged 5 years was brought to the consulting room with high grade fever for the last 4 days. The fever was not responding to the selected Homeopathic remedy. The patient had always responded very quickly in acute conditions and this was the first time that he did not respond.
As the fever was not responding, the parents visited his Pediatrician in the morning but did not start the medication. They brought the child in the evening to the consulting room.
The fever was 103 degrees F, the child was feeling cold and he was restless, moving from one corner of the room to another. He was complaining of severe headache and marked irritability was present. His complaints were aggravated by cold drinks and fanning, and he felt better when he was carried.
When we asked if the parents have observed anything in this course of 4 days, the mother said that as the fever increased the child started feeling cold; then his abdomen and back were very hot to touch but his “Hands and feet are cold during the fever“. This was a very interesting symptom. There was also burning in the urine.
We tested him.
His WBC count was high.
Malarial parasite was absent.
There was severe urinary infection.
On examination
There was no neck rigidity present.
Respiratory system was clear.
Throat was mildly congested.
There was redness at the tip of the penis (external meatus).
Abdominal examination revealed no abnormality.
Reference from Materia Medica
Patient was given Cantharis 30 2 pills to be repeated every 4 hourly but we asked them to stop the medicine as soon as he felt better.
Next day the parents called and told that after giving just 1 dose his fever subsided and was much better. We examined the patient again after a week and he was totally back to normal.
Learning
The importance of history provided by the relatives or the near ones can be very crucial sometimes in clinching the right medicine. Not importance of PQRS symptoms, reference to the materia medica and the repertory.
