Boil on Breast – Woman of 59

INTRODUCTION –

It is not necessary to prescribe in every case unless you have a characteristic totality. Dr K H Gypser in Kent’s Minor writings on homoeopathy mentions a case in the chapter The Second Fault, pg 291 where Dr Kent waits for 32 hours in a case of emergency to find out the characteristic symptoms so that he can prescribe and attain a cure. He says that anything less than waiting and watching would have been violation of a fundamental rule of homoeopathy.

This patient’s self-prescription required antidoting.

CASE –

A 59-year-old female, and a very old patient of mine, called on 22^nd April 2020 for a new boil she noticed on her right breast. Since the entire area was under lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, she was consulted by phone.

She noticed a red small boil on her right breast. It had never been there in the last few years, not even earlier. She is a staunch believer in homoeopathy and thus has restrained herself from any kind of suppression with ointments and creams.

She complained of burning pains on slightest of touch, even the touch of her innerwear. The pain was also a shooting type, which was making the entire right breast heavy and uncomfortable. Marked redness over the eruption and in its periphery.

Picture attached

Rx – Belladonna 200 one dose dissolved in water. (Medicine was couriered to the patient, thus it reached on 23^rd April 2020, one day late)

Meanwhile, without my knowledge, the patient bought from a homoeopathic pharmacy some tablets of Silicea 6x in desperation and panic to get better earlier. She thought it acceptable to be taken along with the potentized medicine which I was giving her.

Next day, she started Belladonna 200. And she was already taking Silicea 6X 4 tablets 3 times a day.

Follow up on 1^st May 2020 –

She is much aggravated. The small boil which was about to fester has grown into a full pus-filled boil, or rather a carbuncle. Severe burning, stitching, shooting and boring pains, aggravated on slightest touch. She’s not wearing her innerwear as even the slightest touch causes pain. Too much pus filled inside.

I wondered after Belladonna, this should have not been the case. On further probing, the patient said, she took Silicea 6X without informing me as mentioned above.

I had at once understood that this was the adverse reaction of too crude Silicea on the patient. Much redness and inflammation around the lesion. Pus filled layer over the carbuncle.

The patient’s daughter was anxious and wanted her to be under the surgeon’s knife. The patient had immense trust in the dynamic powers of homeopathy and resisted her daughter’s wish.

Picture of the lesion attached.

Rx – Hepar Sulph 200 in deviated doses (according to Aph 272, 6^th edition of Organon of Medicine) every 6 hours for one day only. Inform within 24 hours.

Silicea in a centesimal potency might have proved effective to antidote, but the totality of characteristic symptoms pointed towards Hep Sulph 200.

Follow up on 2^nd May 2020 –

Discharged a lot of pus. She had been dressing the wound as the pus started spoiling the clothes. Pus was thick, offensive, yellow mixed with blood. Pains were ameliorated by 50-60%. She could now endure the touch of her clothes. Inflammation and redness around the lesion markedly reduced.

Lesion overall better. Skin started exfoliating around the lesion.

Rx – HEPAR SULPH 200 in deviated doses (according to Aph 272, 6^th edition of Organon of Medicine) every 8 hours for one day only. Inform within 24 hours.

Follow up on 3^rd May 2020 –

Still discharging a lot of pus. Feeling much better. Pus can be seen in the picture attached below. Pus is appearing cheese-like, which indicated Hepar Sulph as given.

Picture attached below.

Closer look at the lesion with clearer picture of the pus –

Rx – HEPAR SULPH 200 in deviated doses (according to Aph 272, 6^th edition of Organon of Medicine) every 8 hours for one day only. Inform within 24 hours.

Follow up on 4^th May 2020 –

Almost all pus had been discharged and the lesion had become much smaller. The pains had reduced, but persisted. Shooting burning stinging pains. There was no more pus to be discharged, and thus, a need for change of remedy was evident. Also, there was a characteristic change in the look of the lesion. Picture attached bellow. The lesion was showing a bluish purplish discoloration along with the painful abscess.

A closer look at the lesion –

If you look carefully, the center shows a bluish purplish discoloration of the abscess.

Rx – TARANTULA CUBENSIS only one dose, dissolved in water. Plenty of sac lac. Inform within 2 days.

PHATAK SAYS –

• It is a toxaemic medicine, useful in septic conditions; when incubation is slow, but further progress is rapid; with alarming prostration, atrocious burning or sharp stinging pains; board- like hardness of affected part and copious sweat.
• Carbuncle.
• Bluish abscesses; painful abscesses
• Purple discolouration.
• Pungent burning

I was sure I had made a Hahnemannian prescription.

Follow up on 6^th May 2020 –

The pains had almost subsided. The patient felt 90% better. The abscess had started to heal. The layer of pus had started to peel off. Inflammation and redness around the lesion had almost disappeared.

Picture attached below.

A closer look of the lesion –

Rx – Placebo for 3 days. Inform SOS.

Follow up on 9^th May 2020 –

Pains were negligible. No discharge of pus or blood. Inflammation around the lesion had reduced a lot. The entire pustular layer had sloughed off.

Healing by PRIMARY intention seen, without any use of a knife.  Picture attached below.

Rx – Placebo for 7 days. Inform SOS.

Follow up on 14^th May 2020 –

Pains almost negligible. The healing is without any interruption. No discharge of pus or blood.  Picture attached below.

A closer look of the lesion –

Rx – Placebo for 7 days. Inform SOS.

Follow up on 18^th May 2020 –

She has been pain free. The healing is smooth and sure. No discharge of pus or blood.  Picture attached below.

Rx – Placebo for 7 days. Inform SOS.

Follow up on 25 May 2020–

The lesion is completely healed and it did not require any further medication.

The patient did not allow to take a picture as she said its healed completely.

Excellent healing by primary intention is clearly visible in this picture.

LESSONS FROM THE CASE –

How a wrong remedy can spoil a case. (here it was SILICEA 6x which was taken without my consent.)  Also, the case demanded a change in remedy. The younger version of me would have repeated the Hepar Sulph as it was providing relief to the patient, without knowing that it would not do further good.

Observation and examination in every case should be as requisite as is prescribing a remedy to a patient. Patient’s daughter also learnt that homoeopathy acts cito, tuto et jucunde!