Clinical: Oct 5th
CC: Eczema/ Anxiety
Case Analysis:
Case Objective: To find a remedy for this 8 yr old patient to help her get through her anxiety issues with anticipation/change and to help heal the eczema and bladder issues she has experienced since the spring.
Treatment Strategy and Case Symptoms:
Anxiety runs throughout this case, but even more striking are her symptoms of having tight/constriction around her neck and waist and her eczema which peeled off her hand. It peeled from the finger tips back to the wrist, the entire hand. Her mom’s words “just like a snake would shed its skin”. She is a fair skinned, redhead who flushes at the drop of a dime and is very hot. She was peeling clothes off in my office and I had a sweater on as did mom. She was also very talkative, switching from subject to subject as she could think of things.
Symptom: She suffers from embarrassment/humiliation and she thinks people are judging her
Related Rubric: MIND – AILMENTS FROM – reproaches
She often gets stressed when she thinks people are judging her or she gets embarrassed. She told me she won’t go up to the front of the church for children’s stories, because she is worried about what people are thinking of her.
Symptom: Talkative, chatty-speaks quickly
Related Rubric: MIND – LOQUACITY – children; in:
She was non-stop chatty as soon as I asked that first question. She would skip around to different subjects too and I had to bring her back to our conversation. She talked fast and a lot! Mom says this is her all the time. Her words are animated and she’s very articulate. Striking for an 8 year old.
Symptom: Hates change/the unknown – cannot deal with it, just shuts down –freaks-cries
Related Rubric: MIND – AILMENTS FROM – anticipation
She hates change, any change. What she hates about it is the unknown and that wait for the unknown is even worse. For example, last spring when all the symptoms of skin/bladder started she was very upset at the thought of having a different teacher for the following school year. She was in grade 2 and the fact that she would be changing teachers and did not know who the new teacher was going to be, set her over the edge. She’d cry, she’d yell, she was just freaked out and it was at this time the skin issue developed. At this time the incident at the dentist office happened and then she noticed her bladder never worked the same since.
Symptom: Very bossy to her friends and family – she is large and in charge
Related Rubric: MIND – DICTATORIAL
Even her mom says she is bossy. It became clear with friends too. She’s mad at them and walks away till they “come back”. It is her way that things are done. She is very bossy at home according to her mother. I witnessed her being bossy when I ran into them at the local coffee shop. He mom babysits and she was being verbally bossy to the little girl her mom was babysitting.
Symptom: Skin eruptions- eczema
Related Rubric: EXTREMITIES – ERUPTIONS – Hands
She had eczema all over her hands and feet, but less on the feet. The striking thing is the way they peeled. They peeled from the tips of her finger back to her wrists – like a snake shedding of its skin. Her skin is very dry at the moment with only a touch of the eczema left, mom has been applying creams.
Symptom: Fair and flushes/red rashes/ blushes easily
Related Rubric: SKIN – ERUPTIONS – red
She is fair skinned, red headed and flushed red super easy. It was almost like a rash because it lasted for a while on her skin and I saw it first hand when she had to talk about anything that made her unsure. It happened when talking about her feelings with change and how she doesn’t like when people are rude and ignore her.
Symptom: Bladder sensation – goes – stands up –feels full – tries to go again, nothing there
Related Rubric: BLADDER – FULLNESS, sensation of – urination – urging to urinate – without
She had this episode at the dentist. She used the washroom, had to go again but was rushed. Her mom was going in with her brother, so she went, but ever since then (and she knows it was this episode) when she goes to the washroom, she stands up and is about to go, and the fullness sensation comes back, she sits, and nothing happens. She has the fullness sensation till she later forgets about it.
Differential Analysis:
The top Rx in the repertorization that I am looking at are:
Stramonium
Lachesis
Veratrum Album
Materia Medica Reference Sources:
• [Boger] A synoptic Key of the Materia of the Materia Medica
• [V.Lippe] Keynotes and Red Line Symptoms of the Materia Medica
• [Murphy] Fundamentals of Materia Medica
• [Allen T.] Primer of Materia Medica
• Radar
Stram:
Same:
- Redness of cheeks
- Awakens with a shrinking look, as if frightened at the first object seen (she awakes and sees anything or nothing and sticks head right under covers)
- Cannot bear to be alone
- GREAT LOQUACITY the patient talks all the time
- Skin hot
- < alone
- < dark
- >warmth
- >cold water
- Child wants to sleep with parents (she does often and then feels fine)
- Jealous
- Skin dry
Diff:
- Hallucinations (she hasn’t experienced this)
- Stammering (her speech is amazing – clear – articulate)
- Violent
- Oily sweat (now she’s young, but doesn’t have this or oily skin)
Lach:
Same:
- Passionate – expressive- outgoing
- Face flushes
- LOQUACITY – speaks very quickly, yet clearly
- Warm blooded
- Jumps from one subject to another
- Jealousy
- Dictorial
- Agg warm drinks
- Abdomen – sensitive to tight clothing
- Throat – cannot bear touch, pressure, tight collars
- Stomach – sensitive to tight clothing
- Dreams – death of people (wakes up often before they actually die)
- Possessive of friends
- Sleep – position – impossible on the left side
- Hardness of hearing – with want of wax
- Ears for of pasty; offensive wax (mom used word pasty, not offensive though)
- Constipation
- Pressure in the bladder with frequent urination (partial picture for her)
- Great mental activity
- Strong minded
Diff:
- Skin bluish/purplish
- Asthma picture
- Sleep agg during
- Left sided complaints
- No suffocation picture
Verat
Same:
- Haughty
- Loquacity
- Jumps around subjects while talking
- Cannot bear to be left alone
- Critical – outspoken
- Jealous/envy
- Wants colds drinks
- Constipation
Diff:
- Chilly (she is VERY WARM)
- Weakness
- Diaherrea picture
- Violent rages
Remedy and Potency of Choice:
Lachesis 200ch – 1pellet 1x
Follow up: in 4 weeks
Reasons why Lachesis is the Most Clearly Indicated Remedy:
1. Loquacity – she is 8 years old and speaks better than most teenagers and she talked a lot. As soon as I asked her the first question she was off, her mom had to interject once in a while, but she did most of the 2 hour interview on her own. She jumped from topic to topic as well, I had to steer her back on track. She is that “jumpy, talkative and hyper” type child.
2. Clothing – she hates turtlenecks and tight clothes. I used this as a confirmatory symptom, but it fits perfectly.
3. Skin picture – Lachesis has both the eruptions picture and then flushing picture.
4. Dictatorial – She is bossy and she is also possessive of her friends and this remedy has both these pictures in it. At a later conversation on the phone with her mom, her mom said “You know sometimes she can be hurtful in her words to people too.”
5. Anticipation – this fear of the unknown and not wanting change – “apprehensive about the future” is very Lachesis and this is her.
Follow up # 1
Px: PATIENT
CC: skin and anticipation
Rx: Lach
Synopsis: child Px – Very talkative, very smart and skin issues. Also had some bladder and emotional issues – she cannot handle anticipation
Follow up:
An agg that night after the Rx was given – now I forget she was tongue tied and mom follows things to a tee – she took tweezers to lift the tongue
This time we need to change the way it is given
Skin improved 60%
Anticipation improved for a few weeks – but is now sliding backwards.
The feeling she has to go to the washroom and sits down and can’t and stands up and sits down – is now gone.
Doesn’t need the night light on anymore at night
Next steps:
Repeat the dose but in water – so Lachesis 200ch in 2 oz of water – 1 tsp – 1x Follow up in 4 weeks
Follow up # 2 Jan 14/13
Px: PATIENT
CC: skin
Rx: Lach
Synopsis: PATIENT– child Px – very talkative, very smart and skin issues. Also had some bladder and emotional issues – she cannot handle anticipation
Follow up –
Skin got worse for two to three days then improved for a while – now slipping back but it is winter, but it not any where near as bad as before.
Dreams – better – doesn’t go into moms room anymore
Was LESS talkative but very friendly in the office
Different:
Thirst – increased – drinking water
Temp – wearing socks to bed often (new)
BOSSY – now her mom says she hasn’t seen this before, but I had. I didn’t write into the case because it didn’t come out, but she is very bossy at home now and so sweet when out in public or at school.
The anticipation fears are still there as well, not as bad.
Follow up # 3 Feb 14/13
Px: PATIENT
CC: skin /anticipation fears
Rx: lach then lyc 200ch – in water
Synopsis: – very talkative, very smart and skin issues.Also had some bladder and emotional issues – she cannot handle anticipation – we started with Lachesis then moved to lyc because at 2nd follow up she was being bossy at home, but like an angel at school,
Follow up
Everything much better within 3 days after dose of lyc – even anticipation and they were flying to Florida. Mom sent me a note couldn’t believe the difference and was thrilled!
Since coming home from Florida – she has gone back to exact behaviour since right before the Rx of lyc
Bossy with her brother and the kids her mom looks after
Anticipation fears returned
Drinking less water
Still not as chilly
Diff:
Skin cleared up but could be from being in Florida weather and ocean for a week with no stresses of school and friends.
Next steps:
Repeat of Lycopodium 200ch in water (she is tongue tied can’t get pellets under tongue) If this only lasts for 3 weeks – next time look at going up to 1M
On new rep chart, Lycopodium comes out on top. Because of the bossy showing at home and her mom used the word “she’s being a dictator at home” and so nice out in public, I do think a dose of lyc is needed.
Follow up # 4 April 15/13
Px: PATIENT
CC: skin /anticipation fears
Rx:lach then lyc 200ch – in water
Follow up
Within hours of taking the remedy they found she was calmer.
Anticipation fears were down. She was getting along with her brother and the children her mother baby sits. Skin is still clear
Less gas **Never mentioned when I asked before if she was gassy
Again, improvement only lasted for several weeks – now she is slipping backwards.
Next steps:
Lycopodium 1m in water (she is tongue tied can’t get pellets under tongue)
Follow up in 4 weeks
Follow up # 5 May 24/13
CC: skin /anticipation fears
Rx: lach then lyc 200ch – then a dose of Lycopodium 1m
Follow up :
No gas
Mom estimates that she is over 80% better at home
No fighting with brother and kids mom babysits.
Very little anticipation fears going on.
Next steps:
Nothing – wait and see if the move up to Lycopodium 1m might be enough to hold her for a while.
Thanks for sharing your article.