Coeliac Disease in a Girl of 3

This is a case of Coeliac Disease (Gluten Enteropathy, wheat intolerance) in a girl of 3 years that I happened to see in January 2020.  She was diagnosed with symptoms of coeliac disease almost one year before she visited me.

Coeliac disease is an immune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It causes immune mediated inflammation of the lining of the small intestine (flattening of intestinal villi), producing symptoms of malabsorption.

The patient presented with the following symptoms:

1.     Poor appetite because of which the child was severely underweight.
2.     Bloating of the abdomen.
3.     Episodes of diarrhoea and colic.
4.     Frequent cough and running nose. She had been on antihistamines and steroids for a long time previously.
5.     Squint in the right eye.
6.    Head lice

PHYSICAL GENERALS

Thermal – Hot patient, averse to covering at night, likes to bathe with cold water.

Thirst –  Poor

Desires- salty, chocolate, cheese

Aversion – home cooked food

Stool – D1-2, N 0-1; constipation

Urine – nad

Perspiration – scalp, forehead, back

Sleep – sound sleep, keeps changing positions in sleep

PAST HISTORY

Respiratory troubles since birth

FAMILY HISTORY

•       Hypothyroidism
•       Hypertension
•       Diabetes mellitus
•       Rheumatoid arthritis
•       Polycystic ovarian syndrome and ovarian cysts run throughout the family.

PATIENT AS A PERSON

•       Irritable child, whines and cries when demands are not fulfilled.
•       Disobedient, does not listen to what the mother says.
•     Moody, does not eat if the food is not as per her preference. Vomits food if the mother tries to make her eat.

ON OBSERVATION

The one thing peculiar about this case was that the child was not making any eye contact with me. It required a lot of effort to get an answer from her, as she was not responding to my questions properly. The child made queer gestures on being interrogated.

During the interrogation, the child asked her mother to give her a ribbon to tie her hair properly. She was constantly telling her mother to take her home as she did not want any medicine.

This child had been over pampered, and was commanding her mother authoritatively, to do exactly what she wanted.

Even after the case taking when the mother asked the girl to say ‘Thank You’ to the doctor, the girl looked away and walked out of the clinic. The mother exclaimed that the child had an excessive desire for attention.

PRESCRIPTION AND FOLLOW UP

Based on the following PLATINA 1M, unit dose was prescribed:

Hot and thirstless patient

Contemptuous against her will ( ie involuntarily)

Commanding air

Hard on those inferior, soft with superiors

Various clues from body language

Within two months the tTG levels have come to normal (reports attached).

During the course of two months the child developed fever after the medicine and also an episode of loose stools. It is very important that the patients and physicians understand that any development of discharge or a mild fever during the constitutional homoeopathic treatment is a favourable sign, which must not be meddled with at any cost.

This case again shows the power of homoeopathy when it is practiced on principles. The observations and perceptions of the physician have to be in sync with the phenomenon of disease displayed by the patient, in order to cure the case before us.

As of June 4^th 2020, this patient is symptom free and able to consume wheat without any trouble.