Covid-19 in a Man of 26

This patient admitted in hospital for 35 days. Six tests consecutively showed positive for corona-19. Then he had one negative test and was sent home even though he was fully symptomatic. He was asked to home quarantine.

Chilliness at night, evening, goes away in morning

Pain in soles, before fever

Skin – sensitive to touch with fever

Head ache, body ache with fever

I had no PQRS to prescribe here, so I went back to the original unmodified picture.

Cough – dry – modalities not remembered by the patient

Fever: Chilliness with fever

Headache < shaking head

Whole body pains with fever

He told me: (Translated from Hindi)– No desire to stand up, wants to lie down all the time. If he tries to stand up, there is pain in the entire body, especially in the legs, as if there is no strength in his legs.

Body pain > by lying on abdomen

Used to cover the body and sleep all the time which helped++, uncovering << fever with chills

Chilly, I keep fan off +++

I still cover even in this hot weather++

Starts shivering if uncovers

He said: – Formication with uncovering, and internal body heat felt along with burning sensation, and if I keep my legs on the floor, the floor seems to cold and my legs feel cold.

FEVER STAGES –

Chill – whole body shivers, < slightest uncovering or draft of air (fan/open window)

Heat – full body, only toes were cold, else whole body was hot

Sweat – chest and back, groin

Concomitant

– I have got indigestion along with all complaints. Whatever I eat gets passed in stools almost undigested.

He has taken all antivirals, HCQS, all antipyretics (even taking currently but with effect only for 4-6 hours).

The only knowledge I had was that COVID-19 stays for 14-28 days, and most of the patients recover or die within that time frame.

According to Aphorism 73, 6th edition of Organon of Medicine: As regards acute diseases, they are either of such a kind as attack human beings individually sporadically, epidemically.

Allied to these are those diseases in which many persons are attacked with very similar sufferings from the same cause (epidemically); these diseases generally become infectious (contagious) when they prevail among thickly congregated masses of human beings. Thence arise fevers ⁽⁷¹⁾, in each instance of a peculiar nature, and, because the cases of disease have an identical origin, they set up in all those they affect an identical morbid process, which when left to itself terminates in a moderate period of time in death or recovery.

This case was something different.  35 days hospitalization + 14 days home quarantine, reports negative but the patient is still symptomatic. (Dengue/malaria/typhoid/etc Negative)

He was advised a repeat investigation RT PCR swab test, but had to wait for 2-3 days to get it done as there was a huge que to get it done. Also, he was already positive earlier, so they thought it is better to keep him home in quarantine as long as possible rather than waste a testing kit on him.

The patient has not recovered, neither has he died. And he has now come for homoeopathic help.

I have made it a rule that every case of fever, to try to get the original unmodified picture especially when the case comes after lots of prescriptions of conventional medicine.  I decided not to think of him as a covid-19 patient and treat him as any other case of fever.

TOTALITY OF CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS –

• Fever esp. in evenings++
• Fever with chilliness++
• Chills < uncovering++
• Chills < draft of air++
• Heat of entire body, but toes remained cold++
• Body pain with fever
• Extreme weakness with fever
• Internal burning heat in the whole body during fever

I won’t share the repertory chart, as anyone can do that for themselves by the totality given above. I will discuss the remedy after the follow up here.

FOLLOW UP –

Fever went away within 2 doses completely.  The patient was advised to stop taking the allopathic drug along with the homoeopathic remedy as it was only suppressing and not helping. The patient had taken the first dose at around 5 pm in the evening. He got the fever around 7-8 pm (usual time), but this time it was much more manageable. (general sense of well being ++)

Next morning, no fever. He had not taken any antipyretic but still the fever did not come up. (20^th May 2020)

Weakness persists ++ next morning

After 2 days – (22^st May 2020)

No cough, no fever

Still feels weak, but has to cook his own meals, as he stays alone in the house. Advised to take oral rehydration including lemon water.

REMEDY –

NUX VOMICA 200C given in deviated doses (as per guidelines in Aphorism 272) 4 times a day for 2 days. (given on 18^th may 2020)

Placebo given along with it.

What are deviated doses? – (Acc to Aphorism 272 à Such a globule,⁽¹⁵⁸⁾ placed dry upon the tongue, is one of the smallest doses for a moderate recent case of illness. Here but few nerves are touched by the medicine. A similar globule, crushed with some sugar of milk and dissolved in a good deal of water (§ 247) and stirred well before every administration will produce a far more powerful medicine for the use of several days. Every dose, no matter how minute, touches, on the contrary, many nerves.)

Here Dr Hahnemann tells us that water doses are much more superior than dry doses. And deviated doses means we should not be giving the same dose again & it should be deviated from the previous one, by stirring well before every administration.

To be read with Aph 247 à where Dr Hahnemann says that it is impractical to repeat the same unchanged dose of a remedy once.

Thus, it means it is deviated from the previous dose, and yet given along with the guidelines by Dr Hahnemann.

SOURCE BOOK CORRELATION WITH PATIENTS OWN LANGUAGE –

MATERIA MEDICA PURA	PATIENT’S OWN LANGUAGE
An attack of fever; at night; (at 2am), intolerable drawing pain through thighs and legs, so that he could not compose himself	Pain in legs with fever, unable to move due to it, there was internal feeling of uneasiness
On the slightest exposure to the open air shivering and chilliness for an hour (with pain in the back) He dreads to go into the open air (aft. 1/2 h.). By the slightest draught of air he gets chilled	Used to cover the body and sleep all the time which helped++, uncovering << fever with chills Chilly, I keep fan off +++ I still cover even in this hot weather++ Starts shivering if uncovers, ruh ruh khadi ho jata hai (formication with uncovering)
During the external or internal heat, at the same time chilliness and great exhaustion, which, especially in the afternoon, compel him to lie down and cover himself with the bedclothes, or at least put on warm clothes.	Used to cover the body and sleep all the time which helped++, uncovering << fever with chills Chilly, I keep fan off +++ I still cover even in this hot weather++ Starts shivering if uncovers (formication with uncovering)
Violent chilliness in bed at night, but towards morning sweat preceded by formication in the skin.	Shivering when tries to uncover with formication of the skin.
Chilliness on the feet as if sprinkled with cold water, with trembling Great coldness, at least of the limbs, without thirst.	If I keep my legs on the floor, the floor seems too cold and my legs feel cold)
Sensation of burning inward heat through the whole body (aft 6, 12h.)	Internal body heat felt along with burning sensation)

(Reference – MATERIA MEDICA PURA, VOL 2, Page 262 – 266)

FOLLOW UP –

The patient had been doing fine but after 2 days of placebo (6 days after starting with homoeopathy), he got one more spike of fever. That time, the symptoms were indicating a different medicine. (24^nd May 2020)

The characteristic symptoms are as follows – Horripilation with fever, as if hairs on his hand were erect. This goes away immediately and the fever subsides.

His entire body was hot during the fever, except the feet, which he described as being cold as ice.

Extreme weakness so as to not let him do any work, even moving from bed to toilet was causing weakness.

He said, Sir am I ever going to get better? I am tired of all this. I don’t think I will ever get healthy again!

No desire to eat or drink anything

TOTALITY OF CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS –

• Horripilation with fever
• Body got, feet cold during fever
• Despair of recovery
• Weakness out of proportion with fever

REMEDY – PSORINUM 1M (one single dose) along with placebo. (24^th May 2020)

FOLLOW UP –

The fever subsided within few hours and never returned.  After 2 days.  No spike of fever, no cough, weakness persists. But I am sure the remedy will cover the convalescent phase the patient is in. (26^th May 2020)

After 7 days, no fever, no cough. Weakness almost negligible. (3^rd June 2020)

RX – Stopped medicines.

Dr. Allen in his therapeutics of intermittent fever writes –

• Especially adapted to psoric constitutions; lack of reaction after severe acute diseases, appetite will not return.
• Great weakness and debility; from loss of fluids; remaining after acute diseases; without any organic lesion.
• Despairs of recovery; hopeless, thinks he will die, especially after fevers.
• Chill with thirst, especially in the evening, on the upper arms and thighs, with horripilations, hot flashes, creeping chills, great weakness, debility, sleepiness.
• Internal shivering, creeping chills, and icy-cold feet.
• Psorinum will often clear up a case where there is lack of vital reaction after severe attacks, and other remedies, although well chosen, fail to relieve or permanently improve.

TABULATED FORMAT FOR REMEDY AND FOLLOW UP –

DATE	FOLLOW UP	REMEDY
18th May 2020	1st Prescription	Nux vom 200c, deviated doses, every 6 hourly
20th May 2020	Fever went away within 2 doses completely.  The patient was advised to stop taking the allopathic drug along with the homoeopathic remedy as it was only suppressing and not helping. The patient had taken the first dose at around 5 pm in the evening. He got the fever around 7-8 pm (usual time), but this time it was much more manageable. (general sense of well being ++) Next morning, no fever. He had not taken any antipyretic but still the fever did not come up.	Nux vom 200c, deviated doses, every 6 hourly
22nd May 2020	No cough, no fever Still feels weak, but has to cook his own meals, as he stays alone in the house. Advised to take oral rehydration including lemon water.	Placebo every 6 hourly
24th May 2020	The patient had been doing fine but after 2 days of placebo (6 days after starting with homoeopathy), he got one more spike of fever. That time, the symptoms were indicating a different medicine. The characteristic symptoms are as follows – Horripilation with fever, as if hairs on his hand were erect. This goes away immediately and the fever subsides. His entire body was hot during the fever, except the feet, which he described as being cold as ice. Extreme weakness so as to not let him do any work, even moving from bed to toilet was causing weakness. He said, Sir am I ever going to get better? I am tired of all this. I don’t think I will ever get healthy again! No desire to eat or drink anything	Psorinum 1M (One single dose)
26th May 2020	The fever subsided within few hours and never returned.  After 2 days.  No spike of fever, no cough, weakness persists. But I am sure the remedy will cover the convalescent phase the patient is in	Placebo
3rd June 2020	After 7 days, no fever, no cough. Weakness almost negligible	Stopped RX