Eczema in a Girl of Two

Initial Consultation: February 11,2021

Follow-Up Consultation: March 12, 2021

Follow-Up Consultation: April 13, 2021

Initial Appointment – February 11, 2021 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time

Alice is a two-year-old girl who has been suffering from eczema since she was three weeks old. What looked like baby acne on her face, at first, to the mother, turned out to be something more bothersome. Alice was taken to her pediatrician where she tested positive for blood in stool and dairy allergies.

Her mother quickly switched to dairy-free formula and her “rash” disappeared. It resurfaced when she turned eight months old, presenting itself on her neck which was confused for heat rash. The skin would get better but then worse again and never faded.

Family History:

Mother- Lower back issues

Father- Asthma, dog, and horse allergies

Sister- Urinary Tract Infections

Maternal Grandmother- Breast Cancer

Maternal Grandfather- Heart Bypass Procedure

Paternal Grandmother- Lung Issues

Paternal Grandfather- Bipolar

Observations:

Alice had just woken up from a nap, a friendly-natured, sweet, smiling toddler with big, beautiful dark-blonde curls and chubby cheeks. Mother began to precisely delineate the presentation of the skin eruptions- describing them as bright red, small and super dry eruptions that look similar to “ringworm” spots.

They appeared primarily on her arms, legs ankles and feet (being her most problematic area.)  But now they are mostly on her ankles and feet. The toddler also had other skin issues, such as cradle cap. The mom mentioned how last summer, symptoms had exacerbated, and she decided to try an eczema protocol.

It worked well at first but lack of consistency, due to her moving houses, did not give her an opportunity to let any effect completely manifest. Mother brought up the consistent moving due to her husband’s job and how out of all her children,

Alice was the only one to mention she “missed” home and she wanted to go “home.” When she had woken up from her nap, she was holding a blanket and wore a pacifier. Mother mentioned she used “loveys” to cope with the great amount of moving.

A month prior to the initial consultation, she had a cough after being exposed to the covid-19 virus. She would have a random, dry cough, once or twice a day. Two weeks after, she was vomiting excessively which caused the phlegm in her chest to loosen up – leading to gagging. Every time Alice would try to speak, she would “gag” on her phlegm and her cough slowly got less severe. Respiratory-wise, she had a history of croup and RSV.

Her mother steered attention towards how snuggly and affectionate of a child she was. A cuddly girl who was endeared by snuggling up to both her parents and was clingy when sick. She tended to be timid with those she was not too familiar with and would want to be held by her mom.

Once she was over her shyness, she would get comfortable and play with them. It took her a while to warm up to people. Alice also had her feisty side, she tended to be passionate, loud, and always wanted to do what her older siblings were doing.

She must have her way all the time! Or she would cry and stomp her feet. She absolutely loved being near water and was an overall fun girl. She had a connection with a family dog that recently passed away.  Alice loved animals. She never walked anywhere but ran all over the place.

She was also the most fearful out of her siblings, afraid of airplanes and thunder. A peculiar fear of hers was unknown objects in the bathtub, maybe dirt or a leaf that accidentally got in there would make her jump in fright and want to be held!

Some of the issues that made her irritability arise were her skin flare-ups. When it was at its worst, she would get grumpy and scratch a lot. She became aware of having them at night when it was more bothersome versus the daytime where she was more distracted.

Alice was a night-sweater and she would sleep in light clothes, uncovered, and would enjoy singing and talking for an hour or two before she drifted off to sleep. Perspiration was mostly around her nose and upper lip but primarily head area.

Of course, she cannot forget her loveys, which she cannot sleep without. Recently, there had been some issues with her sleeping cycle because she was teething and had swelling in her gums, she kept waking up. Her mother gave her homeopathic Chamomilla which seemed to help.

Her sleeping schedule was from 8PM to 8AM and she enjoyed naps during the daytime, around afternoon hours 12PM-1PM. She had these episodes when she took longer naps, her mother suspected her sugar levels would decrease because she would wake up angry and upset- crying. Demanding to be held! After eating, she would bounce back to normal. Thermal wise she was on the warmer side- her skin was never cool to touch.

She was a picky eater with changeability in the foods she preferred – there was a time where she loved eggs and would eat them all the time and now has a distaste towards them. The disdain towards them began when they had moved houses the year prior.

She loved yogurt, milk, and “vinegary” types of foods such as pickles and sometimes would venture out and eat sushi. She had a large appetite and sometimes mom felt like she would eat more than her! Digestive system wise, she tended to be on the gassier side and her stool was always mushy. No mucus or slime was ever observed, and her bowel movements were daily.

Alice’s case was repertorized onRadar Opus 2.2.16 Software

The Rubrics:

• SKIN – ERUPTIONS – dry
• SKIN – ERUPTIONS – vesicular – areola – red
• EXTREMITIES – ERUPTIONS – Lower Limbs
• MIND – HOME – desires to go
• GENERALS – NIGHT
• STOOL – Mushy
• MIND – OBSTINATE
• MIND – FEAR – Unfamiliar Objects
• GENERALS – FOOD AND DRINKS – Eggs -aversion

The rubric that correlated most adequately to the etiology that the patient held was “MIND – HOME- desires to go” due to the distinctive tone that the toddler used to express her yearning to go back to her old house. There was parallelism between moments of flare-ups and the discontent of her having to move.

One of the rubrics to describe the manifestation of the skin eruptions was, “SKIN – ERUPTIONS – vesicular – areola – red” which medically, distinctively elaborates on the shape and color, a reddened patch around a spot or papule. “SKIN – ERUPTIONS – dry” identifies the texture of the skin appearance and “EXTREMITIES – ERUPTIONS – Lower Limbs” to explain placement. The time of aggravation, which was nighttime was repertorized into, “GENERALS – NIGHT.”

The patient’s general mental state was friendly in nature but mostly “headstrong,” she was aware of what she wanted and would not take any contradictory actions from anyone. This repertorized into, “MIND-OBSTINATE”

She was exceptionally fearful but the most peculiar dread she had was of unspecified material that she would see in the bathtub. This fear repertorized into, “MIND – FEAR – Unfamiliar Objects”

There was a pattern of “mushy” stool that was seen by mother, which was consistent and everyday occurrence that was best described with the rubric of, “STOOL-MUSHY”

Her abrupt aversion to eggs was repertorized into, “GENERALS – FOOD AND DRINKS- EGGS- aversion” which I thought was peculiar because it is a food she had formerly enjoyed.

Analysis:

The highest-ranked remedies that appeared on the repertory chart were Calcarea Carbonica, Sulphur and Silicea.

Sulphur:

Sulphur was the first remedy I pondered upon because of patient’s thermals (warm-blooded) and time of onset of symptoms (nighttime). She was aggravated by warm temperatures which produced discomfort and a noteworthy amount of perspiration.

The dry textured skin was also a prominent characteristic of Sulphur, as was excessive appetite which the patient presented. In Sulphur, the affected areas are red which was manifested but burning, which the patient never complained of.

There is a significant symptom of Sulphur, offensive odor, but the mother did not confirm when asked, during consultation. Ultimately, this remedy did not make it to the number one spot due to its general personality, an unhappy and lazy person who dislikes bathing. Alice was the complete opposite when it came to the aspect of her character, with her happy and water-loving self.

Calcarea Carbonica:

I had a good feeling about Calcarea Carbonica because of my surface-level knowledge on it but never imagined the connection between the patient and remedy would be as impeccable, aside from a couple modalities that did not match.

To start out, I understood the affinity that Calcarea Carbonica had on skin conditions, especially in young children. It is one of the top remedies for eczema and cradle cap. A striking symptom was the profuse perspiration while sleeping that matched location, primarily the head area.

The great longing for eggs that the child once had, also was proven and her excessive appetite. Alice was an endearing and affectionate child, whom had a great love for “home.” Calcareas, both adult and children, have an immense love of home with a nurturing tendency- the patient strongly portrayed these traits, rapidly redirecting my focus on this remedy.

They also have all types of fears. In-person, she was also the typical Calc-Carb child, that greatly confirmed my remedy! Soft, chubby, round-cheeked babies. With fair-skin, light eyes, and a friendly demeanor. That was Alice and there was no doubt about it. Some doubts that set me back a bit, was the aggravation by cold temperatures and the susceptibility to constipation that she did not have. She was also the opposite of sluggish, but I still decided to give this remedy a go.

Silicea Terra:

The last remedy I investigated because it had some similar traits was Silicea, that right off the start, dissuaded me because of its willfully obedient and complacent persona – which my feisty, little patient could never be. Silicea’s perspiration has an offensive, acrid odor and is primarily from the feet. This patient also lacks stamina, and the affinity to the skin is mostly towards abscesses and skin that tends to suppurate cheesy, purulent discharges. The stools are primarily hard and there is a great deal of constipation. The Silicea patient’s thermals are aggravation from cold a dire need to cover the head. Alice presented none of these.

Plan:

Calcarea Carbonica 30c

2 pellets in one ounce of water, drink all.

Do this every night, for three nights in a row.

Break for one night and begin again for another three nights.

Then break again for one night and begin again for three nights.

Reasoning:

I started out with 30c because 200c is sometimes too harsh for sensitive children. Water dosages prevent aggravations and are gentler.

Follow- Up Consultation (March 12, 2021):

Alice had developed a new rash on her left leg but had gotten better after second round of Calc-Carb. Skin had gotten drier and was still visible but mother had not seen her scratching like before. Four molars were starting to come in which was disrupting her sleep.

Cradle cap had gotten worse after the first dose of remedy. Her feet were still dry but not red anymore like before. No more “ringworm” spots. Stool was still mushy, and cough was still there but sounded “wetter.” Became pickier with food. Lastly, mother noticed less sweating around the patient’s nose.

Plan: Repeat Calcarea Carbonica – same potency in water.

Follow- Up Consultation (April 13, 2021):

Patient no longer coughing, a few red spots had reappeared on both legs. Fright went away for a while but came back recently- clingier than usual. Will yell for mom when she is not around for a bit. Not eating as much, gassier than usual. Stool was still mushy but now an orange color and not as smelly as before. Sleeping great and mood has not changed. I wanted to do a couple more rounds of Calc-Carb because there were noticeable shifts in the body.

Plan: Repeat Calcarea Carbonica – same potency and water dosage.

Follow-Up Conversation (February 6^th, 2022):

The mother and I have been in communication since last year. She has shared pictures of the incredible changes in Alice, her skin has improved immensely. She very rarely gets tiny flairs of dry skin but no redness or itchiness. Overall, she’s doing well.

Last follow-up was on February 6^{th  .}2022 and there was continual improvement. She is not a picky eater or fearful like before, consistency of stool is now normal. Sweet Alice is no longer irritable because of the nuisance that her skin issues had become. She is now able to be her jolly self!