Homeopathy and Covid: A Case Series

Date: 13^th  Dec 2020

S.H: A 35 years old male; smoker and daily alcohol consumer; grade 2 fatty liver

About a month ago his father was diagnosed with Covid pneumonia and he had close contact with him. He had occasional coughs for a day and also three consequent nights when he experienced malaise and body soreness. Recovered without any intervention. On 2^nd  Dec, he fell off his house’s balcony as he was drunk, and he broke his arm. At the hospital before the surgery they obtained CT scan and it came out positive and his PCR also turned out to be positive. CRP was +2.   The case was attended a week later because he was hospitalized for his surgery.

The patient and the family are not aware about the protocol followed in the hospital for Covid, but after discharge he was advised to visit an infectious disease specialist and was discharged without any specific prescription.

“I am absolutely symptom free. I have no idea how I turned out positive.  “

D:  Has any minute symptom, or change in the routine of your life happened within this last month? 

No, just for the last 3 nights, in the evening I have severe calves pain.

D: When does it happen? 

In the evenings, I am watching TV and it starts. I have to use Diclofenac suppository and then it got better.

D: You see, when we get a problem, our body naturally tries to do something to ameliorate it. For example, many people when they get headache, try to go to a place where it is darker, they avoid noises, or even tie their head up with a scarf or something. Or even when we run say for 200 meters and we are not fit enough, we get tired and when we stop we naturally bend down putting our hands on our thighs. As you see the body naturally takes positions or makes choices that make us feel better. Apart from Diclofenac, was there any factor that could make the pain better? Basically, what did you try before you used the suppository? 

I had to stretch my body out like cats. I needed to stretch myself and also I had to hit my feet on the ground; only this kind of movement would make me better. It made me very restless physically. I could not stay calm  in one position. I had to move my legs and that would make me better.

D: Any exciting factor?

I am very hot person generally. A day before I had to go out and I went out with my T-shirt and it was really cold but I was not annoyed at all.

D: How is the thirst? 

My thirst is always very much. Normally I drink 3 litres a day of water. And that also in cool/cold temperature.

D: About a month ago when dad was diagnosed with pneumonia, was there any change you noticed? 

No, I had very occasional coughs which I think it was very nervous due to his diagnosis. No aggravating or ameliorating factor.

D: Try to remember, was there any other minute symptom, minute change compared to who or how you are in normal times? 

Only for a few nights. The whole day I was physically very active, and in the whole day I didn’t have any problem. When in the evening I would come home, I would get malaise and soreness in the body, all over.

D: Describe this a little bit more; what were you doing the whole day?

I have livestock and I work there. It is not a heavy work but I am always moving around.

D: And you didn’t have any symptom when you were working? 

No, I was feeling so energetic and even if on the previous evening I had soreness, all would vanish when I would start working.

D: And coming back home at night; describe to me when exactly the symptoms would start.

After dinner

D: Little bit more? What were you doing before and after dinner?

I would come back home, play with my kid, have dinner and when I would lie down to rest, say in front of TV or even sit on the sofa, the problems would start and also I would feel little bit shivering. Then I would go and cover myself with blankets and in 2 minutes I would feel hot and uncover.

Analysis:

Rx: Rhus-t 1M, every 6 hours 

Follow up: 29^th  Dec: I feel very healthy, I do not have any coughs, I have not experienced any fatigue or leg pain at all. My energy level doesn’t decrease after work and I feel very well. (The patient is unwilling to do a control CT scan nor any lab tests). The treatment was continued for 7 days; 3 days every 6 hours, the rest BID.

Interestingly we see this rubric is Rhus tox:

Cinchona Officinalis 

Case 11

Date: 20^th Oct 2020

J.B: A 56 years old male; with no specific chronic disease; bank employee.

“Symptoms started on 14^th October, I went to the rooftop; when I climbed down in an hour I felt a chill. I covered myself immediately and fever and chill started. It was a visible chill and lasted for 15 minutes.

Body ache on the back of the neck and the upper back. Also, a sensation of fullness in my stomach started. If my back is exposed to cold, I get problem in my stomach. I tried to do eructation but it was not happening. As if something is stuck in the stomach. As if I have eaten too much.  And when I apply heat to my back I get better. I really wished I could have eructation but it was not happening.

Again its tomorrow I prepared the stove in the garden to make grills inside and I hang my legs inside to make them warm, the moment I got up from that stove another episode of chill happened.

Dryness in the mouth and throat; so dry that I feel suffocated”

D: Describe Suffocation:  “I need to open my mouth to breathe; breathing through the nose is not enough, like when you run and then you start gasping for the air, as if a crisis has happened. Like the wrestlers who fall short of breath in the last minutes of wrestling.

I am thirsty because I feel feverish; desires warm drinks like herb tea; In normal times I drink tea, but now I cannot, even a sip makes my stomach worse.

The day that this upper back pain started, I had to do these stretching exercises for the back and it alleviated the pain as well as the stuck feeling in my stomach; also perspiration happens and my body feels much better. Generally, also when I catch cold I do something to perspire much and after perspiration I feel much better.

Last night the fever was so high that I wanted to commit suicide; my throat was so dry that it felt like suffocation. I washed my face few times, I washed my feet few times with the same normal temp drinking water.

No coughs and if happens it is random and dry.

During the day I am really good but since 6p.m around the time when the sun sets I feel extremely bad, especially with my fever.

Perspiration was self-induced but also it has happened that I have woke up from sleep and I saw myself drenched.

First chill happens and then the fever; during fever although I felt hot but I didn’t uncover myself with the notion that if I make myself perspire I would feel better and perspiration makes me feel better.

Generally and also now I prefer warm environment.

The weakness is not so much that I need to sleep, I dislike to be alone but now I have to separate myself from my family.

Also I have dizziness when I want to rise up, or when I am walking or standing doing something, I feel like falling and I have to grip somewhere.

Till yesterday, I could not look to the sides because in the eyes and also in the frontal sinuses area I felt pain but today that is resolved.”

D: What do you mean by Crisis:

That something happens to you or your family, like we were going on a trip to the north and we had a car accident. The car was the least important matter but your peace and composure was disturbed and I tried to quickly take care of my family so that they do not feel upset. Being bankrupt, getting sick when you don’t have any money,…kind of obstruction happens in my throat, my legs shiver, …

D: Any dreams? 

In every sleep I have nightmare and this is every time I fall sick and have high fever: I am falling from the roof top 100 times and this scene is repeated again and again. There was no conclusion to the dream that I see I am dead or what, but the same scene repeats again and again. Or I am running from someone and I am just running and running, there is no end or conclusion, I have no idea why these dreams do not leave me alone? I just want them to leave me alone. I don’t care what happens at the end of the dream, but I have no idea why these dreams do not let go of me.

The patient was convinced to get a CT scan done on 22^nd Oct 2020:

(The photo is taken from the physical CT scan paper hence the poor quality)

Analysis:

Rx: China officinalis 1M every 6 hours

The proposed miasm for China officinalis is malaria, with the feeling of being persecuted in an acute threat that is depicted in his repetitive dreams with high fever:

Follow up:

Obtaining this patient’s follow up was quite challenging as he was surrounded by western medical practitioners but the full recovery happened in almost two weeks. He was only on OTC medications for his fever otherwise only on homeopathy. The improvement started with headache and dizziness.

His marked aggravation post 6 p.m. started to decrease and his fever started getting limited to short hours in late evenings and within 4 days it totally resolved. The intensity of the disturbing dreams started to reduce since day 2 and later despite the fever he didn’t have any of those dreams. There was a marked gap between the times we communicated. The energy level improved significantly after day 6 and steadily improved till full recovery.

Note:

We have had several cases whose acute state called for China officinalis. In the majority of these cases dream components came up quite significantly with the main theme of an urge or necessity to come out of an unfavourable situation, being persecuted continuously which despite the patients’ effort  doesn’t come to an end or any conclusion, consuming a lot of mental energy, leaving the patients feeling powerless to end the situation they are involved in, the dream leaving them with the feeling that they are doomed to tolerating this unending torture.

Case 12

Date: 29^th Nov 2020

M.H: a 40 years old female; history of severe allergies in all 4 seasons after cosmetic surgery on the nose about 2 years ago.

The daughter of this patient was clinically positive for Covid, and was treated completely with Ars-album 1M. About 20 days later, the patient came with her daughter for her allergies. She complained of occasional cough and severe coryza due to her allergy. All of her co-workers at her work place were on leave in turns due to getting Covid positive.

She was sent for a PCR test which turned out negative and also CRP was negative and ESR in normal range. Covid IgM also was in normal range.

She was visited again on 6^th Dec:

D: Is there any symptom even insignificant which is different from your allergy symptoms now? Any new symptom? 

There is slight sensation of heaviness on my chest when I breathe. I didn’t have this before, but it is very little and not bothering me.

D: Would you try to inhale deeply?

She is not able to fully fill her lungs plus she starts coughing.

She is sent for CT scan; very mild infiltration is detected.

The case was taken on 9^th Dec:

“I have dyspnea which is not severe and it is only when I talk.  I have severe cough which make me utterly breathless. First few coughs are productive with scanty green phlegm discharge and after 3-4 minutes of coughing the coughs become dry. They start suddenly. When I lie down or during sleep I have no coughs so I sleep pretty well but as soon as I wake up in the morning the coughs start pretty severely.”

“But yesterday I was talking to my brother on phone; quite a pleasant talk and when we started to laugh, my cough started so severely. Again it happened when again I was communicating with my family members and as soon as we started to laugh over a matter, my cough started so severely; it is so severe that I feel my chest is so tight and I feel choked.  “

“I feel a huge weight is put on my chest.  I feel very thirsty and I need to drink lots of warm drinks like herb teas.  I don’t feel much down with my energy; I prefer to take rest but it is not that the disease make me need excessive rest; I do everything but as if suddenly you are plugged off. But naturally I am not a type of person who allows that any disease affect my mood, I have fallen ill several times quite seriously but nobody hears me nagging. “

Analysis:

Rx: China officinalis 1M every 6 hours

Follow up:

Her coughs significantly decreased within the first 24 hours and the full recovery happened in 6 days. China was continued for a whole week every 6 hours .

Bryonia Alba