Case Quizes

Revisiting: Can You Take The Case Of My Puppy? (Another Picture Case)

Written by Elaine Lewis

Gilroy has a painful sore below his right shoulder; what remedy did we give him? Scroll down for the answer.

Mom, I’ve got bad news.

What are you talking about?

I don’t have any announcements.

That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time!

Except that “Arthur” was cancelled.

Huh?

You know, the aardvark?

Oh geez!

He’s been on the air for 25 years, and it was a great show!

Shana, if you don’t mind, we have a puppy to take care of!  His name is Gilroy.

 

Oh, he’s so cute!  Who’s his mother?

Mini Maus.

Mom!!!  That is really pathetic!

It was the best I could do, I’m on a tight schedule!  We’re running late–and I’m quite sure we’re holding up the ezine!

We do that every month!

And so now, without further ado and fanfare…

I didn’t notice any fanfare…

I give you, Mini Maus and her dog, Gilroy!

I’m going to watch “Arthur”.

***

 

Name: Gilroy

Age: 6 months

Male or Female: Male

Weight: 7-8 pounds

Height: ?

Date: 10/06/2021

Email Address: ****@aol.com

  1. Describe the complaint.

Two weeks ago I noticed what I thought was a tick on Gilroy.  I moved his fur aside and saw what looked like a tick.  I pulled it off with a tweezer and then wasn’t sure it was a tick.  It looked more like a scab.  But since I thought it might be a bug bite or possibly even a tick bite I gave Gilroy a dose of Ledum 30C in water.  I assumed the spot would heal so I just ignored it.

Tonight I noticed it has grown because it’s now visible under his fur.  It is red and irritated and he doesn’t like me to touch it, so it must be painful.

  1. Etiology–

Could be a bug bite.  Possibly where he was vaccinated for distemper?

  1. Sensation–

It hurts when I touch it or try to examine it.

  1. Appearance–

Raised, red, irritated

  1. Location–where on the body is your complaint located?

Below his right shoulder.

  1. Modalities–

Worse pressure

  1. Concomitants –

Otherwise he seems healthy.

  1. Discharges–

There appears to be no discharge.

  1. Generals–

n/a

  1. The mentals:

n/a

  1. What have you been saying?

n/a

  1. What are you doing?

n/a

  1. Describe your thirst and appetite–

n/a

  1. Fever?

n/a

  1. Sweating?

n/a

  1. Odors?

n/a

  1. What is most striking, peculiar or identifying about your condition?

A little bit of red sticking out of his white fur.

  1. Is there a diagnosis?

No diagnosis.

  1. Describe your energy-

Very energetic, puppy energetic, jumping around, happy puppy

  1. What does your tongue look like?

Normal

  1. If you have a cough,

n/a

  1. If you haven’t already said if you’re hotter or colder

n/a

Hi Elaine. I gave him Ledum two weeks ago and this thing has grown since then. Here’s a picture:

Oh!  OK, give him _______________30C right away.

Thu, Oct 7, 2021 11:09 am

Mini Maus (****@aol.com)

To:you Details

Hi Elaine,

He took the _________30C and I’m hoping for the best.

 

Thu, Oct 7, 2021 8:58 pm

Mini Maus (****@aol.com)

To:you Details

Hi Elaine. Gilroy is doing well.  He didn’t seem quite as bothered when I touched his red spot so I’m hoping it is healing.  He has a little watery diarrhea that I hope is just a return of an old symptom.

 

Fri, Oct 8, 2021 2:28 pm

Mini Maus (****@aol.com)

To:you Details

It seems less sensitive and it seems to have a darker colored scab.

It seems to be almost gone! Definitely not as red at all.

 

From: Mini Maus <****@aol.com>

To: Elaine Lewis <[email protected]>

Sent: Fri, Oct 8, 2021 2:28 pm

Subject: Gilroy

 

Still less sensitive.

Is he letting you touch it now?

It doesn’t seem to bother him as much as it did a couple of nights ago.  It doesn’t seem to bother me as much either, I’m not as worried about it because I feel like it’s under control.  I’ll check it again tomorrow and give you an update.

 

Sat, Oct 9, 2021 2:05 pm

Mini Maus (****@aol.com)

To:you Details

It seems darker more scabbed up and less red.  He doesn’t react when I press on it.  So far so good.

It’s been only 2 days, and just one dose!

 

Gilroy Update

Sun, Oct 10, 2021 10:07 am

Mini Maus (****@aol.com)

To:you Details

Little black scabs seem to be forming on the sore area and falling off.  It still seems to be healing.

I can hardly see a thing!

 

Re: Gilroy Update

Mon, Oct 11, 2021 10:09 am

Mini Maus (****@aol.com)

To:you Details

It doesn’t seem to bother him when I touch it or I press on it.  So good news.

 

Gilroy

Tue, Oct 12, 2021 3:34 p

Mini Maus (****@aol.com)

To:you Details

It still seems to be healing, slowly but going in the right direction.  I can no longer see it poking out of his white fur.

He has also gotten a little more assertive with making his needs known, which is good.  He is such a sweet little dog who looks to me for approval.  Last night I put him to sleep on the couch in one position and he moved farther away to a more preferred area.  He should be able to sleep where he wants.

Nice picture, hardly anything noticeable.  Geez, I had no idea this remedy would have a constitutional effect!

His poops are better too.

He usually just lets me put him where ever and that’s where he stays.  He is extremely compliant, which makes things easier for me but I’m not always sure it’s best for him.

He was also much more assertive on his walk today, trying harder to keep up with the other dogs and letting us know he wasn’t happy being held back.  My husband agreed that this was a good change because he was a little too passive and compliant.

Wow, who would have thought that ____________ would cause all that to happen!  And in just 5 days and one dose of a 30C.  I really wasn’t expecting this!

________________________

OK, gang, that’s it!  

And by the way, all these homeopaths with their “protocols”?  Who seem to know exactly how much dosing is going to be needed even before the first dose is given?  This dog is transformed in less than a week with only a single dose of a 30C!  Now think about that the next time you’re about to say, “Take 30C the first day, 200C the next day, 1M the day after that….” and variations thereof!  And you patients out there, if someone comes at you with a “protocol” (meaning one-size-fits-all), be very skeptical!

Alright, I’m done complaining for the moment… I don’t know how long that will last. 

______________________

Votes

Hypericum-2

Apis-3

Silica

Ledum

 

____________________

OK, how did we do?  Who wants to be first this time?  Oh look, it’s Maria from Greece!

Hi Elaine and Shana!

Hi Maria!

For this month’s quiz I vote for Hypericum.  The rubric “bites from insects” has only ledum and hypericum under it.

I thought of arnica too because fear of touch and is under the bites rubric too as a grade-2.

But I would use hypericum first, so my vote goes for it.

If I am wrong I will try again 🙂

You’re wrong so try again!  Actually, good reasoning; but the problem is, “Mini Maus” isn’t at all sure that this sore is from a bite.  And she’s thinking it might even be the spot where he got his distemper shot (Ugh!)  So, all we really know, Maria, is that the dog has a sore spot, and it’s very sensitive to touch, he doesn’t want anybody to touch it; though shortly after the remedy, he didn’t mind.

So, what went through my mind was our remedy that’s famously known for hyper-sensitivity to touch.  In fact, here’s what Allen’s Keynotes says about this remedy:

The skin is VERY SENSITIVE TO TOUCH, cannot bear even clothes to touch affected parts (Lach.–sensitive to slightest touch, but can bear hard pressure, Cinch.).

Skin affections EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO TOUCH, the pain often causing fainting.

So, anyway, that seemed to be the only reliable symptom in the case.

I would never have guessed!  Hepar sulph!  You spotted it as always.

Maria

 

Is anybody else here today?  I think I see Yael all the way from Israel.  (I have excellent eyesight!)

Hi, Elaine.

Hi Yael.

Ok I got two books from the mail, both in French…

I sure hope you can read them!  I mean, J’espere que vous savez lire en Francais parce que Je ne peux pas!

…general remedies for common ailments.  Not Murphy’s but it should be coming soon too!  Where did you learn to speak French?

I took French in high school.  My friend Sandy and I would speak French to each other so our parents wouldn’t know what we were talking about!  But we didn’t have French accents so we sounded ridiculous!

Also, for this month’s quiz, I would go with Apis.  Insect bite – red – and ledum didn’t work.  As Maria from Greece would say, if it’s not the right answer, I’ll try again!

Ha-ha!  OK, so, first of all, an Apis bite is, hmm….comment dites-vous….  Apis is known for swelling.  Round swelling.  Perfectly round swelling.  Round edematous swelling.  And redness.  Worse heat, better cold.  Stinging and or itching.  Could be sensitive to touch and pressure.  Thirstless.  Anyway, this is why Apis is our anaphylaxis remedy: the throat swells shut due to an allergen.  Any collection of water in the body…swollen ankles, water on the knee, water on the brain.  Hydrothorax.  I had a quiz once where our friend Kelly got bitten by a horse fly.  She said the bite swelled up the size of a grapefruit!  Here’s the case below:

https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/revisiting-huge-insect-lands-on-kelly/

So, anyway, the thing is … “Mini Maus”, after thinking about it, wasn’t sure if it was a tick bite after all.  So, all we really have here is a sore spot that’s very sensitive to touch.

Ok so Apis doesn’t work in this case, I’ll try with my second choice, Belladonna, because of the redness and sensitive to touch.  Getting closer?

Um….not really…..  Here’s what Allen’s Keynotes says about the remedy I chose:

“Ulcers very sensitive to contact. … Great sensitiveness to slightest touch.”

Ok I don’t have access to Allen’s Keynotes for some reason but I decided to take the mentals in the case into consideration: the puppy used to be the compliant type, not assertive enough and looking for approval from her owner.  I found Staphysagria as a match.  And it just so happens that Staph is aggravated by touch.

Very good reasoning!  You know, I also thought to myself, “I wonder if this dog is Staphysagria?”  But remember, when she filled out the questionnaire, she left the part about the “mentals” blank!  She wrote “n/a” in answer to that question.  So I had no mentals to go on, all I had was a sore that was hyper-sensitive to touch.

Am I wrong again?  Should I keep looking?

You might as well, everyone seems bewildered by this case.  Here’s what I found in (where else?) Allen’s Keynotes under this remedy, which I thought was interesting:

RELATIONS.– Complementary: to, Calendula in injuries of soft parts.

So, it’s implying that Injury could be an etiology for this remedy too (as opposed to just insect bites, for example) and it’s possible that Mini Maus could have caused this remedy state by pulling a scab off of whatever it was when she first saw it.

Thanks for providing such a rich learning platform.

Well…if you say so…….

Did you give arnica?

No, Arnica is known for ailments from blunt trauma.  You’d expect to see bruising… swelling….

Is it Hamamelis?  Here’s from the Nash MM:

“Like Arnica and Calendula, Hamamelis has often seemed to act well as a local application.”  Plus, he mentions soreness to touch.  He quotes “it is the aconite of the veins”.  It just might be my last try…

Hamamelis is a great remedy for varicose veins, phlebitis and hemorrhoids.  Well Yael, if this is your last try….The remedy is…..Hepar sulph!  When I hear the words, “He won’t let me touch it,” my first thought is Hepar sulph.  I really had nothing else to go on!

By the way, I should probably have mentioned that Hpathy.com has an e-book library!  On the homepage, scroll down to “Explore More” and you’ll see this icon:

Click on it and you will be taken to the Library.  When you get there, scroll down and click on “Materia Medica”.  You will find Allen’s Keynotes there:

Cool, n’est-ce-pas? 

Oh look, the gang from Slovakia is here!

 

Hello Elaine and Shana,

Hello, Miroslav and Jitka!

our brief answers to the last quiz are as follows:

Miroslav votes – Apis:

Red, irritated, apparently painful to the touch, swollen, possibly after stinging or vaccination: I would try Apis.

Except that there was no round swelling, that’s why I couldn’t pick Apis.

Jitka votes – Silicea

Since you mentioned that the remedy also affected the constitution of the dog, I realized that Silicea is one of remedies with a submissive and a timid mentality.  It is related to pustules.  It heals abscesses since it promotes suppuration, helps to heal inflamed, painful pustules or at the non-healing injection place after vaccination.

Good guess, Jitka, but, first of all, we don’t have a pustule here.  It’s just a sore.  Mini Maus may have caused it by pulling off a scab that she thought was a tick.  We have, really, only one symptom here: hyper-sensitivity to touch.  Our remedy that’s famous for that is Hepar sulph.  So, that’s what I gave him.  And it worked really fast!  In less than 24 hours she was able to touch the sore spot.  The redness went away very quickly.

Best regards

Jitka

 

And now, closer to home, we have Anil from California!

Re the quiz, Hypericum is sensitive to touch isn’t it, as it’s a nerve remedy?

Hi Anil!  Hypericum is a very painful remedy.  See my quiz called “It’s Luke Again!” to give you an idea of how painful it is:

https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/revisiting-its-luke-again/

Pains shooting upwards is a typical Hypericum presentation.  The patient is almost certainly screaming.  The dog, on the other hand, does not want to be touched on the sore spot and we’re not sure what that sore spot is or how it got there.

Also, I read that the puppy got injection…

Yes, but also note that the Mom is just guessing about what might have happened, she doesn’t know.

…so it’s ledum or hypericum & i thought Hypericum fit the bill.  The only other remedy that I have in my notes for hyper-sensitivity to touch is Hepar Sulph.

Yes!  That’s it!  This is just one of those remedy keynotes that you have to know–like that Sulphur has hot feet or that Bryonia is worse least motion.  So, when you hear that someone’s “eruptions” can’t bear to be touched, you should think of Hepar sulph right away.

But my understanding is that it’s more abscess oriented.

Yes, Hepar is a remedy for abscesses and sores; but, the keynote is, whatever kind of eruption it might be, it’s hyper-sensitive to touch.  To quote Boericke:

“Great sensitiveness to slightest touch.”

Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!!

 

Hi Elaine,

Hi Vamsi!

Puppy Quiz , quite interesting as always…:)

Puppy looks cute …loved its innocent look.

Okay I am getting carried away by its looks.  Let me come to the quiz.

It’s a clear case, I feel:

1) Redness

2) Maybe a bug bite

3) Worse by pressure – Sensitive to touch

4) Right Sided symptom

No, you can’t use “right-sided” here.  Sides of the body have no meaning when the case comes from “without”.  In other words, the dog didn’t choose the right side of his body for an eruption of some sort; some outside force caused it—maybe it was the spot the vet chose to give a vaccination, maybe it was a tick bite…but the dog didn’t put a sore spot there, it came from the outside.

I feel APIS MELLIFICA is the remedy!!

Am I spot-on ?

Uh……..No, sorry, Vamsi; but, good pun!  Apis eruptions are generally round and swollen.  Think of swollen, round and red when you think of Apis.  Think also of allergic reactions, swellings of an allergic etiology.  Think of hives due to some allergen, or even anaphylaxis — the throat swelling shut.  Think of swelling after a sting of some kind, bee or wasp, etc.  Think of water accumulations, like swollen feet and ankles due to kidney failure.  Think of urinary retention.  Think of water on the knee from an injury, or water on the brain or hydrothorax.  All we know about this eruption is that it’s red and hypersensitive.

Understood your perspective!!!  Thanks for the pointers of Apis ( Round and Swollen ) 

Sometimes you’ll just see someone with a big puffy lip.  Again, it could be an allergic swelling, especially if they tell you it happened after eating shellfish or strawberries, etc.

Yes, is it BELLADONNA?  Hypersensitive to touch and redness dominate!!

Well, you know….now I’m starting to wonder about the “redness” too.  It looks like Mini Maus may have pulled a scab off of something, thinking it was a tick; and if that’s what she did, then “redness” would be inevitable, and all her fault!  So, it’s not the same as if, like in one of our recent quizzes, getting bitten by a spider and winding up with a big red swelling that itched, remember that Apis case?  All we really know about this case is that there’s a “sore”, and it’s hyper-sensitive to touch.

Oh!!  Is it ARNICA????

Sore and sensitive to touch!!

Do let me know ……..

No.  Arnica doesn’t want to be touched because they’ve been injured, and basically, they don’t want to be approached at all.  I’m getting the impression you’re not familiar with this remedy.  It’s Hepar sulph.  Here’s what TF Allen says in his Handbook of Materia Medica:

“Hepar is generally indicated by extreme sensitiveness of inflamed parts….”

So, clearly, we can tell that whatever this thing is, it’s inflamed, because it’s red.  Whenever I hear that an eruption is hypersensitive to touch, the first thing I think of is Hepar sulph.

Oh Elaine!!  Hepar Sulph, did not know this keynote!  Know they are chilly patients and have stick-like sensations.

More like splinter-like sensations, like in a sore throat.

But yes , read through now.  Eruptions are sensitive, to touch.  WOW!!  A new learning about Hepar Sulph!!

Well, I’m glad we had this quiz then!

Yes!  Got this point clear!!  Arnica is sensitive to touch, because they are injured.  But if it’s Eruptions or ulcers and they are sensitive to touch, then it’s Hepar Sulph!!

I would certainly be considering starting with that, anyway.

Elaine, got it engraved now in my mind!!!  Thank You soooooooooooooo much !!! 😊

You’re welcome!

Cheers

Vamsi.

 

OK, I’m not seeing a lot of winners this month, but, Anil did say that after Hypericum he was looking at Hepar, so, way to go, Anil! 

Don’t forget to try again with this month’s quiz!  

Bye, see you again next time!

————————————–
Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom

Elaine takes online cases. Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

2 Comments

  • Nice learning Elaine !! Now I know Apis ( honey bee ) has perfect round swelling just as a honey comb !!
    Thanks as always !!

    • That’s right, Vamsi; but also think of it in water-retention, as in places you can’t even see, like in urinary retention or any accumulation of water in the body, edema, water on the brain which results in shrill cries–give Apis right away! The throat swelling shut due to an allergic reaction and now a person can’t breathe, give Apis right away!

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