Interviews

Dr. Nahida Mulla

Written by Alan V. Schmukler

Alan Schmukler interviews Dr. Nahida Mulla

Dr. Nahida M. Mulla M.D. is principal, HOD Repertory & PG Guide, HOD Pediatrics at A M. Shaikh Homoeopathic Medical College, Belgaum.

 

AS: How did you first become interested in the practice of homeopathy?

NM: When I took charge of the paediatric OPD while doing my MD (Hom) nine years back, I could see small babies coming to my OPD crying and unable to express anything. Along with them were anxious parents, asking me to give relief to their baby as early as possible. This made me study homoeopathic paediatrics in depth, and believe me, till today I enjoy bringing back the smile on the face of my little baby patients, and more important, on the parents. They stop crying when they enter my OPD, and that’s what satisfies me.

 

AS : That’s a very good reason to go to work every day! Who were the best teachers for you, or who most influenced your work?

NM: My patients are my best teachers. Every day I get to learn many more things from them. They make me read about things which I never knew earlier.

AS: What are the most important principles to keep in mind when assessing a child’s state? What special skills are required in taking the cases of babies or children?

NM: The first and foremost thing to keep in mind is to be friendly with the child. An accurate history we can get through the mother only, because she is the only one who knows about her child’s activities in much detail, and she is the best observer. We need to also observe the developmental milestones of the child; any change in the regular pattern of eating, sleeping, bowel habits, behavior etc. Each child is a new case for us. How one child reacts to one situation may not be the same with the other. Hence, we need to be very cautious while examining them. All kids cannot be examined by making them lie down on the bed. A few liked to be examined on the mother’s lap itself. A few will not even allow us to touch them. We need to assess each child differently and carefully.

AS: Those children are lucky to be in your hands. Aside from the usual childhood diseases, what kind of cases do you see most often in your work?

NM: I see allergic respiratory disorders and recurrent chest infections. I had conducted a three year trial : “A Prospective Study of Homoeopathy in Allergic Respiratory Disorders”. Apart from this, homoeopathy has produced excellent results in bedwetting in children, recurrent tonsillar infections, pica, etc.

AS: In that study you found that patients improved faster after their constitutional remedies, and when the miasmatic and constitutional approaches were integrated. You concluded that : Homoeopathic management of allergic rhinitis is able to annihilate the disease and reduce the intensity and frequency of the episodes”.

That’s quite a conclusion, considering that allopaths always treat this condition suppressively. Have you ever run into conflict with allopaths around issues like this?

NM: No conflicts at all. Instead they refer cases to me.

AS: Well that’s a hopeful sign. How do you handle the issue of vaccination? Is there pressure from schools or agencies to vaccinate?

NM: It is very difficult to convince the common crowd. We do give vaccines every Wednesday in my opd.

AS: Can you mention a case that helped convert a patient or family to homeopathy?

NM: In the initial days of my practice, a fourteen month old baby was brought with severe cough, breathlessness and rattling in chest. They had already tried all other medicines and finally came to me. Believe me, Antimonium tartaricum 6 worked miraculously for her. She was relieved by evening. After that her entire family got converted to homoepathy. Now I have a total of 25 members of her family as patients because of her.

AS: And that’s how people come to accept homeopathy. For the medical community, research may also be a factor. What kind of research would you like to see done?

NM: Research with all the proper documentation; reports before and after treatment, which are very useful for us to show to other sciences how effective homoeopathic treatment is.

AS: What do you see as most important in homeopathic education? How can it be improved? What advice would you give a student who is studying repertory?

NM : Our basics need to be very strong. Knowledge of Organon, Materia medica and repertory are interdependent. Students must also have thorough knowledge of medicine. What is curable and what is incurable have to be differentiated. Students who are studying repertory need to know the basic plan and construction, its utility, and limitations. Each repertory has its own advantages and limitations. It is the case which decides the utility of each repertory, depending on the availability of the symptoms.

AS: New symptom pictures have emerged from Scholten’s periodic table model and Sankaran’s sensation perspective. They have not all come from provings. Should they be added to the repertory?

NM: Definitely, why not. Repertory always enhances our knowledge of materia medica.

AS : What do you find most challenging in your work now?

NM: Keeping everything balanced, health, family life and work life.

AS: That’s a lot to juggle. Many of our readers are probably now wishing they had a homeopathic pediatrician while growing up. Thank you Dr. Mulla for chatting with us today.

About the author

Alan V. Schmukler

Alan V. Schmukler is a homeopath, Chief Editor of Homeopathy for Everyone and author of ”Homeopathy An A to Z Home Handbook”, (also in French, German, Greek, Polish and Portuguese). He is Hpathy’s resident cartoonist and also produces Hpathy’s Tips & Secrets column and homeopathy Crossword puzzles each month. Alan is a recipient of the National Center for Homeopathy Martha Oelman Community Service Award. Visit Alan at his website: Here.

4 Comments

  • hello dear DR.Nahida Madam..i am so proud to be ur student.. hope u remember us.. congratulation for ur great great achievements.. she was my repertory teacher in collage….

  • Dear Sir,
    It was a pleasure to read the interview of Dr. Nahida Mulla from Belgaum, India about her experience with paediatric patients.
    Your almost all the articles happens to be informative and interesting.
    Keep going.
    Thanking you.

  • Resp mam,
    Please elaborate on the issue of vaccination, how you justify?
    Have you tried prescribing on mind and behavioral symptoms only in paed cases? like Sehgal’s deo.
    Thank you.

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