An Example Case

Linda, aged five when I first saw her, presented with eczema and asthma.

Observations:
Stout girl with a marked wheeze;  a sweaty head; labouring for breath; constant cough, congested chest. You can hear the constriction after she coughs.
Eczema of the arms and legs, also spreads onto her face: wet, weeping, inflamed skin. Looks like impetigo in one or two patches: very crusty, suppurating clear sticky fluid which crusts over on top. Linda scratches at it, but it is sometimes too sore to scratch.
History of impetigo. Eczema started at weaning time, the first time she ate eggs. As she grew older it improved, but tends to recur after an asthma attack.
At five she developed asthma and hay fever for the first time. In foggy weather she wheezes and coughs. She can cough so much she has an asthma attack or diarrhoea or both at the same time. On cold damp evenings in autumn she has to stay indoors, the change of temperature as the sun goes down seems to affect her chest badly. She has a history of asthma attacks in cold air, especially in the evenings. She never could take the cold. She has a history of fevers and aching joints and flu-like symptoms if she gets soaked. She is very cold after she swims, she takes ages to warm up again.
Linda had a history of warts on fingers and feet that were treated when she was four. They were large and fleshy and bled a little if she knocked herself. Also tonsillitis which was repetitive and feverish. Mum tells me ‘she always seems to have a cold’ and her nose is stuffed with catarrh which escapes whenever it can.
Personality: Linda can be quite dominant, especially with her older brothers. She does not have a temper, but quarrels with everyone when she is not feeling well.

Treatment recommended :
Rx dulcamara 30 one dose.
Repeat only as needed for asthmatic symptoms.

This remedy is one of the large group of homeopathic medicines that suit asthma and skin symptoms that are worse in autumn, worse for changes of temperature, worse when chilled after a warm day, and which result from suppression of skin symptoms. The person who needs this remedy will be quite dominant within the family.

One month later: Linda’s asthmatic attacks reduced about 50% and her skin is almost clear. Mum gave her three doses over the month. 

I repeated this remedy a few times, when she relapsed. Over the next two years Linda needed one or two other remedies to boost her immune system function and she needed infrequent doses of dulcamara  to deal with coughs and colds. Prior to treatment, each time she caught a cold it aggravated her asthma. She gradually lost that tendency.

Two years later:  The cough is now gone and her asthma rarely bothers her. Her skin flares now and again when she is stressed at school  or her friends fall out with each other. It soon settles and the eczema has also reduced considerably since treatment began. Her skin looks healthy again. Linda does not use her puffers now, but keeps them in the drawer for emergencies. When I last heard from her mum, she had not had an asthma attack for two years, and her skin was almost completely clear.

This is an example of a very good response to homeopathic treatment. Self healing is often a slow steady process. The time it takes depends on each individual.

See also Treatable Conditions

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