Her grit helped her survive
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1993 Jan / Feb Vol II No 1.
Dr Shinee Samuel.
` Sil
Mrs. R, age 43, consulted on 25th March 1991 for rash and
itching on head and ear. Allopathic medicines provided no relief.
Chief Complaints :
- Rash on left side of head and ear with severe itching. Aggravated by oils, perfume, eggs (4+). Ameliorated by hot water.
- Cold and sneezing with throat pain more in morning, in winter and after getting wet in rain.
- Allergic sneezing after eggs.
- Headaches on vertex, extending to left eye, worse after tension, before menses, sun, direct fan and from loss of sleep.
- Knee pain from standing for long time and while getting up from a sitting position.
- Acidity after fried food and spices.
Hair- Hairfall and dandruff.
Nails- Brittle.
Appetite- normal.
Thirst- 2 glasses a day
Perspiration- on palms and soles.
Menstrual History- Cycle - 5/28 days. Lasts for 5 days. Spotting only for first 2 days, then flow starts, leaving stains which do not wash off easily. She gets headaches two days before the period. Sleep-Unrefreshing. Body feels heavy and there is a sensation of tightness during sleep.
Dreams- Peculiar. Dreams of snakes and elephants. Often she finds herself walking in narrow places, alleys and other fearful places, but she eventually manages to come out.
Meteorological- Walking in the sun she gets a headache, but she likes summer. She cannot bear winter season. She prefers to cover while sleeping. She has a hot bath. From these points we conclude that the patient is Chilly (+2).
Life Situation:
She was born in 1948, the second child of a family of 2 brothers and 2
sisters. Her father was a government officer in Jaipur. Mother was very irresponsible,
irritable and especially hated the patient as she was the fathers favourite. Denied
education, girls were not sent to school; but the patient was very interested in studies
and repeatedly requested mother to send her to school. But since there were constant
conflicts between parents the mother often went away to her mother's home dragging the
children with her. So patient could never go to school. An uncle taught her occasionally.
She had no friends, as she was never allowed to go out much.
Marriage : an escape:
In 1971 a proposal came from an old man for her as a second wife. She
rejected the proposal but her mother insisted on this match so that she could get rid of
her. Seeing no way out, the patient too felt it may be a better way of life and agreed to
get married. She came to Bombay. Her husband spent two days a week with her and other days
with his first wife. He kept her well with money and house. The rest of the days she had
nothing else to do. She did not mix with the neighbours as they would pity her as a second
wife. 1983 she joined for BA correspondence course. Painstakingly she learned Hindi and
English. She also kept her sister with her, as she was all alone, educated her and got her
married.
Mental symptoms:
Patient is anxious and has a lot of anticipatory anxiety. Very fastidious.
Fear of robbers and elephants. Occasionally she becomes stubborn, especially when
contradicted. Likes to sit alone. She is very sensitive to what other say and, to keep her
image, keeps aloof.
From the above repertorial totality Silicea comes high. Her whole evolution pointed to Silicea. She was second in the family and always took the second place. Her main concern all throughout was to keep her image and not warrant sympathy from others. She had a lot of fears, which were reflected in dreams where she gets into narrow alleys but eventually manages to come out. She has conducted herself and managed to do her BA and survived alone. This shows her optimism and grit.
Repertorial Analysis:
| Rubrics | PgNo | Ars | Calc | Kali | Lach | Lyc | Nat | Puls | Phos | Sil | Sul | Thu |
| 1 Anticipation | SR15 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 <Contraction | SR184 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. Fastidious | SR472 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4. Fear Robbers | SR520 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5. Dreams Snakes | SR350 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6. Dreams Animals | SR247 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7. Eggs | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 8. Cr Spices | SR272 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9. Persp Palm | K1182 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 10. Persp Soles | K1184 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 <Draft | K135 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 Brittle Nails | K954 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Total Marks | 14 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 19 | 15 | 3 | |
| Rubrics Covered | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 2 | |
Treatment :
25th March 91; Itching better warmth. Silicea 30-3 doses HS/SOS
1st April 91; Itching increased for 3 days and subsided a little. SL for 1 week.
8th April 91; Itching better 50 percent. Headache once a week. SL for 15 days.
23rd April 91; Itching increased since 1 week. No Hairfall. Perspiration palms & soles better. Cold better. Silicea 200-one dose.
After this patient did not come for 1 year & 8 months, since she was well. The rash never recurred again. Again she came on 5th Jan 93 for tremendous hairfall and acidity after food.
5th Jan 92; Hairfall and acidity. Silicea 200-one
dose.
26th Jan 93; Better. No aggravation after eggs. No more dreams of snakes or
narrow places. SL for 7 days.
11th Feb 93; Acidity better 50 percent, Hairfall better. Headache once a week. Silicea
200-one dose.
She is still under fortnightly observation.