Cases From Our Rich Heritage
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1999 Nov / Dec VOL VIII NO 6.
Compiled by :
T K Kasiviswanathan
'Nat-m / Nat-m / Nat-m / Nat-sulp / Nat-sulp
Case 1
A patient once consulted Dr S R Phatak for a chronic, non-malignant ulcer of the tongue. When he tried to palpate it, patient said, "Do not touch it. Touching causes too much pain". Normally one would have inferred this as aggravation from touch. But Dr Phatak immediately asked, "How do you eat?" The patient said that surprisingly he did not get any pain while eating. Dr Phatak took this as a contradictory modality and taking ulcer-tongue, he prescribed Natrum-mur, which cured in no time.
Dr Phatak as quoted by Dr Rajan Sankaran
Case 2
10 year old Master S A, suffered from hoarseness of voice for which his parents consulted Dr Rajan Sankaran. They attributed this to the boy’s constant shouting; it was aggravated in the evening and after speaking. On examination an ENT surgeon noticed three vocal nodules and suggested surgery. The parents wanted to know whether Homoeopathy could cure this condition.
The boy had no other symptoms of importance. He was thin, emaciated with an above average appetite. On history taking it was found that his milestones were normal except that he began talking very late - at 2 ½ years. The boy was intelligent and active. Taking the symptoms - increased, ravenous appetite, emaciation with (KR pg 479) and Talk, late learning to (KR pg 86), the remedy which emerged was Natrum-mur. The patient was given Natrum-mur 30, 200 and later 1M in repeated doses. The hoarseness subsided in 3 months. The ENT examination revealed that two of the nodules had disappeared and the third had shrunk in size. The treatment was continued and after another 3 months the boy developed boils all over the body. On inquiry, it was revealed that there was no history of skin troubles for the boy. However, his mother said that during her pregnancy she had developed boils on her body and also had gestational diabetes. The eruptions came out in the boy with a cure of the nodules demonstrating a peculiar application of the Hering’s law.
Rajan Sankaran says that this case demonstrated the following points:-
It is the most prominent remedy for late learning to talk and in late teething. It is also a penetrating remedy to remove an apparent surgical condition. It has got effects of bringing out suppressed eruptions. This case also demonstrates the value of constitutional treatment.
Dr Rajan Sankaran from Links
Case 3
Natrum-mur is a major remedy for treatment of malarial fevers. Based on his 50 years of experience with this remedy in treating malaria, Dr William B Griggs gives the following indications for the use of this remedy in malarial fevers. Patient dreads the chill; chill usually begins at 10-11 am with thirst and is long and severe, beginning in the fingers, feet, over small of the back, with blue lips and nails. The headache often makes the patient unconscious; there are nausea, vomiting and bone pains. Heat stage has more thirst.
Sweat and thirst: continued thirst and sweat is profuse, sour and gradually ameliorating all pains except headache; drinking refreshes the patient.
Master J R aged 4 ½ years, who was under the Homoeopathic treatment of Dr Griggs shifted to West Virginia (USA). Within a few months of stay there, the boy began to suffer from a vague type of fever, which was diagnosed as malaria and was treated by allopathy. He was not better, had to be hospitalized and given blood transfusions. His mother in desperation brought him over to Dr Griggs for treatment.
The history revealed that the boy had continued attack of chills and fever for 14 months and as a result he was much emaciated and very weak and unable to sit up. As the doctor found no other symptoms, he gave initially a few doses of Sulph. The boy then developed a severe chill of the type he suffered at the other place. It began at 10.30 AM and he was crying with severe headache, which was followed by fever and intense thirst and at about 4 PM he began to sweat and he felt better. Doctor gave Sac-lac. He had a mild attack the next day but developed a severe chill at 11 AM the following day and a perfect paroxysm developed and did not cease till 5PM. The doctor did not interfere with this symptom, as he wanted to get a perfect picture of the case. It was observed that the hard chill started at 11AM with great thirst, which continued through all stages; the heat was characterized by the most violent headache with general aching. This aching was relieved by the profuse perspiration. After the paroxysm, Dr Griggs gave the boy Natrum-mur 500, every 3 hours and the medicine was stopped after 8 doses. He did not have any more paroxysms subsequently and became well. He remained well even after he went back to West Virginia with his mother to live with his father.
Dr Griggs
Case 4
A young man was hurled from a moving fire engine and was struck on his head. He started having fits for 5-6 months after that accident. Allopathic treatment did not help. He became irritable and wanted to die. His fits drove him to distraction. When he came to Dr Kent’s clinic, he staggered and his eyes were bloodshot; he could hardly see out of them and he wore a shade over them as he had photophobia. He had constant pain in his head along with irritability. There was nothing in his fits indicative of a remedy. His history revealed that he had injured the back of his head by the fall. Dr Kent says, " I found that Natrum-sulph was the best indicated remedy for injuries about the head and I have been in the habit of giving it". So it was given and the first dose of the medicine cured the young man and he did not have any head pain since, nor any fit. Dr Kent advises that "if you will just remember the chronic effects from injuries upon the skull - not fractures, but simple concussions that have resulted from a considerable shock and injuries without organic affections - then Nat-sulph should be your first remedy".
Dr J T Kent
Case 5
A patient may say that "if only you knew what restraint I have to use to keep from shooting myself you would appreciate my condition." It is attended with wildness and irritability. Dr Kent says that no other remedy has that symptom like Natrum-sulph. This wonderful restraint to prevent doing oneself bodily harm is characteristic of Nat-sulph. The satiety of life, aversion to living; the great sadness, the great despondency coupled with irritability and dread of music; music makes her weep, makes her sad, like other Natrums.
This patient who consulted Dr Kent was a constant taker of drugs; he had taken all roots, barks and leaves that grew wild in the countryside. His face was red and chapped, lips and eyelids had fissures. There was green discharge from his eyes and nose. Even the thick skin of the palm was chapped, cracked and bleeding; the tears were acrid. During the last five years he was having morning diarrhoea. In spite of his sufferings he had a good appetite. He worked as a cowboy. Dr Kent asked him as to whether he was happy and enjoyed his life, he replied "Doctor, you do not know how hard I have worked to keep from blowing my head off with this gun". Before that remark the remedy seemed to be Sulphur but now Natrum-sulph came out clearly and Dr Kent gave him a dose of that remedy in 500th potency. His improvement was rapid from that dose and periodically he asked for that medicine. After two years the patient wrote to say he was relieved of all his complaints.
Dr Kent
