Cecilia, a 25-year-old Hispanic city planner, first came to see us in 1991. Her chief complaint had always been a severe eczema characterized by extreme dryness. She also had a history of childhood asthma. We found several homeopathic medicines that helped her considerably. The medicine that helped the most was Sulphur, the most common medicine for all kinds of skin conditions. When we began to treat Cecilia, we had not yet been exposed to Dr. Rajan Sankaran’s Sensation Method of homeopathic prescribing. We began our intensive study with him in Mumbai India in 1993. When a patient is not responding well to homeopathic treatment, we take a fresh look at the case in a one-hour to two-hour interview, as if we were meeting the patient for the first time. This blank-slate approach helps us to be unprejudiced and be open to selecting a totally different medicine. We retook Cecilia’s case, using the Sensation Method, and found a beautiful medicine for her in February of 2008.
“In childhood I suffered from eczema. My mother and sister had asthma, and I did, to some degree, as well. But mainly it has been my skin. I first saw you in 1991 for hay fever, itchy skin, and eyes. My skin condition had been very suppressed with cortisone cream. You first gave me Nux vomica, then Sulphur. I had a very bad aggravation of the eczema, then the symptoms went away. I was fine until 2000. My husband and I moved to Mexico in 2002. Then, in 2004, the skin became very bad again. I totally broke out in rashes—my neck, legs, face. It was really hot down there. I had big patches of eczema on my neck. It was especially bad where there was sweat. The itching was terrible. I scratched and it became inflamed. I was awakened all through the night by the itching. I scratched and the skin oozed. I developed red, red rashes. I used to cut my nails every day. The itching was worse in the night due to the warmth. I saw several Mexican homeopaths, but none of the remedies helped.”
“My skin was very dry. I had to apply moisturizer immediately after bathing. I would run to use liquid paraffin on my hands. I would keep running very hot water on my hands, and that relieved the itching for a couple of seconds. Then the itching would go away and my skin would feel terribly dry, so I would run for the moisturizer. I experienced some wheezing as well, and used an inhaler occasionally.”
“The dryness was a very bad feeling. Like a pulling of the skin. The skin shrinking, tightening. I cannot be with that feeling any longer. The skin has no moisture anymore. The skin pulls itself. Shrinking. A feeling of dryness. A lack of water in that area. It becomes smaller when the moisture goes out. The skin loses its lubrication. Like when a leaf dries down, it becomes smaller than its original size when it was fresh and green. It loses all its moisture. It needs to replace the moisture almost immediately. The pulling is caused by the dryness. Dryness is the best word. No water or moisture at all. Like a desert. Where there is no moisture, it can crack open. Lifeless. It crumbles easily. Like bread.”
We inquired about the asthma to see if the sensation would cover the respiratory systems as well. “I get a tightening of the airways. Shrinking. The air is not easily passed. I can feel the tightness. An inhaler will work magic. Once I didn’t have any asthma medication. My mouth was so dry. I sat awake the whole night with a feeling of breathlessness. I couldn’t even lie down. I first had eczema in the second grade. It was behind my knees. My mom would help me apply cortisone cream. I would frequently get secondary infections. I would try to hide my skin. I didn’t want people to see the rash. I would feel very ugly and unpleasant and would cover up. They would think I had skin problems that weren’t curable.”
We explored Cecilia’s mental and emotional state. “I cannot bear seeing people sick and suffering. The emergency room. The sight of blood. Fatal accidents. When my dad was sick, we used to go to hospitals very often. I was always tense. I was an intelligent girl growing up, but I didn’t like to be in the limelight.”
New Kingdom, Family, Miasm, Remedy
In addition to Sulphur, homeopathic Petroleum, famous for its curative effect on dry, cracked skin, had also benefited Cecilia. Both are members of the mineral kingdom. The theme of Cecilia’s case was sensitivity. The focus was not on security, performance, and structure, which indicate the need for a mineral medicine. Nor were there issues of survival, competitiveness, and territoriality, typical of the animal kingdom. Cecilia was highly sensitive and clearly needed a plant medicine. The sensation she described, again and again, was very clear: dryness. Secondary sensations were tightness, pulling, and shrinking. These pointed to the Cactaceae (cactus) family. This is not surprising, given the emphasis on lack of moisture, as if one were in the desert. The characteristics on individuals needing medicines from this family are constriction, expansion and contraction, shrinking and expansion, all elaborated up beautifully be Cecilia.
The miasm suggested was sycotic, due to the feeling of wanting to hide, cover up, a sense of ugliness. In the schematic chart of the Plant Sensations, there is no sycotic member of the Cactaceae family. We chose the most well-known member of the family, Cactus (night-blooming Cereus), which did cover “sycosis” in the ReferenceWorks program. It was a fascinating prescription because this medicine is best known for a gripping, band-like constriction of the chest in cardiac conditions, as if encaged in iron. We had never considered its use in a dermatologic case. We prescribed Cactus 30C to take up to once a day.
An Excellent Response from a Prominent Cardiac Medicine
Two months later, Cecilia reported a significant improvement in here skin. The itching was substantially diminished, despite having completely discontinued the topical hydrocortisone. Cecilia did apply topical Neosporin once a week because she was afraid of developing a secondary infection. She was quite pleased with the response. “All of my friends say I look brighter. The dark patches on my face are getting clearer. I’ve had a bit of wheezing the past three weeks due to the spring pollen. At bedtime I take one light puff on the inhaler. My legs are a little itching. I still feel like drinking water when I have the dry feeling. The redness of my skin is completely gone. I would say I am 75% better overall. We prescribed one dose of Cactus 200C as needed.
Six weeks later we saw Cecilia again. “I took a second dose of the Cactus 200C two weeks ago. The wheezing stopped completely. I have no chest tightness despite spring allergies. The asthma became cured immediately. The itching is so much better. I only feel it occasionally. I have no pus from scratching like in the past. I still experience some itching of my hands and fingers. My skin is 70% to 80% improved. I have no need for the inhaler.
Cecilia’s next follow-up visit was six weeks later. The respiratory problems are totally gone. My skin is still 80% better. I get occasional small pimples on my face. I have no itching at all on my legs. The skin there is still slightly discolored. I can see some dryness on my face, but nothing like it used to be. Right after the shower, I wanted to apply moisturizer immediately. Now that is not necessary. I notice that my skin is energy is much better, too.
Nine weeks later, we spoke with Cecilia by telephone consultation. My skin is 95% better. The itching, discoloration. All around. We another dose of Cactus 200C for her to take only if needed. Two months later we saw her , and her eczema and asthma were still dramatically improved. We last spoke with Cecilia in January, 2010. She had not needed to take the dose of Cactus that she was holding. She reported a 90% improvement in her eczema. She no longer needed to use any topical medications and has not needed an appointment for treatment for the past eight months. We last communicated with Cecilia in May of this year to check on her progress. “It is nice to hear from you. I am feeling perfectly fine these days. My skin is almost perfect now.” This is a patient who is strongly committed to homeopathic care and we know she will contact us in the future if there are any problems.
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