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:: Hyper-Reactive Airway Disease (HRAD) or Childhood Asthma and Homeopathy!
A Case Presentation:
Being a homeopath, we always advise against the steroid and other harsh treatment options. Especially when a devout homeopath sees a child on inhaler, his heart weeps for him. According to the recent survey made by leading scientific community in United States, the incidence of “use of inhaler” syndrome is on rise. Yes, we are having more and more cases of childhood asthma and respiratory illnesses than anytime before, thanks to the growing pollution level and to the ignorance of fellow doctors.
But are the parents concerned about the increasing trends of lowered immunity in children, their hyperactive nature, their behavioral problems, and social withdrawal? If not, it is high time parents should learn to correlate these varied problems to the harsh treatments they are seeking for their children.
Making the parents understand the harshness of these treatments on the immunity and their deleterious effects on the bodies and psyches of children is the prime job of homeopaths according to me. Well, if we intend to have a cleaner and healthier future for our children, we will never wish them to succumb to the “drug-disease” inflicted upon them.
The most irritating times are those when I watch fellow homeopaths (with definite exception of some good homeopaths) giving such inhalers for stipulated period to their children due to utter ignorance of vast capability of their homeopathy. With due regard to all, I would say, we are never perfect doctors and we should keep learning for entire life. So why not turn the pages of our vast material medica written by stalwarts and inbreed the seeds of knowledge into us? It is high time when we should realize our responsibilities and start homeopathy from our home.
For treating our children with aptly chosen homeopathic remedies, first we need to understand certain facts about hyper-reactive airway disease or any respiratory illness. Let’s see-
(1) In more than half the so-called ‘diagnosed’ cases of childhood asthma, what child actually suffers from is hyper-reactive airway disease.
(2) It may affect the child from as early as 4 months to 5 or 6 years of age.
(3) The child suffers from wheezes during respiration that are most of the times audible by the parents in sleep.
(4) The child may also suffer from nasal blockage and may suddenly get up in sleep due to stuffed feeling and inability to breathe.
(5) There might be associated cough that is a kind of hollow and sputum-less.
(6) In some cases however, there might be some sputum and the child may vomit due to accumulation of sputum in throat.
(7) If the child develops lower respiratory infection due to unattended frequent respiratory allergies, he may suffer from chest pain and constitutional symptoms like fever.
The respiratory symptoms vary from child to child and a homeopath must be a keen observer to find out the characteristic symptoms in the child. Nowadays, due to changed mentality of people around, we do get such respiratory allergy cases directly to us, that is, homeopaths. But if in case the child is brought to you by parents after traveling to many allergy specialists, the first thing a homeopath needs to do is convince the parents about efficacy of homeopathy in dealing with such cases. A good homeopath is almost always successful in convincing about the marvelous health benefits homeopathy can offer to the child along with making him deal efficiently with further allergies and infections.
Here is a case in which the child who was suffering from excessive hyper-reactive airway disease and the step by step presentation of how homeopathy helped the child get rid of his severe allergy.
Miss Jyotika* came to my clinic on 20/7/2003. She was accompanied by her anxious mother who was desperate to seek relief for her 5 year old daughter. Upon questioning, she said, Jyotika is suffering from excessive cold and cough and she literally rattles in her sleep. Her mother was obviously worried for her allergic problem that she was having pretty frequently. As per her mother’s description, she had to be taken to their family doctor at least twice a month for varied health reasons; most of them were associated with her respiratory troubles. She was given some antibiotic every time and for the last time, she was suggested an inhaler after labeling her problem with “childhood asthma” for which her mother was extremely anxious.
After convincing about the role of homeopathic medicines in treating the allergies, I started with history taking. As per my regular job, I had already started visualizing the child as she entered my clinic. While her mother looked to me amazingly anxious, Jyotika was exact opposite. She was jumping, smiling, dancing, and checking all the things present on my table. In no way, she looked troubled or suffering from so many problems. Upon questioning “what is your name?”, she first looked at her mother and then answered loudly and clearly looking into my eyes, “Jyotika”. In the first interrogation itself, I loved the child and felt homeopathy certainly has a very good scope in treating her.
First let’s study the case shortly in tabular form:
Past history – frequent colds, coughs, and fevers.
Family History – Mother had been operated for her nasal polyps and deviated nasal septum and she also gave a history of frequent allergic symptoms like her daughter in childhood. Maternal grandmother gave a history of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Physical Generals:
Diet: Jyotika always complained about her food. But tasty and spicy food she loved. Over recent months, her appetite was poor as compared to earlier period.
Desires: Craving for ice-creams++ and chocolates+++
Aversions: Nothing particular
Thirst: below average; mother has to remind several times to drink water
Perspiration: More on head and it is < night
Stools: Little constipated though had stools once a day
Urine: Normal but nocturnal enuresis was present
Milestones: quite normal though speech was bit delayed and she could speak after the age of 2 years. One more thing her mother told was she is extremely good at grasping the things and all at home say she is precautious for her age when it comes to learning things.
Emotional and mental state: Very bold and happy child though throws tantrums pretty badly at times. Extremes of mood swings. But gets over the things faster. Likes to be pampered all the while. A kind of attention seeker. Loved to dance, sing, and have fun with her father. Loves to go for outings and is fascinated by new things. Very affectionate towards family members. Fears dark. Sleep in proper when there are no respiratory symptoms though she sometimes gets up in night suddenly and asks for her Mom to be on her side.
On Examination: Sleek built and taller for her age. Little underweight. Fair girl with pinkish complexion and soft skin. No pallor.
Respiratory system: Nose: congestion with small polyp visible in left nostril.
Throat: healthy tonsils though swollen but without the rugged edges. Mild redness of throat. Chest- mild wheezes audible.
After carefully studying the generals as well as particulars, I first prescribed Pulsatilla 200, 2 pills 3 times a day for 30 days.
In the next visit, her symptoms of stuffed nose and night cough were reduced by almost 50%. Now however, she had started expectorating mild sputum by coughing.
Here I prescribed Pulsatilla 1M, single dose and gave sac lac (Placebo) pills in between.
After next 30 days, during her follow up, her mother was extremely delighted and told me that all the symptoms of wheezing at night are not there for the first time after last 2 years. But she said, she still suffers from some bouts of sneezing and running nose in the morning.
This is the time when I prescribed Tuberculinum 1M, 1 dose. This was the inter-current remedy I was hoping will give her lasting relief.
In the meanwhile, for on and off symptoms of cough and cold, I gave her Spongia, Ipecac, Lemna minor or Sabadilla which alleviated her acute symptoms.
Today after 6 years of healthy body and mind, Jyotika is happier child at her 9 years and her mother is perhaps the happiest for visualizing her healthy child grow into a teen!
Curing HRAD and/or asthma definitely the victory of homeopathy and homeopaths are bestowed with this responsibility of convincing the people about efficiency of homeopathy to deal with so many ailments scientifically and artistically too. What we dream of is a healthy world with heightened immune powers to drive away the allergies and infections forever!
