Acidum muriaticum; a case of oesophageal reflux in a newborn

C. was born on 26 November 2007 as the third child of a healthy family after a long and painful labour at Hyères Hospital: the contractions had lasted 18 hours and the mother endured the birth despite severe back pain without epidural anaesthesia. Birth weight: 3470 g.

From the beginning C.'s mother noticed that something was wrong: persistent colic, occasional episodes of cyanosis and hypothermia (chilling).

The on-duty doctor thought it might be a milk allergy and persuaded the mother to breastfeed. The child was kept under observation for a few days.

C. went home from hospital on the 8th day; clinically everything seemed to be in order.

The next day, however, when the mother was changing C.'s nappy, she suddenly became very ill with a massive cyanotic episode, her eyes rolled and her breathing stopped until the mother managed to get her breathing again. The paediatrician from the maternity hospital was consulted immediately. The child suffered two further severe attacks before she could be admitted. C. was given oxygen and her heart activity was monitored.

It soon became clear that the heart and circulation were in order, but radiological examination revealed gastro-oesophageal acid reflux with a gastric fold and an open gastric valve.
C. was treated with antacids and had to be kept upright constantly; as soon as she was laid down, significant gastric reflux occurred immediately despite conventional treatment.
A paediatric surgeon from Marseille was consulted; however he argued against operating before she had gained some weight.

Meanwhile C. continued to writhe in pain despite conventional treatment and occasionally had brief cyanotic episodes. This situation prompted the parents to consult a homeopath in Hyères, who prescribed Asa foetida, Argentum nitricum, Acidum nitricum, Arsenicum album and Conium maculatum - without apparent success.

Three weeks later C. was still not thriving and remained in hospital. The parents requested that the child be taken by ambulance to my practice in Fréjus, which the paediatrician refused. He considered the case purely physical and only solvable surgically. He phoned me to explain his point of view politely.

I suggested to the parents that they should first come to my practice without their daughter and arranged an appointment for 21 December 2007.

My first question was: “What can you tell me about your pregnancy?”

The mother then told me that her greatest worry during the pregnancy had been her own mother, who was in the terminal phase of cancer and full of metastases. Throughout the pregnancy her mother's chief topic had been: “I must hang on in order to see the baby!”

As it happened, on my bookshelf there was a Materia Medica of Hahnemann, translated by Jourdain at the beginning of the 19th century. As a result of experience in another case I had already looked into the pathology of Acidum muriaticum (hydrochloric acid C30). Here Hahnemann notes: “On the fourth night I dreamed that my mother was dying.” (Sx 545) As far as I know this is the only Materia Medica that describes the theme “death of my mother”; it is not even mentioned in Kent's Repertory. There you only find: “Dreams, death, of relatives”.

Analysis

During the pregnancy the mother, through the fear that her mother might die, was under severe stress and entered an “Acidum muriaticum” state. As a result, her unborn child endangered its own life through reflux of hydrochloric acid. Yes, it needs hydrochloric acid, but in homeopathic doses!!!!

Prescription

Accordingly I prescribed Muriaticum Acidum in ascending potencies: C15, C18, C24, C30, one dose every other day, to be taken by the mother who was breastfeeding the child.

Follow-ups

The situation improved very quickly: three days later the child had no more cyanotic episodes, could lie down again and was discharged from hospital.

C. now attends the practice for check-ups every three months: there are no more problems. The allopathic treatments were discontinued in the first month and six months later C. is a healthy child weighing 6,950 g.

Summary

A homeopathic treatment can be very effective, even in cases that at first appear purely physical.
If one wants to find the right remedy for a newborn baby, it is essential to question the mother about her pregnancy. To recognise the remedy picture, a feel for a remedy, the spirit of a remedy, can be very helpful, and this experience delighted me and immediately led me to the core of the problem.

Bibliography

Grandgeorge, Didier: The Spirit of Homeopathic Medicine (Der Geist der homöopathischen Medizin), 2005

Hahnemann, Samuel: Chronic Diseases, translation by Jourdain, Vol. 2, Paris 1846

Photos from Wikipedia

Categories: General
Keywords: gastro-oesophageal reflux, pregnancy, cyanosis, dream of mother's death
Remedy: Acidum muriaticum