In this case study the subject is the 4-year-old girl R. The mother asked for an early appointment with me because her daughter was not allowed to attend kindergarten due to an acute risk of contagion. The family doctor had told the mother that it would take three weeks for the infection to heal and that the girl would have to be treated with antibiotics. She did not want to give these and therefore came to me. I had already treated the girl as a baby for severe bronchitis; at that time she had responded well to Spongia. Before that she had been given Jalapa for her flatulence. I had last seen her in October 1999.
Now she presented with a severe rash around the mouth and at the right corner of the mouth. Before the onset of the illness she had had a cold and had been restless. R. snores terribly, but coughs little and has hardly any nasal discharge. While the mother described the symptoms to me, the girl sat on her mother's lap and looked at me shyly, although she knows me and also sees me regularly, since the family live right next door to my practice. She has fine blonde hair that frames a rounded face in gentle curls. R. does not speak to me and does not answer my questions, but listens attentively as she rests her head against her mother's chest.
She enjoys going to kindergarten very much and will move into the preschool group next month. In Holland all children from the age of 4 attend preschool. Her mother reports that R. is now slowly but hesitantly growing up and is separating from mum and dad. She wants to be grown up and often says she has a baby in her tummy. A neighbouring girl has just had a sibling and R. would also like a little brother or sister. She asks curious questions about life. Physically she has grown very quickly recently; jumpers and trousers have become a little short. She has a big appetite and likes cream cakes, loves sausage and chicken. She does not like pumpkin and cabbage. She craves fruit but does not like oranges, tangerines, lemons etc. At night she still wets occasionally; her stools are soft, foul-smelling and pass with a lot of wind.
She is beginning to challenge her parents and to argue with her friends. She has a large vocabulary and reacts very sensitively to the atmosphere around her. If she observes someone being treated unjustly, she tells on them immediately. Chaotic situations make her restless and unstructured. It then takes a lot of time and care to bring her back to herself. At home she cannot fall asleep without certain rituals. She likes lively situations, but too much bustle unsettles her and she cannot cope with it. R. is playful, likes to take the lead in play and is friendly towards other children. At home she can be very quick-tempered. She always needs some time to adapt to changes.
Analysis:
During the case history I looked under the rubric: 'Rashes, corners of the mouth' and my attention rested on the remedy NAPHTIN. I remembered a case presented many years ago by Tunde Barwulf. She presented the essence of Naphtalinum using a patient with bronchitis. He had immigrated from the Middle East, had built up a large fortune in exile and nevertheless felt uprooted. He had responded very well to Naphtalinum.
The periodic table of the elements shows that this substance consists of hydrogen and carbon compounds. Both elements are in period 2 of the periodic table, i.e. the carbon series with the themes:
- Loss of roots/identity
- Feels different
- Desire for security/money; fear of poverty
- Desire for order
I noted these characteristics in my materia medica. In the case of this little girl I arrived at the correct remedy through her personal history and her difficulties in coping with change. Even a change of school leads to a feeling of being 'uprooted'. The insecurity also points to Naphtalinum.
I prescribed Napht. 200K.
Two days later I met the girl's mother in the street. She reported that the rash had already subsided on the evening after taking the remedy and was hardly visible the next day. She immediately went back to kindergarten. Eight months have passed since then and she is still doing well.
Differential diagnosis of the repertory rubrics:
Here Graphites and Petroleum – also from the carbon group – are possibilities, but the girl had neither the disorientation typical of Petroleum nor the rough skin and build of Graphites.
With regard to the hydrogen and carbon compounds of the second row of the periodic table, Jan Scholten gives us an excellent remedy picture in his book Homeopathy and the Elements. Most homeopaths will be familiar with this book. In brief: the elements in this row (from lithium to neon) symbolise the development of the self in relation to the outside world and the insecurity that can manifest in the individual's struggle for self-confidence and self-worth. The fundamental theme of Naphtalinum can be well classified under the rubrics mentioned above.
Note: This case study should actually appear first among the case studies in Jan Scholten's book Wad Stories. Without this case study the other case examples in the book may, under certain circumstances, not be as easy to understand. Further examples follow.
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Source: http://www.interhomeopathy.org/think_of_naphtalinum_in_a_case_of_impetigo_infectiosa
Photo: Shutterstock_83005516, Copyright: Viktor Gladkov
