Autoimmune diseases in homeopathy
Interesting background from our Homeonews:
The homeopathic drug picture of Paeonia officinalis (peony) - by Jan Scholten
A case study
The patient is a 15-year-old girl with periarteritis nodosa and pain in the hand, foot and knee joints. She describes the pain as stabbing like a knife, which gets worse when she extends her legs. She also has bruises on her legs and knees. The veins on the backs of her hands are inflamed and very painful; even the slightest touch makes the pain worse. Sometimes she has to scream from the pain. Occasionally the pains are accompanied by a high fever. The symptoms began a few years ago when she had an ulcer in her mouth. Later a lump appeared on her head. Once the pain was so severe that she could not walk. The complaints worsen in the late afternoon around 5 pm, and spring (April) also affects the patient. The girl is being treated with Ascal, Plaquenil and Prednison.
Other complaints:
Eczema when consuming milk; if she drinks milk she has to vomit.
Asthma worse from house dust mites, dog and cat hair, worse from grass, with wheezy breathing; better when sitting upright.
There are many arthritis illnesses in the family; for example, the grandmother has rheumatoid arthritis. The father also suffered from arthritis at times when he was left by his first wife. At that time he was not allowed to see his children and the whole affair was a deep shock for him.
Mental state:
By and large the young patient is lovable and always busy. She cannot bear injustices, for example when her little sister is teased at school. Her illness preoccupies and affects her greatly, especially since she heard a nurse say that one can die from the disease. She fears being laughed at by the other children because of the bruises on her legs. After she fell ill she also became more withdrawn.
Cravings: French fries, mayonnaise, ice cream, bananas.
Aversion: tomatoes.
Foods: milk and milk ice cream aggravate her.
Sleep can be difficult, but is easier when her mother is nearby.
Dreams: that a man stabs a knife into her head.
Analysis
It was not easy to find a good remedy. I repertorised the following symptoms in reference works:
Knife
Stabbing
Touch aggravates
Paeonia (peony) was among the indicated remedies and is known for very painful haemorrhoids. I could imagine that it might also help with other inflamed veins. The worsening of symptoms around 5 pm is also described in the remedy picture.
The remedy Paeonia seems indicated in cases where symptoms occur after a major change, such as divorce or a change of place. In this patient's case the father had suffered such a shock and passed this inner state on to his children.
Follow-up
After Paeonia MK the young patient slowly improved. Within a year all complaints had disappeared. She feels more alive and has become lively and happy.
At my advice the father also took the remedy and he is much better. Previously he had not been able to cope well with changes.
Category: Remedy
Keywords: periarteritis nodosa, Paeonia, change, knife, stabbing, worse from touch
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Source: http://www.interhomeopathy.org/paeonia_case_periarteritis_nodosa
Photo: 1808624512 by svitlana-ua, 1227844426 by islavicek
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