Terbium metallicum: Psoriasiform dermatitis and tinnitus

He is a good physician of middle age, well built, controlled, well dressed, well regarded, and very successful — a true gentleman. His passion is acupuncture. He suffers from a severe crusty, itchy rash that began three years ago in the sacral area and slowly spread symmetrically over the whole body. Only the face and hands have so far been spared. It is a real nuisance for him because he always has to keep himself covered from head to toe to avoid exposing himself to the strange looks of his patients. The rash and itching worsen in bed in the evening, with sweat, by slight touch or heat. The dermatologist and the university clinic diagnosed a psoriasiform eczema and prescribed steroid creams. The skin improved, but as soon as he stopped the treatment it was worse than before. He then tried classical homoeopathy with a well-known homeopath, but without success.

He says: 'I don't want dermatological treatment because it doesn't cure, it only suppresses the symptoms. I regret to say that the homoeopath also had no success; he is very reputable. Then I tried Sulphur on my own, but it did not help. The only progress is that I can now drink alcohol; previously I would get a headache after the first glass of wine. It's a pity that I don't drink! I only drink alcohol rarely and am a vegetarian.'

Another problem is his tinnitus, a rushing noise in the right ear. It is decidedly worse after sleeping. He says he is not under any particular stress. As he seems to be a polite, jovial man, that sounds very plausible, although he says it becomes worse after conversations with his practice team.

When asked whether he had had other skin problems earlier, he remembers that he had cracks at the tips of his thumbs for 10 years; these had eased when his eczema appeared.

His colour preference is light blue, 16 B.

Analysis and progress:
His insight into the non-curative nature of suppressive treatments as well as his openness towards homoeopathy and his interest in acupuncture qualify him as a possible lanthanide case. His free attitude and the attempt to find a remedy on his own after his homeopath failed is also typical for the lanthanides.

The rash is not typical for the lanthanides, but it does not contradict them either. Tinnitus can belong to the silver series or the gold series, including the lanthanides. Which stage? His balanced nature and the earlier thumb cracks point to stage 10. The strictly symmetrical pattern of the rash seems to support this. The covering behaviour is a sycotic sign indicating a middle stage, probably stage 9–11. Therefore I chose Gadolinium, stage 10 among the lanthanides, because he had responded positively to Sulphur and because of his modalities — worse in bed in the evening and from heat.

Prescription: Gadolinium sulphuricum C 200.

Follow-up:
On the first night a severe initial aggravation occurs, with burning and itching so severe that he resorts to antihistamines. Then it becomes much better. He takes Gadolinium sulphuricum LM 6 as required, but after six weeks he has a severe relapse. Without a new evaluation I prescribe Dysprosium sulphuricum LM 6, stage 12 of the lanthanides, rather an off-the-cuff choice, but it helps.

After two months he tells me that his skin and the itching have improved by about 90%, and he is very satisfied. I learned that in the meantime he had returned to his classical homeopath and had been given a single remedy without being told what it was; he did not like that: 'Why wouldn't he tell me?' According to him the remedy had had no effect. Then he bought Dysprosium sulphuricum, and after that the improvement began. His tinnitus, however, did not improve.

Three months later he is still at the same point: the skin 90% improved, tinnitus unchanged. Only then do I recognise that during the case-taking there was always a kind of tangible tension, as if he wanted to control the situation and could not let go for a moment, although this is done in a very polite, noble way. This is Terbium, stage 11.

The tension is not unpleasant, as with Dysprosium, which finds every movement suspicious and takes severe revenge for the smallest provocation, so that one always feels one must be on guard. In his case the control was so subtle and polite that I did not notice it immediately. In fact, I only realised now that from the beginning he had been in charge of the anamnesis and had controlled every follow-up; he only told me what he considered important and gave me little opportunity to intervene, keeping the situation entirely under his control.

Therefore I now gave him Terbium metallicum C 200.

After a further six weeks he is very satisfied. Not only is his skin perfect, but the tinnitus has also disappeared. He said he had heard the noise again for a few days, but now it is completely gone.

I prescribed Terbium LM 6, to be taken as needed.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons
Gentleman: no es Bingham; rafananda
Categories: Cases
Keywords: Psoriasis, Tinnitus, Gentleman, Control
Remedy: Terbium metallicum