Anne Koller-Wilmking ¦
various remedies
spectrum of homeopathy
Problem Children ¦
Cases of our time
11
Interestingly, further checks in the clinic found that the valve
pressure was repeatedly misaligned. The neurosurgeon says
that it is not infrequent due to radiation from cellphones, tablet
computers, and so on. What else is happening in the brains of
our children due to all these technological devices?
I present this case to show how important it is to remain alert.
Especially with multimorbid patients, it is crucial to avoid be-
coming bogged down in the phenomenology. Instead, we should
attempt to differentiate symptoms, which may require another
type of intervention.
CASE 6: four-year-old Marinus, rheumatoid arthritis
affecting multiple joints
Marinus has had swellings and painful restrictions of move-
ment in several joints, mainly knee, ankle, toes, hands, and
fingers. The diagnosis was confirmed in a special clinic for child
rheumatology. Anti-inflammatory treatment only brought
minimal improvement. The clinic strongly recommended treat-
ment with methotrexate, which the parents refused due to the
severe side effects. Marinus is given cold applications, which
also help him, and physiotherapy.
The boy is not only a problem child due to his physical illness;
he also has a pronounced behavioral disorder.
“Mom should talk, I don’t want to.” He also refuses to do a
drawing.
His mother says about him:
“He is totally maladjusted, be-
haves in an impossible way, provokes, and we always stand
out. He is aggressive, mouths off, kicks, spits, gets wild and
loud, screams, and hits his brother. ‘Santa Claus is an old hog.’
He is destructive, poking holes in the table with his pen, and he
smashes snails with a hammer. In the church, he peed in the
font. At home, he often pees on the lawn or in a salad bowl,
laughing spitefully. He comes out with very crude comments
such as: ‘I like shitting on people,’ and then, he grins cheekily
when his mother gets annoyed. He can never be left alone with
his younger brother for fear that he might do something to
him. On the other hand, he is very fearful. He is afraid of loud
bangs, ghosts, water, dogs, and fairy tales. If he is in a good
mood, he can also be funny and original. He loves ‘gross music’,
mainly hard rock.”
Cold ameliorates the pain in his joints. Otherwise, there are no
indicative modalities. Apart from ice cream, he has no striking
food modalities.
His mother was very nervous during pregnancy; at night, she
suffered from “restless legs”.
Analysis and progress:
my first thought was the Solanaceae.
Yet, the first two remedies, Hyoscyamus and Belladonna (he
had been given
Stramonium
by a colleague) brought no im-
provement, neither physically nor mentally. He therefore needed
ever higher doses of painkillers for his joints. An attempt with
Neodymium
(autoimmune disease, with maladapted, awkward
behavior, seeking autonomy) failed miserably. After the mother
reported that he now grinds his teeth at night and likes eating
ham, it seemed worthwhile to consider Tuberculinum, espe-
cially as it covers many of the above-mentioned symptoms.
Tuberculinum
200, M, and XM each brought minor improve-
ment at the mental level, although the joints were unchanged,
gradually becoming unbearable and desperate for all those
involved. I recalled a seminar by Farokh Master on “long-term
process in severe childhood pathology”, in which he stressed
the importance of the dosage. His procedure in such cases is to
give 30C from the fifth glass, three times a day for an extended
period of time. Since there was a slight improvement with
Tuberculinum
at the mental level, I wanted to stay with this
remedy and so I attempted Master’s approach, though only
from the third glass, since the mother found it too complicated
to use five glasses.
Prescription:
Tuberculinum
30 C out of the 3
rd
glass
Follow-up:
to my astonishment, after just four weeks, the
painkillers could be stopped and the joint swellings had receded
noticeably. After four months, they had disappeared completely.
His parents were also happy with his behavior. After eight
months, we stopped the doses of 30C. When he started school,
shortly after his sixth birthday, he repeatedly “lost it” – this
improved immediately with a single dose of
Tuberculinum
M.
His progress has been monitored for almost three years now.
He is currently doing very well without any further joint
problems.
Two other children with early childhood rheumatism were
greatly helped by this method compared to receiving the same
remedy in a higher potency. Now, in cases of severe physical
pathology, I start with this approach. I have presented Marinus’
case mainly to underscore the significance of a suitable potency
and method of administration.
CASE 7: eleven-year-old Simon, highly gifted, ADD
(attention deficit disorder), concentration
disorder
At the first consultation, Simon is eleven years old and is at-
tending fifth grade at high school. Despite his giftedness, he is
in danger of having to repeat a year of school. His approach is
largely unstructured, almost chaotic; he forgets his school
books and hardly ever knows what homework he should be
doing. He has difficulty concentrating and is extremely easily
distracted. Subjects like math and Latin are particularly difficult
for him.
Simon says:
“I learn a lot but nothing comes of it. I want to
show the teacher that I know things but my intelligence is
encapsulated and doesn’t come out – I can’t set it free. It’s like
it’s shut in and I don’t have the key. I’d like to be a pupil with
top marks. I’m sure I can do it but it doesn’t work out, so I’m
learning to juggle. At school, everything I learnt the previous
day is destroyed, or I’ve understood it at school but back home
