CASES

TIWARI Shashi Kant

Children's type

Abrotanum child

Abrotanum

Abrotanum child is characterised by EMACIATION which begins in the lower extremities and gradually spreads upwards so that the face is effected last. Sometimes in spite of his emaciation and great weakness the child's face does not give an impression of his sick body. When the face is also affected it looks like an old ones' with wrinkles marked on the face. He cannot hold up the head due to weakness of neck muscles.

The child has excessive and ravenous hunger but does not put on weight. It always has a tendency to recurring attacks of loose motion and vomiting. If diarrhoea is checked because of strong anti-diarrhoeal medication, the child has a tendency to develop joint problem which may lead to cardiac complaints, epistaxis, anxiety, bloody urine and trembling. There is a certain amount of inco-ordination, clumsiness, tremor, numbness, and paretic weakness in extremities. The child drops valuable things, drops things very often.

Abrotanum cases sometimes present with spasmodic complaints with constant vomiting clinically simulating the condition like pyloric stenosis. The complaints have a tendency to shift and change their character and place. There is a sensation of something floating, swimming, moving in the abdomen. The abrotanum face has a peculiar look which can be identified easily in day to day practice, i.e. , cold, dry and wrinkled, pale, hollowed eye, distended veins on forehead and blue rings around eyes. Abrotanum is a chilly child. He is aggravated by damp and cold. They have a great hunger for bread boiled in milk.

They are very sensitive and tender. It needs a great amount of care to handle these children. They are cross, irritable, depressed, and very peevish. He feels like doing something cruel troubling others, kills small insects, beats pets. No humanity, no manners, enjoys difficulties of others, their pains. Thinking is difficult. Abrotanum is suited to affections of new born children and especially little boys; hydrocele; epistaxis, emaciation, oozing of blood and moisture from navel (delay in the healing of umbilicus after it was cut).

Aethusa child

Aethusa cynapium

Aethusa child presents with intolerance of milk in any form. He vomits as soon as milk is taken which comes out in force. The vomitus is yellowish or greenish curds and not offensive. There is a great weakness and exhaustion after vomiting; the child is so exhausted it falls asleep at once. It awakes hungry, eats and vomits again. There is also griping with diarrhoea, vomiting, crying.

Child has a great weakness of mind or body. He cannot think; inability to think or fix the attention. Idiocy; in some cases alternating with furor. Hallucinations; Delirium; sees cats and dogs; wants to jump out of bed or out of the window. Irritability, especially in open air. There is great anguish and crying.

The complaints of these children are characterised by their suddenness and violence which causes severe prostration and somnolence.

Aethusa suits to improperly fed babies, those who are fed unnecessarily, fed very frequently whenever they cry even due to some other reason, fed infrequently at long intervals etc. Dr. J. T. Kent rightly puts his observation and experience thus : "It has cured dyspepsia from constant feeding, in those nibblers, those hungry fellows who are always eating, always nibbling, always taking crackers in their pockets until there comes a time when it ceases to act." It also suits cases of indigestion from head troubles, with hot head, vomiting, exhaustion, sweat and long sleep. Aethusa cures convulsion in children with great weakness, prostration and sleepiness. The physical weakness and emaciation is more prominent around the neck; he cannot hold up the neck.

Alumina child

Alumina

A feeling as if the face is covered with white of an egg or a cobweb was on it. The point of the nose is cracked. It has a dusty, wrinkled and old look. There is craving for dry rice and dry food (uncooked food) and it has aggravation from starch, especially the starch of potatoes, salt, milk, and any artificial food.

Most of the symptoms are aggravated on rising in the morning. In the morning, the urine is slower to pass and flow is better after he moves about. His limbs are stiffer in the morning, bowels do not move properly. He wakes up confused and wonders where he is. He wonders whether he is at home or in some other place. He has confusion about his self-identity. He makes mistakes in writing and speaking, uses words not intended, uses wrong words. Confusion and obscuration of the intellect. Inability to follow a chain of thoughts. Child in later part of the day becomes hurried. He feels things do not move fast, and time passes very slowly. He gets impulses, shudders seeing a sharp instrument. He cannot tolerate the sight of blood; faints.

Child is hot and suffers badly in warm room.

Baryta child

Baryta carbonica

Baryta child is characterised by DWARFISHNESS. This dwarfishness is expressed both on mental and physical plane; mental dwarfishness and dwarfishness of organs. Children are always behind their age, they are always late; late in their studies, late in learning to talk, to read, and walk, late in learning to take images and form perceptions; and late to take on their activities to do their work.

The baryta carb children are shy. It is nervous in front of strangers; they will be seen hiding behind the furniture when strangers come in; they cover their face by hand, and peep through the fingers. They are bashful, timid, easily frightened. Children do not want to play and they sit in the corner, do not like to mix with others. They cannot comprehend, do not understand things and cannot memorise, hence the learning in school becomes a problem and sometimes parents wonder whether the child is ever going to learn anything.

The child is scared of being left alone, he has strange and imaginary fears. They often get night terrors, without any clear idea of what the terror is; and they always have a fear of people. Baryta carb child is touchy, easily irritated due to even slight interference. They are forgetful, inattentive and lack concentration. They cannot sustain their attention or interest in one object. They are easily tired; as they get older any sustained effort brings on very troublesome headaches.

The baryta carb child is chilly, sensitive to cold, wants to be covered. The glands all over the body enlarge and indurate; the glands of the neck, the gland of the groin, the lymphatics in the abdomen are all affected – knotty chain forms in the neck. The glands of the neck increase in size and in hardness with every cold. Emaciation of the whole body except the abdomen. They have marked tendency to salivation which constantly dribbles from the corners of mouth. Offensive perspiration on the feet is another characteristic. Withered face, sickly countenance and the infant looks like a little old person.

The child has tendency to suffer from cold, glandular complaints, skin rashes, crusty skin on scalp, late learning, etc.

Calcarea child

Calcarea child is characterised by slowness and indolence, marked on the physical and mental plane. Slowness is marked in all the activities beginning from infancy. It takes lot of effort for a baby to suck milk from mother's breast. He sweats profusely on the head. The head wets the pillow because of sweating. It smells sour.

Calcarea babies are born with lack of power to absorb calcium from milk which produces deficient bone and make them flabby and fat. The bones are weak and they have late onset of dentition. They have slow growing and weak bones; in some cases it may lead to marasmus. The nails might be corrugated, uneven, spotted and irregular. The child has late learning to walk partly because the bones are weak and partly because it is a slow learner and he does not like to try to walk. The teeth might look ugly with black discoloration.

The state of calcarea shows various symptoms of calcium deficiency because he can't get it from food due to defective digestion and assimilation. It has both fat, flabby and pale patient and it has emaciated states too. Muscles emaciate about the neck and downwards. There is a state of relaxation in the tissues everywhere, thus the baby may have big belly with emaciated limbs and emaciated neck. Enlarged glands. The children take on flesh without much strength. The calcarea patient can't exert much. He is tired in his legs and so tired in the chest; he pants and suffocates from going upstairs.

There is marked sluggishness and slowness in learning. In the school the child shows poor performance because of his laziness and slowness. The slowness is also marked in digestive function which leads to constipation which does not trouble him.

The calcarea changes in its presentation in different combinations, a few of them are described below :

Calcarea carbonica

When calcarea joins with carbon it makes it further slow which is marked with delayed dentition, open fontanelles, blackish, offensive, sour and acrid discharges. The child is chilly sensitive to cold. The head is sometimes congested; and it is hot to touch; but it often feels cold to him. It has burning in the vertex and this is often present with coldness of forehead or the whole head may feel cold except a burning spot on the vertex. They have burning feet at night as soon as it becomes warm in bed and thus the child may put his feet out of cover. Breathlessness on exertion is more marked with carbon.

There is inability to prolong mental operation. He gets tired easily from mental as well as physical work. He feels his exhaustion of mind can be observed by other people. He lies awake in the night thinking of small and unnecessary things. He can't calculate, he can't do deep thinking. He talks to himself. Great anxiety and oppression, restlessness and hopelessness are marked. Child is cross and fretful. Easily frightened. Sleep is disturbed because the mind is full of ideas; while closing eyes he gets horrible vision. During sleep he chews, swallows and grinds the teeth.

The Calc. carb. children suffer from frequent cold, nose block, sore throat and glandular troubles. It has a kind of indigestion, a fermentation that favours the formation of worms so that calcarea babies are sometimes wormy. They have haemorrhagic and suppurative tendencies. Calc carb. is a chilly person with profuse sweating. He catches cold each time he sweats.

Calcarea phosphorica

Combination of calcarea with phosphorus makes it more sensitive and active resulting into a defective growth.

The legs are not grown up to support the body. The head bones are slow in forming and do not keep pace with the growth of child. The child is marked with flabby, sunken and emaciated body. Diarrhoea is more marked than constipation.

The child has feeble memory and inability to sustain mental effort. They suffer due to mental exertion. They have school headaches'.

They have increased appetite. Infants wants to be nursed all the time. Easily disordered stomach; cold drinks, ice-cream, fruits disorder the stomach causing pain or diarrhoea. Some children complain of pain immediately after taking food. They have desire to take bacon 2, coffee, fat, ham, smoked meat 2, salt things 2.

These children have a tendency to suffer from chronic throat trouble, diarrhoea, non-union of fractured bone, spinal deformities, etc. These children have pale, waxy, face, cold perspiration on the face and swollen upper lip. They are sleepy in day time and evening, sleepless after going to bed until midnight or later, very sleepy in the morning. Vivid dreams, children cry out in sleep. Frightful dreams cause him to awaken with a start.

Calcarea sulphurica

The combination with sulphur makes this child a hot person. He does not like to be covered, wants open air. It shows tendency for suppuration and skin eruptions. The child might develop none or slow healing wounds with continuous discharge of yellow pus.

He is sensitive to both cold and heat. There is a tendency to take cold in drafts, in wet weather or on slight occasions. Child has aversion to coffee, meat and to milk. Desires fruits, cold drinks, and sour things, sweet.

Calc sulph child is always in a hurry and impatient. He is discontented at all times, lamenting because he is not duly appreciated. The child is sad, irritable and confused in the morning after getting up and becomes mirthful in the evening even to hilarity. Does not want to be talked to, sits and broods over imaginary misfortune, does not like to answer any questions. He is easily angered, continuously in a state of apprehension. He is exhausted after anger and vexation. His mental condition improves in open air.

There are discolouration in spots on the skin, the palms and soles (yellowish, pale) crack especially in winter because of their excessive dryness.

Calcarea fluorica

This is marked with the glandular involvement and defect in bony formations. The glands are indurated with stony hardness. The child is sensitive to cold, to drafts, to change in weather and to damp weather. The child has unrefreshing sleep with vivid dreams. Jumps out of bed in a dream.

Calcarea iodata

This union is marked with excessive hunger with emaciation. A thin build with prominent lymphnodes with weakness and tiredness is characteristic of this child. Child can't wait for food – empty stomach, fasting, brings on many complaints.

The child is hot, can't tolerate warm weather, warm room, warm food, etc., and always longs for fresh and cool air. He is comfortable in cold climates. The face is cold, sunken and pale.

There is increased thirst with no satisfaction after drinking water. Restless sleep, he has more sleepiness in the evening and wakes up too early. The child is hot tempered; does not like company. He is impatient, indifferent and indolent.

Chamomilla child

Chamomilla

Chamomilla child is individualised because of its OVERSENSITIVENESS which is expressed at each and every sphere. He has a bad temper and frantic irritability. A snappish, CROSS AND UNCIVIL child who is intolerant of pain, magnifies her pains, demands instant relief; mad during pain. The pain causes mental and physical prostration. It is said that Chamomilla child would prefer to die than to suffer from a little pain. The constitutional irritability is so great that a little pain brings forth manifestations as if the patient were in very great suffering.

They are easily affected by mortification, by chagrin, contradictions and anger. The nervous child when punished will go into convulsion. Jerking and twitching of muscles from mortification and excitement. The convulsion is characterised by stiffness; rolling of the eyes; distortion of face; twitching of muscles; throwing the limbs about; clenching of thumbs; bending of body backwards. These children do suffer during dentition from convulsion, stomach disorder, irritability, sleeplessness, diarrhoea and vomiting.

The irritability is also expressed through whines and cries and sputter about everything. It refuses everything that he has asked for; Capriciousness. The child wants to be carried all the time which keeps him cool or ameliorates his complaints. The child wants to trouble others when angry; he passes urine, passes motion on the floor in order to trouble others. The child is never at peace, not satisfied with anything, restless; goes from one person to another. It never puts away its toy in a cupboard; it just tosses it down and picks up something else; if told to put the first toy in the cupboard it is liable to yell. They get more excitable as the day goes on, more irritable, more difficult to manage and they are liable to be particularly troublesome at 9.00 p.m. The Chamomilla child is quite impossible after it is put to bed until about midnight, then it appears to wear itself an falls asleep. Most of the troubles of Chamomilla that come in the evening and night subside about or sometimes before midnight. From midnight to morning almost all of the complaints are absent. He is sleepy but cannot sleep. They are wide awake in bed especially the fore part of night. Anxious dreams, sees horrible apparitions and starts, dreams about fatal accidents.

The child has one side of face redder than other which is its characteristic. They are prone to suffer from colic; the child doubles up and screams, and kicks; wants to be carried, is extremely irritable. It has flatulent colic, which appears and disappears quickly. The abdomen is distended which is ameliorated by warm application. Chamomilla child is chilly.

Chamomilla stool is grass green or like chopped eggs; yellow and white, intermingled with mucous that is grass green, like chopped grass; chopped spinach. If the child is old enough to express it would mention that stool is hot while passing. They are very offensive.

The cough of Chamomilla has some striking things in it. It is a hard cough, a dry hacking cough. The child goes to sleep at night and coughs during sleep without getting up. The sleep is not disturbed due to cough. The anger might bring on a fit of coughing.

The Chamomilla children have tendency to suffer from various spasmodic complaints and spasmodic complaints cause various symptoms in the child; hot and thirsty or hot sweat, with the pain.

Cina child

Cina maritima

Cina child is characterised by its marked touchiness, mental and physical. The child does not want to be disturbed, cannot tolerate being touched, being looked at, disturbed by strangers, etc. Yet, he wants to be carried and kept busy. He might be disturbed by first touch but, slowly, if he is kept busy or being carried he calms down.

EATING brings on or aggravates most of the complaints. A little excess in eating at night causes dreams throughout. Jerks and twitches in sleep, rises up in fright. He talks excitedly about dreams, thinks it is real. The dreams are prolonged into the wakeful hours. Screams and trembles with much anxiety on waking. The child might get into the convulsion due to stomach disorder.

Face is sunken, pallid, wings of nose drawn in, blue ring or gray streak around the mouth. The nose is scratchy and he rubs his nose on others shoulders while being carried. The child is emaciated. The greater the emaciation the greater the hunger. He is irritable, cross, petulant and dissatisfied.

They get indigestion and breed worms. The child has a chewing motion, a side to side movement before teeth comes out. "GRINDS TEETH during sleep", is a marked feature of a Cina child.

Cina child is comfortable when lying on his belly. Mostly they fall asleep faster in this position. They toss arms and legs from side to side. They like cold drinks 3, bread 2 and demand for various things 3. They do not like milk.

Kreosotum child

Kreosotum

Kreosotum child is known to present with the problem of bed wetting, difficult dentition and disorder of bowels due to stomach upset.

These children grow fast like Phos. They are tall, slender and emaciated. They are very tall for their age. The child has dark complexion and has a great liking for hot food which gives him relief. He is aggravated by cold food. These are the differentiating points for a Phos child.

Child is old-looking, wrinkled and has rapid emaciation with prominent glands. Kreosote face has a yellowish pallor; it is a sickly countenance, semi-cachectic, intermingled with blotches that are reddish looking, the lips are red, corners of mouth are raw.

Child is irritable and dissatisfied with everything. He wants things, and when offered throws them away and wants something else. Screams at night. Cross, wilful and obstinate. Every emotion and exciting circumstance is attended with throbbing all over the body, pulsations to the ends of the fingers. Every emotion is attended with tearfulness.

Children have more suffering during the time of dentition. They suffer from diarrhoea and vomiting, discharges are acrid and smarts the anus and mouth. Painful dentition; teeth begin to decay as soon as they appear; black spots on teeth. Gums bluish red, soft, spongy, bleeding, inflamed scorbutic and ulcerated. A marked feature of this child is that he must attend the urge for urination and stool immediately. He wets the bed in his first sleep which is very deep and he cannot be aroused from his first sleep ?????????? great liking for smoked meat. There is a tendency??????????????????? profusely from wounds.

Lycopodium child

Lycopodium clavatum

The child emaciates above, especially about the neck, while the lower extremities are fairly well nourished, hence the upper part looks thin and lower part well developed. Externally there is sensitiveness to warm atmosphere and there is also marked lack of vital heat and sensitivity to cold. He is worse in general from cold, cold air and cold food and drinks, though he likes to be in cooler climate. The child is averse to exertion which causes breathlessness. He can't climb and can't walk fast. Nervous excitement and prostration are marked.

Child is flatulent, distended like a drum so that he can hardly breathe. He can't eat much since a mouthful fills him up to the throat. He has craving for sweets 3, warm foods 2, He likes to eat oysters which do not agree and cause loose motion and skin rashes. He also likes cold food and cold drinks which increase his complaints. He has aversion to bread 2, coffee 2, meat 2. He usually misses his breakfast due to lack of appetite in the morning. He is mostly constipated which alternates with diarrhoea. He might be constipated for days together without any desire, stool-hard, difficult, small and incomplete. The first part of stool is hard and difficult to start, but the last pas is soft, thin and gushing followed by weakness. He has Polyuria during the night.

He has very often aversion to company but like someone to be near him without disturbing. He dreads the presence of new person, coming in of friends and visitors. He wants to be only with those whom he knows well. He does not want to be talked to or forced to do anything. He shows aversion to taking up new work, fears he might commit mistakes. There is want of self confidence. They are indecisive and timid. They rise out of sleep in confusion. They get up frightened from the sleep and do not recognise anyone for sometime. This happens many times during the sleep.

Lycopodium children are very emotional and they become attached when affections are shown. They have well developed intellectual faculties. They always excel in whatever work they take up but they might show little anxiety and nervousness in the beginning of any task. They might express anxiety before examination but mostly they do very well.

Lycopodium is often suitable to the children who have never recovered their original health after pneumonia or bronchitis. They eat well but do not put on flesh. They suffer more in the evening during their complaints. They are oversensitive to pain.

Sometimes these children present with the complaints of crying; crying whole day and sleeping whole night; crying before urination; crying during passing motion, etc. They have red sand in urine.

Magnesia child

Magnesia children are prone to suffer because of deprivation of emotional support from parents. The children who are neglected, deprived of parental love and care develop a special constitution which finds its expression on physical and mental planes. Mostly these children come closer to the constitution of Magnesia. The child has a greater amount of frustration as the demands are not fulfilled. There is a great amount of repression and absence of anxiety at the conscious level. This finds its expression in the form of dreams and sleep disturbance. Therefore, though the mind forms the central core of the Magnesia pathogenesis, the expressions at conscious level are not very much available. They have Tubercular diathesis.

Magnesia children have tendency to violent neuralgic pain which forces them to move constantly because the pain is better by motion and it comes back as soon as the child takes rest. They show various problems on physical plane because of poor assimilation. There is a marked tendency to periodicity. The glands are also affected in Magnesia children. The discharges are profuse, acrid, foul, blackish and thick.

Magnesium carbonicum

They are thin and do not thrive in spite of eating well. The muscles are flabby. The emaciated child of Mag carb shows a peculiar look of head; the back of head sinks in, the parietal bones just out over it and there is a marked depression. They have good appetite and desire for milk, meat, animal broths, bread and butter, sour things and vegetables but they cannot digest. They get loose motion like potter's clay which is a characteristic feature of Mag carb child. The baby smells sour though it might be well washed. They have a slow digestion resulting into sour stomach and sour eructation.

In constipated children the motion is hard and requires great staining to expel. The stool will remain partly expelled and then crumble. If they suffer from loose motion it is characterised by green stool like scum on a frog pond.

The skin is dry, scaly and they have unhealthy hair and nails. Mag carb also effects the root of teeth. Mag carb child is chilly. It has sensation of heat and even perspire after eating and drinking warm things.

They are tired, have exhausted feeling at the end of the day, still they do not get sound sleep. Sleep is disturbed, full of dreams. They have short, restless sleep. They are not fresh after the sleep. "Sleepiness during the day and sleeplessness at night" is the characteristic of a Mag carb child.

Magnesium phosphoricum

When Magnesia have union with phos it gives a different picture. These children are prone to get spasmodic conditions and neuralgias which are very violent and may effect any nerve or organs. The pains are ameliorated by heat and pressure. Mag phos children get convulsion during dentition. The convulsions are followed by extreme sensitiveness to touch, to wind, to noise and to excitement.

The child might get cramps that come in the fingers from writing, playing musical instrument. Their sleep is disturbed because of cramps and dreams. They are chilly. They suffer due to exposure to cold, and they feel comfortable in warm room and in warm weather.

Magnesium muriaticum

Mag. mur children are nervous and prone to suffer from stomach and liver complaints. They have enlarged and indurated glands, children are often sensitive to cold but they desire fresh and open air.

The child is extremely restless and finds it difficult to keep still. There is marked restlessness, fidgetiness throughout the the body coupled with anxiety. The anxiety is increased while going to bed and closing the eyes.

The child likes sweet things. Most of the the time there is increased hunger but it is unable to specify the desire; knows not for what. The child cannot tolerate salt things which bring on various stomach complaints. There is marked aggravation from sea bath, and at seashore from inhaling sea air.

The marked feature in these children is indigestion. The stomach becomes less and less able to digest and finally he cannot take a mouthful of food without distress. Children are constipated.

Mag. mur children have restless sleep especially before midnight. They have unrefreshing sleep which causes frequent yawning in the the forenoon. The sleep is full of dreams.

Magnesium sulphuricum

Mag. sulph children take everything in a negative sense; they have a disposition to weep. They have negative imagination; foreboding anxiety as if some accident would happen. They have a tendency to develop diarrhoea and abnormal growths, warts on skin. The spasmodic complaints are marked which are prolonged in character.

Want of appetite and repugnance to all food even when thinking of it; aversion to meat. They have restless sleep especially after midnight but they feel very sleepy in the morning when it is time to get up. They sleep early. The sleep is full of dreams.

Mercurius child

Mercurius solubilis

Mercurius children are identified with large heads and open fontanelle particularly the anterior. They are slow in learning to walk, the teeth form imperfectly or slowly, the limbs are apt to be cold and damp, and there is a damp, clammy feeling in the limbs. The head is inclined to perspire in the Mercurius child but the perspiration is offensive and oily. They have excessive saliva dribbling from mouth.

The Mercurius child is very close in the presentation and in the constitution to the calc carb. child. Both children are comfortable and happy when they are constipated. The difference lies in the thermal state and in discharges. Mercurius constitution is changeable like mercury and sensitive to heat and cold. The child is worse from extremes of temperature, worse from both heat and cold. Calc carb child is Chilly. The child is sensitive to the cold air, he wants the body to be kept warm. The head is warm to touch. Mercurius discharges are offensive and excessive. Offensiveness runs all through – offensive odour of mouth, urine, sweat and stool. The tongue is coated, dirty, yellowish-white and takes the imprint of teeth. Flabby and mapped tongue.

A scrofulous child; glandular system is active, he is prone to get inflammation and induration of various glands like parotids, sublingual, lymphatics of neck, groin and axilla.

The glandular activities also show themselves in two ways, in the first place they may have a condition simulating plethora. In more advanced stages it may be indicated in enlarged glands with steady emaciation and anaemia. Face flushed with glandular swelling and sore mouth.

The child might show its anxiety through restlessness, tossing about, moving from place to place. It is one of the remedies used for nostalgia and homesickness. The child becomes anxious and irritable. The child has hasty speech and quick nervous manner. The child talks so rapidly that one word runs into another. It has impulsive disposition. He has sudden anger with impulse to do violence.

Children are prone to get haemorrhages from different parts, hence they get nose bleeding especially in warm weather. Child gets most of the complaints aggravated at night, i.e. , from sunset to sunrise. He has a tendency to suppurate. In congestive and inflammation complaints, it simulates Bell and often completes the work if Bell fails.

Dr. J. T. Kent says, "Merc is a great remedy for children with epileptiform fits, twitching and disorderly motions. It will help children to grow out of these inco-ordinate angular movement of hands and feet. The motion of tongue is disorderly and the child can't talk".

The children suffer from dysentery with profuse mucus and blood. Merc children have aversion to – butter 2, coffee 2, fats and rich food 2, hot food 2, meat 2. They have a liking for bread and butter 3, cold drinks 3, liquid food 2, milk 2.

Natrum child

Natrum is characterised by its effect on digestive system resulting in impaired nutrition. Natrum children do not thrive, they show poor growth of mind and body which is marked by inadequate development of mental faculty and emaciation respectively. They are sensitive, offended easily and do not recover easily from insults and emotional upsets. The intellectual faculty too remains undeveloped which causes great embarrassment for the child in the company of other children. They can't tolerate the exposure to the sunrays and Natrum children feel exhausted, debilitated in sun. Hot weather, electric changes in the atmosphere or the direct rays of sun give rise to various ailments. All the natrums take away the desire to go to stool; no ability to bear down; stool large and hard, great effort to pass it.

It is noticed that Natrum children are not able to appreciate so called good things in the world. They keep aloof, they do not like music, dance and parties. They do not relish milk and milk products, sweet and meat. These children are not very social, do not enjoy things which other children long to enjoy.

Natrum, when combined with other salts modifies accordingly. These salts of Natrum present with their own individuality which are given below, no doubt the core of Natrum remains common throughout.

Natrium muriaticum

Nat mur is a thin, thirsty and emaciated child. It has marked emaciation especially about the neck with pale, shiny, waxy skin that looks as if it has been smeared over with grease. There is marked DRYNESS of skin, mouth, throat and rectum; the food sticks all the way down the oesophagus. Nat mur children have marked tendency to develop hang nails, splits up the sides of the nails which are extremely sensitive very painful, and very difficult to heal. The slow development is marked in learning to speak, starting to walk, etc.

Child is nervous, irritable, prostrated. They are greatly disturbed by excitement, are extremely emotional. The child is in a state of fret and irritation; slight noise, the slamming of door, the ringing of Bell, etc., cause startling in it. Sometimes the child sits alone with sad mood. No matter how cheerful the circumstances are it cannot bring it into the state of being joyful. Unpleasant events are recalled when child goes to bed, when he sits alone. The child appears to make a bid for sympathy, yet gets angry when consoled. He has disturbed sleep because of frightful dreams. Dreams of robbers always force him to get up frequently.

Child is hot; likes open air and worse in warm atmosphere. He is badly effected by anger, grief, fright, vexation, mortification, reserved displeasure which give rise to various complaints. Acidic or sour food, bread and butter, milk, meat aggravates the complaints.

Child likes salty things 3, fish 2, meat 2, indigestible things, sour and salty things 3, bitter things 2 and garlics, etc.; sometimes they do not like to eat anything even with excessive hunger.

They are prone to suffer from school headaches, cold, digestive problems, constipation, etc., and also from skin problems and glandular complaints.

Natrium carbonicum

These children mostly present with the sour stomach and with intolerance to milk. They develop diarrhoea after milk.

The child has nervous exhaustion, physical exhaustion, weakness of mind and body. In reading a page, the one previous to it soon goes out of mind. The child is much disturbed by slightest noise; he has disturbance of emotions; he does not feel one with family members; he wants to keep away from the most loved ones. The senses are all sensitive. He is oversensitive to light, little noise, tasting of things, smell, touch, etc.

He is chilly but oversensitive to heat especially to sun's heat; he has to be well shaded when walking in the sun.

Nat carb child likes bread and butter 2, cold and frozen things 2, sweet 2 and has aversion to milk 3, meat 2, starchy food, etc.

Natrium sulphuricum

These children are characterised by excessive sensitivity to pain, which is sudden and violent. Sensitivity is also marked on mental plane which is expressed by easy tiredness leading to sadness; dislikes to speak or to be spoken to. A child who has been showing change in his behaviour after head injury can be a suitable Nat sulph child.

The symptoms and the constitutional state of the patient are worse in wet weather. It is useful in children who live near waterways and have suffered long from malaria. There might be a history of sycosis in the family.

Child is hot and likes to be in open air. The discharges are thick, yellow and greenish. They suffer from frequent cold especially in wet weather which has a tendency to cause bronchial spasms. They suffer from rumbling, gurgling in bowels. Then sudden gushing noisy, spluttering stool follows; they become cheerful after stool. Music makes him sad.

He has aversion to milk, meat, vegetables which aggravate his complaints. He likes frozen things 3.

Natrium phosphoricum

The child is identified with marked SOURNESS. The belching is sour, vomitus is sour, expectoration is sour, stool is sour and even the perspiration is sour. The child has pale face or red on alternate sides; one ear is red and hot. His tongue is characterised by its yellow creamy coating on the base. Child is chilly.

The child cannot tolerate hunger and feels better after eating. He does not like to take bath. His muscles are flabby and he is losing flesh. The discharges are thick, yellow and purulent. Child has aversion to cold food, fat, meat, milk, sour things and likes fried eggs, bread and butter.

Natrium arsenicosum

A hot tempered and very restless child who gets angry at trifles and cannot tolerate any contradiction. He is easily distracted, easily excited and finds it difficult to sustain mental exertion.

Child has aversion to fats and to meat. He likes bread cold drinks, sweet things. He cannot digest milk.

They are prone to suffer from nasal catarrh with headache, pain at the root of nose, dry and painful eyes. Nat ars is indicated in Bronchitis of children over seven years. Facilitates the termination of cold and conserves strength and appetite.

Phosphorus child

Phosphorus

Phosphorus child is usually a tall, gracile, nervous and delicate child who has a fair skin and delicate eye lashes. A fine blond, who has quick perception and very sensitive nature, grows rapidly and is inclined to stoop. There is over sensitivity in all the senses, to external impressions : light, noise, odours and touch.

There may be a different type of phosphorus child who is tall, slim, dark haired with waxy and reddish, pale skin. He has a sanguine temperament, i.e. , child has red or fair complexion and he is ardent, confident and inclined to hopefulness. A nervous weak child who is always restless, fidgety, moves continually, can't sit or stand still for a moment.

All his complaints are worse from cold and cold application and better from heat and warm application except the complaints of head and stomach, which are ameliorated by cold. He is a chilly person who is generally sensitive to cold and is worse in cold climate. A slight exertion might lead to exhaustion and profound weakness.

The child is anxious; fears being alone, twilight, ghosts, thunder-storms, etc. Quickly prostrated by unpleasant impressions. He is timid and irresolute; not firm in purpose. There is inability to sustain mental effort. The fear has its own characteristic which begins in the pit of stomach and causes diarrhoea. He does not like to answer, answers slowly, thinks sluggishly. He gets tired easily from mental and physical work.

Phosphorus children have intense hunger which returns after a while after eating. There is empty, hollow feeling in stomach. Sometimes cries for food but when offered it refuses. Thirst is one of the most constant feature of phosphorus. There is thirst for ice cold drinks which relieves the burning of stomach but brings on throat complaints. He likes cold things, juicy things, refreshing things, salty things and he has aversion to coffee, salted fish, onions, sweets, meat, boiled milk, etc. He gets stomach problem due to warm drinks, milk, pastry and salty things.

He has long, dry, tough and hard motion which needs much straining. While suffering from loose motion he develops involuntary stool. The motion is characterised by white mucus, offensiveness, and its colour : yellow watery. It has sago like particles. He gets an urge as soon as anythings enters in stomach. There is a sensation as if anus remains wide open and stool comes out gushingly.

He has tendency to develop cold, coryza, sneezing from putting hand in water. He is prone to get respiratory complaints. Haemorrhagic diathesis.

He has a restless sleep; starts in sleep; feels tired in the morning as if he has not slept enough. He gets great relief in his complaints even if he sleeps a little. He mostly sleeps lying on the right side. His dreams are anxious, clairvoyant. He gets dreams of fire, difficulties, horses, mental exertions, misfortunes, quarrels, of being strangled.

Psorinum child

Psorinum

Psorinum child is good and lively in the day time and is very troublesome at night. The children are pale, delicate and sickly. They do not recover fully from acute diseases which take a long course and the after effects last for years e.g. , weakness and debility. Child is weak, tender and thin, easily chilled.

The skin all over the body is filthy especially of face which looks dingy, dirty, foul, as if covered with dirt. It is rough and uneven, cracks easily, looks unwashed, as if bathed in oil. There is a great amount of hopelessness. The child finds himself not worthy for taking up any activity. He thinks he is going to get a failure. There is ANXIETY, foreboding and a great amount of despair. The mind is dull, clouded and it is difficult to think for him.

Child sweats profusely from least exertion; sweat is cold, clammy and offensive. Profuse night sweat, the child has offensive and cold sweat on palm and soles. There is a great sensitiveness to cold air, change of weather, stormy weather. He feels restless for days before or during thunderstorm. Sometimes child mentions its very peculiar symptom of great hunger and a sense of well being before the attack of any sickness. Some parents do mention that child is doing very well but next day he may fall sick suddenly. Hungry at middle of night, must eat something. He suffers badly from suppressed skin diseases.

All the discharges are very offensive; suffers from diarrhoea during dentition which is horribly offensive; diarrhoea at early morning from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m.

Hair dry, lustreless, tangles easily, glues together. Dr. Kent puts it like this, "shrivelling of skin; dirty skin; cannot wash it clean. Offensive discharge from the bowels; great emaciation, increased growth of hair on the face; a fuzz; horribly offensive inspite of washing; ravenous appetite yet grows thin; foetid odours would lead one to think of Psorinum."

Pulsatilla child

Pulsatilla pratensis

Douglas Borland describes two main types of Pulsatilla children. One is very small, fine type, with a fine skin, fine hair, unstable circulation, liable to flush from any emotion; very often going pale afterwards; definitely shy, sensitive; always affectionate, very easy to handle and always very responsive. The other Pulsatilla type is much fatter with definitely more colour, usually rather darker hair, a little more sluggish in reaction, a little more tendency to weep rather than to be bright and gay; whereas the smaller, fine type, craving for attention without much response to it, always asks for a little more. Whatever the type may be, Pulsatilla children are characterised by their peculiar features which are described below.

They are sensitive to HEAT, they are tired and exhausted due to heat, they lose their liveliness, sparkle and energy in hot atmosphere. They love and enjoy being in fresh and open air. The complaints and the mood are marked by changeability and shifting. The child does share the symptom with Chamomilla which is expressed as too much crying and capriciousness. But Pulsatilla child is hot, has a pitiful cry whereas Chamomilla child has a snarling cry. One would like to caress the Pulsatilla and spank the other.

The child is timid, fearful and lacks boldness. The child always puts up a calm and bright face which is a deceiving look. There is inner restlessness which might be expressed as difficulty in talking, doing things and attending to their studies. They often do something which they are not intended to do. They look healthy and flushed due to pseudo plethora.

Many of the complaints are associated with weakness of stomach and indigestion. They have frequent stomach upset due to butter, bread, fat, fruits, cakes, warm milk, meat, cabbage and coffee. They do not know what they like, and they are always in search of something refreshing, tasting nice. They like sour and cold things. They are THIRSTLESS. The discharges are thick, green, yellow and bland.

The child is subject to repeated attack of cough with sneezing and stuffing up of the nose. The frequent cold causes ear trouble, headache and constant throat problem.

He lies on back keeping his arm over the head which is the usual position occupied during sleep. The sleep is restless due to some idea which always repeats. He gets frightful dreams, frightened by black dog, frightful beasts, cats, etc.

Rheum child

Rheum palmatum

Rheum child is sour, impatient and colicky. They are always screaming and crying with urging and sour stool.

The stools are sour; the taste is sour; the whole body has a sour smell. No amount of washing will wash the sourness out of a characteristic Rheum baby. Such a condition may occur in babies during dentition. They have a very difficult dentition.

They are impatient; desires many things and cries, dislikes even favourite playthings. They do not like to eat the favourite things, loathing after first bite. They suffer from colic which causes severe crying with sour stool and not relieved by passing stool. The colic returns back after uncovering the part. The stool is characterised by poppy, sour, brown, green, fermented, slimy or acrid stool, associated with shivering, aggravated by eating unriped food.

The child is restless, irritable, peevish with pale face. He sweats profusely and constantly on head. The scalp and hair are always wet. He cries and tosses about all night. The mouth i covered by offensive mucous after sleeping; and after sleeping there is bad taste and offensive breath; unable to collect her sense for long after waking.

Sanicula child

Sanicula aqua

Sanicula child is headstrong, obstinate,, cross, irritable. At one moment he might be full of anger but the next moment it bursts into laughter. He cries unnecessarily, does not want to be touched, reacts badly and kicks. Child throws himself backward if gets angry. He has a dread of downward movement.

Child looks old and thin. The head and neck of the child sweat profusely especially during sleep which wets the pillow far around. His body smells like old cheese. The cachexia is the most pronounced feature. He is identified with weakness, emaciation, itching, ill nourished skin, pimply face, cold clammy hands and feet, foul smelling foot sweat, dry and lustreless hair and pot-bellied; skin around the neck wrinkled, hangs in folds.

Mentally he shows a great instability, jumps from one work to another, never finishing anything. There is a sense of impending misfortune.

Digestion is slow, children vomit milk or curds as soon as they are fed. They are prone to suffer from constipation with no desire to pass motion. During dentition they suffer from loose motion which is characterised by offensiveness. Stool is like scrumbled eggs. Must hurry after eating. Odour of stool follows despite bathing. Constantly changing symptoms.

Sanicula children have great liking for bacon or ice cold milk. They have acrid foot-sweat which destroys and corrodes shoes.

Silica child

Silicea terra

Silica children are characterised by their sickly appearance. They have thin, anaemic, tired and waxy appearance. It has large head and wasted body, fair and clear complexion. The bones are softer. There is lack of assimilation and hence the parts are not properly nourished, and they grow weaker and weaker. They cannot digest mother's milk or indeed any kind of food. They vomit very often and suffer from diarrhoea after milk.

The child lacks stamina. He fears he might fail. They dread appearing in public and there is no self-confidence. They are irritable, touchy and do not like any interference.

A striking feature is the sweat about the upper parts of the body and the head. Sweats on the face, around the neck, but lower parts remain dry. It takes a great exertion to produce general sweating. There is sweating of palms and soles which is offensive. There is lack of vital heat. The child shivers if temperature is low in the atmosphere and he is comfortable in warm weather. There is a marked suppurative tendency; every injury suppurates.

It has disordered stomach associated with hiccough, nausea and vomiting. Decided aversion to warm food, desires cold things. Sometimes he has aversion to meat. He likes ice cream, ice water and feels comfortable when it is in stomach, it is sometimes impossible for him to drink hot fluids, they cause sweat about the face and head and cause hot flushes. He has also complaints from being overheated; he gets over-heated easily from a slight change in temperature and come down with cold.

Constipated; child has to strain a lot to expel the hard stool. There is a great suffering while straining. They sweat on head while straining.

There is sleeplessness marked after midnight. They get up during the sleep, walk during the sleep and again come back to their bed. They sweat profusely as soon as they begin to sleep. Frightful dreams wake him on falling to sleep. They have marked spotted nails; white spots on the nails. They have slow and difficult dentition.

Sulphur child

Sulphur

A typical sulphur child is identified with its thin built; he is tall, stoop shouldered and suffers from indigestion, bad assimilation and feeble nutrition. Children who lead a sedentary life may in long course end up with the sulphur constitution. Those who recover from prolonged sickness may also develop this constitution.

The face looks red, dirty and shrivelled. He has a delicate, thin skin, blushing on the slightest occasion, always red and dirty looking. In spite of washing his face many times it look dirty.

He does not keep his things in order. His clothes, his books and his toys may be spread over here and there. There is a state of disorder, untidiness and Uncleanliness. He is indisposed to everything; work, pleasure, talk and motion. Indolence of mind and body, does not like to take up any work. He has a great aversion to follow up things in orderly manner, he does not complete most of the work which he starts. He dwells up on strange and peculiar things, unnecessary queries enter in his mind and keep him busy. He is selfish, does not think about others, does not care about anyone's need. He is mean minded. There is absence of gratitude. He does bad in school, his performance is poor due to inability to collect thoughts and idea, lacks concentration.

Lips are red and so are all other orifices. There is emaciation of all the parts of the body except abdomen which looks large and distended.

Child has a good appetite but does not like to eat, he looses interest in food after eating a little. But he gets sudden spells of hunger especially at 11.00 a.m. . He has empty feeling, burning in stomach and he cannot wait for food. He is thirsty; eats less and drinks more. He is disturbed with morning diarrhoea; he has to rush out of bed as soon as he is awake in the morning. It drives him out of bed.

Sulphur child gets stomach complaints due to milk 3, pastry 2, salty things 3, bread 2, eggs 2, fat 2, sour 2. He desires and relishes sweet 3, sweet and sour 3, salt and sour 3, raw food 3 and has great aversion to meat 3.

Sulphur is a filthy child but he is very sensitive to filthy odours sometimes he is disturbed because of his own body smell.. He can't stand heat and cold though there is a strong desire for open air. He is a Hot child, feels better in cold open air but takes cold easily. He has a great aversion to take bath. He cries loudly, opposes all attempts to give him a bath. He dreads bath. Bath causes him cold and he does not recover from the constant discharge from nose. He can't stand for long time; he likes to keep himself moving or would like to sit down since standing is the worst condition for a sulphur child.

He has aggravation of complaints at bed time as soon as he gets warm in bed. He has burning here and there, burning of soles disturbs him much and most of the time it is noticed that these children keep their feet out of the cover. They have cat nap sleep. Easily startled by noise, wakes up from sleep due to slight disturbances, sleepy by day, wakeful at night. Sleep unrefreshing, sings during sleep. Wakes up singing.

The child has a dry and coarse skin, has tendency to develop cracks especially in winter. They are prone to get irritation at various parts which is worse in warm room, warm bed and by warm clothings. He derives a certain amount of pleasure while scratching which is followed by burning. They have a tendency to develop various kind of rashes and suppuration. They might suffer from constipation; the stool is dry and hard which makes the child cry while passing motion.

Another thing which is sometimes a help about these children is that they are extremely pleased with their possessions. Their toys are the best toys, their family is the best ever. They also have an astonishing money sense.

Thuja child

Thuja occidentalis

A sluggish and flabby child who looks fleshy is a typical Thuja child. The child has dark complexion, black hair and unhealthy skin. They have Grauvogl's hydrogenoid constitution. The child might have history of bad effects of vaccination and might have started complaints after the vaccination. They have a waxy, shiny face; looks as if it had been smeared over with grease. It looks dirty with brownish spots here and there. Skin might be full of warts.

The child has a peculiar sweating pattern. He sweats all over except the head, sweats while asleep; dry when awake. The perspiration is sweetish sour, foetid; sometimes like garlic, like honey. It has a strong and pungent odour. It has foul acrid foot sweat.

They have delicate teeth, which decay at root but crown remains sound; they crumble and turn yellow. They get toothache from taking tea and on blowing nose. There is a peculiar sensation in the abdomen as if something is moving which protrudes here and there. Nails ribbed, soft, brittle, crumbling, discoloured or distorted and deformed.

The child might present with constipation or diarrhoea. While constipated he has great difficulty in passing motion. It is a painful effort which often compels him to stop passing motion. The stool recedes after it is partly expelled. It has gushing, watery, morning diarrhoea which comes out with force. Diarrhoea is worse after breakfast, coffee, fat food and onions.

The child has a restless sleep and gets various dreams. Dreams of dead, dead bodies, falling of from high places, of mental exertion, of misfortune.

The child is hasty and anxious, can't concentrate. He is ill humoured and has fixed ideas.

Tuberculinum child

Tuberculinum bovinum Kent

They are active and precocious mentally. They have well developed mental faculties and weak physique. They have aversion to mental and physical work. They have very active mind; anxiety at evening until midnight. Persistent thought during night. A constant desire expressed by children is to change, to travel and to go somewhere and do something different. They are sweet natured children but when they are sick they are unmanageable. They sometimes look melancholic, despondent, morose, irritable, fretful, peevish, taciturn and sulky. SENSITIVE; every trifle irritates. After getting up he finds himself in a strange place. He wakes up from sleep frightened and screaming. Dreams frightful, vivid; of shame, awakes in horror. He gets fits of violent anger. He has a great fear of dogs.

The child has delayed dentition and takes cold easily without knowing how or where. The symptoms are ever changing. The complaints begin suddenly and disappear suddenly. Child also suffers from school-headache which becomes worse after study, mental exertion, eye strain, from over eating, disordered stomach. These headaches are not better by using glasses. They have very sensitive skin and get crop of small boils which do not heal fast. Some of the Tuberculinum children suffer from eczema of entire body during infancy. They have marked weakness towards evening, profuse night sweats. Clothes feel damp. They have bed wetting, morning diarrhoea and relapses.

They have a great liking to smoked meat 3, cold milk 2, pork 2, salt 2, sugar 2, delicacies 3, fat 2 and fat ham 2.

They have white spots on nails and sweating on palm. Though they have a tendency to take cold easily, they enjoy open and cool air, the child is hot. There could be family history of Tuberculosis in the family.

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