CASES

CASE1

Dd con., led.,lyc., mez.

Man, 45 years old

I don't have a video of the first consultation, but I will tell you the story.

This patient is a referee for the Belgian National Division. One day he rode home on his bicycle and he fell. He developed a very severe swelling of the right upper thigh. There was internal bleeding with a very severe, hard swelling as a consequence of the bleeding in the muscle.

What is the remedy?

Audience: Arnica.

Audience: Ledum palustre.

Audience: Bellis perennis.

A : This is all wrong and also the doctor on duty at the Center gave the wrong remedy.

The patient telephoned and said that he had an accident. The doctor on duty gave him Arnica. In such a case normally everybody would give Arnica because of the fall, I would have given it also. After Arnica the swelling became so bad that he had to go to the hospital because he was afraid of an occlusion of the veines from the enormous pressure. After he came home from the hospital he telephoned me and said that he had the impression that it aggravated with the remedy. After Arnica the swelling aggravated, the pain aggravated and it was hardened. Which remedy did I give him?

Audience: Conium maculatum.

A : Yes, exactly, Conium maculatum. Look in the Repertory on page 1369:

GENERALITIES,INJURY,Soft parts, of : Arn., cham., Con., dulc., euphr., lach., puls., samb., sul-ac., sulph.

GENERALITIES, injuries, soft parts of: Arn ... Con ...

It was severely swollen and it was very hard. This is typical for Conium maculatum. Arnica doesn't have this severe swelling. In an Arnica case the most important symptom is the sensitivity to touch. It hurts by putting something on it, on touch and so on, which is not so strong in Conium maculatum.

Be careful to give Arnica in an accident with internal hemorrhage, because when Arnica is not indicated everything aggravates. Try to act homoeopathically and not in a routine way.

Well all right, this patient got Conium maculatum two days later and he reacted very well. The swelling diminished and the pain improved. After a while he came back and said that there still was a kind of nodule. At the place where there was bleeding you could feel a hardening and it also hurt while walking.

Which homoeopathic examination is now indicated in this situation? There is still a nodule, a local swelling and at night he automatically puts his leg out of the covers?

If somebody with internal bleeding caused by an accident comes to you always think of comparing the temperature of both sides. Put the back of your hand on the place of the injury and then on the corresponding uninjured place on the other side and try to find out whether there is a difference in temperature. And why?

Audience: What ameliorates and what aggravates?

A : No, no, you cannot find this out.

Audience: ... (not understandable)

A : And what do you feel in an inflammation?

Warmth. And which side is warm? The injured or the not injured? Do you mean the injured side?

No, in 90% of all cases the injured part is cold, colder than the healthy part. Also in this case I could clearly feel coldness of the injured side.

If you look in the Repertory, where can we find this?

Look on page 957:

EXTREMITIES, coldness, painful parts: Led, mez, sil

EXTREMETIES,COLDNESS,painful parts : Led., mez., sil.

There is another rubric on page 1305:

SKIN, coldness, injured parts: Led

SKIN,COLDNESS, injured parts : Led.

To feel the temperature of the injured part in an injury must be a reflex just like the examination of the glands in the throat when you are thinking of Tuberculinum bovinum Kent. And when the injured part is cold, the remedy is Ledum palustre.

Ledum palustre is also a remedy in constitutional effects from injuries.

Look on page 1422:

GENERALITIES, wounds, constitutional effects of:

GENERALITIES,WOUNDS,constitutional effects of : Arn., carb-v., con., hep., iod., lach., Led., nat-m., nit-ac., phos., puls., rhus-t., staph., sul-ac., zinc.

Constitutional effects means that the symptoms after an injury, after an accident indicate a certain remedy and after the remedy constitutional symptoms appear. Or the remedy ameliorates the worst symptoms, but some symptoms always remain.

That is what happened in this case.

After Ledum palustre the patient got Conium maculatum and a few days later the small nodule disappeared. Such hardening you find as fibrotic reaction to hemorrhage and you can cure this with Ledum palustre.

So the patient got Ledum palustre and he reacted very well to that and now we will see him again.

A: The hard swelling on the leg disappeared with Conium maculatum but still a hard nodule remained. Strangely enough this part of the leg felt cold to touch. You started putting your legs out of the covers.

Then you came back, the hard swelling disappeared, but you had pain somewhere else. Where?

P: In the right arm.

After Ledum palustre he had pain in the right arm and in the right knee.

The injury was to the right thigh.

What is the constitutional remedy of this man?

Audience: Lycopodium clavatum.

A: Yes, right, and he always reacted very well to Lycopodium clavatum.

The only thing which didn't improve was itching on his behind.

A: Only in the right arm?

P: As far as I remember it was only the right arm, especially in the right arm. Also in the knee, possibly, I don't argue with that.

A: It seemed to indicate your constitutional remedy that we gave.

Do you see, after Ledum palustre the constitutional symptoms appear clearly.

P: This was quite a while ago, about three weeks ago.

A: I gave you the remedy and how did it go with the pain?

P: Since then I haven't had any problems.

A: And how did it go with your leg?

P: According to me all the problems with the leg seem to be gone.

A: Did you start training again?

P: Yes, I play as much sport as I did before. I recovered very quickly. I already refereed two football games.

A: Was everything all right with your respiration?

P: Yes, everything.

I asked about that because one day he came to me and said that he couldn't tolerate this terrible itching anymore. I couldn't give him a remedy, I didn't have enough symptoms to give another remedy and so he went to the dermatologist, who prescribed Cortisone ointment. Then he developed severe asthma and came back to me. First I gave him SulphurC 30 and then Lycopodium clavatum, and the asthma disappeared again.

Nevertheless, this itching had always been a problem, it never disappeared completely. Now, after Ledum palustre because of the accident, first the pain appeared on the right side, disappeared with Lycopodium clavatum and after Lycopodium clavatum the itching and some other skin symptoms appeared.

A: Now it starts becoming interesting. Put on this microphone. Now you have itching on the head?

P: Yes.

A: Strong itching?

P: Yes. It is very, very annoying. I have the tendency to scratch it constantly. If you look on my head you can see it. Here, apparently there is a big crust, a white crust, which is glued to the head and sometimes pieces come off.

A: Indeed these are very hard crusts. Very hard, not thick. But you take care of them a lot, don't you?

P: Yes, I put something on it which I think is good.

Up to now he had this itching on the head, but not these hard crusts. He always had itching in his rectum, but there are a lot of remedies and it is difficult to find the right remedy.

A: Does it hurt when you pull off the crusts?

P: Well yes, because you also pull of some of the skin.

A: And the hair?

You are laughing, but this is a very important symptom for this remedy. This remedy has very sensitive skin, so sensitive, that they often can't even tolerate the friction of their clothes. And when you touch these scabs, when you try to pull them off, it hurts.

P: The hair is glued to it.

What does it mean when the hair is matted together?

Plica polonica. When the hair mats together with crusts or discharges it is called plica polonica.

P: You know that I have a lot of anxiety because before I had this treated by a family doctor and the consequences were terrible. I had enormous problems with my respiration. And therefore I'm very anxious.

A: Tell me something more about the crusts.

P: It has been worse than now.

A: Did you put something on it?

P: Yes, a certain remedy so that it became a little bit less annoying.

A: You had shortness of breath after you saw the family doctor, it was very serious.

When did you have problems with the skin for the first time in your life?

P: It must have been about the age of 15 years.

A: Did you also have crusts then?

P: I think so. But of course this is quite a long time ago. I remember a time - at that time I was in school - I really had complaints with this kind of eczema, which was situated especially in the rectum. I put some Mulkosan on it.

A: When do you have this itching in the rectum?

P: With the slightest change of temperature, while undressing, when I take a bath, when I go to bed. Indeed I have problems with it. Also when it is very warm or when I am warm in bed.

For a few days I have had a kind of eczema on the upper arm and also in my ear. When I had this eczema so strongly it was not on the arm. This was almost one year ago, that I had it on my arm.

A: It is itching on the upper eyelids?

P: Yes, here especially on the right side. In other words, at the moment I don't feel well in my skin.

A: What about your psychological state at the moment?

P: In fact I have the impression that I'm rather stable.

A: Do you notice that you are angry, that you easily become angry?

P: I don't think so. I think that I'm rather quiet at the moment.

A: Are you sure that you never had eczema before the age of 16?

P: I'm not sure, I assume so.

A: As a child you never had complaints?

P: At least I don't remember. I might have, but not that I know of. I remember the time about which we are talking now, because I was away from home at that time. I was in a boarding school and I didn't dare talk about this problem. I mean the way you can talk about this normally at the time. That's why I remember.

A: You were in a boarding school?

P: Yes. Who could you go to when you had eczema in a delicate place? Finally I went to a teacher, who was a friar. I have very bad memories of this. I had to go to this man in his room and undress myself completely. I don't have good memories about this time. That's why I know it was at the time I changed schools and not when I was at home with my parents.

A: Did your mother ever tell you that you had skin eruptions as a child or something like that?

P: No, but I know that in the family on father's side there is a predisposition for eczema.

A: I have the impression that you are a hot-tempered person.

P: They tell me that I'm very quiet, but I think that in fact this is not right. I think indeed sometimes I can be very hot-tempered. For example, while playing football, I notice that I often get excited. But often my mind controlls it. He says, "You don't do that and remains quiet." But if I would follow my impulse I would be very hot-tempered.

A: How long do you stay angry?

P: A short time.

A: What do you feel internally, when the anger has gone?

I have seen you referee at a football game and I notice that you can whistles very impulsively.

P: Many times I can.

Which mental symptom am I trying to get out?

He is easily angry, but what comes immediately after anger?

The remorse. This is typical for this remedy, the anger with immediate remorse. You see the corresponding rubric on page 2:

MIND,ANGER,ALTERNATING,quick repentance : Croc., mez., sulph.

MIND, anger, alternating with quick repentance:

Croc, mez, sulph.

anantherum also belongs to this rubric.

A: What do you feel after anger?

P: These are different questions you are asking now. I blame myself that I let myself go. It comes too quickly.

A: You have repentance very quickly afterwards?

P: Yes.

Do all these questions you are asking me now mean anything?

A: I have to ask them, otherwise the remedy doesn' t fit.

P: Now you are asking a lot of psychological things.

A: You should not forget that there is a connection.

P: That's right.

A: On the symptom of the itching I cannot prescribe a remedy. Unless the itching is confirmed by psychological symptoms.

P: I looked myself in the direction of food, clothing and so on.

A: It doesn't have anything to do with it. I mean, this is not the cause.

P: Oh no, of course this is not the real cause.

A: Every homoeopathic remedy is a picture, which consists of psychological and sometimes also of mental symptoms. All this together gives the picture of a remedy.

P: Oh yes?

A: The cause is not the psychological, but something different, which we cannot understand. The real causes are not amenable.

P: Besides when I look at my face in the morning it doesn't look healthy. I know this myself. I think it looks dry.

A: A slight peeling?

P: Yes, indeed.

A: Over the whole body?

P: Yes, but especially on the face I have dry, scabby skin. It is remarkable especially there, because I see this in the mirror.

A: How often have you been vaccinated in your life?

P: I think the usual vaccinations a child gets and the vaccinations given during military service, further nothing in particular.

Vaccinations can have such a big influence that a completely new layer appears which you first have to cure with a remedy before you can cure the patient with a constitutional remedy. Maybe you remember the face of the fat nurse who received Tuberculinum bovinum Kent first because of the rheumatic complaints. After Tuberculinum bovinum Kent Thuja symptoms appeared: Headache, condylomata, dreams of falling. After Thuja this layer disappeared and Tuberculinum bovinum Kent appeared again and then it was possible to cure her definitely. Here you see the same: immediately after the accident Conium maculatum, then Ledum palustre, then Lycopodium clavatum takes away his pain and then the problems which were caused by the vaccinations appeared. Now you have to give the remedy which has these ailments from vaccination and this is Mezereum. It will cure these symptoms and later maybe he will need Lycopodium clavatum again.

P: The normal vaccinations which we had before in school. They were given every two years and I have had all of them. But I don't think they give them anymore.

A: It was also remarkable that you had anticipating fear. When you had to do something you were excited beforehand.

P: It depends on what I have to do. I don't think that you can generalize that it occurred every time.

A: No, I mean, that you feel this before things which are important.

P: Indeed.

A: Where do you feel this? In which part of the body do you feel this?

What am I trying to get out now? That he feels the anxiety where?

In his stomach.

Look on page 480:

STOMACH,APPREHENSION in : Asaf., aur., bry., calc., cann-s., canth., dig., kali-c., lyc., Mez., phos., thuj.

STOMACH, apprehension in: ... Mez ...

Mezereum is capital, but he doesn't express it clearly.

P: Only in the trachea.

And don't forget the symptom on page 764:

RESPIRATION,ASTHMATIC,alternating with eruptions : Calad., crot-t., hep., kalm., lach., mez., rhus-t., sulph.

RESPIRATION, asthmatic, alternating with eruptions:

... mez ...

Here you also see the remedy.

With this symptom you always have to think of Hepar sulphuris. Everybody thinks of Sulphur, but most of us forget Hepar in these cases.

A: Otherwise you don't feel this anticipating fear in any other part of your body?

P: I don't know whether I am giving the right answer at the moment, because it is a difficult question. In the future I will pay attention to this. I assume that this goes straight to my legs.

A: You never had complaints in the stomach?

P: I almost never had complaints with the stomach.

A: It doesn't contract?

P: No, I don't think so. I sense that after a competition I can eat very badly. Maybe this is connected with my stomach.

A: We can also say that it is painful, when we pull off the crusts.

P: Yes, it is painful. Sometimes I do it myself, but it hurts.

A: You have the tendency to pull at it?

P: Yes.

Do you remember that Mezereum together with Lachesis, Mercurius, Nux vomica and Belladonna is sensitive to slight touch? It is the first remedy in herpetic eruptions, in herpes zoster. They complain that the touch of clothes on the skin while undressing is very painful. This is the particular symptom which indicates Mezereum. In 80% of all cases of herpes zoster, in which there is sensitivity to touch Mezereum is the right remedy.

A: And it hurts?

P: Yes.

A: And undressing causes itching?

P: Indeed.

A: Why exactly?

When you cover it up you have less itching.

When you undress, or with change of temperature, then you have more itching.

P: Yes, that's right.

Itching from undressing. Look in the rubric under the section of "skin". The sensitivity to cold air is a characteristic of Mezereum, and particularly above the ears. We will hear about this later.

A: What does the warmth do?

P: With the itching?

A: Yes.

P: Warmth doesn't do any good.

A: What does a bath do?

P: A bath? In fact I always take a shower. It is more the water in general, but also warm water hurts.

A: Your skin is sensitive when you touch it.

Are you sensitive also on the psychological level? A person who easily feels disturbed?

In the sensitivity to slight touch I forgot another remedy, and this is China, but China is ameliorated by hard pressure.

P: Yes, I think so.

A: That's the way I see you, for example, when they blame you for something on the football field.

P: When I think of this I think I'm sensitive to it.

A: As far as the itching in the rectum is concerned: does it give you a good feeling when you rub it?

P: Yes, but afterwards it is worse.

A: You also had itching in your ears?

P: Yes, but it is less at this moment. It goes up and down.

A: Do you have another feeling in your ear?

P: In my ear very often I have itching, also when the eczema is not there. I have the tendency to put a cotton stick twice or three times in my ear, maybe, because it is very agreeable.

He has the tendency to bore with his finger in his ear and this ameliorates.

Look on page 285,

EAR,BORING,FINGERS IN,amel. : Chel., lach., mez., par., rheum., spig.

EAR, boring, fingers in: ... sil ...

There is only one second degree remedy.

P: Sometimes I have a feeling of pressure in my ears.

A: Do you have a cold feeling?

P: No.

A: When you are driving in the wind you never have to put cotton in your ear?

P: Yes, I have to. I like to put my hand on my ears while riding on a bicycle or put some cotton in my ear.

A: Why?

P: Because it is unpleasant to feel the cold wind.

On the same page you see the following rubric:

EAR, air, open, sensitive to, about ears: Caust, Cham,

Lach, mez

EAR,AIR,open, sensitive to, about ears : Caust., Cham., Lach., mez.

When he rides a bicycle he is sensitive to cold air.

There is another peculiar symptom in Mezereum, namely that the meatus is open and the cold air is coming right into the ear.

Look on page 303:

EAR, open, meatus seems open: Aur-m, mez

morning: Mez

They have the same feeling in the eyes, "as from cold wind blowing in the eye". It is not in the Repertory, but Clarke describes it and it has to be added in the Repertory.

You have to add a new rubric:

EYE, wind, cold, as, if blowing in the eye: Med, Mezereum

A: This is an unpleasant feeling?

P: Yes, when the wind is blowing.

A: This means that the external meatus is sensitive to wind.

P: Yes, you could say so.

A: Are there other parts of the body which are sensitive to the wind?

P: My eyes also, they are very sensitive to coldness. They easily start lacrimating.

You see how suspicious he is, and also Mezereum is suspicious.

A: So you cannot tolerate cold air well?

P: That's it.

A: You have more itching at night. Does it begin when you become warm in bed?

P: Yes.

A: Touching aggravates. Outside in the fresh air you feel well?

P: Yes. It seems that you are examining something very complex. Doesn't it?

A: No, don't worry.

P: I don't mean that, but this is a case which you are keeping up for a while, you have to admit that, don't you?

A: Is there a certain insecurity in making decisions?

P: That's right, doctor, but I thought that I became somewhat more stable in the last few years.

A: You never had a prolapse?

P: No.

A: A prolapse of the rectum?

P: Yes.

A: You never told me this before.

P: I didn't I you this before? Yes, maybe because I never thought of it or it wasn't so important to me.

A: But you had this?

P: Yes.

Prolapse during stool, Mezereum is there.

A: You never had herpes zoster?

P: I don't think so.

A: Inflammation of the teeth?

P: Very little.

A: When do you have pain?

P: I don't know. I think, although I have the impression that it diminished the last few years, that it is because of becoming older.

The caries of Mezereum is especially on the margins of the teeth, between the teeth.

Look on page 431:

TEETH, caries, sides of teeth: Mez, staph, thuj

I'm thinking of another important symptom of Mezereum.

A good friend of mine told me that he gave a child the wrong remedy because he interpreted a symptom wrongly. Mezereum has, in children, the peculiar symptom that they start coughing as soon as they eat something and that they cough until they vomit. You find this on page 790:

COUGH, eating, until he vomits: Mez

My friend understood this symptom wrongly in the sense that the child was allergic to certain food, until he noticed the strong caries on the sides of the teeth. At that moment he saw the remedy and he recognized that the vomiting after eating didn't have an allergic cause, but that the child started to cough, as soon as it ate something and that this is a very important symptom of Mezereum.

I'm sure that the pediatricians have seen children with these symptoms and that usually this starts after a vaccination.

A: When you have itching do you also have cold shiverings?

P: No.

A: Headache?

P: Seldom or never.

A: Do you have hemorrhoids sometimes?

P: Sometimes I had the impression, but the dermatologist who examined me at that time, said that this was not so. I suspect this, because I had the impression that there were little cracks around the anus, but apparently this was not true.

A: I will give you the remedy and want to see you again.

You also know the desire of Mezereum for ham and fat bacon maculatum

FEEDBACK

A: On March 15, so four weeks ago, you were here. Now it is April 15. You came for crusts on the head with itching, itching in the rectum, eczema on the upper eyelids. How was the reaction to the remedy?

P: Already after 4 or 5 days I noticed a very strong amelioration, especially as far as the crusts on the head are concerned. The eczema on the upper eyelids has completely gone, I have less itching, but that is not gone completely. The crusts on the skin of the head return regularly when I wash my hair, especially when I use shampoo. It is not because of the shampoo, because I have used many different shampoos. When I wash my hair, a few hours later I have these scabs again. The hard crusts diminished again. You can feel it yourself.

A: (Looks at his head) So there are still scabs, but more small scabs. It has become very beautiful.

P: Yes, in fact the crusts have disappeared. Many thanks. It has ameliorated very clearly.

A: In fact you never got rid of the itching in your rectum?

P: This is very annoying and it returns every time. The intensity of the itching has diminished now. It appears especially when I go to bed and when it becomes warm, while undressing and with change of temperature.

A: But we may be sure that the reaction is good. This was never so before.

P: The itching in the anus lasted almost the whole day. It disturbed me all day long. I haven't gotten rid of it yet.

A: It is not such a long time ago that you received the remedy. Now, we will wait and see how the reaction will be. But you sense that it worked because the itching was already better after 4 or 5 days. Let the remedy do its work. When it becomes worse, you inform me.

You see, the remedies were Conium maculatum, Ledum palustre, Lycopodium clavatum, Mezereum and in the future he will need Lycopodium clavatum again. Also in this patient layers appeared because of certain events which didn't disappear with the constitutional remedy.

Why are there children who do well until they have vaccinations and after the vaccination they start coughing and they have eczema? Why didn't they have this before vaccination? In the allopathic medicine there are strong agents which influence us, maybe a layer appears because of taking penicillin often; anyway we see very clearly many symptoms which are caused by vaccinations.

Question: Is there a particular vaccination which a Mezereum state follows?

A : No, in fact not, but you cannot tell for sure, because they always give a complex of three vaccinations at once.

I agree completely with Masi concerning the point that you can keep a person healthy maybe his whole life long only with his constitutional remedy when he is not vaccinated or treated in this way. In South Africa and in Zaire there are still places where there are no vaccinations, but in modern western society it is not the case anymore.

Remark: But there is so much AIDS in Zaire!

A : Yes, in Zaire there is AIDS, but as I already told you, merchants sell penicillin and so gonorrhea is suppressed in this way. This is the reason for AIDS. I'm sure that it didn't exist before Zaire was a colony of Belgium. When the Belgian army arrived people went to town, there was poverty and unlimited sex. That's the reason why gonorrhea expanded there, it was suppressed and there came a new disease: AIDS.

EXTRA

SKIN,ERUPTION,CRUSTY,white : Alum., calc., mez., Nat-m., tell., thuj.

What am I trying to get out now? That he feels the anxiety where?

In his stomach.

Look on page 480:

STOMACH, apprehension in: ... Mez ...

Mezereum is capital, but he doesn't express it clearly.

P: Only in the trachea.

And don't forget the symptom on page 764:

RESPIRATION, asthmatic, alternating with eruptions:

... mez ...

Do you remember that Mezereum together with Lachesis, Mercurius, Nux vomica and Belladonna is sensitive to slight touch? It is the first remedy in herpetic eruptions, in herpes zoster. They complain that the touch of clothes on the skin while undressing is very painful. This is the particular symptom which indicates Mezereum. In 80% of all cases of herpes zoster, in which there is sensitivity to touch Mezereum is the right remedy.

CASES