A Pair of Pediatric Wart Cases
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1994 Mar / Apr Vol III No 2.
Janet Levatin.
Cases.
` Caust / Ant-c / Sep / Calc.

The first case is that of UM, the younger sister of two. Miss UM, was brought to see me at five and a half years of age, for warts on her hands (3), as well as the complaint that she had excess of energy and was "fidgety and wound-up" (2) a lot of time. She had at least 15 warts on the back of her hands, with about half of them being located near her nails. She also had one wart on her right knee laterally. The warts were not painful but they tended to get in her way and they were unsightly.

UM also had a skin condition in the inguinal region, consisting of small spots which would periodically erode, open up and then spread to adjacent areas (2). The condition which had defied diagnosis by the conventional pediatrician, was not painful or physically bothersome. Various creams had failed to clear it up. Generally she was quite a healthy child, with a past history of five or six episodes of ear infections, which had been treated with antibiotics. Vaccinations were upto date, and had reportedly been without any side effects.

UMs appetite was described as picky. She liked yams, beef stew, pizza, fruit, soft eggs and raw onions (all 1). She was averse to seafood, smoked meats and excessively sweet things (all 1). Her digestion was good, with an occasional tendency to gas and loose stools. Her sleep was good though she was described as an active sleeper who thrashed around a lot in her sleep. She preferred going to bed late and sleeping in the morning. There had been bad dreams of monsters in the past, but not at the time I saw her.

UM was described by her mother as a child who was passionate about her likes and dislikes. She was charismatic and popular, being well loved by other children. She was a leader among her friends and could be bossy with them (2).

She had a tempestuous nature and could get angry easily, stamp and yell if others disagreed with her (2). She was physically daring, loving to climb and play actively. She was also described as sensitive and very affectionate but with a tendency to be jealous. She was very creative and artistic. There had been fear of monsters in the past but no current fears.

I prescribed Causticum 200C largely because the location of the warts and my success in treating similar warts with Causticum in the past. However after six weeks the warts had failed to improve.

In reviewing UMs case, I noted the food craving and aversions did not fit withCausticum. There was an aversion to smoked meat which Causticum usually craves. I noted more closely the desire for raw onions. UMs mother also further described her as a somewhat secretive child who had difficulty revealing her inner feelings and thoughts. Putting these facts together with the rash in the inguinal region (which is close to the genitals) I decided to prescribe Thuja 200c, another major remedy for warts of the hands and fingers. Within six weeks all the warts were gone without a trace.

Over a year later UM returned with a planter wart on her left foot. Her mother tried treating it with Thuja and Compound W without success. The bumps in the inguinal region were still present. UM was having constant stomachaches. She was gassy and crampy, had alternating diarrhoea and constipation and diarrhoea from cheese. Her appetite was "not great" with craving for beef stew, yarns, salty, apples spicy (all 1) and pickles (2). She was quite warm in general and disliked wearing too many clothes as they made her feel too hot. She had been cranky for several months.

On the basis of her craving for pickles her intestinal disturbances, her aggravation from warmth and the general irritability, I prescribed Antimonium-crudum 200c one dose. Antimonium-crudum is the main remedy for planter warts (see Kents repertory under rubric Extremities callosities and the added rubric in MacRepertory within six weeks the warts). Once again within six weeks the wart was completely gone and UM was well.

CASE 2:

The second case is that of an eight year old girl who presented with the complaint of lesions growing on her abdomen for the past four to six months (3). I had been seeing her for her routine pediatric care for the previous two years and had intermittently treated her constitutionally with Calcarea-carb for complaints such as stomachaches and nose bleeds.

Her lesions were described as small fleshy bumps which were slightly itchy (2). They were enlarging and becoming more numerous (2). She reportedly had a couple of nose bleeds recently (1) and a minor recurrence of vague abdominal pain (her last dose of Calcarea-carb had been given nine months previously).

Her appetite was described as picky, with craving for pizza, salty (2), pasta, fried foods (2) and pickles (1). She was sleeping well and her general energy was good. She reportedly liked to exercise and attend gym classes enthusiastically. On examination she appeared bored, a somewhat irritable child (mother stated she had been like that a lot lately). She had more than 30 wart-like lesions, with central indentations on her anterior abdominal wall mostly in the right side. I diagnosed the condition Molluscum contagiosum, a viral infection of the skin, which causes soft wart like lesions with central indentations.

There was not much to go on in this case. I looked in the wart rubric in the; Skins section of my repertory, I noted subrubrics for warts in young girls, indented warts and itching warts. Sepia was in all of these rubrics. This information coupled with her desire for pickles, her fondness for exercise and her somewhat sullen withdrawn presentation led me to the prescription of Sepia 1M one dose.

Seven weeks later she was brought in for a fellow-up. The lesions had changed and looked less like warts. After Sepia the larger ones had enlarged and looked fleshy and a few new ones had appeared (all 3). They were itchy (2).

When I examined the lesions which were indeed larger and more numerous they appeared more inflamed and somewhat ulcerated. I was a bit frightened by their appearance. Things got worse and the usually six weeks I allow for warts to clear up had been exceeded.

Since the situation was in a state of flux and I did not want to interfere with whatever action Sepia was having. I knew I had to wait to give further treatment. In this type of case, when the condition is not terribly acute and is definitely not life threatening in any way we can afford to take our time and give the remedy the full time it needs to complete its action.

Happily in another four weeks all of the lesions had dried up and fallen off leaving behind no recurrences in over two years.

I find these wart cases were satisfying. The treatment were simple, elegant, highly effective. Costly and painful operations were avoided and there was no need to apply topical medicine daily to the warts. These cases demonstrate to me once again the power of Homoeopathy and the genius of our medicines.