Is Long Distance Treatment Effective?
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2005 Mar / Apr VOL VIII NO 2.
Dr Vishpala Parthasarathy
Dr Bhavini Shah
'Gels / Puls / Sil / Thuja / Ars-iod / Ferr-ph

Today, most of us have a practice that has increased manifold in quality, volume and spread: at least 10% of our patients may be from different countries and may not have seen them at all...

And yet your result must be at par with the seen ones, for them to continue seeking treatment. Last year I was doing the Psychology - counseling course and had stopped practice on Saturday mornings for that 1yr. Saturday clinic was managed by other doctors in my team.

On the first Saturday that I was away, this 12 yr- boy was brought. The case was taken with my opinion obtained on telephone.

Chief Complaint: Only child of his parents brought with the CC of recent poor scholastic performance attributed to anxiety and fear during exams. He had a fear about how the paper will go; would get perspiration → Chills with mild fever - 100°F, cramps in epigastrium, trembling of hands and legs and palpitations. All this happened just before the exams, > after exams.

Other Complaints: Rt temporal headache - once in 15 days for 1 day, < before cold, < 7-9 pm. Pain is so severe, he has to bang the head. Headache lasts for 12 hrs and he has to take a painkiller.

Patient as a Person
HT: 58 .5" WT: 35 kgs
Skin: Wheatish.
Perspiration: Excessive³, offensive+. Non staining
Hair: Black, straight
Nails: Few white spots
Vision: Myopia since 2000
Tongue: Dry coated
Appetite: Normal
CR: Spicy³, Non-Veg³, Fish³, Eggs³
Thirst: Less - 2-3 glasses/day
Stool: Normal
Urine: 3-4/day. 0/Night
His was a normal delivery . Development & Milestones: normal
Sleep: normal
Dreams: he claims to be Clairvoyant but could not give example.
Thermals: C3H2. Prefers summer, fan only in summer, covering + in summer, ++in winter, bath with warm water in summer and hot water in winter.

Life Situation and Mental State
2/5/1992: born in Mumbai. Only child.
1988 Mother and Father got married. Lived in a joint family with Father's 3 brothers and their families.

1990 Patient's family separated from others. They had to go to Kurla. Pt studied there till 3rd std. Was good at studies. Always got A+.

2000 Shifted to Kalina again. 4th std did well. At that time there were only short answers in the written exams.

2001: 5th std. had to write big answers. So since then started being nervous. Just got passing marks.

2004 he is in 7th std

We had known from other sources that there was some rift between the parents. But even asking him he didn't come out. On great probing he only said that, they fight very badly and so much, then they don't to talk to each other for 2 -3 months. If father wants something, he would tell pt, pt tells mother and then mother would serve father.

Pt was also quiet intelligent in talking. Very careful in talking. Irritable, gets angry easily when father shouts, but never answers back, sulks - locks himself in the room.

Does not get involved in fights. Does not like quarrels. In schools, if anyone hits him, he never hits back. Gives explanation that if I hit them they will get hurt and then they will complain their mother, while I won't get hurt since I am Karate champion. Brooding³, cries easily, < consolation, fastidious, obstinate, fear dark³.

Repertorial Totality

1. Anticipation exams before 997
2. Anger violent RM 996
3. Timid RM 1114
4. Sulks RM 1108
5. Weepy children RM 234
6. Fastidious RM 1043
7. Obstinate RM 239
8. Fear dark RM 1045
9. Dr: Clairvoyant RM 301
10. Perspiration profuse RM 1227
11. Perspiration offensive RM 1227

Remedies On Repertorisation
Lyco 19/9, Ars-alb 16/8, Sil 13/8, Kali-c 15/7, Puls 15/7, Sulph 12/7, Phos 12/7
I fairly clear Sil case, reacting to the fights of the parents (a situation he could neither face nor ignore) by developing transferred fear of the exams for the first time in the 5th std.

Plan
Acute: Gels, Puls
Constituional: Sil
Intercurrent: Thuja

Follow Up

Yes keep a head on your shoulders and a ready wit and get the results even long distance.

Case 2
A 4 yrs old boy came to me on 13/1/05. His father worked in merchant navy and has to be on ship most of the time. Till he was an infant, they all sailed together.

Now they recently moved to Mumbai to settle, as the boy had to start school, and it was an easier city for the father to be with them when on leave. In vacation time, the boy and mother also went on ship.

His chief complaint had started in Dec 2001 with sudden onset of wheezing accompanied by excessive Crying³ < strong odours < banana >on sea < open air. He has to take steroids for relief of symptoms. Nebulization once a week is routine.

In Nov 2003, he started getting Allergic cough once a month accompanied by severe itching in nose. Dry cough, gasping for breath, breathes through mouth < physical exertion³ < lying down < night < 10-11pm < 3-4am < 7.30 am < as soon as he wakes up. Blood count showed high Eosinophilia and was advised steroids again.

On the basis of cough better at sea, I gave Bromium. Cough was better for few days and then refused to respond to the same remedy. Hyos, Ant-t, Ars-a helped slightly, but didn't gave the desired result and again relapsed. Child's coughing in sleep was so bad, that the mother recorded it on video to show it to us.

Cough history was re-taken carefully: Cough in paroxysms < night < 2am, expectoration difficult, sneezing ++. < Cement work going on in surrounding area, breathing heavy, thirst for sips, pt felt hot. Ars-iod was given and pt felt better next day and continued to do well.

He was doing so well that in March they decided to go for 2 mths on ship again. I gave them his constitutional medicine and the acute Ars-iod 200 to be used SOS. Also I have prepared a small 25-medicne kit for travel which also they carried along.

The first month went well. There was no communication as telephones are not easy on ship. On 17/4/05 the mother called me up one Sunday evening. The telephone line was terrible. I had to almost guess what she was saying. I gathered that he was running fever since morning with diarrhea and vomiting. She told me that she had started some antibiotics which were available on ship. There was no doctor on ship. I advised much fluids and hydration. And told him to take Ars-a 200 from the kit.

Apparently after that the diarrhoea and vomiting continued and fever came of about 103 degrees. Mother naturally panicked and gave Ars-alb 200 every 1 hourly, and Bell every ½ hourly.

She called me late night with this news and that fever was now 104. I was sure this was aggravation and advised to stop all the medicines since it could give aggravation and to give paracetamol if required.

18/4/05 She telephoned that there was no fever.

19/4 /05 Pt had 4 loose stools and 3 vomits in last 12 hrs. Fever 105. Fever would rise only in the evening and he would feel better in the morning. He also had sore throat < swallowing > warm. Thirst for water +, small sips at a time but aversion to ORS. Now they were even out of paracetamol. The anti-biotics were over. They would reach shore and touch UK only on Thursday, which was 48 hrs away. The only medicines they had over there were homeopathic medicines in the small kit I had given them.

With alternate day fever and GI symptoms, the chances of typhoid ran high, but there was no way we could confirm.

I asked to give Ars-iod 200 1 dose after every loose stools and Ferr- ph 6x if fever remains high ½ an hour after Ars-iod.

20/4/05 He was much better. Fever 99, stools 2/day, semi-soft, no vomit.

21/4/05 He reached UK, the investigations done and all tests normal. Child too was well. The MD physician examined him and pronounced him well- no residue of the acute illness.

We told them to resume the constitutional medicine which was given for enhancing his immunity;

Today is the 5th of May 05 and there has been no further SOS calls.

If it had not been for the small Homoeopathic kit, it would have been difficult to handle such an emergency. Therefore for your own safety, one should always travel with travel hom kit and a Homoeopathic doctor attached at the other end of a telephone!!!

Now no one can dare say Homoeopathy cannot handle an emergency and that too from afar. All of you who have such dramatic cures, do send in your cases.