Much Ado About Nothing
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1997 May / Jun VOL 5 NO 3.
Dr S C Mishra
'Lach

One day at midnight I was disturbed by the telephone. A fear stricken faltering "hello" of a friend made me wide awake. He said that his 10 yr old son was crying with colic. He had been suffering from colic for that last 20 days. It was less that evening but had aggravated after midnight. It started after the boy had some water melon [20 days back] at noon and a cold drink in the evening. He had been passing watery stools since then, which was controlled by some anti-amoebic medicine. His stool was red. Stool analysis revealed only a few RBC in it, but no occult or fresh blood or EH. He had also been treated for Colitis, Bacillary dysentery [before stool exam] but no relief. Then he got his abdominal sonography done mainly to rule out appendicitis and it also did not reveal anything. He had been taking some antacid tablets which enables him to eat and drink; otherwise eating and drinking brought him severe pain in lower abdomen. He was scared of eating and drinking so he had to pass his days in hunger. Eventually the antacid tablet also failed. I gave 2-3 doses of Ars-alb 200 after a dose is dissolved in water and 1 tsf to be given half hourly and to report in the morning. 

No relief and no change of symptoms. Next morning the boy was brought to me. I examined his abdomen which was really very hard and tender. He could not tolerate the belt around his abdomen so he was pushing down frequently to keep it lowered. When I made him lie down and asked him to fold his knees up, he drew up his leg very slowly to avoid pain. He had nausea all the time which would be relieved with eructation. 

In the meantime his father consulted a Paediatric Surgeon who also could not diagnose and detect anything except a minor perianal fissure. 

The poor boy was suffering helplessly and was gulping various tablets and capsules without the slightest relief.

I gave him two doses of Lachesis 200 to be taken 4 hourly based on the following rubrics:

His colic agg at night and it continued the whole night and as soon as it was dawn, his colic vanished gradually and entirely.