Location points to the Similimum (Vitiligo - 2008)
The mental anguish was writ large on this 22-year-old youth's face and he was desperate for a quick cure. Reason? He had vitiligo on his lips and extensor aspect of his left elbow joint. At this age, these white patches on the lips were giving him nightmares.
He was a healthy person without any other illness. I was analyzing the history of his present illness and past history. When he was 7- years-old, he had some skin disease on the extensor aspects of his elbow joints. He was treated by a homoeopath and got relief. But it recurred after ten years on the same location. Although he had taken homoeopathic treatment, the disease failed to disappear completely and a whitish discoloration appeared on the back of elbow in addition to the discoloration on his lips. There was no dryness, itching or discharge. His hair and nail growth was normal.
In childhood, he had suffered jaundice, typhoid, German measles, mumps, and chickenpox. His milestones of growth were delayed.
Appetite - good, with desire for warm food and drinks.
Bowels - regular.
Sweat - Sweating of head. Sleep - good.
Thermal reaction - hot.
Family history
His father had skin disease. Maternal uncle had vitiligo.
Treatment
It took about four years to cure this young man. To start with, Sulphur 1M was given to bring out any suppressed skin disease. On the basis of the past history and location of his illness, i.e. extensor aspect of joints, I selected Kreosotum in 1M potency. Since the patient responded well, there was no need to give any other remedy. Kreos was given from 1M to 50M potencies. Two doses of 50M was given repeating after a gap of seven months. Last dose of Kreos 50M was given to him on 13-10-2012. All the white patches disappeared and there was no recurrence.
Discussion
Great philosophers in Homoeopathy had said that Homoeopathy was not only a science, but an art of healing too. Strictly speaking, we don't have a specific medicine for a particular disease. Disease diagnosis is one of the most important criteria in Allopathic system of healing. Homoeopathy has an entirely different perspective about diagnosis. We value the diagnosis of each individual patient more than the disease diagnosis. Homoeopathy is a holistic system. So, in case taking, we are recording not only the symptoms pertaining to the disease but also the individual peculiarities, to get a complete portrait of the patient. From this totality of symptoms, we have to individualize each case through various techniques based on clear cut guidelines that are given by our master in the Organon of Medicine.
One can approach each case from different angles and make different types of prescriptions. The success of treatment depends upon the art of arriving at the most suitable similimum. A conscientious homoeopath should be able to perceive the totality accurately and catch the one clue, in each case (like in a crime site), which will guide him along the curative path. It can be a rare, uncommon characteristic symptom of the patient or a miasmatic prominence or a constitutional peculiarity or even an etiology. A true practitioner of this healing art should possess the power of observation and ‘a third eye’ to perceive this clue in each case, beyond his knowledge of diseases.
In the above case, the young man with vitiligo had a prominent syphilitic miasm. The striking feature in this case was the peculiar location of his ailment, even from childhood. In Dewey's Therapeutics, under skin the affinity of Kreos on the extensor aspects of joints is given. Kreos being a prominently syphilitic remedy, I wasted no time in administering it in 1M potency. When the patient started responding favourably, I raised the potency to 10M and 50M potencies over a period of three years.
While taking a case, we are instructed by our master to complete each main symptom of the patient with respect to location, sensation, modality and concomitants. One can't say from where we will get the individualizing point or the clue. Here, I got it from the 'location.' Organon is our Bible, so my dear students, follow each instruction in it religiously.
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