- Patient
- Male, 7, Surat
- Duration
- 5 months
- Remedy
- Sulphur 200C
- Treated by
- Dr. Nikita Parekh
Presenting complaints
Dry, itching eruption in the elbow and knee folds for three years, with scratching to the point of bleeding.
Worse at night in bed, worse from warmth and from bathing. The family had been through repeated courses of topical steroids: each cleared the skin within days, and the eruption returned within two to three weeks of stopping.
Sleep was disturbed nightly by the itching, and the child was tired and short-tempered at school.
Case analysis
Warm-blooded child who throws the covers off and puts his feet out of the bed. Averse to bathing and to being washed.
Hungry at 11 a.m. and irritable if kept waiting for food. Untidy, curious, full of questions, careless of appearance.
The burning itch worse from warmth and washing, the heat of the feet at night and the whole constitutional picture indicated the remedy. The parents were warned to expect a brief aggravation of the skin and asked not to reach for the steroid cream.
Outcome
The skin flared for about ten days, then began to clear from the trunk outwards.
By week six the eruption was confined to the elbow folds and the night scratching had stopped. By month five the skin was clear.
Eighteen months later there had been no relapse and no further topical steroid had been used.
“The first two weeks were hard and we nearly gave up. He sleeps through the night now, which he had not done since he was four.”
Published with the patient's written consent. Identifying details have been removed. Homoeopathic treatment is individualised — the remedy and potency here were chosen for this patient's particular case and are not a prescription for anyone else. Results vary from person to person.