Of Fire & Brimstone

This is a short story about a long case. The remedy is pretty ‘run of the mill,’ except that in homeopathy there is no mill.

- Dr Joseph Kellerstein

In the early years of my practice the big skill I was hoping to acquire was case-taking. I’m sure many doctors, among my readers, who have homeopathic initials know what I was up against.

We study so many unusual sounding symptoms, and apparently see so few in practice. Reaching the keynotes seems like a mythical quest. This very simple case was from that era of fogginess. Now, by then, I was still practicing the working with the case taking outline, while clinging to it like a life preserver.

CASE ONE 

The year is 1989. Peter, 34, is slim and 6 feet 4 inches tall. His chief complaint was a severe eczema of the hand that had been there ‘forever.’

It would occur on the back of the fingers and between the fingers. It was worse in the winter. As the cycle renewed clear fluid filled vesicles appeared. They would itch and burn. In sleep, he would scratch until bleeding. The skin would then dry and flake. Water is the most aggravating thing.

Speaking of water, his urinary tract is also sensitive to water. He gets a strong urge to urinate very soon after drinking.

He is generally warm blooded. However, his feet do get cold at night. Impatient. 

Appetite. Likes chocolate and sweets. Coffee, popcorn and anything spicy. Aversion to liver [that’s just normal]. 

He does get a sharp energy low at 2:00-3:00pm and he is fine the rest of the evening. 

He likes to sleep on his left side. 

Likes cold air in the bedroom, for sleep. 

Mercifully, it was a case so clear that even my ineptitude could not eclipse the indicators. 

Looking back now, I can see that only obvious keynote style information penetrated. 

The original prescription was Sulphur 30C once per day. The response was excellent. There was an initial brief aggravation, followed by a longer-term solid improvement.