case of eczema in child

[Rochelle Marsden]

Hi All, I am not getting very far with this case and was hoping for a few suggestions!!

February 2010

Background - This 2 year old boy - d.o.b. 2/2/08 came He presented witha snotty nose, big blue/grey eyes, blond hair and reddish lips. He breathed out of his mouth continually which was noisy. He sat on Mum's knee and didn't respond to my questions although he can talk He wouldn't get down to play with the toys initially although did later. When he played it was with mechanical things like cars. He knocked the blocks over when they were built up for him.
Presenting complaint - eczema
He is obsessed with loud noises and loves them. He loves drills, the hoover and anything mechanical.
Mouth breathing
Shy with strangers
Had chicken pox at 4 months old.
Had infantile acne at 5 weeks which apparently is to do with hormones from the mother.
Very bad cradle cap - used cream from boots.
Had gastric reflux with sickly burps.
Pregnancy - was fine and straightforward.

Birth - fine but he came out crying and upset. Weight 8 lbs.

He was very squirmy with discomfort from feeding. As soon as he was off bottles the gastric reflux stopped. He was given gaviscon in his bottle.
No problems with vaccination.
Milestones- no teeth until 13 months and he has big teeth.

Walking at 1

Sitting at 6 months

Talking - he does talk but I didn't really hear him until the end of the consultation when he said a few words.
Had a hernia
He wants to help Mum all the time. He will tidy up when asked.
Eczema - dirty, red. Never broken and doesn't appear to be itchy. It seems a bit better in water. He does like a bath. His body is rather dry. Eczema on legs at the front.
He concentrated on the crayons in the box well. He kept putting them in and out.
Sleep position - hands over head.
Cries a bit
Doesn't appear chilly

Likes to run. He doesn't sit still much.
Temper - if things don't go right. Not a lot of patience.
Loves jumping
Once he had a high temperature and the doctor reckoned it was an ear infection.
Analysis

Lovely child - happy. I think he was just being stubborn and awkward not speaking to me.
1st Follow up

Today he wasn't as shy, maybe because he came with his sister. I heard him speak - odd clear words rather than sentences. I was able to pick him up but he looked towards Mum and wanted her. Mum says he does this to her when his Granddad is around.
He rushed around like a boisterous lad, picking up everything and examining it. Mum said there has been no change to how he is - if anything even happier.
Eczema - inside of elbows is now cracked which is the NEW. Sometimes he says "sore". It looks red and the skin looks shiny in the area. Mum still says there has been no oozing but I am not as sure. It gets redder when in water. The rest of his skin is very dry. On his legs there are red patches of eczema, slightly raised which are very dry to the touch.
Mum thinks the legs at the front are better. Nothing has gone upwards, only downwards. Mum says it has gone from hips but more extensive down the legs and is also on the ankles.
Mouth breathing not as noticeable. She thinks it is less noticeable on the baby monitor.
Has come with a cold - faces has red blotches and dried snot under nose giving him a dirty look
Graphites 30 - one dose
2nd follow up

There were patches of red under his mouth and around the chin area.
Mum said that there had been a lot of improvement until last week when it started to flare up again. It didn't clear up completely but the best she had seen it.
I noticed cradle cap in his blond hair.
He has been a bit more narky, stubborn and whingey .
Has been eating oats so simple with milk and cheerios and wanting to drink the milk afterwards.
Eczema is in his elbows, legs, wrists (very dry) and they have been itching when he has his clothes on rather than off.
He was shy with me again today although he came with his 2 sisters. He has very bright sparkling eyes. He did however take the Rx from me.
The mouth breathing was not audible.
Likes to sniff at things.
Analysis

I think it is worth trying the Graphites again and repeating if it returns. I wonder if the milk drinking started just before the flare up. It may be worth mentioning stopping all dairy for a week or so. ( I now know it was not to do with milk)
Prescription

Graphites 30 - one dose
This doesn't seem to be doing anything and basically I can't see a remedy here so if there are any suggestions of where to look I would be very grateful
Thanks

Rochelle
Registered Homeopath with The Society of Homeopaths
EFT (Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

[Liz Brynin]

To me it seems like Medorrhinum (they are often mouth breathers) and Pulsatilla - his personality and sleeping position for example.
Liz

[Rochelle Marsden]

Thanks - I was thinking of an intercurrent. I even wondered about Psorinum but I am not convinced. Not sure if he is clingy or weepy enough for Puls - he won't speak to me sometimes to just be obstinate I think!!!
Rochelle
Registered Homeopath with The Society of Homeopaths
EFT (Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

[Jean Doherty]

Calc comes up high for me but he is hot and active ??calc iod, Jean

[Shannon Nelson]

Hi Rochelle,

I don't get a sense of him...
Do you have info about foods or situations that he craves or hates or reacts to, other than loud noises? (And the "helping his mother"--is this so constant as to be unusual?)

How does mum describe his personality--the "what makes your child different from his friends and neighbors" questioning? Other than his appearance, love of loud noises, and his skin ailment, what's different or striking or unusual about him?
I can't remember what rubric is used for that?
What do you mean by "sickly"? (Is there an odor?)
Was it determined what he was having trouble with--allergy to the formula, or something else?
What had been in the bottles--breast milk or something else?
Were different formulas tried (what is gaviscon)?
Teeth; DENTITION; SLOW, late (MIND; IMBECILITY; CHILDREN, in)(p, 19, 0) (19) : aster., Bac., CALC., calc-f., CALC-P., Ferr., Fl-ac., mag-c., Mag-m., mag-p., merc., nep., phos., SIL., sulfa., sulph., thuj., Tub., zinc.
At the navel, or abdomen?
How was it treated, and how did he take to the treatment, and was there any change in him in any way following that?
What does he like to do at home?
What other kids does he play with, and is there anything out-of-the-ordinary about his social behavior there?
On back, with hands over head?
Sleep; POSITION; BACK, on; Hand; over head (ARMS, hands; Head; over)(p, 16, 1-1) (16) : aids, aloe, ars., carc., dig., Lac-c., med., neon, Nux-v., ozone, Plat., plb., PULS., sulph., verat., viol-o.
You mean at night, or when?
Sounds like he doesn't cry much, tho, and isn't too hard to calm down?
What sorts of things set him off, and what does he do? Is it just garden-variety crankiness at being told "no", or anything more distinguishing? How does he express the temper, how long does it last, and what calms him down?

Just to see, I crossed
Sleep; POSITION; BACK, on; Hand; over head (ARMS, hands; Head; over)(p, 16, 1-1) (16)
Teeth; DENTITION; SLOW, late (MIND; IMBECILITY; CHILDREN, in)(p, 19, 0) (19)
(even tho it's definitely not "a case")

and the only remedy that appears in both is good ol' Sulphur. With that and red lips and skin complaints and it being Sulphur, perhaps that's one possibility? (Or maybe that's what the first remedy was?)

Shannon
(What remedy did you give?)
Any foods that he loves or hates or reacts to?
(I agree it does seem worth trying dairy-free for a week or two and see, esp. in view of the problems with bottles...)

[Rochelle Marsden]

Thanks.I think I would want to see more glandular stuff like tonsillitis for Calc Iod? However I remember being told at college that most young children are hot so not to take too much notice of it. When he is sat on mum's knee he could look like a Calc but I don't think he is usually like that. However the stubborness for not speaking to me could be Calc.
Rochelle
Registered Homeopath with The Society of Homeopaths
EFT (Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

[Rochelle Marsden]

Exactly Shannon. I also don't get the sense of him. There really is no more info to be had . I have questioned on all this stuff. Other answers within your comments below.
Rochelle

[Shannon Nelson]

Who *would* be keen to remove any staple food from their kid's diet? You'd have to be crazy to think that's fun, sigh... Still, from the history it seems he is *probably* allergic to cow's milk--unless non-dairy formulas were already tried, and from what you say, I'm guessing not? Maybe she'd be willing to give it a try to *see* if that's causing his skin trouble; it is, you've got another rubric, and she's got a way to help her little guy... Surely if it *is* causing the eczema, it will be worth knowing, and perhaps over time he'll build tolerance. (My daughter used to be HORRIBLY allergic to milk, but now doesn't seem to react to it at all, hallelujah.)

And if removing milk *doesn't* help his skin, well, that's information too...

The "dentition, slow" rubric (and WHY is it cross-refed to "imbecility"??????) seems like a solid starting point anyway--and "only" 19 remedies! )

(My next mini-repping:
Teeth; DENTITION; SLOW, late (MIND; IMBECILITY; CHILDREN, in)(p, 19, 0) (19)
Generalities; FOOD AND DRINKS; MILK, milk products; Agg. (m, 158, 7-58) (158)
Face; RED; LIPS (l, 47, 6-18) (47)
calc, tub, sulph, phos, merc, thuj.

(Oops, I'm "assuming" he's got "milk agg"... But I'll bet he does.)

Shannon

[Joy Lucas]

When you say no problems with vaccinations what does that mean? No vaccinations or had them without any immediate reactions. If he's had them then I would be looking to that as possible causation.

Seems like he needs to be stimulated or at least likes to be - could you use the 'desires to be magnetised' rubric? Nat carb is there + Calc + Calc-sil.

Where was the hernia - is that resolved?
Joy

http://www.joylucashomeopathy.com
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/homeopathystudy/

[Rochelle Marsden]

I am checking up about the Hernia tonight. I think I am going with the Calc and will ask mum to cut out dairy for a week. If fact will probably see if she will do the latter before the Remedy!! He has had vaccination with no problems. I will also check how long after a vaccination did the eczema start.
Rochelle
Registered Homeopath with The Society of Homeopaths
EFT (Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk