Causticum -Borland

[Shannon Nelson]

From Borland's "Children's"

Another drug which is not nearly sufficiently used in the
treatment of children and which is a counterpart of Lyc., is Caust.
These children are not unlike the Lyc. types but are a little more
sallow.
The Caust. type of child is definitely more sensitive than Lyc.
types. They are not sensitive to pain but are particularly sensitive to
any emotional disturbance. Often these children will cry because they
think you are hurting another child. It is the idea of pain which
affects them rather than the actual pain to themselves, and they often
stand pain quite well, but cannot bear to see another child crying.
They have much the same sort of clumsiness as the CALCAREA
children; are rather unhandy, and are liable to strain muscles, whereas
the CALCAREA children sprain ankles. They are inclined to suffer from
rheumatism and liable to get acute muscular rheumatism, particularly
from exposure. These Caust. children often suffer from acute
torticollis or an acute facial palsy after exposure to an icy wind.
Associated with this tendency to torticollis and facial palsy, the
Caust. children get very definite growing pains which are usually
accompanied by stiffness in or about the joints - a feeling as if their
joints were tight. And linking up with the rheumatic tendency, the
Caust. child when overworked or nervously distressed, is very likely to
develop choreic symptoms, and the outstanding feature of the Caust.
chorea is that the jerking persists during sleep.
The main distinguishing feature between the Caust. children and
the Lyc. type is that Caust. children have a definite aversion from
sweets whereas the Lyc. children desire them.
Two other points would confirm the Caust. diagnosis. The first is
that the rheumatic troubles of the Caust. child are very much better in
damp weather; and the second is that a Caust. child with any digestive
upset tends to develop acute thirst after meals.
Two additional points which are sometimes useful - Caust. children
often develop endless warts; they also have a very marked tendency to
nocturnal enuresis.
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