A Case of Psychosomatic Illness

ABSTRACT• A 22 yr. Old male patient frightened, when he

saw his died grandfather, after which he became insane but from homoeopathic treatment he freed from insanity but still suffered from headache which was successfully treated by Merc. Sol. On indication.

KEYWORDS

Psychosomatic illness, Tension Headache, §§ 225-227, Merc. Sol.

• O.P.D. Regd. No. 69777• Name of the Patient: S. Islam• Age: 22 Sex: Male

Religion: Muslim• Address: Domkal

Police Station: Domkal• Date of examination/ Case taking: 01/

February/2014

PRESENT COMPLAINTS

As narrated by the Patient:• Headache; whole head < at night, hot weather, >

Pressure; Mild heaviness.• Mucoid stool with tenesmus, which is not relieved

by stool. Since 2-3 years ago.• Itching in whole body < in hot weather.History of Present complaints: • Complaint (Headache) gradually started 4-5 years

ago without any significant history.

PAST HISTORY

Insanity 4 years back (For one year he was insane for which he took Homoeopathic treatment, prescription not having). He mentioned that after seeing of his late grandfather he was insane. Fear of Ghosts

FAMILY HISTORY

• Paternal: Father: Breathing Difficulty, Piles.

• Maternal: Mother: Paralysis of Left side

PERSONAL HISTORY

• Addiction: Tobacco Chewer, Beetle Chewer• Occupation: Student• Marital Status: Unmarried• Relation with family members and in the field of

occupation: Not good• Habits and Hobbies: nothing• Dietetic Errors: Irregular• History of Vaccination: Not taken• Medications being taken regularly: Allopathic

medicines as well as homoeopathic• Living Environment: Damp house• Socio economic condition: Poor

HOMOEOPATHIC CHARACTERISTICS

(GENERALITIES)

A. Physical Generals

• General Modalities: < Night, summer, hot things, > Cold season• General Sensation and Complaints: Nothing• Thermal reaction: Hot patient• Digestion:

Appetite: excessive, can’t tolerate hunger. Take excess meal at a time.Craving / Desire: Spices, salt, Meat (not fatty), cold foodAversion: SweetThirst: thirsty, excessive, take large amount water which is cold.Tongue: Flabby, moist, imprint of teeth, posterior yellow coating, Salivation profuse.Taste: Nothing abnormal

• Bowel: Mucoid stool with tenesmus not relieved by stool.• Urine: Profuse urination especially at night.• Perspiration: Excessive on whole body, offensive• Sleep: disturbed in summer due to hot.• Dreams: nothing abnormal• Sexual function: Nothing abnormal

Mental Generals

Dull minded, slow comprehension, villagers tease him as insane. He wants to live alone, can’t tolerate contradiction. Stubborn

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

• General survey: Nothing abnormality detected.• Systemic examination: Nothing abnormality

detected.

PROVISIONAL DIAGNOSIS

• Tension Headache

Differential Diagnosis

Tension Headache

• mild to moderate dull or aching pain

• duration of 30 minutes to several hours

• no nausea or vomiting• no aura• uncommonly, light

sensitivityor noise sensitivity

Migraine

• moderate to severe pain• duration of 4 hours to 3 days• periodic occurrence; several per

month to several per year• located on one or both sides of

head• pulsating or throbbing pain• nausea, perhaps with vomiting• Auras• sensitivity to movement, light,

and noise

CLASSIFICATION OF SYMPTOMS

General Symptoms• Craving: Spices, salt, Meat (not fatty),

cold food• Aversion: Sweet• Thirst: thirsty, excessive, take large

amount water which is cold. • Tongue: Flabby, moist, imprint of teeth,

posterior yellow coating, • Salivation profuse. • Bowel: Mucoid stool with tenesmus not

relieved by stool.• Urine: Profuse urination especially at

night.• Perspiration: Excessive on whole body,

offensive• General Modalities: < Night, summer, hot

things, > Cold season• Thermal reaction: Hot patient

Particular Symptoms

• Headache; whole head < at night, hot weather, > Pressure; Mild heaviness.

• Mucoid stool with tenesmus, which is not relieved by stool.

EVALUATION OF SYMPTOMSCharacteristic Mental General• Dull minded,• Slow comprehension • can’t tolerate contradiction• StubbornCharacteristic Physical General• Craving: Spices, salt, Meat (not fatty), cold food• Aversion: Sweet• Thirst: thirsty, excessive, take large amount water which is cold. • Tongue: Flabby, moist, imprint of teeth, posterior yellow coating, • Salivation profuse, ropy and bad taste• Bowel: Mucoid stool with tenesmus not relieved by stool.• Urine: Profuse urination especially at night.• Perspiration: Excessive on whole body, offensive• General Modalities: < Night, summer, hot things, > Cold season• Thermal reaction: Hot patientCharacteristic Particular• Headache; whole head < at night, hot weather, > Pressure; Mild heaviness.• Mucoid stool with tenesmus, which is not relieved by stool.

MIASMATIC ANALYSIS

SYMPTOMS MIASMDull minded Syphilis

Slow comprehension Syphilis

can’t tolerate contradiction Psora/Syphilis

Stubborn Syphilis

Desire for Spicy Psora + Syphilis

Desire for Salty food Psora + Syphilis

Desire for Meat Psora + Syphilis

Desire for cold food Syphilis

Salivation profuse, ropy Syphilis

Urine: Profuse urination especially at night. Syphilis

Perspiration: Excessive on whole body, offensive Syphilis

SYMPTOMS MIASM

General Modalities: < Night, Syphilis

<summer, hot things Psora/Syphilis

> Cold season Syphilis

Headache; whole head < at night, hot weather Syphilis

Mucoid stool with tenesmus, which is not relieved by stool. Syphilis

MIASMATIC DIAGNOSIS

Psoro-Syphilitic with predominance of Syphilis

TOTALITY OF CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS

• Dull minded, slow comprehension, villagers tease him as insane. He wants to live alone, can’t tolerate contradiction. Stubborn

• < Night, summer, hot things, > Cold season• Thirsty, excessive, take large amount water which is cold.• Tongue: Flabby, moist, imprint of teeth, posterior yellow coating.

Salivation profuse.• Perspiration: Excessive on whole body, offensive• Headache; whole head < at night, hot weather, > Pressure; Mild

heaviness.• Mucoid stool with tenesmus, which is not relieved by stool. Since

2-3 years ago.• Itching in whole body < in hot weather.

• PRESCRIPTIONRx

Mercurius Sol. 0/1, 16 doses x O.D. x 16 days

followed by

Mercurius Sol. 0/2, 16 doses x O.D. x 16 days

FOLLOW UPon 05/March/2014• Headache a little better than before, itching still persist and

mucoid stool has reduced in frequency. Merc Sol. 0/3 and 0/4 has been given.

on 11/April/2014• Headache better than before, itching still persists and

mucoid stool has reduced. Merc Sol. 0/5 and 0/6 has been given.

on 10/May/2014• Headache is much better than before, itching was also

reduced and mucoid stool sometimes seen. Merc Sol. 0/7 A.D. has been given.

Discussion

§ 225

• There are, however, as has just been stated, certainly a few emotional diseases which have not merely been developed into that form out of corporeal diseases, but which, in an inverse manner, the body being but slightly indisposed, originate and are kept up by emotional causes, such as continued anxiety, worry, vexation, wrongs and the frequent occurrence of great fear and fright. This kind of emotional diseases in time destroys the corporeal health, often to a great degree.

§ 17 f.n.• A warning dream, a superstitious fancy, or a solemn

prediction that death would occur at a certain day or at a certain hour, has not unfrequently produced all the signs of commencing and increasing disease, of approaching death and death itself at the hour announced, which could not happen without the simultaneous production of the inward change (corresponding to the state observed internally); and hence in such cases all the morbid signs indicative of approaching death have frequently been dissipated by an identical cause, by some cunning deception or persuasion to a belief in the contrary, and health suddenly restored, which could not have happened without the removal, by means of this moral remedy, of the internal and external morbid change that threatened death.

§ 16 f.n. (Sixth Edition)

• Most severe disease may be produced by sufficient disturbance of the vital force through the imagination and also cured by the same means.

§ 226 • It is only such emotional diseases as these, which

were first engendered and subsequently kept up by the mind itself, that, while they are yet recent and before they have made very great inroads on the corporeal state, may, by means of psychical remedies, such as a display of confidence, friendly exhortations, sensible advice, and often by a well- disguised deception, be rapidly changed into a healthy state of the mind (and with appropriate diet and regimen, seemingly into a healthy state of the body also.)

§ 227 • But the fundamental cause in these cases also is

a psoric miasm, which was only not yet quite near its full development, and for security’s sake, the seemingly cured patient should be subjected to a radical, antipsoric treatment, in order that he may not again, as might easily occur, fall into a similar state of mental disease.

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