Homoeopathic management of chronic replapsing pancreatitis in a paediatric patient: A case report

Chronic relapsing pancreatitis in the paediatric age group is a challenging case, especially when presenting in its acute exacerbation. This case report highlights the management of chronic relapsing pancreatitis in a 9-year-old female patient with homoeopathic treatment. The patient reported a year-long history of recurrent fever, abdominal pain, and raising titres of lipase and amylase; she had been admitted to a higher centre twice. The totality was constructed on day 1 and a homoeopathic remedy was prescribed. Detailed case taking, done after a week, confirmed the same remedy. Later, when the patient had an acute exacerbation, the same remedy-frequently repeated, helped settle the acute episode in a couple of days. The patient has been following up regularly for 3 years; the frequency and intensity of relapses reduced considerably over time and there have been no episodes for more than a year.

Planning for mental wellbeing in an old age home during the Covid-19 pandemic by homoeopathic institution: Structuring the intervention

Objectives: During the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the risk to the mental well-being of the elderly living in an old age home (OAH) has increased considerably. Dealing with this issue requires special measures. The current literature has very few examples of such programmes. We aimed to promote emotional balance and an independent living with positive outlook on life among the residents of the OAH facility during the pandemic based on action learning principles. This programme was conducted in an OAH that our institute has been associated with for several years. HelpAge India, a non-governmental organisation working in India to assist disadvantaged senior citizens, provided a programme that covered 12 themes. This article deals with the structuring process of the programme. Materials and Methods: The team comprised homoeopathic consultants and the faculty and students of a postgraduate homoeopathic institute. An extensive literature search and consultation with experts from various fields enabled the team to plan and build the final programme were evolved. Results: Broad themes gave rise to distinct modules and objectives were derived for each of these. Detailed action plans were worked out and a plan of evaluation for each of these modules was worked out. Conclusion: Planning a programme to ensure well-being needs a close and accurate identification of the needs of the residents of a particular OAH. A multidisciplinary approach can help in evolving effective strategies to formulate models for geriatric mental well-being.

Assessment and homoeopathic management of psychological stresses and somatic illnesses in high school students from rural Palghar: Observational case series

Objectives: Children are often taken to paediatricians for recurrent physical illnesses, which often cannot be diagnosed due to a lack of confirmed investigation findings. It is important to study various psychological stressors they might be undergoing to explain such somatic complaints. Understanding the types of somatic symptoms and nature of stressors in school-going children would also enable us to use Homoeopathy in managing these cases. This is all the more important in a rural set-up, where specialist consultation is difficult to obtain. Material and Methods: Six successfully treated children from three rural high schools in Palghar area with recurrent and different somatic illnesses were selected from a part of a larger population studied. These cases have been presented with an aim to study the clinical manifestations and underlying stressors. Management with Homoeopathic medicines along with the use of some stress management skills have been presented. Results: Various life situations such as change of school, staying away from parents or interaction patterns of family members were found to have a direct impact on the genesis of either anxiety or anger. As a result, children developed recurrent somatic illnesses, which in turn affected their academic performance. Homoeopathy, along with stress management skills, helped the children to overcome the psychological stresses and reduce the burden of somatic illnesses. Conclusion: The external environment is often the same for all students in schools, but a vulnerable few are affected. This results in the development of anxieties, specifically of strangers, of the future, of teachers, or of losing parents; this in turn causes insecurity.

What role can a homoeopathic psychiatrist play in restoring mental health in an unequal world?

World Mental Health Day, observed on the 10 October, is an occasion for the mental health professionals to dedicate themselves to bringing succour to the numerous persons suffering from mental health disorders. The World Mental Health Federation has declared this year’s theme as ‘Mental Health in an Unequal world.’ The call is timely considering the distress wrought on different communities due to the pandemic and the social and economic distress which has affected all sections of the population, albeit with different intensities causing differing impacts. The article explores the theme in the historical context and outlines the various concerns which mental health professionals should concern themselves with. It is a common knowledge that they are in short supply all over the world. Homoeopaths, due to their approach to health, disease and individuals are uniquely equipped to fill this gap and thus make a difference. There are very few examples, at the institutional level, where community-based activities addressing the mental health issues have been successfully undertaken and have made an impact. The article draws on the almost two-decade-long experience of the Department of Homoeopathic Psychiatry, Dr. M. L. Dhawale Memorial Homoeopathic Institute in this area, thereby illustrating the possibility of incorporating similar practices in the District Mental Health Programme. Clinical activity needs to be reported in peer-reviewed journals and initiating research in priority areas would help homoeopathy to be recognised as a discipline which can be a part of Integrated Mental Health Care for mental disorders.

A case of Stage III essential hypertension treated with homoeopathy through the windows of the unconscious mind: A case report

A 36-year-old man presented with Stage III accelerated hypertension and reluctance to start anti-hypertensive medication. This case is an attempt to demonstrate the importance of unconscious emotions and dreams with their psychodynamic correlations in essential hypertension through the portrait of disease. Mag carb was selected based on the totality of symptoms in view of the evolution of person, dispositions and adaptive patterns along with available physical characteristics through the psychodynamic study.

Role of homoeopathic medicine in the treatment of a case of carpal tunnel syndrome with dysthymia: A case report

This case report focuses on 50-year-old woman who was diagnosed with dysthymia and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). After reviewing her detailed history, she was prescribed homoeopathic medicine Natrum Carb considering the grief after death of her middle daughter, suppression of emotions since her childhood and her characteristic mental state of desiring to be alone and weeping when alone; her characteristic physical generals and dispositional qualities were also considered. After taking homoeopathic medicine, significant improvement occurred in her subjective symptoms such as paraesthesia as well as in the objective CTS-related signs such as the Tinel sign and Phalen test. Her anger, weeping spells, sleep disturbances and sadness were ameliorated as well. Homoeopathic medicine was found to be effective in relieving CTS and dysthymia in this case. Further research is needed to prove the efficacy of this treatment method in this disease.

Atopic dermatitis in a 2-year-old child treated with individualised homoeopathic medicine: A case report

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing pruritic skin condition which is accompanied by inflammation of the affected parts. It usually develops during early childhood and has a predilection for the skin flexures. Approximately 70% of cases start before the age of 5 years: Only 10% begin in adulthood. Asthma and allergic rhinitis are comorbid in most cases. This is a case report of a 2-year-old child who presented with reddish elevated papular eruptions on the skin with severe itching. After thorough case taking and examination, the diagnosis was AD, based on the Hanifin and Rajka criteria. The patient underwent individualised homoeopathic treatment. In subsequent follow-ups, the patient’s improvement was monitored using the PO-SCORAD scale and the subjective symptoms. Marked improvement was noted within a few months. Homoeopathic treatment is effective in these cases to yield rapid improvement without any adverse effects.