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A case of a Violent and Fearful child restored to Calm through Homeopathy

This is my first case submission for Clever H. and when considering a range of cured cases I’ve seen in my practice, this one stood out for selection. I use a range of Classical and practical strategies in my work. This case is one where I was able to select a single remedy at the first session, then repeat the prescription until there was a plateau, at which point a nosode completed the case.

I started seeing a 7 year old boy in November 2015.

His Mother had been recommended to me by another client.

At the first appointment I learned that he had been born by C-Section, following induction of labor that had been unsuccessful. My patient had always been a ‘high need’ baby, who breastfed a lot and cried a lot throughout his early years of life.

He lived with his Mother and siblings, and spent time with his Father on a weekly basis. The children were home educated.

The boy’s Mother found him difficult to deal with, as he was very sensitive. He had a range of triggers, but was especially affected by noisy situations or anywhere with crowds.

Fireworks were very distressing for him.

He was fearful of many situations. In particular he was terrified of being alone, and would follow his Mother from room to room. He needed her to be there whenever he went to the toilet. He was also afraid of the dark and was unable to sleep alone. He would not go to sleep unless his mother lay beside him and would talk about being scared of dying every evening when it was time for him to go to sleep.

He could also be violent and verbally aggressive. He would hit, punch and scratch when asked to do something that he did not want to do. His Mother would regularly need to restrain him to prevent him from hurting himself and others.

She described him as being unable to follow directions. His usual response to any request was to refuse, and would become violent, if she insisted on compliance.

Another aspect to his character was that he was shy and extremely anxious about new situations.

He enjoyed playing outside and especially enjoyed climbing, but wouldn’t go out of his comfort zone.

There were no physical health issues to note.

His appetite was good and his favorite foods were fish, apples and cucumber.

Family history of note was that both of his parents were recovered crack cocaine and heroin addicts. He was conceived after his parents became free of alcohol and drug addiction.

Prescription: Stramonium 10M as a collective split-dose.

The remedy selection was based on the extreme fears of dark and of being alone, combined with the aggression and rages.

Medorrhinum and Hyoscyamus were considered, but I found Stramonium to be a better match for the main symptoms.

At the second appointment the boy’s Mother reported steady improvement.

She had noticed that his behavior was noticeably less intense. He had been able to be alone in the living room without needing someone else to be with him or needing to follow her around the home.

He had started to become more relaxed at bedtime. On one or two evenings he had not talked about being scared. Previously he would talk about being scared every night at bedtime.

He had been able follow simple instructions on some occasions, and was generally less aggressive. There had still been some name calling and hitting but nowhere near as frequently.

He was still anxious about new things, but more able to talk about his feelings.

His appetite was still good and his favorite foods were still fish, apples and cake.

Prescription: Stramonium 10M as a collective split-dose.

At the third appointment his Mother was able to report further improvements.

Bedtime was still a challenging time of day, but he could now go to bed without needing her to stay with him.

Rages were far less frequent. He still hit out at times, but not so much and not so aggressively. He had recently hit the furniture but then apologized.

He was less confrontational but remained persistent and stubborn. He always needed to be first, and wanted things his own way.

 He was getting on well with his siblings and was generally more relaxed.

Appetite good and no changes in food desires.

Prescription: Stramonium 10M as a collective split-dose.

At the fourth appointment his Mother was able to report continued improvement.

He could go to the toilet alone and stay in a room by himself without needing company.

He was no longer afraid of bedtime and had not mentioned his fear of dying.

Name calling and violent behaviors were only happening occasionally. She had not needed to restrain him for some time.

The shyness had also improved and he was more able to integrate with people in new situations.

Prescription: Stramonium 10M as a collective split-dose.

At the fifth appointment we reviewed his notes from the beginning.

The most striking improvement was that he was no longer violent.

His Mother told me, ‘It’s such a relief because it was too much to cope with. The physicality of it was so extreme.’

He was still sensitive to noise and crowds, and was still quite shy but generally he was more calm and able to cope with new situations.

At this point I felt the improvement was consolidating but potentially moving towards a plateau.

I considered Medorrhinum, but wanted to try a higher potency of Stramonium first.

Prescription: Stramonium 50M as a collective split-dose.

At the sixth appointment his Mother was not sure there had been any dramatic changes, except that he had started a martial arts class and was able to stay and take part in the group activity.

She also disclosed a new piece of information which was that he wears a sleep nappy to bed and would like him to be able to move forward from that.

He was still occasionally angry and name calling.

He could still be shy in new situations, but was being more brave and adventurous when outside and definitely taking more risks when climbing and jumping.

His appetite was good and he still liked fish. He had also been asking for strawberries, clementines and grapes. He enjoyed drinks with ice.

To confirm my choice of nosode to progress the case further, I asked whether he had had nappy rashes as a baby and was told that he had. I also asked whether he was warm or chilly and was told that he would sometimes take off all his clothes and preferred to walk barefoot at home.

Prescription: Medorrhinum 10M

This was the last time that I saw the boy. Subsequent communication with his Mother has revealed that he is doing well.

Post script:

The remedy picture of Stramonium was very clear for me from the onset of this case. I was interested to see sustained improvement from repeat prescriptions of the same remedy and potency. The nosode Medorrhinum was indicated with a number of keynote symptoms and completed the case.

The etiology appears to be birth trauma, but it is interesting to speculate whether the family medical history of narcotic addiction could have been a contributory factor.

The first session was face to face, but subsequent sessions were carried out over Skype.

I also treated his Mother and siblings, which I feel contributed to the overall success of the case.

-Tracy Karkut-Law