Robert was four years old when I first saw him in November of 2008. The chief complaint were asthma-type attacks of coughing and a tight  chest whenever he got a cold. The family had recently visited relatives in Newfoundland, staying in a damp basement. Robert got very sick and coughed terribly for ten days to the point of gagging. It can get so bad that he loses his breath. He may have reactions to mold and mildew as he is also worse at the daycare which has a musky smell.

His doctor has prescirbed inhalers but they increase his heart beat, making him feel sick. Eukalyptus rubs for his chest work better.

He can barely sleep with those coughs due to the gagging. The cough is worse lying down and worse with fresh, cold air.

Love of sausages and dreams of a cow

He didn't sleep through the night until he was almost four. Sometimes he perspires a lot at night, all over. He talks in his sleep every night and often laughs, too. He still needs a diaper at night, but was potty trained at two during the day.

I ask him about dreams: "I dreamt of a golden cow that ate all the food in the world, it was so hungry. There was nothing to eat in the barn, but out in the world there was everything. It had black and white stripes on it's leg."

Food: He loves sausages +++ if they travel to Europe that is all he wants to eat.

He also likes bacon ++, ketchup ++, sushi +, chocolate ice cream +, gnocchis +, pasta +.

His stools are regular but really soft and often explosive, for ever.

He perspires on his head.

He sleeps on his back with his arms behind his head.

The pregnancy was normal, labour was induced.

Only 20 tantrums in his life

Robert is easy going. He's only had 20 tantrums in his whole life. He can be sensitive and is a jokester. He has a fear of ghosts.

He had very bad diaper rashes as a baby, just raw. His cousin was the same way.

Family history

His father has a history of bad bronchial problems and also gets asthmatic coughs with colds. His paternal grandmother has had multiple sclerosis from a young age.

Assessment:

A child with recurring colds causing asthmatic coughs.

Plan:

My goal was to help prevent colds so he would not develop the asthma attacks, as well as teach the mother what to give him as soon as he would get a cold to prevent it from getting an attack. I recommended Thymuline, a homeopahtic preparation of thymus gland, which helps to improve immune system function, an herbal immune support formula and oscillococcinum in case he developed any cold symptoms.

Once he would get a cough I instructed the mother to continue the immune support and add Breathe Easy tea with honey and onion poultices on his feet.

Due to his chronically loose and explosive stools I also recommended a good probiotic.

As a constitutional remedy I gave one dose of Medorrhinum 200CH, to repeat in two weeks. I really didn't have a lot of indications for this remedy other than the asthma and the history of diaper rash as well as his sleep position with his arms under his head. I thought of Tuberculinum because of the family history of bronchial problems and Robert's strong desire for sausages, which can be a key note for Tuberculinum.

Follow-up December 2008

His whole school had been wiped with the flu but Robert didn't get it, the mother is very happy. His bowel function is much improved since the probiotic, his stools are formed for the first time. He has not been sweating at night.

Follow-up January 2009

Robert just turned five. His mother tells me that his temper is coming up, he is now talking back to her, telling her "I'm gonna do it anyway!" He got in trouble at school for behaviour for the first time yesterday. He is also more resistant to going to bed now.

Bowel function has been great, appetite, too. No colds, breathing is fine. He's got lots of energy, is happy, singing and laughing all day. Overall he is more active, running more in the house, too. He is talking less in his sleep, but last week he was grinding his teeth at night and even during the day for the first time.

He still needs the diaper at night.

Assessment:

He is doing really well. His bowels are normal, he is not perspiring at night like before, his temperament is more normal, he was actually too mild before. He is more active and has not had a cold.

I decided to repeat the Medorrhinum and again considered Tuberculinum as he was now grinding his teeth at night.

Follw-up March 2009

He started to get a cold a few days ago but it hasn't gone to the chest. He developed a skin rash on his hands. He is sleeping with his arms above his head again, this had actually changed. He has a new desire for pancakes and wants them every day.

Plan:

I decided to repeat the Medorrhinum again, 200CH one dose as his sleep position has relapsed.

Follow-up two weeks later

The skin rash cleared withing four days but he got another cold on the weekend, this time with an ear infection. The doctor thought he may have had Fifth Disease.

He did get a cough with the cold. Now he mostly has sinus trouble, with thick green discharge. I repeated the Medorrhinum again and gave kali-mur tissue salts for the sinusitis.

Follow-up February 2010

It's been almost a year since I've seen Robert. He has been totally well!

The mother is bringing him in because he had a strep throat and possibly scalett fever, diagnosed in a walk-in clinic. (By the way, these conditions can also be nicely treated with homeopathy, I've seen a lot of strep throat and a few cases of scarlett fever over the years.)

Allergic reaction to antibiotic

The doctor gave an antibiotic and now Robert is having an allergic reaction with intense itching and swelling of the face, throat and ears. He also has a rash with started on his palms and soles of the feet. The mother had called the nurses help line and been giving him Benedryl. I gave him Apis, a homeopathic remedy made from bee venom which can be wonderful for intense allergic reactions.

He was fine in a few days.

I continued to see the mother for some of her own health issues for the next two years, but Robert never got the asthma problem again to everyone's great relief. In retrospect adn writing this now I still think that Tuberculinum was more indicated, but somehow the Medorrhinum worked. It could also have been that the probiotics did the trick, as he responded so well to them and had never had normal bowel function before. Incidentally, Tuberculinum is highly indicated in children who have chronic loose stools and diarrhea.