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Skin Problems, and Example Cases

Just lately, I seem to have seen a "rash" of people with skin problems - if you'll excuse the pun! Actually, it's no joking matter. Skin problems can and do make life miserable - as if itching, burning and stinging sensations are not bad enough, they often also make people feel unsightly and embarrassed. Thank goodness for homeopathy!

Just lately, I seem to have seen a "rash" of people with skin problems - if you'll excuse the pun!

Actually, it's no joking matter. Skin problems can and do make life miserable - as if itching, burning and stinging sensations are not bad enough, they often also make people feel unsightly and embarrassed.

And if they don't respond quickly to creams, antibiotics or whatever, or go away only to come back again time after time, this can lead to despair and hopelessness of recovery. Skin problems can be so uncomfortable that they lead to sleepless nights, both for the sufferer and - if it's a child - for the parents.

Thank goodness for homeopathy! However, I don't recommend that people try self-prescribing for skin problems. If prescribing for yourself, getting the remedy wrong can lead to disappointment - you may even decide that homeopathy doesn't work, and that would be a great shame, because it really can help if it's done right. Skin problems require careful case management by a qualified homeopath, because of the risk of aggravation. The skill in homeopathic prescribing lies in discovering the exact remedy for the individual, as well as potency and frequency of dose. Therefore what works for one will not necessarily work for another.

Molluscum Contagiosum

Molluscum Contagiosum is caused by the pox virus. It produces a rash consisting of round pearly white spots with small depressions to the centre of the crown. Commonly appearing in children and young people with immature immune systems, it often presents itself on the trunk, buttocks, face and arms. The virus is spread by person to person contact and takes between 2 weeks to 2 months to develop. Because the condition is infectious, outbreaks can occur in families. Playgroups, nurseries and places where children interact socially are the commonest sources of infection.

Individual spots can be expressed to remove the contents though this is inadvisable and many parents or sufferers find that this can result in new outbreaks of spots.

Children with asthma or eczema seem particularly prone to extensive infections. If there has been a tendency to eczema in the past, it often reappears around the molluscum.

Conventional advice is to leave them alone, as interventions are unpleasant and can be painful. However, molluscum can remain for a very long time - 18 months would not be unusual - during which time the child can reinfect themselves and of course the family. Interventions are to employ curettage (cutting out with a small sterilised scalpel), laser treatment, a blistering agent (commonly podophyllin) or burn them off with acidic solutions (trichloracetic acid) if the eruptions are in a particularly troublesome location.

A Mollluscum Case

In this instance, I was told before seeing the child that she had about 200 molluscum. Upon examination, I found clusters of about half a dozen pearly blisters under each arm, in the creases of her elbows, and on her tummy. Her back was covered with tiny, developing molluscum and felt rough and bumpy to the touch. The molluscum had already spread to her sister. In addition, eczema had developed around the molluscum in several places. The child was upset about her appearance and had become shy as a result.

After a 90-minute consultation I prescribed two remedies for this child, asking her to take the first remedy three times in 24 hours and to follow this with another remedy daily for seven days.

I saw her again in four weeks. I was told the improvement had been almost instant, and that the parent had stopped even checking the molluscum about two weeks before their second appointment, since they were already gone.

Upon examination, I could find no trace of molluscum on her back which was now perfectly smooth. Those in her elbow creases and on her tummy had likewise completely vanished without a mark. Under her arms were two or three tiny scabs, left by the largest molluscum, and these were clearly going to heal without any scarring.

15 YEARS OF ITCHING, WEEPING BLISTERS

In this case, even the many dermatologists who had been consulted over the years were not completely sure of the diagnosis, although it seemed eczematous. The arms were covered with itching weeping blisters which would scab over only to return. The calves were similar, only on the right leg was a particularly large oval lesion, about six cm by four cm which was surrounded by bluish, purplish skin. This exuded a sticky liquid and clothes became stuck to it. The palms of the hands were also affected.

The itching was so severe that the sufferer would stick her arms into the freezer to obtain relief! There was an itch-scratch cycle which worsened the problem, as nothing was left alone for long enough to heal.

I prescribed only one remedy to be taken weekly. In this case I also recommended some vitamin supplements. However, on her return she confessed that she had not followed my advice and had done nothing except take the remedy.

Even I was amazed by the progress made in one month. The arms were 90 percent clear, the hands had improved by about 60 percent. The smaller blisters on the legs had disappeared, leaving only the lesion which was now about one-third of its original size, and had healed over.

Improvement can of course be more gradual than this, but I couldn't resist sharing these great examples of the power of homeopathy!

To arrange a consultation, please email me or call me on 01494 416376.

PLEASE NOTE: Free suggestions do not apply to skin problems, which require a full consultation and careful case management.

Posted on November 29, 2005 05:38 PM

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