Flus and Other Nasty Viruses

INTRODUCTION

FLUS and OTHER NASTY VIRUSES

CHAT BEGAN AT 21:09 EST

Moderator: Welcome, Ann Jerome, NCH Board Member and Dean of Education. Ann is also the Director of the Academy of Classical Homeopathy.

Ann Jerome: Hi, everyone – sorry for the technical difficulties! I'm happy to answer any questions or discuss any issues you'd like to, but for starters, a couple of members sent in cases and there's one that I'd like to start with:

Lucia: Two weeks ago, my lady helper came as usual to help me on housework chores. She comes twice a month and is always cheerful, energetic, sings while working and has a good sense of humor. This time she arrived as usual, but after one hour of laundry work she started slowing down, was pale and thirsty. She drank two glasses of cool water and I made her sit and rest for a little while. Shortly after her eyes were becoming puffy with some redness on the side of the eye lids. She was not feeling well and afraid she was having some kind of flu. Nasal drainage was starting to aggravate the picture. Shortly after, she was kind of feverish and feeling extremely tired to the point of experiencing, in her terms, "as if shaking all over inside".  She complained of strong pains all over her body, specially her arms. I gave her one dose of____________

Ann Jerome: The member went on to tell the remedy and the results, but I'll keep you in suspense on that for now. What symptoms would be the most useful ones in guiding us to the remedy?

Chuck: OK.  My Sx: Sudden onset, watery eyes and running nose, as if shaking, arm pain.

glenna: The feeling of "as if shaking all over inside."

Ann Jerome: Yes -- at the risk of putting words into your mouth, that feeling of "shaking all over inside" is unusual (characteristic) so it's useful (as per aphorism 153 in the Organon, if anyone has one handy). It's also useful because it's the person's own words rather than a description from the casetaker/observer.

Great start! Any other symptoms that will help us in this case?

glenna: She is thirsty.

dmsherwood: I would want to know the quality of the pain she mentions.

Ann Jerome: Most of the other symptoms are pretty common in the flu, so they're not useful in finding the remedy; but there are a couple that are present only in some flus but not all.

I like the idea of using the thirst. Usually thirst comes later, if at all, in the flu - she's thirsty even before the fever has really taken hold.

Meredith: I find thirst a really good differential with flus.

Ann Jerome: And yes, you're right, the quality of the pain would certainly be important. In a minute, we can look at what additional information we'd need.

nbinc: Quality and location of the pain. I find it unusual to be bilateral arm pain. Is this a common presentation Ann??

Ann Jerome: I find the location of the pain unusual, too. And we have the shaking feeling and the thirst. What rubrics might we use to represent these?

AM21078: Thirsty for cold drinks.

Ann Jerome: Yes, thirsty for cold drinks - just to really pester you, what chapter in the repertory?

Meredith: Stomach.

Ann Jerome: Good - stomach (what a place to put thirst!).  How about the "shaking feeling inside"?  Hint: what chapter for things that someone feels all over their body?

kl: Generalities?

Ann Jerome: Yay - then what?

Chuck: Trembling, internally?

Ann Jerome: That's what I'd use, for sure.

Meredith: You can find shaking and shivering in the generals, but trembling, internally is best. That rubric describes exactly what she's saying - the sensation of internal trembling.

Ann Jerome: And how about the pain? Any rubrics we might use for that?

Meredith: Extremities, pain, arm, (side) if we can.

Ann Jerome: I like that - Extremities, pain, upper limbs...

Meredith: Too big, just give some Gelsemium.

Ann Jerome: Good idea - but what about Gelsemium and thirst? and the pace of this onset is pretty fast...

Chuck: I thought Gelsemium too, but seems like onset is too rapid to be characteristic of Gelsemium.

Ann Jerome: What else do we really need to know to differentiate among the remedies we might think of?

Meredith: Yeah, the pace was faster than I like with Gelsemium.

Ann Jerome: I agree that it's too fast for Gelsemium. The rubrics also suggest Rhus-t and Bryonia (little-known fact: Bryonia is usually thought of as thirstless, but it can also be thirsty sometimes). What other questions could we ask this patient to differentiate between these?

Meredith: Change in temperament for sure if she is usually pretty sunny, is she not now?

Ann Jerome: That's a good one, Meredith. Anything else?

RL: Does she feel chills?

lejoy: Better with motion or sitting still?

Meredith: I thought the rapid eye puffing was interesting

Ann Jerome: Good questions! Yes, lejoy, movement is a great one - because it's a huge difference between those two remedies. Yes, the eyes are interesting, especially because so rapid. Does that symptom help us differentiate the remedy?

RL: Bryonia is hot, Rhus desires heat.

Ann Jerome: That's a good point too, about temperature.

Chuck: Bryonia tends to be dry; Rhus-t associates with inflammation - she seems to have some edema.

Ann Jerome: So with the information we have so far, we don't really know - but that last point of Chuck's is good too. I'm seeing more for Rhus-t but we'd need to ask more questions.

RL: Rhus has the redness around the eyelids, I think.

dmsherwood: I was looking at the Rhus Tox. Never noticed before but there is eye redness.

Ann Jerome: Nice discovery! A little aside: the redness comes from the sycosis in Rhus-t.

Ann Jerome: OK, here's what actually happened with this case:

Lucia: I gave her one dose of Influenzinum 200. Gave her three more doses to take home and to take them with 4 hours intervals if needed.  Bed rest and drinking plenty of fluids was highly recommended.

The following week she came back compensating for the unfinished work of previous time. She said feeling great. She reported that last week after she left from here she went home, immediately went to bed and slept, "like never before" indeed, a very recuperative type of sleep for the rest of the day. Late evening she took another dosage of Influenzinum and woke up late next day feeling totally renewed feeling "like in the old times". The other two doses prudently were kept in her medicine cabinet to assist any family member if similar symptoms start to show.

Meredith: I've been getting reasonable results with Influenzinum if I can catch it right away, 2010, past present flus

Chuck: Do we know what was in that particular Influenzinum?

Ann Jerome: Unfortunately we don't know the type/year of Influenzinum - unless the author of the case is here now and would like to say? I agree with Meredith that Influenzinum is best when it's early in the flu. Later on, Influenzinum might help shorten the course and lessen the severity, but it won't usually be as miraculous as this.

RL: Thanks for this exercise. Going through all the symptoms and thinking about a variety of remedies is a very useful.

Ann Jerome: Glad you like this process, RL - this is real life homeopathy!

RL: Would 30c work as well?

Ann Jerome: Yes, I think 30C would have worked too, but maybe would have needed more frequent repetition. I suspect that if this case had progressed, it would have shown clearer symptoms of a particular remedy, probably Rhust-t.

RL: Like every 2 hours or 4 hours?

Ann Jerome: This case was pretty severe - I'd go with every hour or two, until the symptoms subsided.

RL: OK. Thanks.

Ann Jerome: My general rule is four to six doses, and then if there's no result, switch remedies.

RL: Trouble is that's a long time to wait for a result, isn’t it?

Ann Jerome: Yes, it can be a long time to wait - which is why you choose the timing according to the severity. If it's very severe, you can dose every 15 minutes; that way in an hour or so, you know if it's going to work.

RL: OK

Meredith: I've had good luck with Aconite when the onset was fast like this, Anas Barbariae not so much this year.

Ann Jerome: Aconite is a great idea - the fast pace was also characteristic in this case.

RL: Yes, I think Aconite is thirsty early.

Ann Jerome: Here’s another question from a member: “losing balance while walking.” If we found that symptom in the flu, what would we do? First question: is it a common symptom of the flu, or is it unusual enough to be useful to us?

RL: A rubric might be weakness walking while, or lower extremities weak.

kl: Vertigo at onset of flu is a bit strange, vertigo during flu might be expected.

Ann Jerome: Good ideas. Any other possible rubrics we might also want to consider? One thing I find interesting is that it's particularly while walking. I think there are some more questions we might need to ask in order to determine which rubric(s) is/are most suitable. Often, when we're searching for rubrics, we find the need for further case taking.

kl: Did this patient ever experience dizziness before the flu?

Ann Jerome: That's a good one - to determine whether it's a symptom of the acute or the constitutional picture.

rebirv: I don't think of loss of balance and dizziness as the same thing.

Ann Jerome: NICE point, rebirv! Let's assume that the loss of balance while walking is just during the flu. What could we ask this person?

kl: Is it walking /balance or problems with the eyes? Sometimes with viruses, eyesight/focal problems can be severe and can create a sense of loss of balance.

dmsherwood: Would you use the rubric Gait when looking at flu symptom and loss of balance?

Ann Jerome: Good questions - we need to figure out what the real crux of the problem is - eyes, legs, vertigo... So, a case taking puzzle: what (non-leading) questions could we ask to find out?

Chuck: Could you tell me more about losing balance while walking?

Ann Jerome: Great question, Chuck! It’s open-ended and allows for the person to use their own words.

AM21078: Is there a difference when eyes open or closed?

Ann Jerome: Yes, that's a great question too - eyes open or closed would help us determine the role of vision in the problem.

RL: Balance: a muscular problem, ligaments, neurological, inner ear?

kl: Have you ever had this condition in the past? Was it the same as now?

Ann Jerome: All good questions! Another tactic to supplement the questions: have the person walk, and observe what’s going on. Hahnemann says that our primary source of information should be the person himself, but that others' accounts and our own observations are also important.

Moderator: Thank you, Ann, for leading us through these exercises. And thank you, participants, for bearing with us while we worked through technical problems.

Meredith: Thank you, Ann.

RL: OK.  Thank you. See you later!

Ann Jerome: Thank you everyone, for the great questions and insights.

CHAT ENDED AT 22:13 EST