Sammie was nearly two when he was first brought to our office by his
mother for a second opinion about his febrile seizures. He was a very active
child who could be extremely obstinate (3). He often threw tantrums if he did
not get his own way. He was blonde with a slight build. His allergic shiners
stood out at first glance. Sammie suffered from recurrent colds for the past
year. These upper respiratory infections, sometimes with ear involvement, were
often accompanied by a fever. During the seizure he would flex his arms, clench
his fists, arch his head back and roll his eyes upward. The seizures would last
about 2 minutes. After the seizure he had a distension from swallowed air and
he would burp or vomit. He tended to have nausea and vomiting after the seizure
for a couple of days. A rectal temperature of 101 degrees would bring on a
seizure. If he just had a runny nose with no fever, he would not have a
seizure. This is an unusually low temperature to induce febrile convulsions.
He never had seizures without a fever.
Sammie liked to stay up late, until 11 PM or 12 A.M. Sammie would scream
in the first hour of sleep (3). He stiffened as if in pain (2) around 2 to 3
A.M., then would awaken and ask for a bottle. His sleep had improved in the
past for a few weeks after he was given Ignatia. He talked in his sleep. He
tended to sleep on the left side. He kicked off the covers at night, and would
wake instantly from being covered (3).
When he asked for things, he would sometimes throw them (2). He was
really demanding and insistent (3). He could get really upset over little
things and throw a tantrum (2). If really tired and cranky he could bite his
mother (1). He liked to be touched. He also liked to gently pinch the backs of
people's hands. He played well with other kids. He had excessive wax in his L
ear (2) and would bore his finger in his ear (3).
Sammie had a neurologic workup with two normal EEG's. The neurologist
diagnosed him as having febrile seizures and prescribed an anticonvulsant
medication to no avail. His mother resorted to constant Tylenol to try to keep
the fever below the trigger point whenever Sammie had a URI. Before he was
treated in our office, he had had 16 seizures in 18 months. Sammie was treated
unsuccessfully by another homeopathic physician without any lasting effect on
the seizures. He occasionally received antibiotics, but not in the past year
while he was under homeopathic treatment.
With the current URI, he presented with a fever of 101.6 degrees, a
severe cough (3) and a thick, greenish nasal discharge (2). The cough was
loose, and he would cough a couple of times every few minutes. He sneezed
frequently (2). The cough was worse from lying down (2). He was teething and
drooling at the same time. He did not complain of any pain. The anterior
cervical lymph nodes were enlarged on the left side. He wanted to be carried
(3), and he would cry whenever his mother put him down . He even cried in his
sleep. He had a tendency to bore his thumb into his ears (3), even when he
didn't have an ear infection. His last episode of otitis media had been four
months ago.
He had had diarrhea and loose stools (2), which ranged in color from
dark or light brown to greenish. If he ate cheese, he would get large amounts
of mucus in the stool (2). He desired to eat fruit, but not other sweets. His
appetite was very good. Sammie had been weaned at 14 months. His mother avoided
giving him cow's milk, but he did get some yogurt. He desired fruit and had a
great appetite.