George, forty years old, was divorced three years before seeking homeopathic
treatment. He seemed mild and soft-spoken, slightly plump with dark hair. His
troubles started when his ex-wife invited him over. She wanted to make love,
but he was reluctant because he no longer loved her. Against his better
judgement, he gave in to her and had regretted it ever since. During their love
making he sustained an abrasion on the shaft of his penis which was very slow
to heal. His ex-wife had yeast vaginitis. Fearing that he had contracted a
yeast infection from their sexual contact, he applied soap, neosporin, and
camphophenique topically to his penis. It became quite inflamed (3). Desperate
to stop what he assumed was an increasingly serious infection, he applied
kerosene. His penis became quite red, sore and swollen (3). He consulted a
dermatologist who advised him to leave it alone and let it heal.
George felt quite embarrassed that he had injured himself, and angry at
himself for having made love to his ex-wife again. He became quite depressed
and began to doubt himself sexually. About this time he also developed
urethritis, which was treated with antibiotics. He sought therapy and tried to
resolve the guilt feelings which continued to plague him. He began to feel good
enough to begin a new relationship, which he was enjoying very much.
The inflammation of his penis resolved. The only residual symptom was a
brownish discoloration of the skin on the shaft. About eight months later,
George suddenly developed a bright red inflammation of his penis and scrotum,
(3) close to the anniversary of his marriage to his ex-wife. It felt like a bad
sunburn. He could not touch it or tolerate tight underwear. He became very
worried. He saw a number of doctors and had many tests. The diagnoses were
varied, including contact dermatitis, yeast allergy, seborrheic dermatitis, and
antibiotic allergy. After four months the condition resolved using topical tea
compresses.
A year later, he made love with his girlfriend who subsequently developed a
vaginal yeast infection and cystitis. Five days after the intercourse, George
developed a sore on the shaft of his penis. He took antibiotics. A few days
later his scrotum turned bright red again. It felt hot and burning, and
profuse perspiration which caused stinging. The skin in the genital area became
dry. He used Hypericum tinture topically, which seemed to help.
George again began to feel guilty about having had sex with his ex-wife. He
obsessed over the injury he had done to himself. He started psychotherapy
again. He began to avoid sex, fearing that his symptoms would return. He
worried that it would never go away. He couldn't stop thinking about it, and
felt like kicking himself for it. He felt sad and moody, and frustrated that
he couldn't enjoy sex anymore.
George had married at twenty-five. He and his wife had a child, but the
relationship began to go sour after his wife had an affair and left him. They
got back together and had another child, but eventually divorced, with shared
custody of their two children. After the divorce, George felt lonely and like a
failure. He felt guilty for having relationships for "just sex". He felt
particularly bad about the last sexual encounter with his ex-wife. During his
marriage, his wife didn't want to have sex with him very often. He felt kangry
that he had to ask for it. He felt pressured into having a child too early. "It
robbed me of the joy ot the whole experience."