A Case of Suppressed Skin Eruptions Leading to Asthma!

Asmita* was very happy when her trips to skin specialist bore fruit and her allergic rashes and cracked finger tips were healed after a course of about 2 months. She used to develop sudden rashes all over her body (no causative factor was found till then) and once the rash used to appear, her finger tips used to crack badly. The cracks used to itch and bleed when scratched. The rashes also itched profoundly and she was fed up. The skin specialist had given her a course of anti-allergic medication and some steroid application for her skin and finger tips. With all that she was a happy girl after 2 months and her skin appeared normal.

It was when she developed sudden wheezy chest after 5 to 6 months in the month of June, she approached me. Her breathing was subnormal and her chest had lots of wheezes heard on stethoscope. She was breathless and the attack was asthmatic! She did not have a family history of asthma, neither she had any history of similar attacks in past. But this attack terrified her and her family members.

Upon closer interrogation and case-taking, she revealed this history of suppressed skin eruptions. Upon observing closely, her eruptions truly had vanished but what this suppression gave her? An attack of asthma!

What happened exactly?

What was achieved by giving the medicines to suppress her allergic focus? Nothing but masking the eruptions and itching! The allergic focus was not driven away from the body but just kept in latent position inside the body. This focus was however redirected in worse way towards lungs. The asthma was thus brought on by suppressed skin eruptions. Asmita* was a victim of ill-treated skin lesions. The skin eruptions had vanished, leaving her in worse condition of wheezy chest and breathlessness.

What did she need?

She needed nothing but milder form of treatment that can alleviate her asthma attack and restore her well-being by expressing her earlier skin lesions. And homeopathy could just do this.

Her symptom complex comprised of following major points-

(1) excessive breathlessness and cough

(2) mucus expectoration on and off

(3) worse by exposure to cold, better by warmth

(4) worse by lying down

(5) wheezes prominent on left side of chest

(6) extreme fatigue and prostration

She was prescribed a dose of Antim arsenicum 30.

Within 2 days, wheezes were reduced and she felt better physically. Cough was there a bit and slight breathlessness. Again she was given another dose of same medicine and within next couple of days the attack subsided completely. But in next 2 days, she developed a bit of rash on her left elbow that itched. She was scared that now she will again develop the same kind of allergy that she once had. But after explaining the ins and outs of this medication and earlier one, she was ready to go for further treatment for complete cure of her allergic rashes.

She was then prescribed a dose of Sulphur 30. With that dose, there was slight aggravation in the rashes (according to her) on her both elbows after about a fortnight and there were seen 2-3 cracks on her right index and middle finger tips. There was however no severe itching but only mild itching.

This was nothing but expression of the latent Psora.

Her major symptom complex was—

(1) dry skin that cracks readily with itching

(2) small eruptions with burning sensation

(3) itching more at night

(4) bleeding on scratching

(5) skin problem worse in winter

(6) better by warmth

She was prescribed Petroleum 30.

After this, there was progressive reduction in the skin lesions and once when there was no further improvement, I needed to give Petroleum 200. After this medicine, she further progressed steadily and got cured of all her rashes soon!

One must understand that any medicine is like a broom to clean the room. If you clean the room with your broom and keep the dust and disagreeable things in the corner of the room (just like the suppressant medicine), the dust is going to spread again throughout the room. Homeopathic medicine acts as a responsible housewife, who throws all the litter away carefully not to make the room dirty again and keeps it tidied up for better health!

(* name changed to protect the privacy of the patient)