Case-2: Recurrent problem of cellulitis treated well with homeopathy
80 year old patient, Mr. K. V. K. (Patient reference number: L-8410) reported to the clinic for complaints of swelling of both legs since childhood. He had been diagnosed as Elephantiasis in his childhood. Since the last 5 years, he had been recurrently developing cellulitis of both the lower legs. The cellulitis would remain more or less persistent and it would become more prominent during cold weather and during monsoon. He would develop increased swelling of the legs that would be reddish and painful. The skin of the affected part would start peeling and he would also have some oozing of thin fluid from the affected part. This discharge would be offensive and occasionally it would be blood stained. These complaints would increase every 2-3 months. He would have marked burning of the legs and this would be very troublesome for him. He had been treated with Hetrazan but it had not helped him much.
He was a known hypertensive since 15 years and was on regular medication for the same. He was completely deaf from the left ear due to ototoxicity from some drug in childhood. His hearing was reduced to only about 40% in the right ear.
He had a normal appetite with aversion to spicy and oily food. His thirst for water was less than average. He had no complaints pertaining to the bowel or bladder functions. He was sensitive to cold climate in general and would prefer to be kept warm. His sleep would be disturbed about twice in the night due to the urge for urination.
He was a retired gentleman and stayed with his wife. His only daughter was married and she stayed at her in-laws’ place.
It was observed during case taking that he had a very sharp memory for old events, he would distinctly remember events with the specific year in which they occurred. He had a mild nature and would rarely get angry; his temperament would usually remain quite calm. He denied having any stress of any kind and said he would not even worry much about his health. He was very fond of reading books, newspaper, etc. and this would be his favourite pastime.
He had suffered from malaria at the age of 17 and apart from this there was no history of any other illness in the past. His mother had suffered from tuberculosis in the past and his brother was hypertensive.
Based on the above history, he was prescribed Graphites 200 for his cellulitis. He was informed that the leg swelling that was present due to elephantiasis would not resolve since this was a structural change that was irreversible. About 3 weeks after starting the medication he reported that the burning of the legs was better by 80%. The erythema of legs had improved, so also the discharge from the skin of the legs. His treatment was continued further on similar lines and within 4 months his cellulitis resolved completely. By the time he completed this course, the monsoon had set in full fledged, yet he did not notice any kind of recurrence of his complaints. The burning and the discomfort in the legs were completely gone and he was very much relieved to be free from this complaint that had troubled him constantly for last several years.
This case illustrates that homoeopathy has good scope in the treatment of complaints like cellulitis especially in cases where this tends to becomes a recurrent problem. Irreversible structural changes like Elephantiasis may not be helped but in cases where superadded infections are also present, Homoeopathy can definitely help.