As you read these cases, you will realize that with the homeopathic treatment, other symptoms not related to the asthma also improved. This is because we do not treat just the symptoms of the lungs but we treat the whole person with all his complaints. That is why the homeopath spends a lot of time with his patient and inquires about so many unrelated complaints. We also lay a lot of stress on the emotional state of the patient because very often, the mind plays an important role in disease.

Case 1

Mr. D. S., a 34 yr. old businessman's respiratory symptoms started 20 years ago but they had increased over the past 3 years. When he came to us, he had daily attacks of breathlessness. He had been hospitalized on two occasions in the past for the treatment of Status Asthmaticus.

He catches cold easily from every change of weather. This starts with a thin, watery nasal discharge, sneezing and lachrymation. The colds would result in a nose block, which was relieved in the open air and from walking about. Whenever he was on business trips to the drier regions of the country, he was asymptomatic. These symptoms would be a run up to his breathlessness, which had now become a daily problem.

The breathlessness was worse eating sour things, Sweets, sugar, and at 2 a.m. He was better sitting bent forward and after eating.

He craves sweets and fried food. He cannot tolerate the cold. He sweats profusely on the slightest exertion and in summer.

He is addicted to tobacco chewing and enjoys his alcoholic drinks.

The previous illnesses that he had suffered from were chicken pox in childhood, Lt. hydrocele (operated), measles as a young adult, ringworm.

Family history:

Father: No history of medical illness
Mother: Bronchial Asthma, Pulmonary TB, Lung abscess, Aspergillosis of the lungs, Bronchiectasis, Appendicectomy
Sister: Bronchial asthma (died during an acute attack)
Brother: Obesity, Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension
Maternal Great Grand mother: Bronchial Asthma
Maternal side: Colds/ Asthma

Examination findings:

Skin- warts on the nose, neck and abdomen; Chest: Rhonchi (wheeze) He was given a homeopathic medicine called Thuja on the basis of the past illnesses and the family medical history. This was later followed by a remedy called Ars. album

Case 2

Mr. S. K., a 35 years old male came to us with the complaints of:

1. Warts on the scalp since 2 months. There are 2 large, pedunculated warts, one on the vertex and another on the occiput.
2.Suffocated feeling since 2 weeks. He feels the need to take a deep breath, with whistling sounds on breathing. These symptoms started after he got wet in the rains.

The chest complaints are worse on getting wet, and inhaling smoke. They are relieved by drinking hot tea, hot fomentation to the chest and taking allopathic (conventional) medicines. He also had a tendency to sinusitis since the past 5-6 years. Each time it rains or he gets wet, he develops a nose block, hoarseness of voice and pain in the frontal sinuses. The previous illnesses that he had suffered from were malaria (twice) and surgery on the frontal sinus

Family history:

Father- Myocardial infarction --> Died in 1995
Sister- Cancer of the breast
Brother- Cancer of the tongue

Examination findings:

Chest: Rhonchi (wheeze) ++ He was given the homeopathic remedy Dulcamara. apart from controlling his asthma, the medicine also helped remove the warts which gradually reduced in size and then fell off.

Case 3

Miss T.K., an 8 year old girl was brought to us with the history of recurrent respiratory complaints for the past 2-½ years. These symptoms had increased over the past 1 year and for the past six months she needed a nebulizer to give relief to her respiratory symptoms.

With every change in the weather, she would develop a cold that was ‘dry’. The main complaint was a nose block. This used to progress and descend with an irritation in the throat followed by a dry cough with a vomiting of whitish mucus. If severe, it would lead to breathlessness, which was worse lying down and at night after 9 or 10 pm, and better by sitting erect or diverting her attention. She needed inhalers (which she takes every 8 hours).

She was hospitalized for this complaint when she was 2-½ years old and also 2 weeks before she was brought to us for treatment.

An associated complaint was bed-wetting. This used to happen every night when she was in deep sleep. She would not wake up even after wetting the bed.

Her appetite was normal. She craves curds (yoghurt), cold drinks, fruits, milk. She has a poor thirst. she is constipated- passes stools once in 2 days. Sometimes she strains to pass stools and if she stops straining, the stool recedes back into the rectum. She sweats profusely on the palms and soles.

She was a talkative child but ever since her younger sister was born, 3-½ years ago, she had become relatively quiet. She loves her younger sister, takes care of her and protects her.

She prefers to stay alone. She would rather be at home than accompany her parents when they go out shopping, etc.

She is very soft and slow in her speech.

Extremely shy- will not come out of her room when they have guests at home. She does not even socialize with other children of her age.

She is very timid too. If a child hits her, she will not hit back but weeps and later complains to her mother. She gets scared if she sees someone fighting.

She is also extremely stubborn- wants to have her own way. H/O breath holding spells in childhood.

She weeps at the drop of a hat. She is sensitive to being scolded and is relieved by consolation.

She has had chicken pox in the past.

Family history:

Father- frequent colds, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Examination findings:

Nose- hypertrophied turbinates, Chest- Rhonchi (wheeze) ++ The homeopathic remedy Silicea that was prescribed for her not only cured her of the breathlessnesss, but also controlled her bed wetting and constipation.

Case 4

Mrs. U. B., a 63 yrs. old lady visited us for the treatment of her respiratory allergies.

She is a known case of Bronchial Asthma and she had been suffering from it for the past 33 years. The intensity and frequency of her complaints had gradually reduced over the years but she needed her daily dose of the bronchodilator or she would develop a pain in the chest. The breathlessness bothered her every day. It was usually worse from catching colds, sweating profusely (in summer), hot water bath, exertion and from a heavy meal. It was better from stooping for long and sitting up.

Her immediate concern however was the state of the upper respiratory tract, which had developed over the past 3-4 months and was severe over the past 10 days.

She had attacks of loud and violent sneezing with a lot of itching and tickling in the nose. Along
with this, there was profuse lachrymation and a runny nose. The nasal discharge was usually from
the left side. The throat would then get sore with a feeling of a lump in it. This made her constantly
try to swallow it down. Swallowing was difficult and the left side of her throat hurt her a lot. Sometimes, she felt the food got stuck in the throat on the left side.

These complaints were worse in the morning on waking till about 9.30 am, waking in the afternoon
form her siesta, from dust/smoke, cold drinks and empty swallowing. It was better by hot drinks

She loved to eat sweets and hot food and drinks and disliked sour food, mainly because it affected
her throat. She was not generally thirsty (3-4 glasses/day). Her tongue was clean with a small
central fissure. Sweat was normal.

She had a habit of passing stools twice a day and a frequent complaint of itching and crawling at
the anus.

Life situation and Mind:

She said that she always felt dominated. As a child, she lived with her aunt and could never do what she wanted to. After her marriage, she was in one of the Gulf countries for about 25 years. She always suppressed her emotions and lately she used to think a lot, esp. about the past events. She is alone at home for most of the day as her husband and children are at work. This makes her feel very lonely. She puts on the T.V. and does not watch it but listens to the people on the different shows to feel less lonesome.

She has come to believe that the feeling of lump in her throat is actually a cancer that is making it difficult for her to swallow and this makes her feel miserable.

She also has frequent attacks of unconsciousness which started after a fright- she witnessed a major car accident. She does not respond to any commands at that time, but suddenly wakes up and then runs about in the house from room to room. Her psychiatrist diagnosed her problems as depression with hysterical features.

The illnesses that she had suffered in the past were an appendicectomy, eosinophilia- 21 years. age, Migraine, Hysterectomy, Detachment of the retina- 3 times, Lump in the neck- removed 8 years ago and Cataract- both eyes

Family history:

Father- Pleurisy (TB) Death
Mother- Ischemic heart disease
Brother- Br. Asthma
Maternal Grand Father- Br. Asthma

Examination findings:

She was given the homeopathic remedy Sabadilla. Considering her past and family history, 2 doses
of Tuberculinum bovinum 200 were given as an intercurrent. I have made frequent phone calls to
inquire about her health and to this day, she has had no recurrence of her respiratory symptoms
(sneezing and breathlessness).

Case 5

Mr. I. C., a 60 years old male patient was brought to us for the treatment of Bronchial Asthma by his daughter who was a final year student of our college at that time.

The chief complaints were breathlessness and cough, which had been gradually increasing in intensity over the past 40 years. Now he suffered from it every day.

The patient believes that his respiratory symptoms began after his tonsils were removed when he was 15 years old. He had an uncontrollable hemorrhage after the surgery and was advised to have ices and chilled drinks for several days. According to him, the symptoms of colds and sneezes began soon after and later developed into breathlessness.

He sneezes everyday in the morning and has a runny nose- the discharge being whitish and sticky. Cough and breathlessness are also a daily feature. The cough is accompanied by an easy expectoration, which is whitish and sticky but soon turns yellow.

His complaints are worse from emotional stress, from cold damp air/weather, cold drinks/food, oily food and sour food (except lemons). He is better in the open air, sitting up erect with head bent backwards and from expectoration.

During the attack, he sweats profusely, all over the body, esp. on the arms, chest and back. Occasionally, he vomits with the cough and breathlessness.

For the past 7-8 years, he has also had pains in spots in the kidney region on both sides. He also has pains in the bones and joints of the lower limbs. What is peculiar is that the pain is worse after urination and after inhalers. It is relieved by hard pressure and lying on the side.

He avoids urinating because of the severe pain that he gets after urination.

He has a food appetite with a craving for milk and milk products, sweets, fish and meat.

Thirst is normal and his bowel movements are regular.

Sweat is profuse, esp. on the back, arms and chest. It is non-offensive.

His sleep has reduced for the past 5-6 years due to business worries. He does not have any peculiar or recurrent dreams.

He cannot tolerate the heat but his respiratory symptoms are < cold.

He has a large family of 10 children. At present he lives with his wife and 2 unmarried sons and 2 unmarried daughters. 1 son died when he was very young. All the other children are married and have their own families. This patient had a timber business that closed down a couple of months before he visited me. He had made a name for himself as an honest businessman.

He has had a lot of mental stress throughout his life. But, he has been selfless and sympathetic. He considers it his duty to help everyone and tries to do his best even at this age and with this illness. He is a workaholic and always wants to remain busy. He can never be found resting at home. On holidays, he would be tinkering with things at home and would constantly be doing something.

He is impatient and wants things to be done instantaneously. He is an honest man and would not like to earn money with dishonest means.

He gets angry if things go wrong. Will initially explain things to the person concerned, but if they recur, he neglects that person. At the same time he is forgiving. If the other person apologizes, he forgives him, even if he has caused a lot of hurt and harm.

He is very sensitive and weeps easily- in front of others.

At present he is under a lot of stress because he was cheated in business. His partner embezzled the funds after the business was sold off. He feels cheated and deceived.

He has had a lot of grief in life. His son died suddenly after he developed a high fever. One daughter has cerebral palsy and requires special care.

He has a history of tonsillectomy, urinary calculi, benign enlargement of prostate.

Family history:

Mother- Diabets mellitus, Ischemic heart disease
Brother- Chronic Renal Failure
Brother- Ischemic heart disease
Sister- Brain tumor
Sister- Osteosarcoma (was amputated)
Son- Died after high fever
Daughter- Cerebral palsy

Examination findings:

On examination: Resp. System- Rhonchi (wheeze) + and bilateral basal crepitations (crackles) On the basis of the the past and family history he was prescribed 2 doses of Syphilinum in the 1M potency with almost immediate relief in his respiratory complaints. Even the peculiar symptom of pain in the back after urination disappeared.

All these cases have been followed up for about 10-15 years after they reported relief in their symptoms to make sure that there was no relapse of the bronchial asthma. These patients have remained asymptomatic even after so many years.