
What a homoeopathic pediatrician requires, to deal with the ailing tiny tots, is sheer simplicity. Many great stalwarts have repeatedly said-
“Homoeopathy is first an art and then a science”.
After seeing failures in my initial days of practice, I met Dr Milind Rao sir and Dr Ashok Mohanty sir who acquainted me with the simplicity that I needed in practising homeopathy especially when it is about our little ones.
What we have learnt about case taking and reaching the right remedy from the Master and his writings is-
“The patient details the history of his sufferings; those about him tell what they heard him complain of, how he has behaved and what they have noticed in him; the physician sees, hears, and remarks by his other senses what there is of an altered or unusual character about him. He writes down accurately all that the patient and his friends have told him in the very expressions used by them. Keeping silence himself he allows them to say all they have to say, and refrains from interrupting them unless they wander off to other matters. The physician advises them at the beginning of the examination to speak slowly, in order that he may take down in writing the important parts of what the speakers say.”
The process of case taking and the dynamics between doctors and patients is indeed a beautiful language in itself. However, the dynamics that develop when the patient in front of him is a child, are rather phenomenal because children cannot express their discomfort in words as accurately as adults do. This calls for the doctor to keenly observe them and decipher their discomfort which is unexpressed- an unspoken language.
The clinical assessment of a child and the development of a case history thus depends largely on what the physician observes and impressions that come from the environment of the child and very minimally on what the child or his attendant says.
As Master Hashnemann writes-
The unprejudiced observer – well aware of the futility of transcendental speculations which can receive no confirmation from experience – be his powers of penetration ever so great, takes note of nothing in every individual disease, except the changes in the health of the body and of the mind (morbid phenomena, accidents, symptoms) which can be perceived externally by means of the senses; that is to say, he notices only the deviations from the former healthy state of the now diseased individual, which are felt by the patient himself, remarked by those around him and observed by the physician. All these perceptible signs represent the disease in its whole extent, that is, together they form the true and only conceivable portrait of the disease.
One of the easiest ways to observe a child is to allow him to freely wander around all over your clinic as that provides you the opportunity to observe the child in his most natural state. Additionally, a child’s tone, gestures and behaviour with those known to him/her and the strangers reflects their inherent mental character. Mental make up being one of the fundamental determinants of the final remedy, must be noted as a priority. A child is indeed innocent and expresses his emotions rather clearly. It is these emotions – fear, timidity, shyness, boldness, etc that help a homeopath decipher the case.
The appearance of the child, the dressing and a general demeanour come next in line as this also holds a key to unlocking the dynamics of the intrafamilial relations, and the care that the child receives at home.
Mostly every parent feels that the child is weak, does not eat or drink well and does not take instructions obediently. Many times the guardians also give a detailed account of the child’s complaints. It is important for the physician to be cautious as such impressions about the child are in fact the overanxious nature of the parents or guardians rooted in the child’s sickness. The guardian’s perceptions may even be biased. This calls for the physician to tactfully evade such distracting symptoms and focus on the real problematic symptoms.
The same holds true in follow up cases where the first thing that a physician must look for is whether the child’s energy and mood have improved, as compared to the last visit.
It is also important for the physician to avoid unnecessary auxiliary medicines and homeopathic doses. The parents are usually bent upon tonics and supplements for the child but it must be explained to them why natural is the best for the child.
In today’s era, when chemicals, artificial agents and drugs have successfully dominated the world of medicine, it is important that our little angels be kept protected till they grow old enough to shield themselves from the harmful effects of the medicines that enter their systems. Homeopathy is known to be safe and gentle. But it is not the medicines that have to prove themselves to be the best for children but the homeopath attending to them.
It is the doctor, who’s approach and ways with the child bring about recovery- physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.