Vermox

School phobia is a common problem among elementary school children. The condition presents with anxiety, fears and refusal to attend school, or even enter the classroom. The causes of school phobia are varied, and can include problems at home and/or at school. The child may be afraid of new situations, other children or teachers, or may also fear to leave the mother or parents, because of the harm that may come to the parents, or to the home while he or she is away at school. Homeopathic treatment is often quite effective for school phobia, as illustrated by the following case.

Peter had a great deal of anxiety starting kindergarten. The day before school began, he was invited to a birthday party, but he cried, because it was not where he wanted to be. The next day, his first day of kindergarten, was not much better. Arriving at school two minutes before the bell, he felt crushed when his teacher said he had arrived too early. Next he felt "squashed by the big kids." He wailed and hung on for dear life when his mother left.

The next few days at school brought increasing levels of anxiety for Peter. He became very upset, crying to the point of having dry heaves. He would not go through the classroom door, even at his mother's coaxing. Struggling tearfully, he lamented "I can't do it!" when she urged him to go inside. The teacher completely ignored his distress, even when Peter kicked her, which made him feel worse. In fact, she sent him to the principal's office, where he remained in silent terror until his mother came to take him home.

After twelve days of this, his mother was able to find him another kindergarten. Again Peter cried upon arriving, and adamantly refused to go into the classroom at first. After a few minutes, though, something in the classroom caught his interest and Peter grabbed his mother's hand and went inside. By the end of the day, Peter said he liked school. It took until Thanksgiving for him to feel comfortable going into the classroom by himself, but then he was fine for the rest of the year. Academically he performed very well, and generally enjoyed the school year.

By the time he started first grade, Peter's anxiety again mounted. He felt nauseous from the time he got up until he went to school. He confided in his mother, "I'm nervous. I'm beginning to worry a little bit." He became upset and tearful if his mother showed impatience with his anxiety while he was getting ready for school. The number of children in his class of thirty unnerved Peter, because he did not know everyone's name. Afraid he would forget some of the children's names, when it came time to say hello, Peter also had trepidation about getting yelled at or sent to the principal's office.

Peter could also become quite testy, especially after coming home from school. He tended to fail apart from little things that did not go his way. Peter's mom was completely shocked when another mother threatened to sue her if Peter did not stop hitting and spitting on her child at school. There had been no indication that Peter was capable of that kind of behavior, and fortunately, it turned out to be an isolated incident.

After two months of Peter's anxiety his mother decided to seek homeopathic treatment. The day before his homeopathic interview, Peter exclaimed on the way to school, "I think I'm having a heart attack!" Though his heart was fine, his mother realized he needed some kind of professional help to get through the anxiety he was feeling.

Peter was something of a perfectionist, like his father, who had the habit of scolding him for being too loud or doing the wrong thing, like climbing on the furniture. If he was not perfect, like his older sister seemed to be, Peter was sure no one would love him. One of Peter's most devastating experiences was when he had to bring home a detention slip, informing his parents of his misbehavior in school.

Peter had always been a mama's boy. In infancy, he wanted to be held and nursed all the time. As a toddler, he only wanted his mother and tended to cling to her, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. His greatest source of comfort was when she held his hand and told him everything would be all right.

Peter was not anxious about his health, but he did worry that someone in his family might die while he was at school, or that someone could break into his house. Previously afraid while learning to swim at age four, Peter now swam without any problem.

Physically, Peter had a tendency toward stomach and bowel problems, especially stomach aches and recurrent influenza with frequent vomiting. During his last bout of stomach flu, Peter had vomited twenty times. His mother was afflicted by morning sickness with vomiting during both her pregnancies. During Peter's pregnancy she was constantly worried and depressed. She clung to her own mother for support while she was enduring her morning sickness.

Peter had a strong desire for milk, especially if he was anxious. He also preferred to eat meat and sweets, but he was not fond of vegetables, fruit or bread. He did not like the heat, and tended to be thirsty for cold drinks.

Peter received a dose of Bismuth subnitricum 200C and had an immediate 'wondrous' response according to his mother. He took the dose on a Tuesday morning, and had a great day at school, and exhibited significantly less irritability when he returned home. He did very well until the weekend, when he was extremely irritable for two days. During the next week, his anxiety was variable with some good and some bad days. Then his school anxiety became very minor and essentially disappeared. He also became much less irritable after school, and his blood sugar seemed to be in better balance.

Three months after the remedy, Peter continued to do very well. His mood was greatly improved and he no longer worried about going to school as long as his parents dropped him off. Peter's only worry was being in trouble if he forgot something. He had one bout of stomach flu, for which Gelsemium was prescribed with very good results. Peter developed pinworms and took Vermox, followed by another dose of Bismuth 200C.

Peter's next office visit was in the fall around Labor Day. His mother described him as "the best in every way, relaxed, happy and cheerful, like a perfect child." He had gone to camp in the summer without anxiety and had a great time. This time, Peter started school well, with excitement but no anxiety. In fact, he just jumped out of the car and ran right in, happy to meet his new teacher.

After being out sick one day, Peter had a little nervousness for a couple of minutes about having everything he needed to hand in, but was easily reassured. It is interesting that Peter asked his mother if she would still love him if he got all Fs in school, got into trouble, and was sent to detention. He seemed relieved when she assured him she would love him no matter what happened.

Shortly after that visit, despite no school anxiety, Peter began experiencing some tiredness, stomach pain and irritability, as well as two instances of bedwetting, after having been dry at night for two years. We prescribed another dose of Bismuth 200C, which rapidly relieved his symptoms.

Later in the fall, around Thanksgiving, Peter suffered a stomach flu with vomiting. A dose of Bismuth 200C completely stopped the vomiting and he rapidly recovered.

In the spring, Peter received antibiotics during an episode of strep throat, after which he relapsed. He became upset about going back to school. His biggest fear was that he was behind and that his papers would be late. The boy begged to stay home, but when his mother made him go to school, he came home saying he loved school and his teacher. He recovered without needing a dose of Bismuth.

Over the next year, Peter received several doses of Bismuth for antidotes, minor relapses or acute illnesses. When school began the following year, he reported some slight anxiety about getting detention or turning in late assignments. After taking a dose of the medicine, Peter started dancing around, singing "I love school." He continued to do well and his stomach problems cleared up entirely.

Bismuth subnitricum is a little known homeopathic medicine. In this case its usefulness stemmed from two factors: Peter's clinging to his mother and his history of acute illnesses centering around the stomach with frequent vomiting. The following rubrics are from the Millenium edition of the Complete Repertory by Roger Van Zandwoort.

Mind:

Ailments from: alone, being.

Anguish: driving from place to place: restlessness, with

Anxiety.

Aversion: everything, to.

CLINGING: CHILDREN, OF: TAKE THE HAND OF MOTHER, WILL ALWAYS.

Clinging: persons or furniture, to.

Company: desire for.

Company: desire for: alone, agg. while.

Company: desire for: hold his hand, to.

COMPLAINING: CONDITION, OF HIS

Discontented, displeased, dissatisfied.

Discontented, displeased, dissatisfied: everything, with.

Fear: alone, of being.

Fear: alone, of being: child wants mother to hold her hand.

Holding or being held: desire for.

Holding or being held: desire for: attendant, at.

HOLDING OR BEING HELD: DESIRE FOR: HIMSELF, IN FRIGHT.

Holding or being held: desire for: parent, onto.

Irritability: general. Lamenting.

Mood: changeable, variable.

Quiet: disposition. Reserved.

Restlessness, nervousness: children, in: fear, with.

Restlessness, nervousness: drives him from place to place.

Restlessness, nervousness: anxious. Will, weakness of

Stomach: Nausea. Vomiting (39 Rubrics)

These rubrics indicate the idea of anxiety, restlessness and fear, especially of being alone, with a great desire for company, and especially holding the hand of the mother or being held by her. There is also discontent with complaining, and changeable mood, in a child who is quiet and reserved. Combine this with stomach symptoms, especially vomiting, and Bismuth emerges as a likely medicine for Peter.

Sometimes, in homeopathic practice, it is necessary to climb out on a limb in order to cure the patient. You have to try a medicine you have never given before. We had seen one case of Bismuth in India, which had similar features to Peter's case. When he presented with this particular pattern of clinging and vomiting, Bismuth came immediately to mind. Fortunately it worked very well.

Other medicines which could easily have been considered in this case were Arsenicum album, Calcarea carbonica and Stramonium. Arsenicum also presents in school phobia and separation anxiety with the anxiety coupled with digestive problems, especially burning pains, cramping and diarrhea. Arsenicum patients often fear that their parents or caregivers will come to harm while they are out of sight, ultimately affecting the Arsenicum's own security.

Calcarea carbonica also has many issues about security and safety that can cause school phobia. Calcarea children tend to be homebodies who feel safest in familiar surroundings. For them it is more the difference between home and school, than between being with the mother or not that creates the anxiety.

Stramonium is probably the closest medicine other than Bismuth to Peter's state. Stramonium is also a major medicine for fearful and clinging children. In Stramonium, we see terror of being alone, especially alone in the dark, where there is fear of being attacked by animals, ghosts or monsters. The child may also awaken terrified from nightmares or night terrors and cling to those near or seek out the parents in their bedroom. In some cases, the fear of being alone and need to cling also manifests when the child must leave the parent to go to school.

The lesson in this case is to be brave enough to go beyond the limits of your existing knowledge and experience, like a child leaving the safety of home and going to school for the first time, and daring to try something new and different to produce the excellent results you desire in your homeopathic practice.

Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman are licensed naturopathic physicians board certified in homeopathy. Their books include Ritalin-Free Kids, Rage-Free Kids, Prozac Free, Homeopathic Self-Care: The Quick and Easy Guide for the Whole Family, Whole Woman Homeopathy The Patient's Guide to Homeopathic Medicine, and Mystics, Masters, Saints and Sages-Stories of Enlightenment. They teach and lecture internationally and practice at The Northwest Center for Homeopathic Medicine in Edmonds, Washington and Langley, Washington. Their upcoming book is on the homeopathic treatment of Aspergers Syndrome. They treat patients by phone as well as in person and can be reached by telephone at 425-774-5599 or by fax at 425-670-0319; www.healthyhomeopathy.com.

Robert Ullman, ND, DHANP and Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, DHANP

131-3rd Ave. North * Edmonds, Washington 98020 USA

Phone 425-774-5599 * Fax 425-670-0319

www.healthyhomeopathy.com

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