THE CHRONIC CHILD


Somewhere between the actual and theoretical lies the field of possibilities open to us; it is to the extent that we avail ourselves of these possibilities that our success may be measured. We must face the face that there are always obstacles that may prove insurmountable; there is the ever present possibility of conditions beyond our control. There are hereditary tendencies that may be cured but may not be eradicated in one generation.


Theoretically, if we could have the child under homoeopathic treatment from birth, and if we would govern diet, hygiene and environment as well, there would be little adult practise for us. Actually, there are other problems to consider, conditions over which we have little or no control; and there is always the problem of our own insufficiency or lack of knowledge: lack of understanding of the childs actual condition, of his needs, of the needs of his parents or more distant ancestors; and worst of all, too often lack of knowledge of our materia medica, its possibilities and how and when to utilize it.

Somewhere between the actual and theoretical lies the field of possibilities open to us; it is to the extent that we avail ourselves of these possibilities that our success may be measured. We must face the face that there are always obstacles that may prove insurmountable; there is the ever present possibility of conditions beyond our control. There are hereditary tendencies that may be cured but may not be eradicated in one generation.

There are the problems of ignorance and poor environment and difficult financial conditions – too often a vicious circle. There are always those who are destined to rise strong and healthy from the worst environment and difficult financial conditions – too often a vicious circle. There are always those who are destined to rise strong and healthy from the worst environment and hereditary; there always will be those who sink to a lower level, mental, physical and spiritual, from the best conditions.

If we could have an adequate endowment for homoeopathic care of under-privileged children, who are sick of mind, body or spirit, we unquestionably could save many to useful futures who would be otherwise not only problem children but problem adults. If homoeopathy were given a free hand in treating the chronic child, homoeopathy could render tremendous service in spite of discouraging backgrounds.

Everything else being equal, we may assume that a sickly child prognosis a sickly adult; that is, the chronic child becomes the chronic adult sufferer. If the childs need is met homoeopathically early in life, whether this be the similar remedy or the similar disease, it will do much to correct the chronic tendency; but the normal course of a similar disease all too often meets with suppression and the result is more deeply rooted chronicity.

If we can teach the parents the dangers of suppression, and to comprehend that a succession of acute illnesses is in reality a chronic manifestation in ever-repeating and ever-varying forms, we shall have gone far toward laying a basis for constructive treatment of the chronic child.

Consider a typical history. At a very early age the babe presents feeding problems: the mothers milk disagrees, or she may wish to avoid the trouble of nursing. If the child is taken to a clinic probably evaporated milk will be recommended as making the baby “fat and healthy”. Rapid gain in weight is a real danger in these days of baby clinics and the frequent comparison of weight with other babies. Presently a rash appears; ointments are prescribed.

If this is a successful suppression the next step may be bronchial “colds”. Probably the child has had a succession of nose colds for some time. Too often there is abnormal perspiration. If this rate of progress is maintained the child will be a confirmed chronic -probably asthmatic – by the time he is two years of age, and perhaps even before he reaches his first birthday. This picture is not an exaggeration, but the actual observation of case histories in many small patients who have been under popular treatment, either through clinics or under the care of intelligent but uninstructed physicians.

If the child survives puberty, when the hereditary taints will appear to add to the chaos, he will go on into adult life carrying an increasing burden and with a decreasing ability to participate in normal interests, unless he receives that help he so sadly needs.

Here is a boy thirteen years of age. Leonard is asthmatic, and so worn and weary by his sleepless nights that he cannot respond to the tasks laid on him in school. Directed by his teacher, who has witnessed the power of homoeopathy on her own suffering mother, the boy was brought by his father, an illiterate Italian. This was the history: Dyspnoea < night, < on lying down, < rainy weather, < winter and foggy weather, > sunny and warm weather. Always wheezing; sneezing frequently.

Coughs a great deal, with thick green sputum. Weight on chest during the attack; sweats with the attack. Thus far no spectacular symptoms have been given; the identifying concomitants are lacking. He cannot play long with the other boys, for while he is restless and active he soon tires, and this brings on pains in the arms and legs; running causes pain in the head, about the heart, and in the extremities.

His lips get blue at such times. These asthmatic conditions appeared before he was a year old; as a babe his head was covered with scabs which disappeared under the applications of various ointments. These eruptions appear only at rare intervals now, and they never thought until now that his breathing is better while the eruption is out.

A chronic child, heading for a chronic adult – if his heart does not fail under the strain! Rhus tox. 10M. on November 4, 1935, and placebo since, has made this child over into a normal, healthy boy. Some eruption reappeared but cleared of itself, without repetition of the remedy. This child belongs to that class we designate as under-privileged, but instead of a potential social problem he is a potential worker.

Seven-year-old Rita has a chronic history that dates back to first dentition, perhaps father. As a matter of fact, it dates back to her ancestors, for her grandmother, aunts and cousins all have asthma; Rita herself has notched teeth. Always sore throats as a tiny child; tonsils were removed at four years but the sore throats continued.

Continual colds since babyhood; colds in the head every time she goes out to play; these hang on for a month and run into asthmatic attacks. Cankersores in the mouth. Cries out and talks in her sleep; rubs her nose frequently, even in her sleep.

No appetite. Exertion, even a natural amount of play, brings on asthmatic attacks. It is not necessary to go into the detailed symptomatology of the attacks; it is sufficient for our purpose to point out the tendency toward a frail adolescence and invalid adult period; even now the child has the appearance of a fragile ornament. Phosphorus 9M. gave wonderful impetus toward health. Later, because of early decay of the teeth and a closer study of the remedy, Calc. phos. seemed indicated and did even better work.

This year Ritas mother wrote that for the first time in years Rita was able to go out doors and play with the other children before summer came, without taking cold.

A young woman with great courage and patience adopted a three- year-old fairy-like child. Virginias mother was dead, probably from tuberculosis; thee father, a confirmed drunkard, committed the child to an institution. Thee child was frail, slender and waxen. The new mother believed in good feeding, care, and homoeopathy, and gave the child a chance to win against the chronic background.

Yale Medical school x-ray plates, required before the child was permitted to leave the institution, revealed well defined tubercular lesions in the chest; the sputum was positive for tuberculosis. The first “acute” condition was a discharging ear. On a single dose of Sulphur she did well for several months. Then she developed night sweats, especially about the head, and Calc. carb., one dose, carried her for a year.

She grew and thrived. After several months a series of seemingly acute conditions, at first treated with what we arbitrarily class as acute remedies, yielded to Lycopodium. After a time the family moved to another city, where she has continued under homoeopathic care; but reports from time to time indicate that there has been no serious illness and few acute attacks of any kind. Thus good care in the home plus the simillimum have given this delicate child a very fair chance to attain a normal, healthy adult life.

George, just in high school at 17 years of age, was brought to homoeopathy through the influence of friends of the family who knew what homoeopathy could do when given a chance.

George was a perfect example of the “chronic” child. The history began at two years of age, with an oozing eczema all over the body. This had been successfully suppressed by the time he was five, but long before that he had developed a tendency to take cold; if it were an east wind he had a nose cold, if some other breeze played upon him it was a cough, or a sore throat-he ran through the complete series repeatedly.

In the brief intervals between colds, measles, chicken-pox and whooping cough did their best to clean house. Digestive difficulties set in. Tonsils and adenoid tissue were removed, and heart symptoms developed, but there was no recession in the other difficulties. With this chronic picture mental retardation became quite marked, and the poor psychic effect of his noticeable difference from other boys was an added factor toward chronicity.

H.A. Roberts
Dr. H.A.Roberts (1868-1950) attended New York Homoeopathic Medical College and set up practrice in Brattleboro of Vermont (U.S.). He eventually moved to Connecticut where he practiced almost 50 years. Elected president of the Connecticut Homoeopathic Medical Society and subsequently President of The International Hahnemannian Association. His writings include Sensation As If and The Principles and Art of Cure by Homoeopathy.