Occasionally, the infants response to being picked up and especially to being laid down may be useful. Aversion to downward motion, as when the baby is laid down in its cot may confirm the selection of Borax for example.
Enquiry into sleep and dreams may be of value. The older child can relate his dreams. Night terrors are often caused through mechanical blockage of the air passage by enlarged tonsils and adenoids. In these circumstances night terrors are obviously not of high value in prescribing.
As regards food, very young infants may show marked preference for warm feeds. They will staunchly refuse a bottle which has been chilled. Others do not mind, and a few have a distinct preference for cold feeds.
At the stage of weaning, it is customary for the infant to reject its first mouthful of a new food, for example, yolk of egg, and if the mother does not persist this might be mistaken for an aversion. In any case it is probable that we are on less firm ground with aversions than with cravings. Children are easily put off by example or suggestion or possibly by being compelled to eat any article of diet within not hungry. Forcing children to eat not only causes mental tension at the dining table, but may change indifference into a positive dislike of any particular food.
It is very rare for the mothers milk to upset a child. The most common fault is that it may be insufficient. This can readily be ascertained by test weighing.
In questioning the mother about cravings or aversions to food it is useful to keep in mind the following list of “animal, vegetable, mineral”.
Animal. Cow, Meat, fat, milk, butter, cheese, ice-cream.
Pig. Bacon, bacon fat, bacon rind.
Fish.
Eggs.
Vegetables. Potatoes.
Other vegetables.
Fruit.
Bread.
Sweets.
Mineral. Salt, pepper, vinegar.
Naturally a desire for ice-cream or sweets is not accepted unless it is very strong in childhood. Aversion to sweets is a peculiar symptom.
It is surprising how many children have a craving for bacon fat or rind. (Calc. Phos., Tub.) Some children love eating bacon rind raw.
Craving for salt or vinegar are not uncommon in childhood. The mother may have to keep the salt cellar or vinegar bottle out of reach.
Brian G., a boy of two months, was sent by a welfare clinic to the out-patients department. His mother said he took his feeds well, but vomited if he took very much. He cried all day, but slept well at night. He was put on artificial food at the age of one week. Three attempts had been made at the welfare centre to get him on the right diet, without success. He was now on a well- balanced diet of fresh cows milk, sugar and water. The baby looked ill, his skin was dry, his forehead wrinkled, and the anterior fontanelle slightly depressed. Nothing else was noted on clinical examination. The mantoux was negative; urine negative. He was very much under weight. His birth weight was 8 lb. 10 oz. Instead of gaining two or three pounds he had only gained 2 oz. and was now 8 lb. 12 oz.
On enquiry from the mother and father the following facts were elicited. He was most miserable between 4 and 9 p.m. He refused feeds if they were the least bit cool. He invariably slept in the knee elbow position. He was given Medorrhinum and later Lycopodium. He gained I lb. in the first sixteen days after commencing treatment. His mother was advised to gradually increase the feeds. By the end of two months he was “very happy” and his mother noted that he now lay on his side for the first time. He was followed up for five months. He was then seven months old, weighed 16 lb., and was cutting his first teeth.
This case is given to illustrate the symptoms of high value which can be observed by the parents.
The mental make-up of a child may express itself quite clearly from infancy. Some babies are irritable, others placid and so on. Sensitivity to noise is so common in young babies, that unless the baby “nearly jumps out of its skin” at sight noises it may safely be disregarded as an individual characteristic.
In asking the mother about her childs disposition a number of symptoms can be associated with the words “affection” and “sympathy”. It is normal for babies and children to require affection, but it is strongly marked in some, and in others a desire for affection may show itself only in association with an acute illness. Some babies from the earliest days dislike to be picked up. Some children have a tendency to become indifferent to their parents which is a valuable symptom when there is no apparent reason for it, suggesting Sepia or Phosphorus, etc. The mother can almost always speak quite definitely on this subject. Is the child sympathetic to others; concerned with the troubles of others outside the family circle? or to cruelty? Occasionally there is a cruel streak in the child.
It is something difficult to decide whether a childish fear is inherent or implanted by suggestion. If you protect a young child from the affectionate onslaught of a puppy, fear may be created in the childs mind. In a nervous child with nervous parents, fear of dogs would not have the same significance as it would in a mentally stable child. When in doubt it is as well to discard a fear which may have been created by suggestion and look for other symptoms of high value such as a craving for salt or other general symptoms. When discussing fears it is, of course, advisable to speak to the mother in the absence of the child. It is as well to keep in mind that very young children often understand much more than we are apt to think. A normal child in its second year understands a considerable amount of what is said in simple language.
The fondness for dancing which is a characteristic of Sepia is sometimes manifest in childhood. But it is the rule rather than the exception for young children to “dance” to the wireless. A boy of 12 suffering from second stage nephritis had been attending the out-patients department for some years with only slight improvement. Symptoms such as “indifference to loved ones” suggested Sepia. When the mother was asked about dancing she said, “Oh, he is crazy about dancing.” At this age it is an unusual symptom. He was given Sepia 200 which was followed by a marked improvement in his general health and appearance.
Jealousy is not uncommon in childhood. Most often the first child is jealous of a new arrival. The normal child is untidy, but an extreme tendency in this respect often confirmed by the childs appearance strongly suggests Sulphur, especially if the child just cannot be kept clean. On the other hand the fastidious child will put his toys away neatly in rows without being asked. On enquiring of a mother if her little girl of four was unduly tidy, she replied, “Tidy, yes. She even keeps me tidy too.” Needless to say, Arsenicum alb. and Nux vomica are to be considered when this symptom is present. “Desire for Travel” must be marked before it can be accepted as an individual characteristic in childhood.
We must consider the childs reaction to its physical environment–heat, cold, wet weather, thundery weather, stuffy rooms, sea air, etc., as in the case of adults.
The combination of amelioration at the sea-side, and adoption of the knee-elbow position in sleep (Medorrhinum) is not infrequently met with in asthmatic children. In assessing our results in asthma it is important to keep in mind that four out of five asthmatic children recover as they grow older without any treatment. Time modalities can be observed in the youngest infant. It should not be forgotten that many young children become tired and “grizzly” towards bedtime.
Finally, the mother can observe any skin symptoms, such as perspiration, its odour and if localized its distribution, on the head or feet for example. Skin eruptions, of any sort, are easily noted by the mother.
THE PRESCRIPTION.
The most accurate method of remedy selection is by comparison of the individual symptoms of the patient with drug provings.
In cases where the illness began during gestation there is often some striking episode which is vividly remembered by the mother, most commonly a fright or an acute virus infection. In such cases we can sometimes distinguish between Aconite, Ignatia, Opium, Nat. mur., or other suggested drugs. In the case of an acute infection the symptoms may not be sufficiently clear and an unproved nosode is justified.
Alan W., age 11. R/3566.
Complaint – “Defective speech”.
History- Mother had influenza badly when three months pregnant. Labour normal. It was noted at birth that the feet were deformed. At the age of three weeks the baby was “severely handled” by an orthopaedic surgeon. Was late in walking and can only say “no” and “right”.
Family.
History – Nil. One normal sister age 7. No miscarriages.
Diagnosis – Cerebral diplegia of pre-natal origin. Upper motor neurone weakness of right inferior extremity.
Treatment- Causticum and Sulphur were given with some benefit. In October, 1949, one dose of Influenzinum 200 was given. A month later there was a definite improvement in appearance.
He was the Dean of Faculty of Homeopathy London. D. M. Foubister was Assistant Physician, Diseases of Children, to the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital. Circa 1950’s. He authored the following works:
The Carcinosin Drug Pictures.
Constitutional Effects of Anaesthesia.
Homeopathy and Pediatrics.
Lac caninum.
Paediatrics
Significance of Past History in Homoeopathy.
Therapeutic Hints For Students.
Tutorials On Homeopathy.