Kalium sulphuricum Case
A woman aged 60 comes with a stopped-up feeling in her ears, worse on the left side. It has been like this for a year, ever since she caught a cold.
She also has an inflammation of the lining of the tendons in her left wrist and thumb. It is painful on movement, sewing and typing. The wrist gets swollen and she feels as if a vein swells up. She has had this for 8 years.
She also suffers from numbness of the hands, < at night in bed.
Warts on the neck on the left.
Burning itching, watering eyes.
Past history: Ear infection, left. During her only pregnancy she felt sick for 8 months, couldn’t stand the sight of eggs.
General characteristics:
Temperature: she cannot tolerate draughts, gets a feeling of cold on her head.
when she is in the sun or when she is too hot she gets a headache.
Desires: warm food (2), meat (2), beer.
Aversion: chocolate, fish, fat; sherry and vermouth give her a headache.
Menses: in the past severe stomach pains on the first day, causing her to faint.
Sleep: good, refreshing; sleeps on her left side.
Mind: She is the youngest of 10 children. She has always felt well looked after. She says: 'I used to have a lot, I have lost a lot, and I still have a lot'. Friends and family are very important to her. She is concerned about others. Every week she goes to help her niece who has cancer. She is a great support for her children and grandchildren. She is always there if anyone needs her. But she is also ready to help strangers, and does voluntary work for many people. What is driving her is her desire to bring happiness to others. She feels wonderful when she has been able to help someone and made them happy.
She has dreams of children or animals falling in the water, and she jumps in after them to save them. She also dreams of dead relatives.
Marriage: She had a good marriage. Her husband died three years ago and she misses him very much. He had been ill for a long time with lung cancer. She looked after him herself for more than a year. She did this with pleasure and never got angry if she had to clean him time and time again. She still dreams about him often, of the nice things they used to do together.
Work: She used to be a secretary, but she was declared unfit because of her wrist.
Analysis
The strongest characteristic in this woman is the desire to help others and bring happiness in their lives. One could translate this as the feeling that it is her duty to give love to others. And this is the theme of Kali sulphuricum according to the group analysis. To confirm this we can find the symptoms of Kali: < draught, optimism, perseverance. And the symptoms of Sulphur: < heat, burning eyes, aversion to eggs. Furthermore, Kali-s is an important remedy for inflammations of the Eustachian tubes.
Reaction
After Kali-s there was a rapid improvement, physically as well as mentally.