3.10 Silicium, Case 1
A 15 year old girl suffers from eczema. It is very itchy and the skin on top of her head, behind her ears and along the hairline on the back of her head is flaky. It is a dry form of eczema. The skin is red with whitish-yellow flakes peeling off. It gets worse from soap and shampoo and it is worse in the winter. It started when a girl friend of hers suddenly did not want to see her anymore. She wanted to know why her friend was behaving in this way. At one point she felt that the whole class was against her. Talking about it with her parents made her feel better.
She is very unsure of herself and needs a lot of reassurance. She wants to be liked and she wants to feel she belongs in her class at school. She gets very upset by the thought that others might find her a ‘sissy’. But she doesn’t want to creep, she just wants to be herself. She doesn’t want to be influenced.
She doesn’t give the impression of being very timid, she knows what she wants and she doesn’t hesitate to give her opinions during the consultation. She likes discussion time at school, she gets actively involved. She is quite intense in the way she lives. She can get totally absorbed in a book and forget the world around her.
She is quite a cheerful girl and she is very sympathetic when someone else is upset.
She quarrels a lot with her brother from time to time.
She can be very sharp, occasionally violent, especially when she feels she is under attack.
She likes sports, tennis and hockey. She is ambitious in hockey and wants to reach the top team.
She is a great perfectionist, and wants to be very good in whatever she does. She plays the flute and used to play the piano as well.
When she was younger she had frequent colds in the winter; later on her tonsils were removed. She often had high fevers with delirium and great fears, and she wanted to sit on her mother’s lap during these attacks.
She often had a dream that a cobweb with a needle in the middle came towards her and then went away again. When she woke from this dream it felt as if the room was coming towards her and then receding again.
She frequently dreams of snakes coming towards her or eating her cat. Or she dreams about her school friends and her family.
Generals
Weather: cold (3), blue with cold, purple/blue nails << cold, < cold water.
Perspiration: < night and being too hot.
Time: < december.
Desires: nasi, bami (Indonesian food), lettuce, tomatoes, chocolate, fruit, milk.
Aversion: broccoli (3), endive (2), cauliflower, french beans.
Food: < broccoli (3), < alcohol: nausea.
Sleep: much tossing and turning.
Analysis
The eczema started after her friend did not want to see her anymore and she had the feeling that the whole class was against her. This indicates the Silicon series.
Her reaction was a feeling of insecurity, but she did not want to do anything special to change it. She simply wants to be herself and she doesn't want to coax to be allowed to be part of the group, she doesn’t want to be influenced by the others.
This is typical of stage 10, the stage of equilibrium, which brings us to Silicium itself. Her uncertainty and the amelioration from talking to her parents further confirms this element. The complaints of itching and flaky eczema on the occiput also fit this remedy. The dream she had during the fevers was very interesting: a web with a needle (silicium) in the middle (stage 10) comes towards her.
There is no reason to chose one of the Silicatums in this case. There is also no reason to choose Silica, because there are no clear indication for an Oxydatum.
Other Silicium symptoms: perfectionist, sympathetic, dreams about classmates and family, cold (3), blue/purple nails << cold, < winter, < alcohol.
Reaction
One month after Silicium metallicum 1M the eczema has improved a lot. She feels better in herself, and everything is going smoothly. She doesn’t have many worries anymore and she feels more relaxed. She is less concerned about what other people in the class think of her. There are three girls within the class whom she has become good friends with. The following year everything continues to go well.