Polytrichastrum formosum
Case by Britta DaĢhnrich.
Woman, 63 years old
She has a distinctive eczema at her feet, her feet are open; it has been already so bad that she could not walk; if she runs barefoot, she has to scratch until it is sore. Nothing helps, even Cortisone does not really help. She also has an eczema at her hands, which is not as bad as at her feet.
She cannot tell a reason why the eczema started; it started two years ago after a wedding party where she had danced a lot.
Her father and her sister also have problems with eczema.
Five years ago she had a rash under the armpit and under the breast.
This springtime, when she went to Poland, she immediately had to go to the hospital, because the eczema at her feet was so bad and swollen.
Warmth<, showering<, cold> and when she feels quiet >
āI am very punctual, everything must be right, and if it does not run like I had thought, immediately i am getting nervous.ā
āThis holiday made me nervous all the timeā
She says she had a hard life until now.
She comes from Poland; she came to Germany thirty-two years ago; she ran away from her husband, he hit her and betrayed her. She always has been afraid of her husband. When she separated from him, he threatened her to kill her children, cut their head and put them on her door mat. Later, when she heard of her husband, she immediately got diarrhoea.
Her mother was mentally ill, when she was pregnant with her she wanted to abort her.
When she was a child the mother tried to kill her twice. The first time she tried to strangle her, the second time she tried to drown her at a place of a river where there have been dangerous whirlpools. Both times she screamed so loudly that the father saved her. The mother was often in the hospital.
She married at the age of 19, the husband always hit her. The birth of her first child was very bad, she almost died. Then she gave birth to a daughter who died six months after her birth. The third child was a son, the birth was good.
Her father was very strict, he wanted her to be punctual, to tell the truth and to run as he wanted. As a child, she hated him. As a child, she lived with the family on a ship for inland shipping.
Her second husband was a musician, she says that concerning craftsmanship he was incompetent, he drank a lot of alcohol. Now, for three years he was no longer drinking, but now she is angry because so many years have passed.
Three years ago, the children had quarrelled, they did not want to talk to each other anymore, this is difficult for her. The family must stay together. She is afraid when she shouts that the children do not like her anymore. She hated her father when he shouted. She herself has already shouted at her father, mother, husband and friends.
She was angry with her mother, because she was so sick, she was angry with her father because he was so strict and she could not do anything. She had thought, when she marries, she has more freedom, but it got worse. She always felt that she had to save her husband.
"I am a boss, everyone in the family wants something from me, if there are problems, they come to me."
She is afraid to drive with the car, she is afraid of an accident.
When she comes back from a trip, she is always afraid that the house is burned.
When the children leave, they have to report when they have arrived. Otherwise she is immediately afraid that something bad has happened. When her husband had drunk, she was also afraid that something bad could happen.
Something like exams and excitements are very bad for her.
Her parents have experienced the war with many bomb attacks; they often had to hide for fear of being killed. They often had no food.
Now she had a neighbour, with whom she was a very good friend, with whom she was able to discuss everything, this was always very good for her. Two years ago the neighbour moved to another place; she misses her.
Sleep is very good, she cannot remember well dreams. She dreams of houses that she designs.
She would very much like a house where her children live nearby. In the past she wanted a house with a retirement home.
She works at the home of old people, cleaning and helping them. She likes this job, the old people like her.
Her parents were poor people. They did not have a permanent place of residence, they lived on a ship for inland shipping. That's why she was only three months in the first class of school, in the second class she lived at other peopleās home, and in the third class it was the first time that her parents had an apartment.
Before, she did not care where she was going to sleep.
She has a craving for meat, she eats meat every day.
In the family there is a lot of heart attack (father, sister, brother)
The sister and brother are alcoholics
Father and sister also have eczema
Sea air aggravates eczema.
She loves plants, she has a lot of plants.
Analysis
First I thought of a Solanaceae, because she experienced a lot of violence, but with the combination of directness, simpleness, experiences of violence as a child and that she had no house to life as a child ( she lived on a ship for inland shipping ), which reminded me of Jan Scholten`s description of the mosses ( ānomadesā), I thought of a moss, and something of her reminded me of the proving of Polytrichastrum formosum (C1: woman who knows about male violence, as if broken; she still keeps swinging her skirt ā in spite of it-); also the connection to the skin reminded me of Polytrichum formosum.
Follow up
4 weeks after Polytrichum formosum the patient reports: ā it is much much better !ā hands and feet are nearly without any eczema; she feels more quiet, she does not feel nervous any more; she does not feel tired, 6 hours of sleep are enough; when children do not call, she is not nervous any more.
The relation to her husband is ok, she does not feel angry any more.
She appears more vivid and alive.
Now, 6 months after Polytrichum formosum ( she became doses until C200 ):She talks more differenciated about her emotions; she still feels more quiet; when children do not call, it is no upset for her any more; she is not afraid when she comes home from a journey, that her house could be burnt; she has beautiful dreams; before the remedy she could hardly remember a dream ). Meanwhile she went on a trip to Poland by car and she was not upset as before.Her feet and hands have more and more over longer periods no problems with eczema. When it comes up shortly, it is much more mild and nearly makes no problem.
Copyright: Britta DƤhnrich