Case 4.5: Polygonum punctatum
By Anton Kramer
Boy E.B. 7 years old.
Has a cold with continuos dry, short cough, causing pain in throat. He keeps on coughing, it does not stop. Only little mucous is produced during cough or when blowing nose. He is weak until 14.00 or 15.00.
Cough << running/ football (not from open air), > out side, << entering the house, < on lying down in bed, < talking, > lying on left.
He had many infections in his first years: purulent nose discharges, several pneumonias in the right central lobe. After a while he became asthmatic. When he was younger he coughed much and the only thing that helped a bit was to sit up. He lacks IgG and had antibiotics for four years and extra vaccinations (Haemophilus, pneumococcus). One year ago the antibiotics were stopped and immediately he developed a severe sinusitis and the specialist treated him with sinus lavage. And he started continuous antibiotics again until three weeks ago. He still uses inhalation medication.
He also has a stricture of the urethra. And the implantation of the ureter is not right. At the age of five he had the first symptoms: cystitis and incontinence. He had a hardened bladder (balkenblaas). If he had not had antibiotics for his respiratory tract he would have needed them for his cystitis. Every 3 months the stricture of the urethra has to be dilated, and this will continue for all his life, certainly until the age of 18.
All the complaints aggravated after the divorce of his parents; three weeks after his father left the house the serious infections started.
His father treats him and his two elder brother very badly: he is very whimsical, scolds heavily, strikes them very hard for minor things because he is never satisfied with the behaviour of the boys. He threatens them when it is ‘his’ weekend and they do not want to come because a birthday party, an invitation by a friend or a special occasion with their football team. They have to come, otherwise he threatens to expel them from his care. Double bind because it is clear that that is the last the the father will ever accept. This boy does not tell about these things, his older brothers try to reason with their father, are sometimes highly diplomatic, sometimes react against his injustice and frequently receive a fierce strike for that.
His mother tried to get help in many ways but in vain; the father has a very friendly appearance for outsiders.
Emotionally our patient is always ‘sunny’ and optimistic, stable, wise. He is in front of the mirror frequently, does his hair, wants nice clothes ‘out of insecurity’ according to the mother.
Food: desires French fries with mayonaise, spinach (.), cole, fruit.
Aversion sprouts.
I prescribed for the kind of cough << entering the house, < talking and running. What did not fit was the fact that lying on the left ameliorated.
One month later they tell that the cough continued unchanged and that he got an ear inflammation, sinus problems and lost weight. So the pediatrician prescribed antibiotics again. He recovered more quickly than usual (after five days after commencing the antibiotics) and his appetite improved soon; this was new also.
During consultation I see the same as the first time: he is defiant, his mouth and respiration are tense in stubborn way. I think of Sanicula.
He is intelligent and at school he is bored because every thing is easy. He works quick but not neat at all. His eye-hand co-ordination is not good, his eyes follow moving objects improperly. For mother this explains his messy work at school. But the teacher is triggered by this work and his obstinate character and gives him a hard time.
Evaluation: he improved quickly after antibiotics and he feels well. I could repeat the remedy. But it did not feel good. So I studied the family of it.
I gave...
Four weeks later he has improved a lot, though he was rather ill for several weeks. He caught a cold, started coughing for five days and had antibiotics (because a judo tournament. He improved rather well within a few days but still coughs a little.
On the whole he is much better: he can run and bicycle much better and longer, eats much more, works and writes more neatly, plays more with children and even the relation with his teacher has improved. The urologist was very contented, dilatation was more easy.
Remedy: Polygonum punctatum (synonym or similar: Polygonum hydropiper; Smartweed). Symptoms very much like Rumex. It has many urinary symptoms for example ‘feeling of constriction at the neck of the bladder. Retention of urination.
Recently I called his mother to hear how he is doing. He is very stable, very healthy, has only minor infections. The stricture in the urethra has improved very much: from dilatation every 3 months it went to once every 6 months to once a year to once every 18 month and it feels better. The relation with the father is more or less unchanged; this summer, patient is 9 years old, he went on bicycling vacation with his brothers and their father. They had to ride 100 kilometer every day.