Final Flashcards
A 26 year old female medical student complains of recurring fevers. She had these in childhood, and they returned last year, after a romantic grief. She is sensitive, sympathetic, an emotional person, but she tends to keep a lot inside, and is uncomfortable with consolation. She loves being outside, the sun, camping, hiking, or just going to the park. She is very sensitive to injustices. She has problems falling asleep some nights; on others she will wake and be unable to go back to sleep. She craves chocolate, eggs, fat, salt, and hot soups. Digestion is good but a tendency to constipation. She has many moles. She is adopted and no family history is available.
Carcinosin
A 48 year old man, an accomplished professional photographer, complains of chronic arthritis, worse wet weather, worse first motion, better continued motion, better warmth, worse cold. You notice circumscribed red areas on his cheeks. He had alopecia since his early 30’s. He is allergic to milk, which causes chest colds. He has a history of frequent bronchitis and childhood asthma. Both arthritis symptoms and respiratory symptoms are worse before storms or from a change of weather. He admits to some compulsive or ritualistic behaviors. He has been married four times, with a history of several extramarital affairs. He craves meat, fat, pork, ham, salty, and ice cream.
Tuberculinum
A 47 year old male complains of fogginess, difficult concentration and poor memory. He is disorganized, yet creative and artistic. He loves to paint late into the night, often goes to bed around sunrise. He loves adventure. He is vital and charismatic. He pushes himself in many ways. He likes spicy food, alcohol, grapefruit, sweets, fat, and is averse to beans and eggplant. He suffers from painful arthritis, with redness and swelling of his fingers.
Rhus tox
A twelve year old boy suffers from asthma. He seems tense, inhibited. He is fastidious. He also has many sebaceous cysts, visible and palpable under his skin. His asthma is worse wet weather, worse 3 a.m. He dreams of falling, and of dead people. In bed, he tends to sweat on parts that are uncovered. His sweat has a peculiar, sweet, honey-like odor. No strong food desires, but he hates onions.
Thuja
A 26 year old man complains of joint pain, frequent bouts of hoarseness, and occasional coughs with a raw feeling in his chest. He has a history of Bell’s palsy. All of his symptoms are worse in cold, windy weather or drafts. He prefers wet weather, and is better living in Portland since leaving a windy area of the Midwest. He craves salt and smoked meats. He is sympathetic, and is actively involved in organizations to protect the environment.
Causticum
A 33 year old woman has severe PMS. At that time she gets intense headaches, extreme irritability and jealousy, and strong craving for alcohol. Headaches tend to come on while she sleeps, or she will wake in the morning with a headache. Her PMS symptoms all resolve within a few hours after her menses begin. She craves farinaceous, oysters, alcohol, and coffee. She has a strong sexual drive. She is competitive, intense, and passionate. She tends to dominate conversations. She tends to be warm, and gets headaches from the sun.
Lachesis
A 44 year old man complains of fatigue and frequent sinus infections. He is very orderly, precise, and seems very courteous and mild mannered. He is a timid person, lives simply, is reserved. He is frugal, worries about money. He has never liked physical labor or exercise, enjoys his work as an accountant, but when work piles up he gets frustrated, overwhelmed, and makes many mistakes, which creates anxiety for him. He is constipated, is aggravated by milk. Though very chilly, he prefers cold food. He sweats a lot on his hands and feet. If he gets a cut it heals slowly and can get infected. He is uncomfortable with consolation. He is extremely sensitive to noise. He likes the sun.
Silica
A 12 year old boy, diagnosed with ADHD, learning disability and behavioral problems, is prone to anger and jealousy. He is extremely talkative and restless. He is quite manipulative of his parents and friends, and has alienated most of his friends because of his behaviors. He likes to shock his mother by using foul language, especially when she has company over. He is jealous of his older sister, often hits her without cause. He insists on wearing extremely bright, wild-patterned clothes that draw a lot of attention.
Hyoscyamus
A six year old boy suffers from recurrent otitis media. He seems restless, distant, and hard to connect with, a bad odor. He always feels worse when he sweats, which often happens at night during the bouts of otitis. He is averse to sweets. He is thirsty for cold drinks, and loves bread and butter. He seems a bit suspicious. The otitis always comes on in the night, and usually is accompanied by a very strong, offensive discharge from the ear involved. He has chronically swollen cervical lymph nodes. He sweats a lot, which has a
Mercurius
A ten year old boy seems very serious and sad. When his parents divorced he developed insomnia, depression, and speaks frequently of suicide. He is very religious, feels this world is too hard, and wants to be with God. He loves music, especially church music and Bach. He feels forsaken by his father, who moved to the East coast after the divorce. He tends to keep his problems to himself. His mother is quite concerned, because he is a lot like his father, who is an alcoholic and severely depressed, and suffers from heart disease though he is only 35 years old.
Aurum metallicum
A 48 year old woman has asthma and peptic ulcer. Her symptoms are worse at night, from 11 until 2 a.m. Her stomach burns, is better warm drinks, especially from warm milk. She is very anxious, nervous, restless, and fearful of death. She is very chilly, likes warmth, but likes a window open too. She fears robbers, being alone, cancer, suffering, and worries about financial security (though she is quite wealthy). She dreams of robbers. She is critical, sharp, and controlling.
Arsenicum
A 62 year old man suffers from recurrent bronchitis, pleurisy, arthritis, and allergies. With the allergies his face swells, especially around the eyes or lids. All of his symptoms are worse around 2 or 3 a.m. He also wakes at this time and is unable to go back to sleep for an hour or two. The pleurisy produces sharp, stitching pains. His arthritis pains are also sharp, fleeting, like a jabbing pain. He is chilly. He is averse to touch. He fears ghosts. He craves sweets. He works hard, is conscientious, careful to always do a good job.
Kali carbonicum
A 29 year old woman suffers from digestive problems, and must be very careful with her diet. Symptoms are worse from overeating, from fats or rich foods. She likes milk, ice cream, eggs, and butter. She has a very low thirst. She tends to be warm, can sometimes get hot feet so she uncovers them in bed. She likes the sun, but dislikes heat in any form. Her GI symptoms are somewhat relieved from putting a cold application over her abdomen. Her menses is very irregular. She gets sad and weepy before menses, and gets an irrational fear that her husband will leave her. She has fear of the dark, alone, men, and insanity. She is easy to talk with, likes people and company, and describes herself as a ‘people person.’ She has difficulty making decisions. She weeps easily and likes consolation.
Pulsatilla
An 18 year old girl contracted encephalitis. She recovered, but since then has developed a tremendous fear of the dark, being alone, and of dogs and cats. She has some residual neurological symptoms since the illness: jerking of her body and chorea at times. She craves sweets. She is very clingy to her parents, and insists on sleeping in the room of her younger sister.
Stramonium
A 29 year old man suffers from frequent colds, sore throats, and back pain. He is chilly, worse in wet weather, and likes warm weather. He perspires a lot on exertion, especially on his face and head. His palms sweat, and he can perspire in the cold. He is afraid of high places, spiders, getting a disease, and going into a hospital. He is hard working, reliable, and gets along well with people. He craves milk, sweets, eggs, and cheese. Digestion is good but he tends toward constipation. He is allergic to aspirin.
Calcarea carbonica
A seven year old boy was considered ADD by his school teacher. He is exuberant, a bit restless, but bright and a quick learner. He connects well with people, and gets into trouble at school because he loves talking and interacting with others, and can do this doing class time. He is a likable child, curious, alert, and makes a good contact with you. He craves salt, sweets, and bread. He is averse to fish. He is quite thirsty, wanting ice cold drinks. He has many friends, even makes friends with strangers in line at the supermarket. He fears being alone, the dark, kidnappers, and cancer. If sad, he seeks consolation which helps a lot. He tends to be chilly. Epistaxis.
Phosphorus
A 29 year old woman has oral and vaginal herpes. She gets outbreaks several times a year, which puzzles her because she is so physically fit. She works out strenuously at least 5 times a week, for up to two hours. She has a tendency to amenorrhea. She often has a leucorrhea, a vaginal discharge that is irritating and acrid. She gets extremely irritable and weeping before her menses. She has not been in a romantic or sexual relationship for several years. She said she decided that sex was too animalistic, and she wants to suppress this aspect of herself and work on her spiritual development. She has become more and more irritable, sarcastic, and harder for others to get along with. She prefers being alone, and hates consolation. She feels better from activity, also better in the evening. She is worse in a hot stuffy room. She likes to be in the sun. She fears poverty and ghosts.
Sepia
A 9 year old boy developed a bad cold and sore throat, which started with his right tonsil, then spread to his left one. Throat is soothed by warm drinks. He tends to be very demanding of his parents, especially when ill. He is a fearful child, gets quite worried about his health even when he gets a very mild illness. He fears alone, kidnappers, the dark, and meeting new kids. He wakes hungry, must eat immediately or becomes extremely irritable (but never violent). He craves sweets. Certain foods aggravate, causing a lot of gas, bloating, and this can lead to diarrhea. This alternates with constipation. He gets headaches over his right temple. His colds and fevers are always worse in the late afternoon or around 6 p.m.
Lycopodium
A 37 year old man who teaches art has benign prostatic hypertrophy. He is a pleasant man, seems very gentle. He has difficulty standing up for himself, for most of his life has let others take advantage of him. Confrontation is very difficult; he seems unable to assert his boundaries, even when it’s obvious that he should. After his wife left him for another man he developed psoriasis. Now for seven years he’s been alone. He wants a relationship but is shy. He has trouble sleeping, and usually masturbates to fall asleep. He gets sleepy in the afternoon. If he gets the opportunity to take a nap, he feels very badly after waking from the nap.
Staphysagria
A 74 year old man has chronic digestive problems. He has a lot of offensive gas, and tends toward diarrhea. He has a red, ruddy complexion, and a kindly look to him. He seems very intelligent, bright, curious, and independent. He is warm. He gets hot in bed and uncovers, sleeps with the windows up year round. He loves to tinker, to fix things, and to make little inventions. He loves to get praise for this from his friends and neighbors. He craves sweets, fat, beer, cola drinks, and salads. He is thirsty for cold drinks. He also has an itchy rectum, mild eczema that itches, and sweaty feet with a very strong odor.
Sulphur
A 20 year old man developed a tremendous fear of being attacked after getting into a violent fight downtown, where he received a concussion. His initial response was to become extremely fearful of being on the streets, especially after dark. He developed a fear of animals of all sorts. He began to train strenuously at the gym, becoming quite muscular and aggressive. He had violent, frightful dreams. He developed epilepsy. His behavior became definitely manic. In this state his pupils become dilated.
Stramonium
A 42 year old man suffers from chronic sciatica. He is extremely anxious, with strong fears of high places, closed places, and has great anxiety about his health. He gets very nervous about being on time for appointments or travel. He craves strong cheese, sweets, salt and spicy, but has a lot of GI disturbances. Despite his anxiety he is extroverted, has many friends, and loves being with people. He is a successful salesman because of his enthusiasm and warmth.
Argentum nitricum
A 33 year old woman complains of crampy abdominal pain and indigestion. She is sensitive to rich foods, coffee, and alcohol. She loves meat, fat, and wine. She gets food poisoning almost once a year, with severe abdominal spasms, retching and straining at stool. She is confident, industrious, works quickly and efficiently, is highly motivated to excel. She is a poor loser, and if loses at tennis she gets so angry that it brings on an attack of abdominal spasms. She is very chilly, and feels fine in a very hot hot tub or sauna, which she uses to reduce her high stress levels.
Nux vomica
A 24 year old woman has a history of upper respiratory infections and persistent swollen cervical lymph nodes. She is thin, chilly, yet loves open air, wanting windows open even in winter. She often gets night sweats, and can be irritable on waking. She is restless, tends to get bored with relationships, and loves to travel. She recently returned from a one year trip throughout Asia. She especially loves the mountains, which seem to help her respiratory symptoms. She craves milk, meat (especially bacon), and fat. She has a peculiar symptom: she dislikes dogs and cats, though she has never been harmed by them.
Tuberculinum
A 7 year old girl has a bad cough that started six weeks ago. She is thin, looks tired and run down. Her fever is 101, and temp has varied from normal to around 101 for the past two weeks. She is very thirsty, wants cold drinks. She is fearful of being alone, and strongly desires company. Her cough and fever tend to be worse around sunset. She acts very nice in the interview, looks directly at you, and expresses herself well. The cough is painful at times. She says her chest feels hollow or empty. She craves sweets, also salty, and frequently asks for ice cream.
Phosphorus
A 52 year old woman complains of hot flashes, dizziness, and emotional swings. All of these and the following symptoms have come on in the past year: craves sweets, sleeps on abdomen, jealous, feels unloved (fears her husband will leave her for a younger woman), worse from the sun, craves open air and breezes, worse twilight, digestive upsets from rich foods, weight gain. New food cravings include ice cream, cheese, butter, hard-boiled eggs.
Pulsatilla
A 33 year old woman suffers deeply since the relationship ended. She sees no hope; it is all so bleak without him. She is angry, feels betrayed, but tells no one. Her insomnia is severe. She can survive the days, but the long nights seem like endless agony. Her reaction is to work harder. She also gets severe sinus headaches, very painful. She feels it’s her fate, yet prays for release. At times music gives her some relief. Since it ended she has been drinking alcohol every night.
Aurum metallicum
She is very unhappy in her work; she broods silently, but tells no one. Her love affair with her boss ended abruptly, and she weeps bitterly alone in her room. She has had problems at work, and is very intolerant of contradiction. She suffers from upper back pain, with muscle spasms causing headaches. She is also very sensitive to coffee, tobacco smoke and perfumes, which also cause headaches. Chilly, > warmth.
Ignatia
This patient suffers from PMS, hemorrhoids, constipation and depression. She has indigestion with nausea. She is chilly, but also averse to stuffy rooms. She has an amelioration of her symptoms by exercise; also has a general amelioration in the evening.
Sepia
Grief remedies
nat mur, ign, caust, aur, carc
Sympathetic
Carc, phos
Averse to consolation
Carc, sil, ign
Arthritis, worse cold wet weather (rhus tox modalities)
Calc carb, lyc, tub, rhus
Red circumscribed circles on cheeks
Tub
Early alopecia
Lyc, sil, tub
Milk allergy
Tub, calc carb, sil
OCD
Syphalitic miasm, ars, merc
