It was an unusually humid day, and at that time I had not yet installed AC in my clinic, the environment was far from comfortable.
The OPD was active with steady flow of patients, most of them suffering from ill-effects of the oppressive humidity.
I was taking a case, suddenly someone entered in waiting area, and not a minute passed without disturbance, hence. A man was coughing constantly-harsh, dry cough that sounded as if air was forced through a dry sponge or bamboo sheets. the interruption was continuous so I paused the current case to attend him immediately.
A lean thin man in his late 30s accompanied by a familiar face-his wife(who was also my former patient). He sat on the bench, resting his back against the wall. Despite the relentless coughing, there was curiously no distress on face. Apologizing to previous patient, I brought him into consultation room for detailed case taking.
THE CASE-TAKING
To my surprise , this person was suffering with dry cough since almost a month yet was reluctant to visit a doctor. It was only now when it became too difficult to talk and it became impossible for him to continue his work at office, then he came to me.
His wife, understandably frustrated by his reluctance, was eager to share his ongoing complains:
- A peculiar trigger: His cough intensified significantly whenever he looked at computer screen.
- Headache & Eye Strain”: He suffered from a persistent frontal headache that worsened with visual strain.
- Dry eyes : He had been dealing with dry eyes for over a year, finding temporary relief only by splashing water on his face.
- Sleep Disturbance: His sleep quality and duration had steadily deteriorated, though he reported no dreams. He felt constantly drowsy.
- Postural Weakness: He always wanted to lie down,- even while doing his office work – and struggled to sit upright for extended periods.
- In fact, standing even for a while also was quite inconvenient for him, however he tried helping his wife without getting angry about it.
- Thermal Reaction: Another striking character in this case was his tolerance for extremes of weather, he was completely comfortable in that humid weather and he barely required warm clothings in winter.
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
On examining, nothing was evidently wrong- no Pharyngitis, no tonsillitis, chest was also clear; why was he coughing? It was the bloated belly. The cough was originating due to sedentary lifestyle. Another topping was his fondness of sweets, while common misconceptions is that gastric issues revolve around oily and spicy foods only.
THE PAST HISTORY
Further queries revealed that he had suffered from Tuberculosis in his teenage and typhoid later. He also had undergone a surgery at age of 5 for ankyloglossia (tongue- tie) and had struggled till age of 10 when finally started speaking clearly. Recently, he had tried all kind of cough syrups with no relief.
CONCLUSION & PRESCRIPTION
It was not an easy picture to draw and decide the medicine. However, repertorizing the case did help me to get to a near perfect similimum medicine. I added a mother tincture along with one dose of the primary medicine in high potency. He was also advised to take a stroll post each meal and must not sit or lie down immediately after eating anything.
The medicinal dose was given to the patient in the clinic itself. I asked the patient to wait for 10 minutes and then leave the clinic. After 10 minutes, there was considerable reduction in the cough bouts and his head was feeling light as well. However, he was given one dose to be taken as the SOS, if required.
FOLLOW-UP
After a couple of days, his wife returned to say thank you stating that- her husband was fine now -had better sleep, No headache and coughing only once in a while, however no much relief in the dryness of eyes; for which a follow up was suggested after 2 weeks. Meanwhile, he was suggested to avoid continuous screen gazing, to blink often and Drink plenty of water. (will cover this follow up in next blog)
This case posed a little challenge but felt great finding the patient at ease.
A proper Case taking and striking features – Homeopathy helped this patient recover well.
NOTE:
In Homeopathy, INDIVIDUALIZATION, is a key factor, that’s why, every similar looking case will require same medicine, it is not necessary. To prevent self-medications, prescribed medicine is concealed.
The Homeopathic system of Medicine is unique and its quite helpful in cases like-this case of unconventional cough. It is very important to consult A doctor for any illnesses and must not ignore one’s health.
