4.10.2 Niccolum sulphuricum, Case 1A 25 year old woman has eczema. She has large red patches on the margin of her hair, itching when she is tense, better when she washes her hair and when she is occupied. The eczema occasionally extends to her ears, inside and out, and to the nose wings.
She is allergic to nickelsulphate, which gives her blisters. She is also allergic to all non precious metals, silver and rubber wristbands. She can only wear pure silver or gold earrings, otherwise she gets an infection. She is allergic to wasps since being stung a year ago. She got stung in her left jaw. The pain radiated to her shoulder and arm, making the glands under her arm swell up, which radiated in turn to her side and legs.
She gets acne on her cheekbones, worse during exam times, before menses and during ovulation. The acne started when she was 13, about two years after her first period.
She suffers from hayfever since she is 17, sneezing, irritation around the eyes, hoarseness and itching in her palate. Worse in spring when the witch hazel is in flower, worse in summer by pollen and worse in autumn by fir trees. better at the seaside.
She studied to be a speech therapist but did not like it. Now she works for a bank, a job in which she has a lot of freedom and independence.
She hasn’t got a relationship yet, she like to have space for herself. She avoids men who fall in love with her or who show too much interest. She doesn’t want adoring men hanging around her, because ‘adoration means persecution’. She wants to be able to go her own way and has no desire to sacrifice herself. First she wants to do her own thing, to find out who she is and to support herself. Only then will she be ready to remain independent within a relationship.
She feels there will not be enough space in a relationship for her to be herself, ‘I am too easily influenced’. She had a dream in which she lived in a big house in an arranged marriage, cut off from the world and not allowed to do what she wanted. she wanted to be free, but she died early instead.
She is very independent but is inclined to let people get the better of her and then suddenly have an outburst of anger much later on. She is precise and is afraid to fail. She never gets bored, has many hobbies such as cooking, gardening, singing, reading and psychology. She is quiet and restrained, looks very composed.
She can’t stand it when people get angry. She can’t see the point of it and she shuts herself off from such scenes. Anger is too confronting, first she wants to know what is going on with herself. She doesn’t like saying things she doesn’t mean or can’t feel inside, ‘I don’t want to say things that don’t fit’.
GeneralsWeather: cold < fruit.
Time: < December.
Desires: fruit (3), salad (2), vegetables (2), cabbage, asparagus, spices.
Aversion: meat, pepper.
Food: coffee: hyper active.
Menses: stomach pains at the beginning, sometimes with vomiting, fainting and chilly feeling.
Sleep: on back.
AnalysisThe complaints aren’t very specific, except the allergy to nickelsulphate. If we take a look at her feelings about relationships (
Sulphur) we see the whole theme of
Niccolum sulphuricum represented in her statements. ‘Adoration (
Sulphur) means persecution (
Iron series)’. She feels that a relationship (
Sulphur) won’t give her enough space to be herself (
Niccolum). She is easily influenced by others, and she doesn’t want to sacrifice (
Niccolum) herself for the sake of a partner (
Sulphur); she wants to do her own things (
Niccolum). She had a dream of being trapped and isolated (
Niccolum), not allowed to make her own decisions (
Niccolum) in an arranged marriage (
Sulphur).
Her way of dealing with anger is very typical of
Niccolum: she doesn’t see the point in getting angry, she shuts it out until she has sorted out in her own mind what it is all about, she doesn’t want to say anything that isn’t to the point.
Other
Niccolum symptoms: individualistic, tendency to let others walk all over her and not getting angry until much later on, precise, fear of failure, composed, eczema, allergy to metals, < exams, < December, -> vegetables, asparagus.
Other
Sulphur symptoms: eczema, red, scaling, > washing hair, acne, hayfever, -> fruit, spices.
ReactionAfter
Niccolum sulphuricum 1M she developed ‘flu’ with feelings of heat and sweating, causing her to stay in bed for a few days. She got a sore throat, much mucus, a blocked nose and pains all the muscles. After that she gradually starts to improve. She gets more energy, she feels more relaxed and has started to work out her priorities in life. The acne and hayfever are much better.
She got three more doses of
Niccolum sulphuricum 1M in the course of the following year.