Phosphorus

3.15 Phosphorus, Case 1A 65 year old woman comes with all sorts of complaints, the most important one being a pain on the lateral side of her left knee. It is a nagging sort of pain that radiates upwards towards her buttocks and downwards to her ankle and the top of her foot. She also gets a sudden swelling in her knee sometimes, with a pulsating, burning hot pain, which is ameliorated by rest and cold wet towels soaked in vinegar.
She has suffered from chilblains on hands,and sometimes feet, all her life. Her fingers go cold, white and numb.
She had gallstone colic in the past which made her crawl around the bed with pain. The pain below her ribs radiated to back, neck, teeth and ears. This was accompanied by a dry mouth and desire for carbonated drinks.
She also mentions several other complaints. Her ears itch at times. She used to have piles, especially during and after her pregnancies. She has chalky nails on all toes. She gets frequent colds with a barking cough at night and much perspiration. She often has pain in her shoulder and she has tennis elbow, worse from over-exertion and bad posture. She has pain in the joints of her fingers and thumbs.
As a child she used to have frequent tonsillitis, especially after being out in cold wind. When she was 16 she had jaundice. During the war she had foot and mouth disease, which made her feel very ill and permanently damaged her teeth.
She is married to a rather dominant man, which stops her from fully developing herself. He won’t let her out of his sight, so she can never get away on her own.
She easily makes friends and keeps her friends for a long time. She is happy and easy to please, and people often ask her for advice. She talks quite openly during the consultation, she seems friendly and sympathetic.
She is also quite firm in her decisions. She gets worried about the children, during thunderstorms and when they have to travel by plane. She herself is afraid of flying.GeneralsWeather: -> sun; fear of thunder (3); -> woods, -> sea.
Perspiration: little.
Desires: fish (2), vegetables (2), garlic (2), spices (2), grapes (2), sweet, chocolate.
Aversion: meat (2), sour.AnalysisThere is a great variety of complaints in this case, which doesn’t make it easy to find a remedy. It is easier to look at her type and then take a few key notes.
She is of the type that easily makes friends, she is open and sympathetic, which we know to be a Phosphorus characteristic.
She likes to talk and she gives good advice to others. She also has a strong fear of thunder and anxiety about the children, all Phosphorus symptoms.
Other confirming symptoms: burning hot pain, numb finger tips, -> fish, spices, chocolate; profuse bleeding during menses, sleep on the right side.ReactionOne month after Phosphorus 1M the pain in her knee is much better, and the feeling in her leg has returned as well. Her toenails are better, the pain in her joints is less. After she took the remedy she felt as if it was travelling round her body trying to find all the places where there was something wrong. Two days after the remedy she had pain in her gall bladder, after which her neck was very stiff for a few days.
On the whole she feels much better, as if she has got a new skin. Everything feels more supple and refreshed, her head too. She is more adventurous.
During the course of the next 7 years she had another 6 doses of Phosphorus 1M, which helped a lot every time. In between she took some other remedies which also did a lot of good: Calcium sulphuricum, Plantago major and Valerianum.