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“Jonathan” has a history of autism and PANDAS: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infection.
With PANDAS, a child (or sometimes an adult) can experience neurological and/or psychiatric symptoms when they develop a strep infection anywhere in the body. The symptoms of PANDAS include OCD, Tourette’s Syndrome, separation or generalized anxiety, depression, sensory processing disorder and more.
Jonathan, age 18, has been recovered from autism for quite some time now, but his PANDAS symptoms do still exacerbate with some strep infections.
This is a case study of Jonathan’s recent bout with PANDAS due to skin infection. PANDAS symptoms were resolved within hours using homeopathy. Skin infection was resolved within 4 days. (Click here to learn more about what homeopathic medicine is)
Timeline of Events and Homeopathic Remedies Prescribed
Tuesday
He went into a violent rage, attempting to attack his brother. The family had to hold his body back for a few minutes until he calmed down.
Wednesday
Jonathan’s mom noticed a few spots on his legs which were red and raised.
Thursday (Thanksgiving)
10am: He went into another rage, attacking his brother again. His mom reported that he alternated wild, angry screaming with laughing, all the while continuing to try to hit his brother. She reported that his face was red, his eyes looked wild and he appeared confused. After he stopped the rage, he cried, sobbing the words “I think I have anger issues”. This was followed by completely normal and happy behavior for the next few hours.
Noon: Another 5-minute rage, attempting to attack his brother with anger, alternating with wild laughter. Again this was followed by the same type of crying he had done after the last rage. At this point he stated, “I feel like I can’t stop myself when I’m hitting him”. He seemed bewildered by his own behavior, perhaps due to the fact that it had been a long time since he had experienced a PANDAS exacerbation. This was followed by the same relatively happy disposition afterwards.
Stramonium Homeopathic Remedy
At this point his mom realized he was in full-blown PANDAS and contacted me for help, reporting the incidents.
My first recommendation was a homeopathic remedy called Stramonium in a 1M potency every 30 minutes for 2 hours. This was prescribed based on a recent conversation with the mother that he was expressing fears at night, dislikes getting wet, and has been more demanding recently that he be served by his mother, among other recent features which fit stramonium. The wild, violent rage with red face and intermittent laughing are also classical features of a person in need of stramonium. She later reported to me that this had stopped the behaviors completely and they were able to cautiously proceed to visit family for Thanksgiving dinner. However, things became a little complicated later in the day:
3:30 pm She noticed two of the red spots on his legs had grown in size quite a bit, describing them as “larger than a silver dollar”. She made a mental note to keep a watch on them.
7:30pm: The lesions had not gone down in size and being a holiday she was not able to get to urgent care before they closed. She contacted me again asking for help. She stated that the lesions were very red, raised, hard, hot to the touch, and appeared to have a jagged edge. They were also very painful to the touch. She stated that one of them was about 3 inches in diameter, the other maybe 2 inches.
Given the appearance and rapid expansion of his lesions, she felt that this appeared to be cellulitis, and this was confirmed a possibility by a nurse at the family gathering. I advised that she call her family medical doctor after we get off the phone, just to have some local eyes on the situation.
Cellulitis
I also advised two remedies. Given Jonathan’s history of pandas exacerbations with strep infection and the fact that at least half of cellulitis cases are caused by group A streptococcus (strep pyogenes), I recommended the strep pyogenes nosode in a 200c potency, alternated with Belladonna 200c every 30 minutes for 3 hours. Belladonna was recommended due to the red, hot, inflamed appearance, and rapid-onset of the lesions. Also, Belladonna did help Jonathan in times past with his rage resulting from strep infections, so I felt that it would work this time to also keep the mental and emotional symptoms at bay. I asked her to call me in the morning with an update.
The parents later reported that his mood became very cheerful during the strep and belladonna dosing.
Friday
10am: Jonathan woke up with improved skin symptoms. One lesion was reportedly gone and the other lesion was reported to no longer be hard to the touch and seemed to be a bit less inflamed, but still red and jagged. He was still happy and showed no signs of PANDAS symptoms.
I instructed the parents to give another dose of strep nosode 200c and belladonna 30c every 2 hours.
7pm: It was reported that the lesion was no longer very red or hot to the touch. Still happy, no PANDAS.
The remedy was changed to Sarsaparilla officinalis 30c and the potency of strep nosode was changed to 30c. Sarsaparilla officinalis was chosed based on the jagged edge of the lesion, the remaining inflammation and the remaining redness (and ironically, the cheerfulness).
Saturday
10am: Jonathan’s mom reported that the lesion appeared to have very little redness, and almost appeared to be brown in color. The edges were less definable and it is no longer tender to the touch. Still happy and no PANDAS symptoms.
At this point, I recommended Sepia 30c and strep nosode 30c twice per day for 3 more days. While sepia is most well-known for its usefulness in reproductive issues, it is also effective for skin conditions.
PANDAS and Skin Infection Fully Resolved
Sunday
Jonathan’s mom reported that the infection was completely gone (just some brown skin discoloration remained where the lesions had been). She reported that his PANDAS rage and aggression did not return since Thanksgiving day and that he was in a very cheerful mood!
While PANDAS is best treated as a chronic condition, if you or your child ever experiences PANDAS symptoms with a strep infection and you are not being cared for by a homeopath, I am available for “acute care” consults. See my services page.
*Name and other details of this case have been changed to protect the patient. None of the photos in this article are related to the patient in any way.
For information about my international homeopathy practice, click here.
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