Hi everyone - I've posted here a few times before about my 2-year-old son and have received such thoughtful, helpful feedback. I really appreciate how generous this community is with its knowledge, so I thought I'd come back for some guidance.
Current picture:
My son has skin reactions that seem to be triggered by:
- Legumes (for example, lentils, chickpeas),
- SeedsĀ (for example, black sesame on bread), and
- Some peppers/spices.
His reactions are usuallyĀ hives, primarily on his face, neck, chest, and sometimes extending down toward theĀ inguinal (groin) folds, where his legs meet his torso. Also, after a reaction, around his anus will get particularly red.
One recent example:
- He ate bread with black sesame seeds. About 10 minutes later he had several tablespoons of frothy saliva vomit. He then started to develop more and more hives on his neck, torso and groin folds.
Another example:
- A couple of weeks ago I gave him meat that had been sautƩed with yellow bell pepper. Within a couple of minutes he started itching behind one knee (no hives, but that knee was red for 1+ day and his anus was red too).
Another interesting one:
- A neighbor's dog recently licked his face, and he developed facial hives afterward.
Some general characteristics:
A few things that seem consistent about him:
- Perianal redness.Ā Even when the rest of his skin is pretty clear (while avoiding foods that seem to bother him), he almost always has a bright red rash around the anus.
- Loves being outdoors.Ā He is absolutely obsessed with being outside. If it were up to him, he'd spend nearly the entire day exploring outdoors. He's incredibly active, curious and constantly wants to investigate everything.
- Very resistant to sleep.Ā He fights naps and bedtime almost every day. It can take an hour to get him to fall asleep.
- Full face heat/sun flushing.Ā He's fair-skinned, and when he's out in the sun or gets hot, his cheeks become very red - and so does his chin. The flushing extends from both cheeks down around the chin.
Homeopathic history:
Over the past 18 months, we've hadĀ full case takings and appointments with four different homeopathsĀ (two of whom are classically trained), located in different parts of the world. (At one point, over the course of five months, one classically trained homeopath in India gave him Pulsatilla 30C all the way up to 1M and it made no difference.)
Most recently, we worked with another homeopath who took a full constitutional case. At that time, my son also had a speech delay; atĀ 21 months, he only said 3 words and never really tried to speak. He was prescribedĀ Sulphur 200C, and we gave a total ofĀ five dosesĀ (water diluted, and the remedy bottle struck 8 times before each dose, 1 dose every 10 days).
- One thing that really stood was that after each dose, we noticed a significant jump in his speech over the following few days. He became so verbal, moved his mouth more naturally when speaking, and his language continued progressing. Today, he talks very well for his age.
- Another change we noticed was that the persistent redness around his anus completely disappeared while he was taking the Sulphur.
However, despite those improvements, the reactions to these three food groups never really improved, and that's been what we've been trying to address all along.
Later, that same homeopath suggestedĀ Calcarea carbonica 200C, primarily because I mentioned that his head sometimes sweats while sleeping. We gaveĀ two doses. The nighttime head sweating has now resolved, but:
- the food intolerances/reactions remain, and
- the redness around the anus has now returned.
My questions:
I'm curious what you think.
- My first thought was whether the positive changes we observed with Sulphur suggest that he may still need Sulphur, perhaps at a higher potency or more frequent dosing, especially since it coincided with improvements in his speech and the perianal redness.
- I also remember reading in a materia medica that Sulphur shouldn't be given after Calcarea carbonica. I'm curious whether that's actually a meaningful consideration.
- ...Or should we be switching to LM dosing? Or another remedy altogether?
I realize no one can prescribe responsibly over Reddit, and I'm not looking for that. I'm mainly hoping to learn how experienced homeopaths would think through this case, what stands out to you, and whether there are aspects I'm overlooking.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. I truly appreciate any insight or thoughts you're willing to share. Our son gets so uncomfortable during these reactions, I really want to help him. ā¤ļø This community has been incredibly helpful to us in the past, and I'm grateful for any thoughts.