I am now in my fourth and final year at Allen College. Studying homoeopathy is a huge undertaking for anyone and getting the right college is all important. Not only do you want to be inspired, challenged and supported through your 4 years hard work, you also want to enjoy it and at the end you need the confidence to practice what you have been taught. This last one is probably the most important of all and yet we often meet people from other colleges who don’t have the confidence to treat patients. This and much more besides is what Allen College can offer. It will be one of the hardest things you could ever hope to do but also one of the most rewarding and exciting challenges of your life. For me one of the best things about the college is the small size of the classes as it is so easy to ask questions as they arise and to feel comfortable as a student group and learn from each other. We have got to know our tutors very well and appreciate the very different skills and qualities they bring to their teaching. Now that we have our own patients we also get excellent supervision and we are beginning to see just how incredibly well some patients do after homoeopathic treatment. Nothing could be more exciting than seeing patients get better. For someone like myself, a nurse with many years experience, I know how rare this is. No matter what your academic level is when you start you will never be made to feel that the course is beyond your reach, there is always so much encouragement and praise which is really necessary to help you keep going through difficult times. Allen College is especially strong in its teaching of Miasms and principles of Classical Homoeopathy thanks to our principal Dr Banerjea whose tremendous enthusiasm, depth of knowledge and experience is really unique. He is also a very warm and approachable person who never tires of being asked questions! Four of us in my year group are now planning to go to India together when we have qualified to sit in on Dr Banerjea’s clinics in Calcutta. I wasn’t sure when I started if this would be the right college for me or indeed if I could really complete 4 years of study. I would now like to say to anyone who is considering embarking on this journey that I could not more highl I am now in my fourth and final year at Allen College. Studying homoeopathy is a huge undertaking for anyone and getting the right college is all important. Not only do you want to be inspired, challenged and supported through your 4 years hard work, you also want to enjoy it and at the end you need the confidence to practice what you have been taught. This last one is probably the most important of all and yet we often meet people from other colleges who don’t have the confidence to treat patients. This and much more besides is what Allen College can offer. It will be one of the hardest things you could ever hope to do but also one of the most rewarding and exciting challenges of your life. For me one of the best things about the college is the small size of the classes as it is so easy to ask questions as they arise and to feel comfortable as a student group and learn from each other. We have got to know our tutors very well and appreciate the very different skills and qualities they bring to their teaching. Now that we have our own patients we also get excellent supervision and we are beginning to see just how incredibly well some patients do after homoeopathic treatment. Nothing could be more exciting than seeing patients get better. For someone like myself, a nurse with many years experience, I know how rare this is. No matter what your academic level is when you start you will never be made to feel that the course is beyond your reach, there is always so much encouragement and praise which is really necessary to help you keep going through difficult times. Allen College is especially strong in its teaching of Miasms and principles of Classical Homoeopathy thanks to our principal Dr Banerjea whose tremendous enthusiasm, depth of knowledge and experience is really unique. He is also a very warm and approachable person who never tires of being asked questions! Four of us in my year group are now planning to go to India together when we have qualified to sit in on Dr Banerjea’s clinics in Calcutta. I wasn’t sure when I started if this would be the right college for me or indeed if I could really complete 4 years of study. I would now like to say to anyone who is considering embarking on this journey that I could not more highly recommend Allen College for its excellent standard of teaching and supervision of clinical work. I also feel very strongly that the classical teaching provides a confident and secure basis from which to practice. You can do it too! Zoe Bethell, RMN =============================================== Zoe Bethell, 4th Year ACH (Feb 2004): ------------------------------------- A CASE OF NBWS HEAD INJURY/BIRTH TRAUMA The patient ----------- 13 year old boy, eldest of three children. Appearance: dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, pale, slightly freckled complexion, average build and height for age. Presenting complaints 1) Nose always totally blocked in both nostrils. Nose also drips constantly, worse in winter. Discharge is clear or green. Reblocked 15 minutes after blowing. Very prone to catch cold, will have 4-5 colds each winter Onset: Snuffly baby from birth. Three years ago problem worsened with onset of hayfever Concomitant wheeze if also has heavy cold blocked nose with cold in winter, hayfever in summer Modalities <worse summer, winter, in evening >better spring, autumn, hot drinks wheeze > cold drink 2) Hayfever symptoms : blocked nose , sneezing and wheeze Onset: started 3 years ago Concomitant shortness of breath, crackling sound usually on breathing out Modalities < hayfever worse May/June to August/Sept sneezing < am on waking, middle of the day, outside > sneeze better evening > wheeze better for cold drink 3) Pain and swelling below both knees. (Osgood Schlatter Disease) Onset: Started 1 year ago after an injury in football match, started on L knee, now also on R. Frequently in pain, can last for several days. Location: below patella, above shin bone Sensation: bruised sensation, very painful (he played down pain but Mum said he can be in agony. STOICAL). Hot to touch, bony hard large swelling Modalities < worse running, exertion, slightest pressure > better ice pack, rest, but prefers not to rest! Has been advised by GP that this will resolve of its own accord if he rests but he loves exercise and sport and won’t rest. Past treatment On continuous antibiotic treatment for one year aged 3-4 years after suffering persistent ear infections Nose: various nasal sprays, antihistamines, no effect Knees: Ibruprofen, no effect HEAD TO TOE Mental Symptoms Mood, always good, could not think of one bad thing which had happened in his life, very contented with his lot. Very likeable boy, open manner, thinks carefully about what he says, has a softness to him, likes his pet bunny rabbits. Says he doesn’t always like being the eldest but likes getting more pocket money than siblings! Loves water sports++, sailing and windsurfing, football, plays in goal, says he is competitive. Self assured, friendly. HEAD: headaches, frontal, short duration (15 minutes) but very painful, 2-3 times a year, < hot weather EARS: Persistent ear infections age 1 ½ - 4 years. Ears were extremely painful, used to be aggressive if anyone came near, would try to bite. Did not respond to antibiotics. Both eardrums perforated, hearing OK now. Continuous antibiotics prescribed age 3-4 NOSE: Snores loudly MOUTH: Little white ulcers every 2 months THROAT: Sore throat with colds. Throat dry overnight, dry mouth > cold drinks APPETITE: Huge! Eats a lot and eats fast PERSPIRATION: Sweats especially on feet, very sour, offensive smell SKIN: Little warts on hands. White raised centre with brownish ring around. has had several of these and verrucca on foot Sometimes has itchy skin at flexors of elbows and knees NAILS: Glossy, slightly ridged, white flecks Food and Drink Desires: chocolate, biscuits Dislikes: fruit, salad, boiled sausages Thirsty, likes orange squash, fizzy drinks, milk, apple juice, doesn’t like water prefers hot food MEDICAL HISTORY Head injury at birth. Born by caesarean section after 30 hour unproductive labour. His head had a big ‘dip’ for some time after the birth in area of the Fontanelles where his head was pressed against the cervix. Snuffly, nasal baby from birth. Very colicky, poor sleeper until age 5, woke every 2 hours. RUBRICS 1 Head, injuries, after (p 270) 2 Appetite – ravenous (p 655) 3 Food, fruit, aversion (p 1609) 4 Warmth aggravates ( p 1699) 5 Warts on hand / warts on 3rd finger (p 1402 & p 1403) combined rubric 6 Extremities, swelling, tibia (p 1382) 7 Nose, catarrh / greenish discharge (p 471 & 479) combined rubric (REPERTORY: Schroyens Synthesis) The key rubric in this case has to be NBWS head injury and it is also an eliminating rubric. Nat Sulph is the only remedy in the list of possible remedies which has this in BOLD in the repertory. It also covers the catarrh, green nasal discharge, agg from warmth of sun, warts and big appetite. The only rubrics it doesn’t cover are aversion to fruit ( but it’s listed under agg from fruit), and bony swelling. He doesn’t like fruit and salad which is interesting as Nat Sulph has a hydrogenoid constitution and it may be that he has found that they aggravate. Morrison (Desktop Guide) cites Nat Sulph as a remedy which is often prescribed for patients with the physical symptoms without the typical mental symptoms. He doesn’t have the typical Natrum mental picture but he does have elements of Sulphur: extrovert, confident, outgoing, very physical sporty type. Miasmatically Nat Sulph is a good choice as it is a leading anti-sycotic which fits the surface miasm in this case. On initially taking this case I did not know how relevant the head injury was : I think I was looking for something more dramatic eg epilepsy as a result of injury. Allopathically no connection would be made between this relatively common type of injury at birth and the catarrhal and respiratory problems which ensued. September 03 Prescription: Nat Sulph 200c, 1M (on basis of NBWS head injury) November 2003 Small improvement in blocked nose, not blowing it as often, drips less. Discharge clearer. Has had one cold since the last appointment. Knees are noticeably better, pain much less although still playing the same amount of sport No headaches, earaches, no mouth ulcers Rx: sac lac January 2004 Much better, nose hardly drips at all, nose 50% less blocked. Has had another cold but this time it had a clear beginning and end, usually just has cold symptoms constantly over the winter. Knees much better, only one episode of pain per month now No headaches, no earache, verruca has dropped off, warts unchanged. Has grown significantly since last seen and now towers above mum! Rx: sac lac SUMMARY The gradual improvement in key areas is clear to see and both the patient and his family have noticed how much better he is. There is a history of extensive suppression in the case from allopathic treatment and I am pleased that he is responding so well in spite of this.