Our Foray Into Homeopathy

Medicines come from a variety of sources. Some are developed from substances that are found in nature. Others are byproducts of organisms, a few are biologically engineered, some are sourced from metallic and non-metallic minerals, and so on. They are used to prepare tablets, pills, concoctions, injections, patches to name a few diversifications. They help to halt the progress of a disease, prevent it from multiplying, ease symptoms, cure an infection, control blood sugar levels to name a few benefits.

However, there are unwanted and unexpected side effects that might occur when we use them. Speaking of homeopathic remedies, we had heard that they are usually well tolerated, although symptoms could become worse at the start of the treatment and then improve. Thankfully, most of the medicines tasted sweet and were easy to swallow. We were curious to see if this alternate medicine could resolve the issue of recurrent flare-ups that affected my daughter’s daily life and emotional well-being. Hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic inflammatory skin condition, erupts in areas such as underarm, groin, inner thighs and buttocks. These tender puss-filled nodules are unbearably painful. When abscesses break open, blood and puss spill out resulting in lack of energy and motivation to lead a normal life.

Search for a good doctor

A few years into dealing with this dilapidating condition, the hunt for a good homeopathic doctor had begun in full swing. We were flooded with names and addresses of highly experienced doctors in the city. Soon, we zeroed in on one. The doctor seemed firmly rooted in his homeopathic philosophy and methodologies. He was aged and seemed more experienced. We had hoped that he would offer the right advice and medical care. We had heard that patients at his clinic experience a wait time of about an hour or two, but were willing to hold-up because they found that his medicines worked. But HS seemed like a tough one even for him.

He was aghast to see a hurricane of puss ooze out of her underarms once the sterile gauze pads and bandages were removed. He fell silent for a while before proceeding to another room. The diagnostic system for assigning treatments to individuals and recognizing clinical patterns of signs and symptoms seemed different to us from conventional medicine.

Trusting the doctor

Nevertheless, it was important for me to trust his instinct and have patience to witness results. After a while, he returned with a large variety of white pills, tablets and liquid medicines on a tray. He had prepared a few combinations and advised my daughter on how they needed to be consumed. Our doctor, however, was a man of few words. He didn’t really label the disease but gave us a somewhat brief explanation of what he thought it could be. Initially, he seemed very confident that the flow of puss would reduce and the redness surrounding the wound would also taper down. But over a period of a few months, Tina’s condition worsened. HS began spreading to other areas of her body that caused further complications. Trusting him any further seemed like wearing blinkers on and moving ahead. After 9 long months of trial and error, we decided to discontinue the treatment under him.

We weren’t sure what really went wrong. Was the doctor incapable of handling a case like HS or could it have been the combination of medicines that didn’t suit my daughter? Or did we give him very little time to try his luck to resolve this case? After having been through this erratic phase, it was hard to reach any sort of a conclusion. Anyway, it was pointless to analyze or overthink. My daughter was still in pain. HS needed our immediate attention and a surgical intervention was our best bet.