The itch that won't go away! Two cured Culex cases

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, June, 2006 by Robert Ullman, Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman

An Unforgettable Proving

Throughout the years, during the course of our homeopathic training, we have heard and observed literally thousands of cases and dozens of provings. Some remain indelibly impressed on our brains. This was the case after learning about the Culex musca (mosquito) proving undertaken by Dr. Jayesh Shah in Bombay sometime in the late 1990s. We filed this fascinating information in our brains, waiting for patients who presented just the characteristics and state elucidated in the proving. Fortunately for us and for a particular patient who arrived in our office a few years later, we were therefore able to recognize the picture of Culex she represented. We have another case concerning the same medicine, and we present that case here, followed by material medica information from Jayesh's proving, as well as results of the patient's follow-up visits.

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Tory: A Nine-Year-Old Boy with Mood Swings and Warts

Tory's mom, Arlene, brought her son to consult with us sixteen months ago. Although the chief complaint was recurrent fungal infections, behavioral and attitudinal issues also came into play. Arlene described Tory as quick to anger, easily frustrated, and prone to distractibility when asked to focus on a subject that held little interest for him, such as school work. When a topic did engage him, like sports, however, the youngster demonstrated an intense interest. His reading performance left room for improvement until he found books that tickled his fancy. By the time we met Tory, his reading was almost up to grade level, and his vocabulary was far more advanced than that of his peers.

Arlene continued: "This kid has a huge appetite--even after he's just finished a meal. Tory loves meat, sugar, and candy, always wanting more no matter how much he has just eaten."

Frequent canker sores on the tongue and inside the mouth bothered the boy, as well as flaky skin around the eyelashes. Dry skin was a chronic problem, especially in the winter. As a toddler, Tory's body manufactured excessive ear wax, necessitating frequent ear irrigation. He also continued to suffer from recurrent warts on the right big toe. Insomnia was also an issue.

A gregarious fellow, the youngster had a talent for attracting others. Tory approached anyone to strike up a conversation, be it his peers, strangers, or a schizophrenic on the street. He simply had no inhibition in this area. Arlene added that the weirder the individual, the more attractive Tory found him. Tory was also quite the comedian and enjoyed capturing the attention of those around him. A jokester at the dinner table, the child exhibited a "potty mouth." Even his peers often remarked that Tory's jokes were gross.

Mood-wise, Arlene described Tory as follows:

  When he's in a situation he doesn't like, he makes it difficult for
everyone else--stomping around almost as if he feels persecuted, as if
we had picked the wrong thing in order to bug him. His degree of
frustration is out of proportion to the situation. Tory gets into such a
rage that you just have to yell at him. It's almost like you have to
shock him to break the pattern. He really enjoys bugging his brother.
  On the other hand, he's so loving. The two extremes. Tory will give
away candy if someone wants it, and buy stuff to give away to the other
kids if they don't have enough money. If he tastes something he thinks
is really great, he will offer part of it to me so I can enjoy it, too.

Despite his generous nature, Tory had a sneaky side--always trying to get away with things or cut corners. It seemed to be a matter of wanting to get to what he considered important rather than wasting his time doing things that others wanted him to do. The boy was kind of a character, enjoying wearing odd hats in weird shapes that would make him stand out. He considered the hats to be his trademark--part of his identity.

Arlene happened to mention that Tory was fascinated by bugs, so much so that his parents had bought him several insect guides as gifts. Active physically, the youngster also loved running on the playground, playing in the bushes, swinging around with his playmates, running around the house, and bouncing on the couch. Quite the busy boy, Tory rarely sat idle.

At this point of the interview, his mom and we noticed that Tory was lying just outside the consultation room door eavesdropping. When we invited him in and I asked Arlene if she had anything else to tell me, he added, "I tend to get mosquito bites really easily. They get really big and itchy!" Sketching an intricate pencil drawing as we talked, Tory continued, "The bites are annoying. They keep getting in your way. Like if I'm drawing or doing something else, I have to stop what I'm doing and scratch. They're so annoying!"

We pursued the theme of annoying, and Tory mentioned that his fifty or so warts on his toe were also annoying. The youngster continued to draw as he spoke. When we inquired as to what he was sketching, he appeared irritated and told us that it made him angry when others disturbed him while he was trying to work. The most annoying of all, however, was older, bigger kids calling him names and picking on him because he was smaller. Or someone taking his lunch money. Being smaller made Tory feel "puny," as if he were merely half an inch tall.