Seborrheic Dermatitis with Alopecia
Miss
S S, aged 3 ½ years, resident of Baroda, came to my clinic in Bombay with
her grandfather on July 8, 1987 with the following history:
Since
1-½ years, she has had an eruption on the scalp with crust formation and
scaling. On combing the hair, these fall out with white flakes in large
quantities leaving behind raw areas. She has a poor growth of hair, which
is, thin and light brown in color. (See
photo 1). Her skin is usually dry, especially in winter. She also has a
problem of bed wetting, whenever she sleeps (night as well as day).
Sometimes they notice that she scratches the anal region.
On
further interrogation:
Appetite:
good
Thirst:
good
Perspiration:
normal
Desires:
ice3, ice cream3, cold drinks3, bananas,
milk
Aversion:
sweets
Birth:
FTND
Milestones:
Teething/ Walking- normal, Talking-late
Mind:
Inclined to be stubborn. Mixes well with all. Fears dark.
No
significant past or family history or other symptoms were available, as
the patient’s grandfather had not observed anything else.
Diagnosis-
Seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp with alopecia
Treatment-
(July 8, 1987) Phos 200 b.d. for 3 days.
Follow
up:
July
12, 1987: Bedwetting
reduced. Scalp ? > Treatment
- S.L. (Placebo) 200 t.d.s. for 1 month. The patient went back to
Baroda.
August
20,1987: Received a
letter that bedwetting had stopped completely for the past 1 week. Hair
and scalp show some improvement. Treatment
- Phos 200, 2 doses,
(which were taken by the patient on the 25th and the 26th
of August). S.L. was continued for another month.
September
9, 1987: The patient
had been much better all this time. The symptoms however were coming back.
Treatment - Phos
200, 2 doses (taken on September 25 and 26) and S.L. for 1 month.
December
12, 1987: Scalp
completely normal. But she occasionally wets the bed Treatment
- Phos 200, 2 doses
January
25, 1988: The patient
came to Bombay for a follow-up. Hair growth was normal. No crusts/ scales
on the scalp. No bed-wetting. (See photo 2) Treatment
- No medicine.
There
has been no recurrence of any of the complaints till this day.
Discussion:
The drug was prescribed mainly on the basis of the general cravings and
the tendency to hair loss. The positive response to the infrequent doses
administered over a period of five months can possibly be attributed to
deeper similarity between the patient and the drug than that perceived at
the initiation of treatment.
This case was originally published
in the Indian Journal of Homoeopathic Medicine (www.holisticfoundation.com),
Vol. 26, No.2 of June 1991.