Fearless, excitable, and itchy: a case of Origanum

On April 20th 2011, a six-year-old girl was brought by her mother with complaints of recurring rhinitis and masturbation. According to her mother, the child was suffering from low immunity and was not gaining weight. In addition to this, she had developed a habit of lying on her bed and masturbating. The mother noticed her passing her time this way whenever idle, if not reading or watching TV. This behavior had been observable for the past four or five months.

She would get recurrent cold and coryza with a change of weather, or from the even slight changes in her diet.

Her mother described her as very moody and unable to stay in one place. She disliked studying. Further, her mother said: “I feel she is too matured for her age. She asks funny questions like, ‘Do you know how I was in your stomach ? Do you know where I came from?” She would become very interested when any adult scene appeared on television. Before a romantic scene she would announce: “The next scene will be a lovemaking scene!” She will tell her grandmother: “Come, I will find a boy for you to marry.”

She enjoys watching the Cartoon Network, television soaps and movies. She prefers to eat a lot of junk foods, especially candies such as toffees.

While her mother was narrating her complaints, she was constantly running and jumping around. She would not talk softly but she was very loud, laughing and making a lot of mischief. Sometimes, she would sing and dance.

As her mother was talking, she would at times touch her mother’s breast or touch her private places, make a comment and laugh. Her mother remarked that she sometimes has no manners in what she is doing and saying.

Her manner of foolish behavior reminded me strongly of Hyoscyamus, so I asked the mother if her daughter had any fear. She replied that she had no fear at all: “She knows only one thing and that is fooling around and playing; she is very mischievous. She is not scared of anything but enjoys making others scared. Tell her to go alone into a dark room and she will go and enjoy it.”

When I talked with the child, she said she would like to become a model or a television actress because she would like to wear all kinds of sexy clothes. As she was telling about this, she was dancing and showing me how she would do a catwalk. I asked what she likes about this, but she only said “it’s fun”, and that she likes wearing such clothes.

She has been having dreams about her grandfather who recently died. She said: “He comes with many colorful toys, gifts, balloons, chocolates and cake for me, and there is a party on the terrace of our building; all the families of the building are invited, and I am having a lot of fun.”

Without any fears reported in any areas of her life, I could not prescribe Hyoscyamus, a remedy of the Solanaceae family, of which the main sensation is fear and terror.  So, what to do next?

I decided to look for characteristics in her main complaint. With her mother’s help, I inquired whether she has any problem in her vaginal area. She answered that she has a lot of itching! Her mother then said that occasionally the groin area is red, and the child had at times been complaining about itching in the genital area.

Here, I felt was a solid characteristic. I searched in Phatak’sRepertory and found the rubric: ‘Masturbation, female children, due to pruritis vulvae’.[1] There are three remedies: Caladium, Origanum, and Zinc.

Then, from my observation, using the Synthesis Repertory in Radar 10.5.003, Shroyens F Synthesis  2009 , I took the following rubrics:

Phatak S. R., Concise Repertory

MIND - Masturbation - females XXX - children due to pruritus vulvae

MIND - FANCIES - lascivious

MIND - CHEERFUL

MIND - DANCING

MIND - LEWDNESS

MIND - RUNS about

MIND - PRECOCITY of children

FEMALE GENITALIA/SEX - ITCHING – Vulva

The result of repertorisation was as follows:

Among the remedies appearing, the first remedy stood out as unusual, and it was also strong in the first rubric.  I turned to the homoeopathic literature to examine it and found the following information:

FromPhatak’sMateria Medica[2]: Sweet Marjoram strongly affects the female sexual organs. Increased desire for coitus. Eroto-mania with inclination to commit suicide. Great sexual excitement driving her to masturbation. Lascivious ideas; impulses, dreams. Swelling and itching of nipples and pains in breast. Thoughts of marriage, which dispel sadness. Desire for active exercises, impelling her to run. 

From Knerr’s Repertory[3]:

• GENITALS: IRRITATION: HYSTERIA CAUSES
• Sexual excitement: increased desire
• SEXUAL EXCITEMENT: INCREASED DESIRE: LASCIVIOUS IDEAS, WITH
• SEXUAL EXCITEMENT: INCREASED DESIRE: ONANISM, DRIVING HER TO
• Sexual excitement: nymphomania
• SEXUAL EXCITEMENT: NYMPHOMANIA: YOUNG GIRL, IN A
  
  

From Kent’s Repertory[4]:

Itching: voluptuous

 Origanum belongs to the Labiatae family, where the main sensations are:

• Excitement: vivid, pleasant, and tremulous
• Exhilaration, rush of ideas, loquacity, vivacity, enjoyment
• Excitability, irritability
• Fright, anxiety
• Unpleasant surprises

Prescription: Origanum 1M, twice a day for two days, followed by daily Sac lac

Follow up on 20/07/2011: she has not been seen to masturbate and has ceased complaining of itching. She continues to lack in concentration and is generally still in a very excited state. In the interview, she does some drawing, laughs, plays around and talks in the same manner. Her mother says that her appetite has improved, and she has had no incident of any cold or coryza.

Remedy: Sac lac twice a day for one month

Follow-up on 13/09/2011: she has not been seen masturbating, but has developed a cold with coryza and fever. She continues to be unable to remain in one place. I observed that she was enjoying her time off school and was happily running about.

I ask about her dreams, and she says: “Grandfather has come with lot of gifts and we at home are celebrating.”

Her mother reported that she has had continuous running nose and coughing. The day before the cold began, she ate and drank a lot of cold things at a party, including water which was iced and of poor quality. She had one episode of fever with chills and she was active with the fever. Not many characteristic symptoms were seen in the acute, and I observed that her usual high level of activity was continuing in that illness.

Prescription: Origanum 1M, followed by Sac lac, twice a day for one month

Follow-up on 17/01/2012: she is no longer seen to masturbate nor has she complained of any kind of vaginal irritation. Her concentration has improved, although she is still mischievous and dislikes studies, like many children of her age. She obeys orders given to her. She has had no further episodes of cold and coryza and her weight and appetite are improving. Overall, she is in good health.

Remedy: Sac lac twice a day for one month

This child is my neighbor and often drops by asking for “the sweet pills”. After taking Sac lac, she feels very happy and excited.    

[1]Phatak, S. R., and D. S. Phatak. A concise repertory of homoeopathic medicines. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers, 2001.

[2]Phatak, S. R.. "Origanum." Materia medica of homoeopathic medicines. New Delhi: India Books & Periodicals Syndicate, 1982. 446 - 447.

[3] Calvin Knerr. A Repertory of Hering's Guiding Symptoms, 2 vols. Calcutta: M. Bhattachariyya, 1936. 2nd ed.

[4]Kent, J. T., and Clara Louise Kent. Repertory of the homoeopathic materiamedica. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers, 1998.

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Origanum vulgare; Martin Fowler