Feeling left out: a case of Sarsaparilla

Karin, twelve years old, is a self-confident and headstrong girl who usually can prevail well against her two brothers. Four years ago, she had two episodes of acute pharyngitis where her breath smelt moldy. Sulfur and Mercurius then helped.

Now, she comes because of a sore throat and cough, worse from cold air and physical exertion, better lying down, resting, and when she covers and wraps up warmly. She has no thirst, no fever, but looks pale gray, very sick, and suffering. Over her right lung (middle and lower field), the respiratory sound is attenuated, percussion is muted and a fine crackle is audible: a right-sided pneumonia. Strangely enough, she has no fever. She has been coughing for the last two weeks. It all started one day after a hike in cold, wet weather, when she sweated a lot. On the same day, she had been let down twice: she had lost her position as class representative to a classmate, and her godmother had let her down: she had promised to spend an afternoon with her and then she simply did not show up. She doubts if this woman really likes her because she already forgot her birthday once. Her favourite color is dark red (10D). She prefers salty to sweet food.

Analysis
In the repertorization by polarity analysis of her modalities[1], Sarsaparilla only comes in 16th place, but it is the first remedy which also covers her color preference 10D. All other remedies of place 1-15 have either contraindications or different color preferences.

The loss of social position as class representative could be a possible cause and it reminded me of Veratrum album, from the same family of the Liliaceae. Veratrum is often found in a situation where by the birth of a sibling, the firstborn is losing its supremacy and is no longer the sole focus of attention of parents and grandparents.

Usually, Sarsaparilla is considered as a remedy for urinary ailments, and indeed it had helped her a year ago during an episode of acute burning in the urethra at the end of urination. So, an attempt seemed appropriate.

Prescription: she gets Sarsaparilla 200C dissolved in a glass of water, one teaspoon every hour.

Analysis according to the new plant system of Jan Scholten
Her main problem is with her classmates and her godmother. This is typical for the Silica series. She has lost her leading position as a class representative. She is still part of her class, but she feels underchallenged and does not fullfill their expectations anymore because she does not want to be part of their intrigues and does not like to wear expensive brand clothes like the others, so she is already half out. She had throat infections with moldy breath. Moldy is also an expression of phase 6, and the situation in her class correspondes to this. Both confirm Phase 6.

She feels unaccepted, insecure, and they even laugh at her. Being ridiculed is Subphase 2.

Jan writes in his book “Wonderful Plants” about Sarsaparilla, which has the code 633.62.08,

“They have a feeling of being left out, ignored, neglected, unwanted, not seen as a child by parents, siblings, friends or colleagues.” He also writes that it is a remedy for pneumonia.

The painful experience with her classmates and her godmother, plus the physical disease of pneumonia, are matched by Sarsaparilla.

Follow ups
The very next day, she is doing much better: she has slept well, the cough is gone, she eats well, and wants to play with her dog again. On a follow-up three days later, the lung right midfield is now free and in the sub-field only a slight crackling sound is heard. After another four days, the chest is clear and she can return to school. Altogether, this is a good result for a severe acute pneumonia. I asked her directly about the psychological trauma. Which was worse, the loss of the role of class spokeswoman or the disappointment with her godmother? She first confirmed the event with the godmother, but then tells of an incident in her class on the morning before the illness started. A boy in her class had tripped her up, she stumbled, and all the others laughed at her. She feels not properly included in the class because she does not wear expensive brand-name clothes and does not participate in their intrigues. Although she tries to find friends and be part of the class, she just does not feel accepted; they only tolerate her. So, in hindsight it is a wonderful confirmation of the Liliaceae themes of Sankaran. She feels excluded, not belonging to the class. Two weeks after the acute episode, we hear from her happy mother that she is again full of self-confidence and on a trial week in a different high school because she felt underchallenged in her present school. Although she must repeat the French study of an entire year, she now feels really comfortable there. She has found new friends and finally a place where she is accepted and can grow and thrive according to her abilities.

Conclusion
In this case, we can find the curing remedy Sarsaparilla by different ways of analysis. The choice is confirmed by the polarity analysis of her modalities according to the therapeutic pocket book of Boenninghausen with the addition of her colour preference, by the family theme of the Liliaceae, and by the plant analysis of Jan Scholten.

[1] Polarity analysis amplifies the difference between polar modalities and is based on the Therapeutic pocket book of Boenninghausen. This method was developed by the Swiss paediatrician, Heiner Frei.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Sarsaparilla berries; homeredwardprice; Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license