Graphites in a pregnant woman

Case
A 28 year old Punjabi lady came with the following complaints.


There is a general weak feeling. She is 5 months pregnant and feels that she will not have enough strength to go through the entire pregnancy.
She has two corns on the right foot and it is very painful, sore, worse from touch and pressure, and better by rest. The corns have been there for almost a year now, I have tried to burn it with the allopathic medication, but it has appeared again. After that the warts have appeared on the neck. The whole leg is painful. She has cracked nails with blackish discoloration. She has multiple pedunculated warts on the neck.
She wants to take homeopathic treatment as it is more safe and has no side effects.


She tells:
"I have always had skin problems. As a child I would get moist eczema in the bends of the elbows. I do not have very good skin, dryness and wrinkled, like a old person. The nails are also cracked and break easily. In addition to this I have gases in the abdomen, better from walking. I have no appetite.
I am very calm in my nature. I cannot tolerate quarrels and even if neighbors are quarreling then I feel scared and start crying. I have very good relations with my in laws and there is no problem at home. My nature is very adjusting.
First we had lot of money, a small factory of our own and a bungalow. Then all had to be sold due to some major business loss and we had to move to a flat, but it was not a big problem for me. Yes I felt bad, but then adjusted to the new situation well.
I was married at an early age, at 19 years. The new situation demanded that I work and support my husband. I did that, I was very good at sewing and started doing that from home.
I also took sewing classes and slowly the situation improved. My husband also started his business again and he is doing well. It was a lot of hard ship, but now we are doing well again.
I have my own small workshop now and have 5 girls working under me. I do the cutting and the designing of the dresses and they do the sewing. Now my main concern is about this child. Will I be able to go through the entire pregnency? Will everything go well? Will my child have the same problems?"


Observation:
Her nails are blackish in color.
She has anemia.
She has an average built and is well nourished.


Analysis:
The skin problems and the cracking indicate Carbon.
This suits her worrying nature and hard working.
There are no further indications, so the pure element is the choice: Graphites.


Follow-up
One month after Graphites 1M the patient reports that the corns are soft, but there is still pain and they have not gone completely. The warts on the neck are less in number.
After one month more and a repetition of Graphites 1M the warts on the neck are gone. One corn has disappeared, but the second one is still there. Eruptions in the bend of the elbow are moist and oozing. She has a positive feeling. Her weakness and tiredness are much less.

The re-appearance of the skin eruptions is a good sign and the patient is also feeling positive, so we waited.


Two months later the patient has gone to her mothers place and all is better. The corns have disappeared, but there is anxiety about the delivery: "Will it be painful? Will it be normal?"

We see that though the skin is better she is getting anxiety about the new situation that she will face, so at the mental level there is still this tension.
Graphites is repeated.


10 days later her husband calls up to inform me that the delivery went well, she delivered a baby girl and it was normal.
One month later there are no eruptions in the elbows. She feels much better. There are no warts on the neck, no corns. She says : "I got the strength to go through the delivery."


Abhay Tawalkar
mihika1@vsnl.com