Mary's asthma had continued since infancy and now was of particular concern because she played sports. She was a very competitive swimmer and soccer player. Whenever she would get a cold, it went into asthma. Her lungs would tighten up and she would develop loud, squeaky wheezing. The wheezing was worse on inspiration.

Attacks were induced by viral illnesses, pollen or exercise. She was very reactive to grasses, mold, wool and rabbit dander. Her asthma was very definitely worse from being exposed to cold, damp air. Her typical pattern was to get a runny nose or ear infection which would proceed to a cough, sore throat and wheezing. Then she would be treated with prednisone or antibiotics, which would relieve the symptoms for a while.

Mary was a popular child with many friends. She liked music and being social. She always pushed herself to be the best, and doing well at sports was very important to her. She could be irritable at times. She denied anxiety, but she had a long history of fingernail biting.

She desired candy, spicy food, hamburgers and pizza, and was averse to eggs.

Her body temperature was normal, but she could get cold at night. Her hunger and thirst were average.

Now study the case and prescribe a remedy. Turn to page___ for the first prescription, follow-up and discussion.

The remedy that was given was Natrum sulphuricum 6C, T.I.D. This remedy is one of the main remedies for pediatric asthma that is worse from cold, damp weather, indicating the presence of the sycotic miasm, which originates from an ancestor having had gonorrhea. Mary took the remedy for four weeks and returned for follow-up. She had had two weeks of increased congestion after the remedy, but her asthma had decreased markedly. She had only had one incident of slight wheezing the day before the visit. While at camp she had fallen on her back and bruised a rib. She had some residual back pain which was resolved by a dorsal spinal adjustment.

Mary continued the remedy once a day and stayed well for two months until mid-September. Then she developed increased congestion in the middle of the night, or morning which caused her to expectorate thick yellow mucus. This had come on after swimming in Lake Washington. She was not wheezing. She was given Dulcamara 6C, TID, which is useful for autumn colds that are brought on from getting wet. The Natrum sulphuricum was discontinued. Two weeks later, she returned after becoming worse. A runny nose with thin discharge had started after the Dulcamara and she had developed wheezing and coughing. She wheezed much more at night between 2 and 3 A.M. Ice water helped the wheezing a lot. Her wheezing would improve from exercise now, rather than becoming worse. She continued to desire sweets and pizza. She was feeling very sensitive to the cold. She was still biting her nails, but not anxious. Dulcamara was discontinued and Kali carbonicum 30c at bedtime was given acutely because of the severity of the nighttime attacks, the chilliness and the time of aggravation. The nightly asthma attacks ceased within a few days on Kali carbonicum and Natrum sulph was begun again in 30C potency, once daily. The Dulcamara had apparently caused a relapse, and Natrum sulphuricum was needed again to finish its work.