Seth is a 19-year-old who presented to clinic with an extensive burn to his inner right thigh. He had been riding his motorbike in the bush, wearing shorts, when the accident happened; the uneven ground caused the bike to slide out from under him and Seth landed with his right leg across
the exhaust pipe.
Unfortunately it was party season, and he was not going to let a measly burn stand in his way of a good time! A few days later, however, his body forced him to take heed since the wound was not healing well. He went to the GP and sought advice. He was informed that the burn varied from first- to third-degree, had tracking inflammation to the surrounding tissue with pitting oedema and signs of cellulitis. A line was drawn with marker pen around the entirety of the inflammation to assess for worsening.
Having had excellent results with homeopathy previously for acute sinusitis and a chest infection, Seth was keen to pursue homeopathy for the burn. His specific symptoms included: bruising and swelling, leg pain and stiffness — ‘I can’t straighten my leg out properly’ — with pain worse on starting to walk but better once walking. He felt run down and tired. The burn itself was sloughy in places, with surrounding tissue bright red, hot and swollen.
Treatment included a single homeopathic medicine three times a day to ease the pain, bruising, swelling and stiffness, and to support his immune system to fight the infection. Topical wound care was performed daily, using a herbal tincture to clean the wound and standard hospital dressings.
Education included strong advice to rest and to elevate his leg as much as possible to allow his body to recuperate fully.
Seth was also told that if the inflammation did not rapidly improve, then he would be referred back to his GP.
Within 24 hours, the redness around the burn was much less, by 48 hours it was completely gone and the pain and stiffness was much better. By day five, Seth was able to shower as normal and no longer needed additional dressings. What was Seth’s lesson? ‘Next time I’m going to wear
protective clothing!’
MICHELLE HOOKHAM, AHA professional member, Windsor, NSW