External appearance is important to us all and there is nothing more powerful than loving your reflection in the mirror, no matter what your age,  shape or size! As we age, our outer appearance starts to change to reflect the changes occurring within the body. This natural process — as much as some try to avoid it — is all part of the joys of life and the blessing of living a long one. Following is a wonderful example showing that, the more we look after the inside, the less we have to look after the outside.

A 63-year-old gentleman with a cheerful face came to me with a history of eczema in his lower extremities for the past six months. He had been  diagnosed with diabetes three months ago and had not yet started any medication. He also suffered with hay fever and mild arthritis. He was keen on using homeopathic medicines to tackle his issues.

I checked his fasting blood sugar levels on two different occasions and these were consistent at  7.5mmol/L and 7.8mmol/L respectively. He came across as a very energetic person who had faced every hardship in his life with a smile on his face. He was the fatherly figure in his family who had taken care of his younger brother and had also completed his studies, embracing all the struggles of life bravely. He was now at peace with a  wonderful family and grown-up children who took up their responsibilities.

He had recently finished building his new house and it was during this time his skin eruptions started to appear. On physical examination, the rash appeared as raised eruption of violet colour and moist surface, with slightly sticky fluid oozing out occasionally. There was severe itching which he complained worsened during night and on exposure to cold air. At times he experienced pain in his knees, brought on by physical strain.

After taking a very detailed case history and providing some appropriate dietary advice, I prescribed him two pleasant-tasting homeopathic medicines which had to be repeated for three days every 15 days. I advised him to have regular follow-ups every month and his skin started healing gradually with the itching completely gone. Eventually, the skin regained its healthy colour and there were no traces of any eruptions at all, which he was very happy about.

After 6 months on the prescribed homeopathic medicines, I decided to repeat his blood investigation for fasting blood glucose levels, as it was  important to monitor his diabetes diagnosis. This time the levels had reduce to just 4.7mmol/L. I repeated the test again after 15 days to confirm, and it was 4.5mmol/L. We were both very happy with this result and he was grateful to be doing so well with simple homeopathic prescriptions.

DIVYA BHATT, professional homeopath, ACT