I love treating children, they are often far more open with their feelings and easy to read. I do see a lot of cases of anxiety in young children, school fears and sleep issues being top of the list. Often I find that these concerns can be resolved in a short period of time when using constitutional prescribing, finding the remedy that best matches the symptoms.
Here’s a simple case, treated over 2 appointments, to illustrate the beautiful simplicity of the constitutional remedy. Lucy’s Story Lucy came to see me in October 2016. Her mother was worried about sleep issues,anxiety & poor concentration at school. Lucy was a shy 9 year old, she arrived at the first appointment holding her mother’s hand tightly. She looked terrified and I tried my best to put her at ease. A child of few words but with the weight of the world on her young shoulders.The main worry her mother had was the amount of sleep Lucy was getting. She suffered nightmares although she was not afraid of the dark, she disliked being on her own upstairs, her anxiety around bedtime would start to build up after dinner time. She would go to bed at 8pm but would often still be awake at 11pm, when she did fall asleep she would wake up at least twice in the night with a nightmare, and it could take some time for her to drop off again. Lucy didn’t like the way the streetlight outside cast scary shadows on her curtains and wall. She liked school and tried hard but her concentration and focus were often elsewhere. She worried about her Mum whilst she was at school. She had been a sickly baby but now her health was good, if she does get ill it is usually a glandular issue affecting her throat. As a baby she had been slower to reach her milestones than her older sister, she did not start to speak until she was almost 2.
I gave Lucy Calcarea Carbonica (Calc) 200C, the theme of this remedy being centred around security and the home and it is derived from the shell of the oyster, I knew Lucy was worried about what was happening at home whilst she was at school, Calc is a big remedy for children with insomnia and sleep issues, well indicated where nightmares are involved, they can be very fearful and their imagination can be vivid.
Lucy had been to the dentist recently and had been told she had a patch of thin enamel on one of her adult teeth. Calc has an affinity with the skin, teeth & bones and is reputed to promote development in these areas, often well suited to children who have a sudden growth spurt.
I also gave her some Calc-F and Calc-P tissue salts in 9x potency to take daily as a therapeutic for the dental issues.
The Second Appointment
January 2017: Lucy returned to see me, this time she seemed a lot more chatty! Her sleep was massively improved, she still had the odd nightmare but these were not every night and the anxiety that she had suffered from during the hours before bed had gradually faded. She was doing better at school and her concentration was no longer an issue, although probably her original lack of sleep had likely been a big contributing factor in this.
Lucy had joined an after school club and was enjoying the time with her friends, she did still wonder what her Mum was doing at home whilst she was at school but she didn’t seem to attach the same anxiety to this as previously. I repeated the Calc 200C
9 Months Later
I spoke to Lucy’s mum for a phone appointment in July for a skin rash on Lucy’s arms, I sent her Rhus Tox 30c to take for a few days which cleared things up. Rhus Tox being a complementary remedy to Calc, this was a good opportunity to hear everything was still going well for her and she was looking forward to moving up into the next school year, something her mother says would have terrified her before.
No report of any nightmares for several weeks, and generally a much happier child.
There are many remedies for children (and adults) with anxiety, insomnia and sleep issues. Calc is just one of them. This remedy was chosen for Lucy because it fitted many of her physical and mental/emotional issues, both current and historic. It took into account her specific fears, and the reason behind them. All the issues in this case stemmed from feeling afraid and not safe in her room.
Her fears would become real in her dreams and subsequently Lucy didn’t want to sleep.
Calc children can have very vivid imaginations and this can make their fears very overwhelming. They can be very impressionable to sad and frightening things that they see in films and on TV.
Calc is also a big remedy for throat and glandular issues, and sometimes suited to children who reach their developmental milestones a little later than their peers.
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