An Effective Homeopathic Remedy

for Rabid Rage

by Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, LCSW, DHANP, and Robert Ullman, ND, DHANP

Raging Kids

Rage in children, which we examine in depth in our book, Rage-Free Kids, can begin in infancy and toddlerhood, and persist well into adolescence or adulthood. We have found homeopathy to be of great benefit to these children, whether the diagnosis is temper tantrums, bipolar disorder, or oppositional defiant disorder. If the two cases that we present here pique your interest, you may want to read, in our book, about another even more dramatic case of this symptom picture, “The Girl Who Spat, Scratched, Barked and Growled.”

Katelyn

Katelyn’s grandmother called us from the East Coast in June 2006, at which time the girl was 5 years old. The grandparents had been quite involved in the girl’s life due to domestic abuse directed toward the mother and the infant by the mother’s boyfriend. At age 3, Katelyn went to live with the grandparents. At the time of her arrival, she weighed only 25 pounds. She thrived in her safe, new environment, gaining 20 pounds and growing 7 inches over six months. Katelyn’s mom joined the family a couple of years later.

The youngster hated her mother’s boyfriend, complaining that he used to tie her up and put handcuffs on her feet. Katelyn had also been exposed to violence by a cousin, who provoked and terrified her by tripping and chasing her, kicking the wall, and beating on her door. Brought to us because of her extreme anger, the child would punch, kick, hit, bite, and scratch. Her grandmother said: “She flies into a rage. You can see her look change from perfectly happy to being taken over by some animal or demon. Her face contorts. bares her teeth, growls, and lunges at us. After screaming herself silly, she will cry, and, referring to the boyfriend, exclaim, ‘I hate him. I want to kill him.’ Katelyn bites, screams scratches, meows, and pretends she’s a kitty. When it is all over, she tells us how sorry she is.”

In order to confirm the homeopathic medicine we were considering, we inquired about the child’s fears, particularly about a fear of water. “Yes, Katelyn was terrified of water when she came to stay with us. It was impossible to give her a normal bath. Like giving a cat a bath. Twisting, scratching, clawing, biting, screeching – anything to get away. She was terrified to go into the bedroom alone, and of having the closet door even a crack open, because of the bad spirits under her bed and in the closet. Katelyn would not sleep by herself and insisted on sleeping in her grandparents’ bed, where she could feel safe. The child loved dogs and cats and was fascinated by safari animal videos. Even the thought of sharks terrified her, and for that reason, she avoided swimming in deep water.

Differential Diagnosis of Remedies for Rabid Rage

We first prescribed Stramonium 200C (thorn apple), based on Katelyn’s violent rage and the fears. Her grandmother reported six weeks later that the arguing, fighting, and kicking had stopped. Katelyn’s school performance had improved markedly, and she had been much more agreeable at home. All of this had changed four to five days earlier when she reverted to her previous behavior. We determined that her mother had been using tea tree oil, which we have repeatedly found to interrupt the action of homeopathic medicines, so we asked her to find another product to replace it. We prescribed Stramonium 1M. During the next telephone appointment, 2½ months after the first appointment, the case became clearer and we found the medicine that has helped her dramatically ever since.

“Katelyn’s rage is so violent that it is hard to even hold her down. She screams bloody murder. It sounds like someone is trying to kill her. Biting, clawing, kicking, licking, growling. A low and gutteral growl. In these fits, she bares her teeth, growls, hisses, and turns into an animal.”

Realizing clearly that the medicine that Katelyn needed was Lyssin, rather than Stramonium, we inquired about any past history of dog bites. Actually, Katelyn’s mother was bitten by a Doberman when she was 7 or 8 years old. The bite was on the hand, and was deep and nasty. It was fascinating to learn that Katelyn’s mother, following the bite, exhibited temper tantrums herself.

To confirm the new prescription of Lyssin, we asked whether Katelyn showed any tendency to apologize after her fits of anger. “It is odd that you ask, because she screams and kicks, then, all of a sudden, starts to cry and tells us how sorry she is for acting the way she did. It is as if the switch just turned. Suddenly she is out of the rage. As if she were possessed.” When we asked about other instances of perceived torment, we were told “In addition to being tormented repeatedly by her cousin, there was also a boy at school who teased her relentlessly. She would fly at him and beat the soup out of him. Katelyn is calm and nice with her friends, but when somebody starts bugging her, she lashes out. She doesn’t tolerate being teased one bit. We can’t even say the littlest thing to tease her or she will let us have it with both guns.”

To end the interview, we spoke with Katelyn. “If a bad guy teases me, I’m gonna fight him. The best thing to do is to call the police.”

Katelyn used to hate water, refused to take a bath in a tub deeper than an inch of water, and screamed when anyone tried to wash her hair. We changed Katelyn’s prescription to Lysssin 200C. This medicine is prepared from the saliva of a rabid dog and is also called Hydrophobinum. It is an excellent medicine for the type of violent rage that results from feeling tormented and manifests in biting, scratching, growling, spitting, and even, in some patients, crawling on all fours, licking, and exhibiting other doglike behavior. One of the well-known characteristics of those needing Lyssin is rage followed by repentance, generally in the form of profuse and prompt apology. Another child who responded remarkably well to the medicine would write copious letters of apology to her mother following the most outrageously violent fits of anger. Another symptom of those needing Lyssin is terror of water, often to the point of not even wanting to get the head wet.

In Rajan Sankaran’s Schema, Lyssin is classified under the acute miasm, which explains the feeling of life or death and the extremely violent reaction of an individual when he perceives attack (in this case, in the form of torment). There have also been cases of self-mutilation by knife in those needing this medicine.

It is very easy to confuse Lyssin and Stramonium, since both medicines are indicated for violent rage with the typical biting, growling, and kicking. As indicated above, the anger followed by repentance and feeling of being tormented will flesh out a prescription of Lyssin. In most cases there is not a prior history of a dog bite, but we have seen cases of violence towards the mother during pregnancy. Those needing Stramonium exhibit an extreme fear of the dark and of carnivorous animals such as sharks, bears, and wolves.

A third medicine that also needs to be considered is Belladonna. All three belong to the acute miasm. However, in Belladonna, one sees a more global sensitivity, to light, noise, touch, jar, having one’s hair or nails cut, and so on. Stramonium and Belladonna are members of the Solonaceae (nightshade) family. It is possible to confuse Lyssin with a medicine made from another animal medicine, most notably Lac caninum (dog’s milk), and Lac lupinum (wolf’s milk). Patients needing Lac caninum will express the feeling of being an underdog, on the bottom, dominated, or looked down upon. Those needing Lac lupinum will share the feeling of being trapped, murdered, victimized, and about to die.

An Excellent Long-Term Response

We first prescribed the Lyssin in August 2006. Two months later, Katelyn’s grandmother informed us that the rages started calming down immediately following one dose of the 200C. Four days later, Katelyn experienced an aggravation of biting and screaming from morning to bedtime. The next day she woke up and felt fine. “She is a different kid. No biting, clawing, kicking, growling, or glaring. Katelyn doesn’t even stomp or shout anymore. It is the most dramatic, surprising thing with the right homeopathic remedy! She sleeps better, we have no trouble getting her to bed anymore, and she is not waking so early in the morning like before. She sleeps for 11 to 12 hours and gets up happy. Now she is ready to go to school and really happy to be there. We are totally convinced homeopathy works!”

Katelyn benefited tremendously from Lyssin ever since, originally the 200C potency and, in recent years, a 10M. Lyssin worked beautifully for a strep throat in which, interestingly enough, she described her chief complaint as pain “when she swallowed saliva,” while swallowing food caused no problem. How interesting given that the medicine is prepared from saliva! There was even a more marked response to the rage from Lyssin 1M.

Her grandmother shared that the family’s pet cat, once it matured, would jump on Katelyn and bite and scratch her head. The cat exhibited no such behavior towards other family members. “He was acting just as he would if there were a dog after him.” Each time Katelyn needed another dose, initially about every five weeks, then less frequently, her regressive behavior indicating a need for a repetition of the Lyssin was less extreme. The school psychologist told the grandmother that there was no need for further appointments. Most of the library books that Katelyn checked out were about dogs.

When she was 8 years old, Katelyn explained to us that she had been getting in more trouble at school because the boys teased her and she attacked in response. “When they harass me, I fight back. I scratched one boy on the neck. But I apologize afterwards.”

Katelyn’s last appointment was six weeks ago, and she is now 10 years old. The last time she needed a dose of the Lyssin, she had been playing with another girl on the playground, pretending that they were cats. She became wild and bit her playmate on the arm. “We just got carried away.” Katelyn was crying afterwards, very sorry for what she had done. She wrote a letter to her friend and to the teacher and patched up the situation.

Rebecca, Katelyn’s Younger Sister

Two years after we started treating Katelyn, her birth mother sought out treatment for her younger sister, Rebecca, 4 months old, She was a chubby, pink, happy, alert baby with a perioral rash resulting from profuse salivation with teething during the day. The baby also exhibited significant perspiration of the forehead and back of her head in the evening, aggravated during teething. The infant was often inconsolable, with marked arching of the back during her episodes of fussiness. Rebecca’s mother had been unaware of the pregnancy until the middle of the second trimester, during which time she was going through extensive dental surgery with many courses of antibiotics. She had a history of multiple root canals, and ended up having many of her teeth extracted.

We prescribed a dose of Mercurius 200C. At the three-week follow-up call, her mother reported that her face had cleared up, she no longer experienced the perspiration, she was drooling only a couple of times a day, she was no longer inconsolable or arching her back, and she was doing great overall.

Rebecca’s mom called again when she was 23 months old.

“She is very, very active. Almost a constant state of agitation. She climbs on tables, bangs on windows, and tries to run outside on the balcony. Rebecca has full-blown temper tantrums with screaming, crying, kicking, and taking the furniture down on the floor. They can last all day. Then she flashes a big smile, as if nothing had happened. Anything can trigger these fits. Like not getting her out of her high chair fast enough. Or if she wants you to stop doing something like washing the dishes. Rebecca will come over, push, then bite. Or she will grab a handful of my skin, pinch, scratch, or hit. Her scratches are very strategic. She will dig her nails into you, then rip her hand away. Very elaborate for a baby! Her biting is tentative. Like a puppy mouthing you.

Mostly shrieking. It doesn’t take much provocation. We can’t take her out anywhere. If we try to take her outside, She just wants to run off. The more I hold her hand, the angrier she gets. She immediately drops to the ground like a rag doll, tries to bash her head, kick her feet, kick off her shoes. Then Rebecca tries to scratch and claw me, so I have to pick her up.

The mom reminded us of the dog bite she herself had suffered as a child.

The dog was in the garage. I reached to pet her and, in a split second, she had her mouth around my wrist and wouldn’t let go. I started shrieking for my parents. I couldn’t get out of her grip. I am shocked, stunned to this very day. It was so fast. That someone can act so unpredictably and hurt you without warning.

The pregnancy with Rebecca was normal, but I ended up with an emergency C-section because I was two weeks overdue and the labor was not progressing. She had a strong reaction to the MMR vaccine, but we are continuing with her immunizations.

We prescribed Lyssin 200C for the rages, history of dog bite in the mother, and due to her sister’s similar angry outbreaks and consistently positive response to Lyssin.

An Equally Positive Response to the Same Medicine

When we spoke to the mother two weeks later concerning Katelyn, she remarked that the Lyssin already seemed to be working for Rebecca. “She is so calm and peaceful. No more throwing things, tipping over furniture, rages, and screaming. I can hardly believe it.”

We didn’t hear about Rebecca again until eight months later. “The Lyssin worked well. The attack and nastiness stopped right away. She stopped attacking and kicking over furniture. No drooling. She would go to bed at a reasonable time and sleep through the night. She turned into a calm, sweet, happy baby. A couple of days ago, it started all over again. The biting, clawing, growling. Now, again, every little thing can set her off.”

Rebecca continued to respond beautifully to Lyssin 200C for the next four months, then the same potency no longer held and we moved up to a 1M potency. Again, she responded very well until her immunizations seemed to “knock out” the positive effect. Rebecca is now 3 years old. Her most recent appointment was five weeks ago. She continues to respond very well to the Lyssin.

Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman are licensed naturopathic physicians, board certified in homeopathy. Their books include A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism, Ritalin-Free Kids, Rage-Free Kids, Prozac Free, Homeopathic Self-Care: The Quick and Easy Guide for the Whole Family, Whole Woman Homeopathy, The Patient’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicine, and Mystics, Masters, Saints and Sages: Stories of Enlightenment. They have taught and lectured internationally and practice at the Northwest Center for Homeopathic Medicine in Edmonds and Langley, Washington. The doctors live on Whidbey Island, Washington, and in Pucón, Chile. They treat patients in person, by phone, and by Skype video and can be reached at 425-774-5599 or www.healthyhomeopathy.com.