Homeopath

Oh, what was I thinking.

M has a case of "water warts" a type of herpes virus that looks like a localized case of chicken pox.  It's evidently very common for swimmers, and absolutely rampant here in Amsterdam.  As such, it's not really any big deal.  An already hands-off medical establishment can't get itself worked up over a virus that doesn't cause any discomfort or have any side effects even if some huge percentage of the population gets it.  Did I mention it lasts for months, sometimes years?  My friend's doctor told her that her daughter, "might have it for a few months, or it might never go away."  Great.

In the build up to our summer vacation I really wanted these gone.  My family was justifiably a little unnerved by this highly contagious virus that routinely lasts for months. They were concerned about cleaning the tub after M used it and if his laundry had to be washed separately (neither is necessary). Clearly this was causing them some stress.  So I decided to take M to the homeopath.

Stock photo, not my actual kid's actual armpit,
but his infection looks a lot like this.

My decision was based on an acquaintance's experience with her toddler son, whose water warts were cleared up in a couple of weeks by the practitioner I decided to see.  I figured if I could knock this out before we hit the beach this summer everyone would be a bit happier.  What I had forgotten was the time commitment involved in complimentary medicine.  the appointment was at 9 a.m., right around the corner from us, and I didn't get M to school until after 10:30.

She asked us all about M's behavior, his fears, what he dreams about, what stresses him and on and on and on.  In the end she decided to focus on treating his emotional self regulation--something he does struggle with--because she felt his case of water warts (5 spots) was really minor.  So much for knocking this out before summer vacation.

M sees an occupational therapist in part to address his struggles with self regulation.  While I can't say the problem is licked, we do have a "treatment plan" in place and he is improving every day.  I didn't feel we really needed to add a tincture to that.  And what really irked me was that the appointment ran so long he missed his weekly OT session! (although this was really my fault--since he sees the OT at school it's on neither my radar screen nor my calendar).  But I surely saw the irony in missing the treatment we see works for the one that might.

But, when the tiny little pills arrived in the post a couple of days later, and I looked them up on Dangerous Dr. Internet, I was really surprised to learn that this medicine is used to treat all types of things that really sound like M.  Things like, disobedience, sudden crying, and early waking, as well as some things which didn't come up in the examination, like growing pains and a very frustrating scalp sensitivity.

So, he's now had his second dose.  He still wakes up early but seems to have an increased interest in sleep independence.  No growing pains reported since he received his first dose (although they were on the wane before that).  He actually seems to have a few more water warts, and a couple look really red and inflamed, which may be a sign that his body is fighting them off.  With any luck, they'll be gone before we hit the beach this summer.