Constipation: A Case Series Highlighting Emotional Pathology and Individualized Treatment

Constipation is often treated as a purely physical complaint, managed with dietary advice or repeated use of laxatives. However, in clinical practice, many chronic constipation cases show no clear structural or dietary cause, but are closely associated with emotional disturbances

Classical homeopathy views constipation not merely as a bowel disorder, but as an expression of the individual’s constitutional and emotional imbalance. When emotional pathology is overlooked, treatment remains superficial, and relief is temporary.

Three Homeopathic Case Narratives Highlighting Emotional Pathology

Constipation in children and young adults is often approached as a purely physical complaint. However, these cases highlight how long-standing constipation can be deeply connected with emotional and psychological patterns, and how individualized homeopathic treatment addressing the person as a whole can bring lasting relief.

Case 1

9-year-old female child

Presenting Complaints

• Hard stool since the age of 2
• Spending nearly 1½ hours in the toilet
• Severe pain during stool ++++
• Pain lasting 15 minutes after stool, with loud crying in the toilet
• History of multiple treatments: allopathic, Ayurvedic, and homeopathic

Associated Physical Complaints

• Dryness of back of both thighs, elbows, and knees (since 3 years); using dermatological soaps
• Cracks on soles (since 1 year)
• Blackish discoloration of teeth during early childhood
• Pain under the urethra during urination (due to straining of muscles)
• Sensation of stone in abdomen
• Hemorrhoids

Past History

• Diarrhoea for 1 year (hospitalized for 2 weeks)
• High fever at 4 years
• Fever with ear pain; habit of using cotton in ears afterward

Physical Generals

• Appetite: slow eating ++++
• Thirstless
• Unsatisfactory, incomplete sensation after stool
• Sleep position: right side
• Unrefreshed sleep
• Perspiration: upper lip

Desires / Aversions

• Sweet ++++
• Salt +
• Sour +
• Spicy +
• Beef ++
• Fish +
• Egg: soft-boiled
• Fruits: watermelon ++
• Aversion to milk (but drinks it)

Thermals

• Hot patient
• Avoids collar dresses
• Fanning ++

Mental & Emotional State

• Fear of insects +++
• Fear of snakes +++ (even pictures)
• Easily offended
• Strong desire for appreciation and consideration
• Sadness when friends criticized her drawing (idea of self)
• Feeling that mother cares more for her brother (jealousy)

Prescription

10/04/2023 — Lachesis 200, single dose

Follow-up

27/05/2023

• Toilet time reduced to 10 minutes
• No pain during or after stool
• No urethral burning
• Abdomen no longer feels hard

Acute visit

• Mild fever (99.6°F), throat pain, burning in ears, temporal headache
• Subsided within one week without any remedy

30/06/2023

• Passing normal stool without pain
• Reduced need for appreciation
• Jealousy significantly improved

Case 2

3½-year-old female child

Presenting Complaints

• Constipation since 2 years
• Onset after antibiotic use for chest infection
• Hard stool every 3 days
• Offensive stool and flatus
• Prolonged straining during stool

Past History

• Measles at 8 months (allopathic treatment)
• Fever with chest infection treated with antibiotics (2 years back)

Physical Generals

• Appetite: normal
• Thirsty

Desires

• Sweets +++
• Salt ++
• Sour ++
• Chicken +
• Fruits + (grapes)
• Eats only egg white
• Milk +
• Prefers food to be warm

Mental & Emotional State

• Fear of men

Prescription

27/06/2025 — Lycopodium 200, single dose

Follow-up

• Mild fever after one week
• Stool became regular after 10 days

Normal stool pattern maintained after one month

Case 3

20-year-old female

Presenting Complaints

• Constipation with no urge for days (since 4 years)
• Lower abdominal pain
• Anal fissure
• Abdominal bloating with pain (since 1 year)
• Early morning nausea (since 1 year)
• Acne on face and hair fall
• Difficulty swallowing food since childhood
• Breathing difficulty during sleep (since 4 months)
• Sleeplessness for 3 months; wakes up at 2 AM

Past History

• Pneumonia at 4 years
• Tonsillitis at 10 years (allopathic treatment)
• Athlete’s foot at 10 years (left foot, then right), suppressed with homeopathic ointment

Physical Generals

• Appetite: normal
• Thirstless
• Urinary burning with reduced water intake
• Sleep position: left side

Desires

• Sweet +
• Salt +++
• Sour ++
• Spicy ++
• Fish +++
• Egg++

Thermals

• Hot patient

Menstrual History

• Before menses: gastric trouble, back pain
• During menses: loose stools, aching legs
• Menstrual complaints present for 4 years

Mental & Emotional State

• Difficulty expressing emotions
• Smiling while explaining grief
• Disappointed love from father
• Consolation aggravates
• Silent grief after the death of father

Prescription

10/04/2024 — Natrum muriaticum 10M, single dose

Follow-up (15/04/2024)

• Improved sleep
• Normal stool within one week
• Started crying and expressing emotions

Conclusion

These three cases demonstrate that chronic constipation cannot always be addressed by focusing on the bowel alone. Emotional patterns such as jealousy, fear, silent grief, and suppressed emotions played a crucial role in maintaining pathology. Individualized homeopathic prescriptions, selected on the totality of mental, emotional, and physical symptoms, resulted in sustained improvement without repeated medication.