The Cysts Had to Be Routinely Cut Out. He Had Just Resigned Himself to It.

But an unconventional remedy soon put an end to that.

Photo by Ron Lach

The man who sat across from me was unusually soft spoken, tidy, and clean cut. Not effeminate or flat in affect. It was something else. I was searching for the word, as I listened and made my notes. Was he just shy?

With further questioning, it became clear he had very strong opinions - and no hesitation to express them - but in a very refined and soft spoken way. Refined. That was the word I was seeking. This and his very tidy appearance stood out amongst the clients I saw at the addiction treatment centre.

Halfway through the appointment he relayed that he had suffered cysts throughout his adult life. What kind of cysts, I wanted to know. Could he explain them in more detail? With that, he leaned forward, pulling his sweater off his shoulder in one fluid motion to reveal a round, flesh coloured nodule, about two inches in diameter, half protruding from his skin. There was no redness and no pus. Underneath and to the side of it were scars. He turned then, and raised the sweater up to sit over his head to reveal a spackling of the same scars and a few other cysts of varying diameters, across his shoulders and upper back.

What are the scars from, I asked, thinking perhaps this happened when the cysts ripened. “From when they cut them out,” came his quiet reply.

There were a good number of scars. The man was only in his 20s.

Sebaceous Cysts

Further questioning revealed the cysts had been diagnosed as benign sebaceous cysts that required removal regularly because they did not stop growing until excised. They were hard and slow growing, but not painful. No explanation for the reoccurrence had been given except that “sometimes this just happens.” He’d been instructed that his hygiene had to be thorough as a preventative measure, but he hadn’t seen any improvement.

It never ceases to amaze me that physicians still treat internally driven skin conditions as a product of poor hygiene. So the person who already suffers with an observable abnormality in the skin is made to feel somehow dirty for it.

Other symptoms included “being a worrier,” and feeling anxious or irritated, especially around others. He found the banter of the other men in the centre“too much,” and would tune out with headphones and music when he could. This could explain why he had been observed to be more of a loner. He found himself tired and wanting to lie down a lot instead of engaging in group activities. He was generally chilly and needed to cover up, especially his head and back, even now in the spring. He was picky with food and got an upset stomach frequently. He described this as painful gas and a tendency to constipation. He loved the warmth of the sun, but didn’t sunbathe anymore because he felt self-conscious with the cysts.

He was easy to direct in conversation through our visit, but rather obstinate about certain topics. I found that paradox interesting.

With most clients at the centre I used nutritional, herbal, and orthomolecular medicines. That is to say food, supplements, and herbs. But I felt this case would most benefit from a homeopathic intervention.

Silicea terra

I wanted to look at the homeopathic remedy Silicea terra more closely. It has the unusual ability to bring about suppuration of abscesses or indurated tissues when the organism doesn’t have the strength to mount the response itself.