I am a homeopath. A good friend rang me tonight for advice. About 8 Years ago, while living in her homeland of southafrica, her lung collapsed. She didn't quit smoking and in September she had a partial lung collapse. No surgery required. She had planned to spend Christmas with her parents in China, but two days beforehand, she experienced another partial lung collapse. She has now been reccomended for surgery and asked my advice. She is a trainee homeopath. I guess that i told her that it is her choice and she can always take surgery with homeopathy. I would really appreciate some advice

Dear Helena,

First of all, your friend will need to stop smoking. It is a very strong predisposing factor for pneumothorax and unless she stops smoking, there are chances that the condition can recur even after surgery.

Small pneumothorax can resolve automatically in a few days. Homeopathic medicines can be given on the basis of symptom similarity for symptomatic relief during recovery. Partial collapse of lung <b>may</b> (not necessary) require minor surgery in which the air from the pleura is drained with the help of a chest tube. Homeopathic medicines should be given in such cases to prevent recurrance. If the collapse recurs again and agin from the same area or if there is complete collapse of lung, surgery is recommended to avoid immediate complications. Once the immediate threat is resolved in such cases, a complete case taking should be done and a medicine should be prescribed on the basis of the totality of the case to remove the underlying predisposition.

Best wishes,
Dr. B