Children's Centre
Hay Fever is a seasonal illness where the body shows an exaggerated reaction to pollens, grasses, trees and other fine particles in the atmosphere. It can resemble a summer cold and be accompanied by aching headaches and swollen glands. Hay Fever sufferers feel their cold symptoms go on all summer, leaving them feeling exhausted (affects 20% of the population in the UK - that's up to 10 million sufferers). Symptoms are often worse from April to September. The allergic reaction releases excessive amounts of histamine causing itching, swelling and discharge (mainly from the eyes and nose). Behind the allergic response you may see an emotional crisis, shock, vaccination or trauma, causing the immune system to become hypersensitive. It is more common in families with eczema or asthma sufferers. Allergic rhinitis can cause similar symptoms throughout the year, and is an allergy to house dust, mould and fungal spores, feathers in duvets and pillows, and dust on animal furs.
Symptoms of Hay Fever
Any or all of these symptoms can be present:
· Runny nose or obstructive breathing from swelling of the mucous membranes
· Itchy nose, palate, throat and sometimes ears
· Burning discharge; excoriation of upper lip
· Eyes inflamed or itchy
· Watery eyes; swollen eyelids; puffiness of face
· Tingling in nose and palate
· Sneezing
· Tight wheezy breathing or coughing
· 'Flu-like symptoms, aching and chills Symptoms can be better or worse for being outside or inside; and will be worse for one or more of the following: flowers, fruit, pollen, trees, grasses, hay, dust or chlorine (e.g. swimming pools).
Trees and crops that pollinate (month by month): Month Trees/crops March Alder, poplar, elm, yew April Birch, plane, ash, willow May Oak, horse chestnut, hornbeam, oil seed rape June Pine, lime, grass, plantain July Sweet chestnut, grass, nettle, dock
Helpful treatments for Hay Fever (other than homeopathy)
1. Avoid tobacco smoke and dusty environments.
2. Steam inhalations may help a stuffy congested nose where the mucus is difficult to shift. Add 2 drops each of eucalyptus (but beware as this may interfere with homeopathic treatment), chamomile and lavender essential oils to a bowl of boiling water.
3. Apple cider vinegar - one dessert-spoon in water daily.
4. Avoid dairy products, as these may amplify the symptoms by encouraging the production of mucus.
5. Avoid tea and coffee, white flour, processed foods, sugar.
6. Euphrasia Ø (mother tincture) diluted in water - very soothing for sore eyes.
7. Echinacea may help by promoting natural immunity. Take daily from March onwards throughout the Hay Fever season.
8. Six to eight glasses of fresh filtered water daily.
9. Increase intake of Vitamin C.
10. Buy plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
11. Garlic is a natural antiseptic - great for chronic catarrh.
12. Sambucus (elderflower) helps with sinus congestion.
13. Yoga teaches breathing exercises to help clear the lungs and sinuses.
14. Ensure good bowel movements (by means of lots of fruit and vegetables, live yoghurts and probiotics ). In the Chinese 5-element system, the lung and nasal passages are linked to the large intestine. Related to emotions of grief and holding on.
Tissue Salts
consists of Mag Phos (which relaxes spasms in the air passages), Nat Mur (watery thin discharges from nose and eyes) and Silica (itching at the back of the throat at the orifice of the eustachian tubes).Other tissue salts which might help include:
Kali Phos helps with asthmatic reactions to pollen, nourishes the nervous system, and helps tiredness.
Kali Mur helps shift thick catarrh; tongue is white.
Nat Mur for copious, watery, thin discharges from nose and eyes (worse sun).
Ferrum Phos to relieve congestion and inflammation. Adults should take 4 tablets 3-4 times a day, or 4 tablets half-hourly if Hay Fever is very acute. Children should take 2 tablets on the same regime.
Homeopathy for Hay Fever
Constitutional treatment during the winter months (October to March) will lessen Hay Fever symptoms the following year. Consider using any or all of the nosodes, i.e. Roger Dyson's descending potencies (ref. Classical Homeopathy Revisited ).The following five remedies are best prescribed by your homeopath:
1. PsorinumHay Fever alternating with eczema, debility and exhaustion. Chilly. Despairs of recovery. Follows well after Morgan.
2. Tuberculinum
Worse for animal fur, especially cats. Worse for milk, though may crave it.
Worse for orange juice. Better by the sea. Extremes of behaviour; excessive mucus; nose clear one hour and stopped up the next.
4. Sulphur
Hay Fever due to allergy, eggs, butter, animal fats and feathers. Also follows well after Morgan in hot individuals. Rims of eyelids red and crusted as if eyes full of sand.
5. Thuja and Carcinosin
For treating the effects of vaccination and desensitizing injections.
Acute homeopathic remedies for Hay Fever include:
· Allium Cepa
Profuse watery nasal discharge. Nose and upper lips sore. Bland watering of eyes.
· Ambrosia
Useful as a prophylactic in those people who are worse by blooming of ragweed. Nose bleeds. Wheezy cough.
· Apis
Hay Fever with allergic reactions. Eyelids swollen and puffy. Urticaria .
· Arsenicum
Burning thin watery excoriating discharge from the nose. Burns the lip. Restless and worried. Tight wheezy breathing.
· Dulcamara
Hay Fever or allergic rhinitis in the late summer or autumn. Worse in cold damp weather. ( Bacillinum will remove the tendency.)
· Euphrasia
Inflamed irritated itchy eyes. Opposite to Allium Cepa. Bland discharge from nose.
· Gelsemium
Hay Fever symptoms with a flu- ey feeling. Worse in warm humid weather.
· Nat Mur
Profuse nasal discharge like egg white. Chapped dry lips. Cracks in the corners of the mouth. Susceptible to cold sores. Eyes water in the wind. Worse from least exposure to the sun; and very light-sensitive.
· Nux Vomica
Terrible sneezing and coryza. Worse on getting up. Dry and obstructed at night; may feel like a hangover. Irritable.
· Pulsatilla
Fluent bland watery discharge from nose and eyes. Weepy and emotional. Worse warm rooms, air conditioning and overheating. Better in open air.
· Sabadilla
Violent, spasmodic and exhausting sneezing, which leaves one nostril blocked. Itching and tingling nose. Worse for pollens and flowers.
· Sanguinaria
Rose colds. Hay Fever worse for flowers and odours.
· Sticta
Fullness at root of nose. Tries to blow but no mucus comes out. Dry hacking cough at night.
· Wyethia
Extraordinary itching in nose, throat and palate. Tries to scratch palate with the tongue. Constant clearing of the throat due to itching.
Hay Fever Research
Dr David Riley of the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital wrote in the Lancet (October 1986): "Is Homeopathy a Placebo Response? Control Trial of Homeopathic Potency of Pollen in Hay Fever".
This article described a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 144 active Hay Fever sufferers, comparing the homeopathic preparation of mixed pollen with a placebo.
The homeopathically treated patients showed a significant reduction in both patient and doctor assessed symptom scores.