Allergic Rhinitis and Homeopathy

Allergic rhinitis, also known as nasal allergy, drastically affects a patient's quality of life. Homeopathy is an effective medical option that offers significant relief by boosting patients’ immunity, which prevents them from getting succumbed to allergens.

Allergic rhinitis (nasal allergy), or hay fever, has more to it than what meets one’s nose. It can result from any, or every, substance, or change of seasons, such as monsoon, summer, or winter - although the basic allergic triggers in majority cases are common.

Allergy, be it allergic rhinitis, or skin allergy, is a natural reaction that occurs when our immune system overreacts to substances that one may have inhaled, or ingested.

Allergic rhinitis consists of seasonal allergic rhinitis and perennial allergic rhinitis, which troubles certain people all year-round. While hay fever is precipitated by outdoor allergens, perennial allergic rhinitis is precipitated by household allergens - such as dust, mites, pet dander and mould.

The disorder can affect people of all age-groups, although it often spares the old-age group. Among children, boys tend to be more affected than girls.

The allergic tendency is inherited; it occurs in every 2 individuals out of 5. If you have one allergic parent, for example, you have a 1-in-3 chance of developing allergy. If both parents have allergies, the risk is two-fold.

Causes of Nasal Allergy

• Dust (house dust, wood dust, and other dust particles)
• Pollen
• Outdoor and indoor mould
• Exposure to certain animals (including pets)
• Cockroaches; rodents
• Irritant triggers, such as smoke; pollutants
• Cigarette/tobacco smoke
• Strong smell (perfumes, incense sticks, paints, agarbattis, or cosmetics)
• Certain foods
• Change of weather
• Emotions (stress, anxiety, depression).

Symptoms

• Sneezing; itching of the nose
• Itching, especially in kids, often leads to pushing the nose ‘up’ in a cyclic pattern (‘allergic salute’)
• Sneezing may occur in a spell, or bouts, of 10-15, or more - they may emerge erratically all through the day
• Nasal discharge and congestion. The discharge may emerge from the nostrils, or drip down the throat; it is generally clear in colour and usually thin and watery in its consistency
• When the mucous becomes thick, it starts to acquire a yellowish, or greenish, tinge - a straightforward cue that there is a possibility of infection
• Congestion is present in half of all patients with nasal allergies - it is triggered by a combination of swollen nasal membranes and mucous entrapped in the nose
• Nearly 50 per cent of individuals with seasonal allergy also have eye symptoms - itching, redness, and watery output
• Constant rubbing around the eyes is another symptom. It may lead to redness, as also a thickened appearance of the skin
• Headaches, facial pain, blockage of the ear, and cough, may sometimes be vexing, or troublesome.

Why Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a system of natural medicine that treats the total nasal allergic symptom-picture - physical, mental and emotional. It treats the allergy, in question, through the administration of minute doses of a suitable remedy that would, in healthy persons, produce symptoms ‘similar’ to that of the allergic response. This helps to desensitise the individual against the offending allergen.

When you chop onion, for instance, you get a runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, and throat irritation, from exposure to the tuber’s active substances. Homeopathic remedies made from red onion, can help you overcome nasal allergy episodes in which you may have ‘similar’ symptoms - runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, or throat irritation.

In other words, whether you suffer from nasal allergy, or its accompanying problems, primarily, or secondarily, due to the allergic response, homeopathy provides you with the right, ‘similar’ remedy to get rid of your nasal distress from the ‘root.’ It also helps to calm down your overactive immune system, so that the body does not set off a ‘battle of attrition’ after exposure to the substance that may, otherwise, be harmless to other people.

Be that as it may, homeopathy, to augment and define effective treatment outcomes, and effectual long-term results, emphasises on high-quality, state-of-the-art treatment, under the supervision of a professional homeopath, along with personalised lifestyle measures and dietary advice.

A Case In Point

Akshita, a go-getter manager in a local bank, was always in a hurry; she often grabbed a quick breakfast, while watching TV, before she drove off to work. She had nasal allergy; her nasal discharge smelled real bad. It resembled chewing gum; it was also stringy. She depended on conventional anti-histamine pills for respite. When her nose got stuffed up, she ’pumped’ a nasal spray. When she returned home from work, she was often exhausted. When she developed a headache, she took a pain-killer, for quick relief - this triggered her tummy upsets, no less. She was fed up of her nasal allergy and also medications.

We gave her an appropriate homeopathic remedy on the basis of her overall symptom-picture. A few weeks later, she could not stop smiling - thanks to the homeopathic remedy that provided her quick, tangible, effective and safe relief from her long-standing, depressive allergic misery.

Clinical Studies

In a double-blind study, 34 people diagnosed with moderate-to-severe seasonal allergic rhinitis were randomly assigned to receive either placebo (dummy pill), or a combination of homeopathically ‘potentised’ allergens, made from the pollen of trees, grass, or weed, and also identified as allergens. After the study’s four-week treatment period using two sprays, three times a day of either the potentised allergen mix, or placebo, the study’s subjects were assessed on the basis of their allergy-specific symptoms, using three separate questionnaire formats (RQLQ, MOS SF-36 and WPAI). The potentised (homeopathic) allergen mix showed significant positive changes, when compared to placebo. — The Annals of Pharmacotherapy (2005).

Homeopathic treatment of allergic rhinitis (nasal allergy) has also been well-documented in medical research.  A study published in the British Medical Journal, for instance, showed a statistically significant improvement in objectively measured nasal air flow for nasal allergy patients treated with select homeopathic remedies.

HRQL (Health-Related-Quality Of Life) With Homeopathy

Your quality of life (QoL) is the degree of satisfaction that you experience in everyday life. HRQL is an endeavour to evaluate directly the impact of an ailment, illness or treatment, especially on the individual/patient's ability to function satisfactorily in life. Nasal allergies can have a significant impact on the quality of life of the individual, while resulting in anxiety, irritability, or that typical inability to function efficiently with everyday chores, aside from fatigue, depression, etc. Homeopathy’s holistic approach towards nasal allergy not only addresses the individual’s physical symptoms, but also improves their emotional state, while providing them with a better, also satisfactory quality of life.

Self-Help

• Vacuum-clean your bed, mattress, upholstery and soft furnishing, regularly
• ‘Hot-wash’ bed-sheets, pillow covers and blankets regularly. This will ensure that dust, and other allergic ‘phantoms,’ are destroyed
• Dust with a dampened cloth, instead of a dry cloth. Dry dusting tends to propel dust containing allergens, mites and their allergens into the air
• You may find that your pets aggravate your condition through exposure to their hair/dander, saliva, or urine. Remove pet hair and vacuum-clean the pet area regularly
• Avoid exposure to common triggers, such as paints, chemicals, tobacco smoke, aerosol spray and automobile exhaust, or any other offending factor that is, for the most part, the likely cause of your nasal allergy
• Read food and other labels carefully to avoid substances that you may be allergic to, or could possibly ‘turn on’ your nasal allergy.