Homeopathy has been scientifically proven to treat hay fever just as well as conventional medicine and certainly better than placebo, without any side effects from the medication. A homeopath treats the symptoms of the hay fever, and also the entire individual, thus strengthening the immunity of the person and reducing the severity of the attacks. There are many factors behind hay fever, or any disease, and homeopathy looks to find the individual patterns and reasons for a complaint.
Often a patient with hay fever comes from an atopic family, meaning that others members of the family suffer from allergies, eczema or asthma. These are deeply rooted complaints and typically require a remedy that addresses the family tendency towards these illnesses in addition to the symptoms of the complaint. Of course, there is always symptom palliation, which can provide quick relief, and these would be found in the combination remedies, such as Nelson’s ‘Pollena’. Bear in mind however that these are general remedies and not specific to the individual suffering an allergic response. In order to completely alleviate the hay fever, more tailored remedies will usually need to be given.
In one of my cases of hay fever, the patient had a family history of allergies, a history of childhood asthma and an overall worsening of the symptoms since his father’s death. After taking his full case, I prescribed on his individual needs. I gave him a remedy for his general family susceptibility, a remedy for his unexpressed grief, and a remedy for the specific symptoms of his hay fever. We were both very pleased with the immediate alleviation of his hay fever, not to mention an increase in energy and a calming effect on his emotions.
There are many remedies that help hay fever, assuming they are well indicated for your particular symptoms. Imagine cutting an onion; your eyes start to burn and water, your nose tingles and starts to run, often accompanied by a paroxysm of sneezing. Allium cepa is a wonderful remedy for these common hay fever symptoms, and yes, it is made from onions. Other more specific remedies include Sabadilla, which helps an incredible itchy nose, spasmodic sneezing and an over sensitiveness to odours, particularly flowers. Another gem is Wyethia, which helps the hay fever symptoms of an itching up in the sinuses, with a burning sensation in the throat and itching roof of the mouth. Euphrasia has more of the burning eye symptoms, with thicker discharges than Allium cepa.
As you can see, there are a multitude of remedies that help with allergic hay fever responses. For homeopathy to be most effective, the person is treated as a whole, taking mental, emotional and physical characteristics into consideration when finding the most appropriate remedy.
Adrianna Holman BSc, LCH, RSHom
Adrianna Holman is a registered member of the Society of Homeopaths, RSHom. She practises from several clinics in London (W1, E14, SE1) in addition to providing online consultations from her website www.homeopath.moonfruit.com. Please phone 0207 407 8428 for more information or email homeopathA@hotmail.com