As doctors, all of us are used to receiving desperate calls from
patients each spring, in between their sneezing and honking, pleading with us
to help them immediately. They are often miserable because of their persistent
hay fever symptoms. They may complain of burning, tearing eyes which they may
feel like scratching into oblivion. Or their nose may run like a faucet and
their wastebaskets may be filled with kleenex. They may have severe nasal
congestion, incessant, and sometimes violent, sneezing. Then, there's the
itching, which may be unbearable. They may suffer from itchy eyes, ears, nose,
throat, or palate. Whatever the specific symptoms, hay fever is no fun. We have
found homeopathy to have greater than a 90% effectiveness rate in curing hay
fever. And often it does not come back the following year, especially if the
person is under constitutional homeopathic treatment. Here are a few examples
among our patients.
Prabha is a 30 year-old East Indian woman who we began treating two years
ago for asthma. Lycopodium helped her significantly with her asthma. She came
in last spring with hay fever of a two week duration.
It normally lasted all spring, until mid or late summer. She would wake in the
morning with a dry cough, congestion in the upper lungs, and slight wheezing.
During the day, she complained of terrible itching in the ears and eustachian
tubes, and some itching in the throat, nose, and, to a lesser degree, the eyes.
She had occasional sneezing, runny nose, and dry eyes. The symptoms lasted
throughout the day and were better when she was indoors.
Erik is a 29 year-old man, born in Norway, also suffering from spring hay
fever since the age of 5. It was usually worse in the summer, however this year
it was bothering him terribly in late March, prompting him to come in to see us
for the first time. He reported his symptoms as follows.
His main problem was frequent, violent, paroxysmal sneezing, which occurred in
spurts. He had a watery, runny nose, causing him to "run around with a
handkerchief all the time". The skin under his nose was red and sore. His eyes
were itchy, dry, and irritated. There was no lachyrmation.
His nose was stuffy, whether he was indoors or out. His forehead itched.
With the hay fever, he found himself lethargic and had slept ten hours the
night before. This was extremely unusual for him since he was generally a very
high energy person. Since the hay fever began, he as irritable and felt
victimized by his acute illness. He had a strong desire recently for carrot
juice.
Todd, a 26 year-old computer program, was assured by another of my
patients that homeopathy could help him with his hay fever. He came in late
April of this year, like the two patients described above, in extreme
discomfort. He lamented, "I'm allergic to everything that's not food!" His nose
ran all of the time. He was using half a box of tissues per day. His eyes were
itchy, puffy, and watery. He suffered from a post nasal drip precipitating a
sore throat. His sinuses sometimes swelled with the hay fever, causing a
pressing headache. His symptoms were definitely worse outdoors. He was
generally tired and wiped out with the hay fever. In the past it had lasted on
and off for four months. This time he came in after only a few days, however it
was his worst bout ever. He reported that he had "tried everything" orthodox
medicine had to offer him.
Marilyn is a 40 year-old artist. We have treated her successfully over the
past two years for her insomnia and mood swings, first with Arsenicum
album, then Sepia, as well as for several acute illnesses. She came
in last July, complaining of fits of sneezing, worse on waking, and a runny
nose. However, what bothered her most about the hay fever, was annoying itching
of the soft palate, and less so, of the eyes.