HOMOEOPATHY
ANSWER FOR RESPIRATORY ALLERGIES
Dr.G.R.Mohan
(Health ACTION,
April 2008)
key words : respiratory allergy Homoeopathy
Allergies
are a common and significant cause of morbidity, lost-productivity and
increased health care. It is not
uncommon to see children on antibiotics, antihistamine cough syrups, tonic and
off-and-on bronchodilators for years together without any referral to a
specialist. This irrational treatment
not only results in disease and economic burden on the family but also lost
opportunities of growth and development for the child. A respiratory allergy is a specific
immunologic response to a normally harmless allergen. Some people with allergy develop asthma and
some allergic rhinitis.
Homoeopathy
offers very effective treatment for all allergic diseases such as various skin
diseases like urticaria, eczema, and contact dermatitis, as well as given
unbelievably miraculous results in asthmatic bronchitis etc. Allergic rhinitis is defined as an
allergen-induced inflammation of the membranes lining the nose and the sinus,
often due to an allergic reaction to pollen, dust or other airborne
substances. The various types of
allergic rhinitis include Atopic Rhinitis, Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (also
known as hay fever) and Perennial Rhinitis (year round).
Of
these, allergic rhinitis remains the common cause of morbidity and social
embarrassment. Recent surveys revealed a
four-fold increase in the number of consultations with general practitioners,
although the reasons are unclear.
RAPID increase
A
rapid increase in allergic diseases like asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic
dermatitis and food allergies has been observed worldwide. Globally, it has been noted that allergic
rhinitis affects 24% of the population n the United Kingdom, 20.6% in Norway,
and 19.6% in Germany and 26% of the population in India. Today, the incidence of asthma-related cases
is 10-12 percent. In terms of the
age-groups affected, about 70 per cent of patients develop allergic rhinitis
before they are 30 years of age and, the adolescent children have greater
incidence with allergic rhinitis occurring between 8-11 years of age. Over $600 million is spent annually in the
management of this disease by United States which does not include the costs of
the 2 million lost workdays, 3 million lost school days and 28 million days of
decreased productivity from the symptoms of the disease and/or side-effects of
the medications used to treat them.
Heredity
plays a role in the development of allergies.
The risk of the developing allergies is 18% if neither parent is a topic,
20% if one parent is atopic and 50%, if both parents are atopic.
Common Causes
Irritants
like smoke, perfumes, strong smells, air pollutants and temperature changes,
dust mites (see figure), polluted areas having high levels of sulphur dioxide
and nitrogen diospets, moulds growing on wallpaper, upholstery, carping and
plants within the house are found to cause allergic rhinitis. Grasses and trees that release minute pollen
grains are also known to cause allergies.
Allergies contracted from grass are experienced more in the late
afternoon while that from mould spores may peak on dry windy afternoons or on
damp or rainy days in the early morning.
Intake of alcoholic drinks like wines and beer, sea foods, chlorine in
swimming pool water, drugs like birth control pills and female hormones, some
drugs used for blood pressure control, aspirin and chronic use of decongestants
in the nose can also produce rhinitis.
Perennial
rhinitis: common
causes are dust mite found in many homes, and domestic pets. Salivary protein of cat, allergens from
cockroaches etc. also cause perennial rhinitis.
Occupational rhinitis is caused by an agent inhaled at the work place.
When
an allergen such as pollen or dust is inhaled by a person with a sensitized
immune system, it triggers antibody production.
These antibodies mostly bind to mast cells, which contain histamine and
when the mast cells are stimulated by pollen and dust, histamine and other
chemicals are released. This results in
itching, swelling, and mucus production.
Symptoms vary in severity from person to person with very sensitive
individuals experiencing hives or other rashes.
Symptoms
of allergic rhinitis include frequent or repetitive sneezing (it is an allergic
reaction to something in the air); a runny or congested nose; itching in the
nose, eyes, throat, or roof of the mouth; plugged-up ear canals; sore throat;
occasional nose-bleeds; impaired smell and wheezing. Sometimes, cross-reactive allergy to some
fruits such as the skin of apples or potatoes occurs because of similarities in
the proteins of the pollen and the food.
Additional symptoms include fever, fatigue, flushing and
irritability. Many patients develop watering,
itching and redness of the eyes, collectively known as allergic rhino
conjunctivitis.
Almost
20-50 percent of patients with allergic rhinitis go on to develop asthma as
allergic rhinitis is a risk factor for developing asthma. A large number of children who start with
asthma also develop allergic rhinitis.
Diagnosis
The
most important diagnostic tool is the history of the illness. The timing of symptoms also helps in making
the diagnosis. Allergic rhinitis that
appears seasonally is almost always due to pollen; and outdoor allergens can be
detected by conducting a skin test when the patient is not taking
antihistamines. Skin-testing should also be avoided in patients with extensive
eczema. For such patients, ELISA and
RAST are two commonly used methods that measure the presence of food-specific
IgE I the blood of the patients.
However, they are more costly than skin tests and also take more time
and a simple method for detecting common allergens.
Complications
of allergic rhinitis lead to ear infections due to blockage of the Eustachian
tube, recurring headaches, reduced concentration, reduced hearing, appetite,
and growth.
Symptoms of Asthma
Asthma
is a chronic disease in which the airways of the lungs become inflamed or
narrowed, resulting in disruptions to normal breathing patterns, often called
attacks’ or “episodes’. The level of
severity of asthma suffered by each individual, and further, the severity of
each attack, varies greatly. Genetic
predisposition toward developing asthma and environmental factors play a role
in the actual development of the disease.
Symptoms of asthma include wheezing, shortness of breath, a feeling of
tightness in the chest, and coughing, which are due to a narrowing of the
bronchial passages in the lungs, and to excess mucus production and
inflammation. Asthma can be disabling
and sometimes fatal.
Treatment:
A detailed clinical history of the patient’s illness will identify the likely
cause of rhinitis.
Medical
philosophy is increasingly coming to the conclusion that the mere treatment of
symptoms and organs can only help temporarily and that it is the healing power
of the body as a whole that has to be enhanced.
Homoeopathy believes in a holistic, totalistic and individualistic
approach which provides relief, free of side-effects.
Clinical
trials conducted on allergic disorders like atopic dermatitis and childhood
asthma in Hyderabad showed encouraging results with homoeopathic remedies. The same was published in an international journal
Homoeo Links.
A few homoeopathic remedies with their indications
Arsenicum album: sneezing (with
every change in the weather), watery discharge from the nostrils, excoriation
of the upper lip, itching, burning and watering from eyes.
Allium Cepa: Prepared from red
onion has this excoriating nasal discharge, there is more lachrynation which is
bland. The discharge ceases when the
patiehnt goes into the open air, but returns when entering a warm room again.
Euphrasia: is similar to Allium
cepa, but it has profuse lachrymation, while having bland nasal discharge.
Arum triphyllum: all the seretions
are acrid, the nostrils and lips are sore.
There is thirst, but drinking causes pain. The nostrils are sore, and there is contant
desire to bore the finger into the nose.
Lemna Minor: A catarrhal
remedy. Nasal polyps, swollen
turbinates. Atrophic rhinitis asthma
from nasal obstruction, wrose in wet weather.
Kali lod. Constitutional remedy, starts with sneezing,
pfofuse watry acrid coryza with pain in frontal sinus, cold travels downward to
chest, laynhx feel raw, violent cough
Teucr ham marum: Catarrhal
condition of both anterior and posterior nostrils. Mucous polyps. Chronic catarrh, crawling in nostrils with
lachrymation and sneezing. Coryza with
stoppage of nostrils.
Solidago: Hay fever. Spasmodic sneezing with runny nose. Copious, watery nasal discharge, worse from
the odour of flowers, even thinking of flowers increases the discharge. Oversensitiveness to odours.
Sanguinaria nitrate: Acute clods
with sneezing, profuse discharge, burning and rawness in posterior nares, husky
voice (must clear throat before speaking).
Pothos: Asthma fromdust exposure
(Kalic, Batta, O\, Solanum)
Asthma relieved by stool.
Psorinum: nose dry, coryza, with
stoppage of nose, chronic catarrh; dropping from posterior nares, Asthma, with
dysponea; worse, while sitting up; better, on lying down.
