Homoeopathy in nasal allergies

Dr. Jayashree Rao, BHMS

Tired of sneezing, running nose, noseblock, itching of eyes, nose and/or throat? Feel you have a never ending chronic cold. You could be suffering from allergic rhinitis! Allergic rhinitis is the inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane associated usually with a immune mediated hypersensitivity to allergens. It could be seasonal or all throughout the year.

Seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever) is most often caused by pollen of weeds, grass or trees at different times of the year. Perennial allergic rhinitis can be triggered by common indoor allergens such as the dried skin flakes, pet dander, mold, droppings from dust mites and cockroach particles.

It is more often than not associated with/or could lead to other states like allergic conjunctivitis, chronic sinusitis, headache, cough and/or wheeze. In the milder form it does not affect lifestyle or normal functioning. But in moderate to severe cases, it can cause poor sleep, impaired concentration, absence from work or school and disruption of daily activities.

Dry windy weather tends to increase the risk of exposure to pollens as compared to damp rainy days where most pollen is washed to the ground. A family history of hypersensitive/allergic reaction in the form of bronchitis, bronchial asthma skin allergies also tends to put a person in the high risk category.

The management of allergic rhinitis is primarily to reduce the risk of exposure to the allergen. If the allergen is known by skin tests, avoiding those specific allergens will reduce the symptoms. If the allergen is unknown, general measures like keeping the environment clean and dust free, limiting outdoor activity at high pollen time will help alleviate the symptoms.

In addition to this, measures to reduce the hypersensitivity reaction of the body to seemingly innocent substances or triggers are key to long term treatment of the complaint. Homoeopathy plays a major role in setting right the internal imbalance which brings about the exaggerated response to these triggers. It works on a two pronged approach — one to improve the overall immunity of the individual so that it recognizes the trigger as a harmless object and reacts accordingly. To this end, indepth understanding of the imbalance is done by detailed case taking and medicines prescribed on an individualistic basis.

In addition, in acute exacerbations, the medicine helps in alleviating the symptoms and giving immediate relief. Some of the more commonly used medicines for allergic rhinitis are Rhus Tox, Aconitum Nap, All Cepa, Ars Alb, Euphrasia, Wyethia, Sabadilla etc.The dosage and repetition and the indicated remedy varies from patient to patient depending on the severity and the symptoms.

To know further details please contact Dr. Jayashree Rao, Bliss Homoeo Care, mob: 919535897800. email id: blisscare4u@gmail.com