Choose homeopathy for allergy relief 

If the snow and cold ever go away in Asheville, its citizens will celebrate -- until, they realize that allergy spring season is just around the corner! But allergies don’t have to control your life. Here is a quick lesson on allergies and their treatment from a homeopathic standpoint. I also present research from the medical literature that supports my experience.

Asheville is a bad place for people with allergies. The immense variety of plant life that lives in this mountainous southern region wreaks havoc on people whose immune systems can’t tell friend from foe. Even people who have never suffered from allergies develop them upon moving here.

Understanding allergies

What are allergies? Merriam-Webster defines an allergy as an “exaggerated or pathological immunological reaction (as by sneezing, difficult breathing, itching, or skin rashes) to substances, situations, or physical states that are without comparable effect on the average individual.” Basically, your body treats a harmless substance (like grass pollen) as if it is a danger (like a virus). It creates the same reaction as it would when you have an infection.

When you have an infection, the immune system can eliminate it and you feel better. When you are repeatedly exposed to an allergen, the symptoms persist. So you have two treatment options: eliminate the exposure (which is virtually impossible), or train the immune system not to react inappropriately.

Conventional medicines like antihistamines and inhaled steroids work by shutting the immune system down generally. They minimize the inappropriate function of the immune system, but they also inhibit the appropriate function of the immune system. They also tend to produce side effects which are generally nothing more than a nuisance, but can be dangerous in extreme cases.

Homeopathy and allergies

Everyone wants to know, “Is there a homeopathic remedy for allergies?” This is conventional medical thinking. There is not “a remedy” for allergies, but there is a remedy for each person with allergies.

For example, a person whose allergy symptoms include thick yellow nasal discharge that is much better when they are outdoors in cool weather might need the remedy Pulsatilla.   This person will tend to be gentle and emotional, warm-blooded, and thirstless. Her or his symptoms are likely to change frequently.

On the other hand, a person with a dry stuffy nose who feels better in hot humid weather will more likely respond to the remedy Nux vomica. This person will more likely be assertive and irritable, with a sensitive stomach and constipated.

There are a hundred other examples. I’ve personally cured people’s allergies with dozens of different remedies: Natrum muriaticum, Sabadilla, Kali bichromicum, Allium cepa, Sepia, Sulphur, Silica, Medorrhinum, etc.

Homeopathy has been practiced for two hundred years, and we still use the same remedies in the same way, based on the same indications. This is a system that has avoided constant overhaul for one simple reason: it works!

Medical research and homeopathy

There are a host of research studies that support the practice of homeopathy. Here are some that pertain to allergies. There is great debate among conventional researchers over the study design of homeopathic studies. Homeopathy does not lend itself well to placebo controls and double-blinding. I encourage you to read the studies for yourself. To me they are convincing. Perhaps that’s because I see their results duplicated in my practice day in and day out.

Colin (2006) reports on 105 cases of ear, nose and throat allergies treated homeopathically. Only two failed to respond and none deteriorated. Respiratory allergies were not as well-treated in this sampling, though many of the respiratory allergy sufferers did not return to the clinic for follow-up, so they had to be assumed to be treatment failures. Read the abstract at: Colin (2006).

Launso et al (2006) surveyed 88 patients who had consulted either a general practice medical doctor or a classical homeopath for allergies. Fifty-seven per cent of those under homeopathic care reported improvement in their health, while only 24% under conventional care reported improvement. Read: Launso et. al. (2006)

Goossens et al (2009) studied the effect of homeopathic treatment on allergic rhinitis (runny and stuffy nose). The reduction in symptoms was dramatic and significant across the population studied. Read: Goosens et. al. (2009)

What is it like to work with a homeopath?

Your experience with a homeopath will be very different from your visit with a primary care physician or allergist. First, the conventional doctor will spend little time with you. There is no need to learn much about your condition when the treatment options are so limited. You are almost certainly going to get a common antihistamine – a drug which blocks part of the immune reaction to an allergen.

An allergist will probably test you to see what it is you are allergic to. Then you will get an antihistamine and/or allergy shots specific to the type of allergen detected by the test. This at least individualizes care to some extent, but only to the extent that you identify your key allergen.  It does not take into account the entirety of your health.

A homeopathic visit involves a thorough examination of your health and health history. Each symptom is examined in detail. I want to know what makes your runny nose better or worse. What exactly does it feel like? When did it begin in the first place and why? What other symptoms or changes in your body come along with allergy season? 

Then I want to understand you as a person. What are your sensitivities? Are you hot or cold? Do you sleep well? What aggravates or annoys you? What soothes you? What causes you stress or ruins your day?

Homeopathic treatment also involves ongoing consultations to make sure the remedy prescribed actually works and that you continue to respond. The end goal of homeopathic treatment is to be disease-free and have little-to-no dependence on medication – including homeopathic medicine. The treatment should fix the problem, not just cover it up. 

You will tend to need more frequent care and repeated doses of the remedy early in the course of treatment. As the season goes by -- and as future seasons come and go – you will need the remedy less and less. This is real health care.

Don’t get caught in the (sick) crowd

People will line up to see their family practitioners and allergists this spring as they always do. They will continue to suffer, and to remain dependent on their allergy medications.   Try individualized homeopathic medicine this year and see what it feels like to conquer your allergies – to remain symptom-free this season, and for seasons to come.

Much is made of free radicals and antioxidants these days, and with good reason. Perhaps one of the greatest battles in the health-disease continuum is that between free radicals and antioxidants. Tipping the scale in our favor will promote longer life and better health.

A free radical is a molecule with one unpaired electron that carries a single positive charge. Free radicals are what cause your car’s body to rust. In the human body, these same free radicals cause tissue damage and aging. And that single positive charge gets passed domino-like through each molecule the free radical contacts in the body. 

Cigarette smoking, stress, chemical exposure, injuries, and sun exposure are all sources of free radicals.

Antioxidants neutralize that single positive charge and thus stop the “domino fall” of tissue damage. Vitamin C, vitamin, E, selenium, bioflavonoids, and polyphenols are all examples of antioxidants. 

As a general rule, the more antioxidants you have in your body, the healthier you are. In fact, a large British study in 2008 found that people with high blood levels of vitamin C lived four years longer than those with low levels.

Not surprisingly, antioxidant supplements are big business. From vitamin C to whole foods-based products (fruit and vegetable juices and powders), antioxidant products are widely available. The question is, Are these products effective and worth the price?

I’m not going to name products, because I’m not trying to endorse or condemn any one in particular. They will generally contribute to better health, all other things considered. I take a supplement myself, even though I eat lots of antioxidant-rich foods. 

 I’m aware of some powdered drinks that provide a whopping 15,000 – 20,000 ORAC units, a measure of antioxidant capacity, for about $8.00 per serving. This works out to 40 cents per 1,000 units. Can we do better with pure foods? 

 The USDA lists ORAC values for hundreds of foods. Wild blueberries provide about 6,500 ORAC units per 3.5 ounces. I can buy frozen wild blueberries at the store year-round for $4.00 per pound, making the cost per 1,000 units a little more than 13 cents! That’s one-third the cost of the supplement.

 Fresh raw currents have almost 8,000 ORAC units per 3.5 ounce serving. While the USDA does not list the ORAC value of dried currents, drying tends to triple ORAC values. Dried currents are $4.50 per pound locally. Assuming a tripling of antioxidant concentration, the cost per 1,000 ORAC units of dried currants is just four cents. 

Using similar logic, and the ORAC values of dark chocolate and fresh cherries, I come up with a real treat. Chocolate covered dried cherries at a local health food store are $16.99 per pound. Their ORAC value per 3.5 ounces is about 12,000, making the cost per 1,000 units just over 30 cents. Granted this is more than dried currants or frozen blueberries, but it’s cheaper than the supplement powder. And, it puts a smile on your face to think about taking your medicine!

 Now I’m not suggesting that we all live on dark chocolate and fruit. (Though I could suggest worse things!) A variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, plus healthy fats and proteins, are crucial to good health. Berries, artichokes, black beans, tree nuts, artichokes, and culinary herbs and spices are loaded with life-extending antioxidants. Load your diet with them, and you will enjoy optimal health reduce your need for expensive supplements.