Medical researchers now believe that as many as 50 million people in America suffer with seasonal allergies.

If you’re like many people, you've probably tried a variety of conventional over-the-counter medications to manage your symptoms. The problem with those solutions is that they often make a person drowsy, edgy or feel plain lousy. More than that, they don’t solve the problem and simply mask symptoms, often with unpleasant side effects.

Happily, as research has repeatedly shown, homeopathy can really help!

This article is another in a series intended to examine five more homeopathic remedies commonly prescribed for seasonal allergies. It’s written with the hope that having this information will make your search for a helpful remedy more productive.

Arum triphyllum: A person needing this remedy is sometimes easy to spot due to the appearance of raw, bloody sores on the lips and in the nose during allergy season. Those with these sores often pick and bore into the raw surfaces, though doing so gives great pain. If a headache is present, it can produce either a violent pain or one that is more dull and pressing above the eyes and in the temples. Discharges from the nose tend to be watery (sometimes yellow tinged) and corrosive or acrid in nature and can cause great redness and irritation/inflammation on the inside of the nose, on the upper lip (it may feel as though scalded), and in the back of the throat. The nose can also feel quite stuffed up, particularly on the left side, despite a profuse watery discharge. Some hoarseness is also at times observed.

Arundo mauritanica: This lesser known remedy typically has hay fever symptoms that begin with burning and itching of the hard palate at the top of the mouth and in the corners of the eyes. There is often head congestion with noisy breathing through the nose (snuffling). If there is a headache, it is unremarkable. Discharges from the nose typically start as watery. Later green mucus is discharged. Itching, burning and dryness of the sinuses is common. And then there is this curious occasional symptom: when sneezing, there are stitches in the lower back and pelvic area.

Euphrasia: Someone needing this homeopathic remedy will often experience a variety of irritating eye symptoms; in fact the action of this remedy seems to center on the eyes. Eye symptoms include great redness and watering of the eyes and very acrid water runs from them. There is also sensitivity to light with a frequent burning or biting pain in the eyes leading to frequent blinking. There will often be the sensation that there is sand in the eyes. It’s not uncommon to have a gooey, sticky discharge from the eyes. Very characteristic of this remedy is swelling of the eyelids with much burning pain and a distressing sensation of dryness. The lids itch and burn. If there is a headache, it’s typically a dull frontal one or one that feels almost as if the head is bruised, particularly in the evening. From the nose, there is often a profuse but bland watery discharge that can be accompanied by a violent urge to sneeze. There may also be profuse expectoration of mucus in the morning with a cough.

Sulphur: This homeopathic remedy probably has the widest field of use in homeopathy (provided the characteristic symptoms of the patient match those of the remedy). The headache common to this remedy (during allergy season) is one with pressing pains above the eyes and in the forehead that is often worse in a warm room and on waking. Eye symptoms may include redness, itching, and burning with a sensation that there is sand in the eye. Watering eyes with tears of a burning, acrid nature are also common. Sulphur is known for producing an array of nose symptoms during allergy season to include frequent sneezing, stoppage and dryness of the nose (particularly when indoors), as well as periods of profuse, watery and acrid/burning discharges. If you have a number of the symptoms listed above together with a general sense of heat (particularly in the feet), great thirst, energy that seems to lag around 2pm and a desire for cool open air, Sulphur would be very worthy of consideration.

Wyethia: A person needing this remedy often will often present with violent nasal symptoms that include a copious flow of acrid, burning mucus. Despite that fact, the mucus membranes of the mouth, nose and throat feel very dry (the throat may also feel slightly swollen) leading the person to feel the need to constantly swallow saliva to relieve the dryness though swallowing brings no relief. There is also this peculiar symptom: the top of the mouth near the throat (where the nose drains into the throat) itches, compelling the person to scratch that area with the tongue. Symptoms are typically worse in the afternoon. There may be a persistent, dry, hacking cough that keeps one awake at night.

Remember (particularly if you’re new to homeopathy) the key to choosing the correct/helpful remedy is always the same. One must match the “characteristic symptoms” (i.e., unusual or peculiar) of the person you are caring for (not the common ones like a headache, sore throat, cough, fever, etc.) to a remedy capable of producing similar characteristic symptoms to have success. If you choose a remedy with characteristics most similar to the characteristic symptoms of your family member, you should have a happy outcome every time. If you don't, you or they will either feel no effect or one that is mildly positive at best, but there is never a bad effect from choosing the “incorrect” remedy.

Once you have chosen a remedy that appears to match your symptoms, dose with a 30C or 200C to start by placing one pellet under the tongue or one pellet in water, stirring vigorously and then giving a teaspoon dose as needed. Always cease dosing when relief begins and only redose if symptoms again worsen. As with any medical condition, consult with your physician if you have any concerns about the severity of the problem as it may first require medical diagnosis and/or intervention and monitoring. 

About Dr. Lisa Samet:

Dr. Lisa Samet N.D. is an exceptional homeopath who provides Washington Homeopathic Products with a regular column on using homeopathy for the family. She's a naturopathic physician who specializes in homeopathic medicine and she's a partner with Dr. Andre Saine N.D. Dr. Samet graduated from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1998 and has been practicing in Montreal since then. She was born and raised in New York.

Dr. Samet has chosen to focus on homeopathy because in her experience it is the deepest healing modality available in that it does not just soothe or palliate symptoms but can actually stimulate the body to start to heal itself. Dr. Samet sees patients in her Montreal office as well as long distance using Skype. Learn more here: Dr. Lisa Samet.You can follow her on Facebook as well.

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