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Hay Fever first published April 2007
For many people, the prospect of an early Spring followed by a long hot dry Summer is something to be contemplated with pleasure but for a significant minority of people in the UK, it is a thought that fills them with foreboding. I am talking about the several million people who suffer the miseries of hay fever.
If the climatologists are correct, the trend we have experienced since the war and which seems to be accelerating, will mean these conditions will soon become the norm.
So what can Homeopathy offer these unfortunate people for whom hay fever is an unpleasant and distressing condition? Well, let us first consider what causes hay fever! In short, many things, although the main culprit is pollen from trees, grasses and shrubs. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that modern living is playing an ever greater role because of the increase in atmospheric pollution.
The main period for hay fever is considered to start in March but can now, for the reasons stated, begin as early as February, depending to a degree where one lives in the UK. Pollen from silver birch is a main factor but it is not the only one as grasses which are seeding earlier are now accepted as a significant contributor.
It is not widely appreciated that hay fever symptoms can be present through a large part of the year and in Autumn, when the trees shed their leaves, they produce spores of airborne moulds which result, for the sufferer, a time equally as distressing as Spring.
Therefore, for those people who are either unsuited by the conventional remedies of antihistamines and steroids or are not helped by them, I suggest Homeopathy. One of the most useful remedies I have for this condition is 'Mixed pollens and grasses' 30C. The use of this to relieve the symptoms of hay fever has been thoroughly researched by the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital and it is usual to start at a dose of one tablet per day, at either the first signs of symptoms, or preferably a little before, throughout the season. This dose may be increased to three times daily if symptoms are severe and it may be used by all ages and in combination with other homeopathic remedies.
Allium cepa is recommended for watering eyes and a constant runny and sore nose and Nat mur if the nose is blocked. Many patients who have taken antihistamines for a prolonged period may only find relief with Mixed pollens and grasses after taking this remedy for several years as the effects are normally cumulative. The usual period is 2-3 years.
I hope that for those of you who suffer from hay fever find some relief by using a homeopathic approach if you are finding your conventional medication is less than effective.
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