Andrew Moore asked:


Allergies are quite common today with practically everyone suffering from some form of allergy or the other. It is the overreaction of the immune system to antigens like bee stings, some food, insect stings or pollen that triggers an allergy. There are different types of allergic reactions that manifest itself in different ways in the body.

Allergies are generally mild with mild symptoms that go within a few days of getting rid of the trigger of the allergen. Occasionally, there are cases of people suffering from anaphylaxis which is a life threatening condition where there is difficulty in breathing and loss in consciousness.

One type of allergic reaction is seasonal allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. This is an allergic response to pollen and other microscopic substances that exist at certain times of the year. There are also conditions where allergic rhinitis works out to be perennial, or year round.

One of the types of allergic reactions is allergy to insect stings, which is very common. Some people however will not be aware of their allergy to insect stings until they are stung by an insect. More often than not, it is the second sting that triggers an allergy reaction while the first sting produces only a normal sting reaction. However if you have an allergy to insect stings, the severity of the reaction varies from person to person.

Allergy to latex is another of the types of allergic reactions where the person is allergic to substances made of natural latex. One of the main sources of this allergic reaction is rubber gloves while sometimes, latex that is used in other products like condoms and medical devices can trigger a reaction.

Mold allergy is an allergy that does not have a defined season as mold and fungi grow in all weather and thrive both indoors and outdoors. However some forms of outdoor mold tend to thrive in higher concentrations from spring to late fall. There are some people who suffer from allergy to cosmetics. With cosmetic allergy, you experience skin irritation because of some ingredients in the cosmetics like fragrances and preservatives. The two types of allergic reactions here are irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis.

Some people are allergic to pets; where it is not the pet’s feathers or fur that triggers a reaction. It is the invisible flakes of animal skin called dander that triggers sneezing, watery eyes and stuffy noses in some people. When you suffer from food allergies, it means that some food likes peanuts and jalapeños trigger an allergic reaction.

Symptoms here are like symptoms for different types of allergic reactions like hives, swelling of the throat and tongue, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and a drop in blood pressure.

People suffering from allergic must know how to get first aid if it happens to them. Friend and family will be helpful if they know what it is. You will not know when it will be helpful.

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Millions of Americans suffer from one respiratory disorder or the other, which can impact their lives in serious ways. A respiratory disorder can be acute or chronic. Acute disorders can be easily treated and last for a short time. On the other hand, chronic disorders are not only difficult to treat but can also leave a person disabled for life.

What is Allergic Bronchitis?

Allergic bronchitis is a type of respiratory disorder. It is commonly referred to as allergic asthma. The immune system of a person suffering from allergic bronchitis is highly sensitve and so hyperactive that it attacks even hamless foriegn substance that enter the body. To put it in other words, the immune system labels a harmless entrant into the body as “dangerous” and produces antibodies to fight against it.

In allergic bronchitis, irritants and allergens inflame the bronchi and lower parts of the respiratory system. The condition lasts as long as the person is exposed to the allergens. In addition, allergic bronchitis is closely associated with asthma and respiratory allergy and can lead to conditions such as hay fever and allergic rhinitis.

In most cases, allergic bronchitis causes mild to moderate suffering. However, it is important to realize that allergic bronchitis can become very dangerous and even cause death. This is because some people are extremely sensitive to allergens. This extreme sensitivity can lead to suffocation caused due to the blocking of airways by inflamed tissues. People in this condition are in great danger. They need immediate hospitalization and medical care.

You know you are a victim of allergic bronchitis when you suffer from breathlessness, runny nose, red or swollen eyes, hyperventilation, tight chest, tickling in throat, persistent sneezing or coughing, headache, nausea, and so on. As soon as you recognise these symptoms, seek the help of a medical practitioner.

Treatment of Allergic Bronchitis

The importance of consulting a physician as soon you notice symptoms of allergic bronchitis cannot be overstressed. The doctor will conduct the required steps to find out which type of allergen is responsible for your particular problem. The test involves injecting an allergen directly under the skin and observing the way your body reacts to it.

Your doctor might even ask you to see an allergist. Allergists perform a series of tests in order to understand the nature of your allergy to a particular allergen. In addition, allergists can also teach you how to prevent the relapse of allergic bronchitis.

Treating mild or moderate allergic bronchitis is fairly simple. You need plenty of knowledge about the disorder, and you also need to know the particular type of allergen responsible for your problem. Once you know, it is easy to just avoid the allergens responsible for your problem. The medical treatment for this condition is anti-histamine medication.

Prevention of Allergic Bronchitis

It is easy to manage and even prevent allergic bronchitis. As mentioned previously, the easiest way is to determine the particular allergen causing your problem and just stay away from it. In addition to this, it pays to know a few things such as the following.

The summer season can aggravate this condition simply because during the summer, there are plenty of allergens in the air.

Remember to bathe your pets regularly and free their fur from any allergens. A lot of allergens are frequently found in the fur of animals.

Take special care of yourself if you are suffering from allergic bronchitis. As already said, the condition can get dangerous.

Keep some anit-histamine medication with you while travelling. You never know the type of allergens you might come across in an unfamiliar location. Having some anti-histamine with you will help you easily control any allergic reaction that might come up.

Be assured that it is possible to live a full, happy, and productive life even with allergic bronchitis. It is very important to keep yourself informed about your condition, ways of treating it, and way of preventing it. Be in touch with your allergist and your doctor. They are the best people to give you all the information you require about allergic bronchitis and to teach you how to live with the problem effectively.

Neelima Reddy asked:


Itchiness, watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, and redness are some of the common symptoms that majority of the people experiences as allergy symptoms.

The most effective way to fight against particular allergen is immunotherapy or allergy shot, but some people will get frightened to get allergy shot.

Allergy shots hold a little amount of substance that fights against the particular allergen. For example, if the person is allergic to pollen, a small amount of substance called pollen will be added to the shot.

A small amount will be given so that the body will get used to fight against the allergen and if the body comes in contact with that substance next time, body will be familiar with that.

Who are not eligible to take allergy shot?

Allergy shots are not safe for everyone. Although most of the people experienced positive results from these shots, they are not suitable for all. People who are suffering from asthma, heart attack, and respiratory problems, pregnant women, and children under age of five are not recommended to receive allergy shot.

Alternatively, certain individuals are experiencing some side effects such as:

• Feelings of shock when the shot is initially injected

• Lightheadedness

• Nausea

So, for these reasons, the patient should stay in the doctor’s office for at least fifteen to twenty minutes after receiving the shot.

Benefits of allergy shots:

• Allergy shots improve allergic rhinitis, hay fever, bee sting allergies, drug allergies, and eye allergies.

• In some cases, allergy shots improve asthma symptoms also. The most common reaction to allergy shot is swelling at the place where the shot is given.

The success of this immunotherapy varies from person to person depending on the severity of the person’s allergy and the number of substances the person is allergic to.

In addition to the traditional allergy shots, there are new approaches to immunotherapy procedures to treat allergies.

Oral immunotherapy works similar to the allergy shot. In this method, increasing doses of allergen will be given to slowly build up the patient’s tolerance. The only difference with oral immunotherapy from allergy shot is with oral immunotherapy extract of allergen is used as drops. In this method, generally the drops are placed under the tongue and then swallowed.

Intranasal immunotherapy method involves intranasal administration of grass and house dust mite allergen extracts, which reduces the nasal symptoms such as “nasal allergy”.

The side effect with intranasal immunotherapy is nasal irritation. When compared to the traditional allergy shots, intranasal immunotherapy has no long lasting benefits.

Rush immunotherapy involves quick build up to the maintenance dose of extract. In this method of treatment, during early phase increasing doses of allergen will be given every few hours rather than a few days. Since there is a great risk involved with this rush immunotherapy, this should be done in hospital under close supervision.

Some people will experience severe reaction to the allergy shot, which is called “anaphylaxis”. In case of bad reaction with this shot, physicians will do appropriate treatment to stop this reaction.

Since allergy shots are not good for everyone, talking to the physician before taking this shot is more advisable. Visit Allergy Symptoms

Sajid Latif asked:


What is allergic rhinitis?

Allergic rhinitis is inflammation of the nose resulting from an allergy. It affects five to 10 per cent of the population. A very common form is hay fever.

What causes allergic rhinitis and what are the risk factors?

An allergy is a response by the body’s defence system (the immune system) to something that is not a harmful infection. Such ‘harmless’ substances (allergens) include pollen, cat hair, animal dander, the house dust mite and mould spores.

It is not known why people develop allergic rhinitis. It is more common in people from families with eczema and asthma and there is probably an inherited factor that affects the way the immune system reacts to allergens.

What are the symptoms and complications of allergic rhinitis?

Allergic rhinitis results in a runny, itchy and blocked nose. On lying down at night the fluid in the nose drips down on to the back of the throat and causes bouts of coughing, which can be uncomfortable and disturb sleep.

How do doctors recognise allergic rhinitis?

Allergic rhinitis is usually diagnosed on the basis of the symptoms and their seasonal nature if it is hay fever or their association with a particular allergen such as cat hair.

Year-round allergic rhinitis due to mould spores or house dust mite is more difficult to diagnose as there are other similar forms of rhinitis that do not result from allergy. More than one allergen may be involved

What is the treatment for allergic rhinitis?

Self-care action plan

A self-care action plans to avoid the allergen and so minimise the symptoms of allergic rhinitis includes:

Keeping windows closed and using an air ioniser (for pollen)

Regular vacuuming using a vacuum cleaner with a pollen filter (all allergens)

Damp dusting, so preventing dust from being dispersed into the air (for house dust mite)

Use of special bed and pillow coverings and regular laundering of bedclothes

Medicines

A variety of medicines can be bought at the chemist to treat allergic rhinitis. Probably the most effective is a beclomethasone nasal spray. This acts to stop the inflammation in the nose, but takes a few days to produce this effect and so needs to be started before the symptoms become too severe. Once the symptoms are severe it may be sneezed straight out again.

Although allergic rhinitis is common in young women, none of these medications is recommended for use during pregnancy. All should be avoided if possible during pregnancy and increased efforts should be made to minimise exposure to the allergen as outlined in the self-care section of this factsheet. If the symptoms remain a problem, a doctor should be consulted.

Hyposensitisation

This involves giving gradually increasing doses of the substance that causes the allergy and in the process making the immune system less responsive to it. This should only be carried out under close medical supervision as occasionally this treatment causes a life-threatening allergic response that must be treated immediately with an injection of adrenaline.

Complementary therapy

Some complementary therapies (homoeopathy, osteopathy and acupuncture) claim to have beneficial effects on hay fever, but the explanations for their effect are not consistent with the traditional medical understanding of hay fever. Shiatsu, the Alexander technique and aromatherapy may help to improve general well-being and symptoms.

Viktor Radcliff asked:


There are two types of allergic rhinitis: seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever)- when symptoms are experienced only during spring and/or summer, and perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) – when symptoms are experienced all year round.

The allergens that most commonly cause perennial allergic rhinitis are house dust, dust mites, cockroaches, cat or dog dander, and fungi or molds.

Industrial dust,fumes and chemicals can cause an occupation-related allergic rhinitis.

There is often a family predisposition to developing perennial allergic rhinitis and other allergies.

The symptoms of perennial rhinitis are described as like those of a permanent cold: blocked stuffy nose,constant sore throats and postnasal drip,headaches,loss of taste and smell.People with allergic rhinitis, particularly those with perennial allergic rhinitis, may experience sleep disorders and daytime fatigue.Some people with perennial allergic rhinitis show poorer psychological functioning than non-allergic people.

Symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis always flare up indoors.

The only way to prevent perennial allergic rhinitis is to avoid the allergen that causes it.For perennial allergic rhinitis caused by dust and dust mite, this means using dust mite covers for pillows and mattresses,cleaning floors and walls with a damp mop, and using an air purifier.For perennial allergic rhinitis caused by animal dander,keeping pets out of the bedroom, and off furniture, rugs and other dander-catching surfaces and having pets bathed and groomed frequently is the best solution.

Although perennial allergic rhinitis resembles the seasonal rhinitis in some ways, there are important differences in treatment options : perennial symptoms stem from allergens being inhaled deep into the lungs, so many medications that are effective in treating hay fever symptoms will be less effective.

Intranasal corticosteroid sprays have become the main recommended treatment in perennial allergic rhinitis,especially in patients with moderate or severe PAR.Decongestant sprays and tablets will help relieve a stuffy, blocked nose with catarrh.However,they should be used for short periods only.Anti-histamine medication may help, but it is far less effective than for hay fever.

Allergy testing is very important so you can identify the exact indoor allergen that causes the allergy.

Alien asked:

The word ‘allergic’ is often used loosely and has become almost a part of our general conversation. In a way it has become synonymous with ‘dislike’. Many ailments which cannot be immediately diagnosed are incorrectly attributed to allergy. Infact, allergy is an unusual response of the body caused by substances like foods, pollens, house dust, feathers, fungus, insecticides, drugs, and chronic infection.

The common allergic diseases are allergic rhinitis and hay fever, and the common cause is pollen. Allergy is due to abnormal antibodies of the IgE type which are formed only in some -susceptible individuals. Normally the antibodies are supposed to be protective. But the abnormal antibodies are fixed on special allergic cells called mast cells and on coming into contact with an allergen such as a pollen, release chemical agents such as histamine, serotonin, and slow-reacting substances. The release of these substances produce symptoms of allergy characterized by a running nose, itching, rash, and breathing difficulty.

Treatment

The management of allergic reactions includes specific treatment aimed at removing the cause, blocking allergic reaction by immuno-therapy, and symptomatic treatment. Some examples of allergen-avoidance are stopping use of such drugs, installation of air filters in air conditioners, keeping pets out of living room and removing dust collecting furniture and carpets.

Specific Treatment

Specific treatment consists of removal of the offending agents. This is done by ‘allergen testing’. Various extracts of possible offending agents are available and these are injected into the skin to detect the causative agent. However, in most cases it is difficult to identify the causative agent, but if it is found, desensitization of the individual can be carried out by injecting its doses. It has been found that through desensitization, the abnormal antibodies, that is, the IgE antibodies, are reduced or completely abolished, and protective antibodies, that is, the IgG anibodies are developed.

Symptomatic Treatment

The aim of symptomatic treatment is to check the release or antagonize the action of released chemical mediators of allergic reactions. The most important of these chemical mediators is believed to be histamine. For this reason antihistaminics are employed in almost all cases of allergy. Sometimes decongestants are combined with antihistaminics to enhance effects. Only in extremely severe cases are corticosteroids used.

Uses of Antihistaminics

Besides their use in allergy, antihistaminics are useful for prophylaxis and treatment of motion (travel) sickness and vomiting during pregnancy or following radiation. They are beneficial in the symptomatic treatment of Parkinsonism but ineffective in bronchial asthma. They are quite often used to treat common cold. In this condition anti-cholinergic effects of these drugs afford symptomatic relief by decreasing secretions of nose and respiratory passages.

Adverse Effects: The most common adverse effects are drowsiness and sedation which interfere with daytime activity, mental alertness, and reflex actions. Other side-effects include giddiness, ringing in the ears, weariness, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, rapid pulse, a slight fall in BP, constipation, abdominal pain, dryness of mouth, urinary hasitancy and blurring of vision. Very high doses may induce fever. These adverse effects are more common in elderly people.

Precautions

Alcohol is forbidden with these drugs as sedation of a dangerous level may occur.

Driving and operating any kind of machine should be avoided after taking these drugs as they cause drowsiness.

If taken after a meal, the intensity of side-effects can be minimized.

Drugs containing chlorcyclizine and meclizine which are also antihistaminic, should not be self used by a pregnant woman. These may cause some adverse effects on the foetus.

Ointments containing these drugs should not be used for a prolonged period; allergic reactions have been found to be more common on local application of these drugs. (At times these anti-allergic drugs, when taken orally or more commonly, when applied on the skin, may cause allergic reaction. Is this not a paradox?)

Other Drugs for Symptomatic Treatment

Ketotifen (Ketovent, Ketotif)

This drug stabilizes the cell membranes of mast cells and thus prevents the release of histamine. Besides having antihistaminic properties, it is useful in preventing an attack of asthma. It does, however, cause drowsiness, a dry mouth, dizziness, nausea and weight gain.

Cromolyn Sodium (Ifiral, Fintal)

Used as eye drops (2%) in allergic conjunctivitis, nasal spray (2%) in allergic rhinitis and metered dose inhaler (1 to 2 mg/puff) in bronchial asthma.

Nedocromil

This drug is used 2 puffs, twice a day, in place of cromolyn.

Topical steroids like flunisolide (SYNTARIS) and budesonide (BUDECORT) are nasal spray.

Non-Sedative Antihistaminics for Symptomatic Treatment

These new generation anti-allergic drugs do not reach the brain and do not produce sedation (cetirizine causes some sedation) which is common adverse effects of all the drugs available in this group. These are therefore used more widely. They do not impair psychomotor activities such as driving and do not enhance effects of alcohol or diazepam. They are useful in allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, urticaria, drug allergies and atopic eczema. They are not effective in motion sickness, vertigo and should not be used in pregnancy. These agents are less effective than older drugs in common cold.

Decongestants Used in Symptomatic Treatment

These agents reduce the swelling of mucous membranes (shrinking effect) in allergic diseases by constricting small blood vessels. Some drugs are used by mouth such as pseudoephedrine (PSEUDAFED 60 mg tab) and phenylpropanolamine. The latter is rarely used alone.

Alexander Chong asked:

Otitis media is an inflammation that occurs in the middle ear. Middle ear space contains fluid that could be easily infected and the infected middle ear is called otitis media with effusion. The cause of the chronic OME (otitis media with effusion) for most of the allergic rhinitis patients is mainly due to the IgE-mediated allergies. IgE-mediated allergy is the allergy that happens when IgE antibody (one type of the white blood cell) binds with the mast cell. IgE antibody is being produced by the plasma cell when foreign particular from outside of the body entering into the blood through nasal mucosal surface. Once the IgE antibody binds with the mast cell around the nose, histamine is secreted from this cell and it is the main chemical that causes itching and hypersensitive of the nose.

According to the publication by a group of scientists, 50% of the children who had chronic OME also had nasal allergy. Effects of the seasonal allergic rhinitis to the Eustachian tube function and middle ear pressure had been studied by a few groups of medical scientists. According to one of the studies, Eustachian tube of the pollen allergic patients become obstructed increases from 15% to 60% from the starting to the maximum of the pollen exposure. In one of the studies, ragweed pollen, which is seasonal pollen, was let it exposed to a group of people. What had been discovered is that it will cause immune reactions in the Eustachian tube and nose. Apart from this study, the other study reported that house-dust mite, which was a perennial allergen, also caused Eustachian tube obstruction. In the same study, they found out that 55% of the adults, who had nasal allergy, experienced the development of the Eustachian tube dysfunction when this group of adult was exposed to house-dust mite. In the following study, new thing that had been found out was Eustachian tube obstruction happened more frequently for the patients who had allergic rhinitis. In allergen provocation studies, scientist found out that nasal obstruction usually occurred before the development of the Eustachian tube obstruction. In allergen provocation study, individuals who took part in this study were exposed to allergen to provoke their nasal allergy symptom. In this study, researchers also discovered that various of inflammatory mediators such as histamine have been detected in middle ear effusions of the children who had OME. If Eustachian tube obstruction that was caused by perennial exposure to allergen such as house-dust mite was left it untreated for quite a sometime, it could form middle ear disease, especially, when priming phenomenon occurs in the Eustachian tube. Priming phenomenon happens when mucosa in the organ responds to lower doses of allergen with repeated exposure. Allergic rhinitis could have priming phenomenon too when the mucosa in the nasal passage responds to low amount of allergen that has been inhaled through the nostril. For the Eustachian tube obstruction that was caused by seasonal exposure to allergen such as ragweed pollen, its physiologic hyperresponsiveness could extend beyond the ragweed season.

Studies show that half of the newly occurrence otitis media are diagnosed immediately after patient had been infected by viral URTI (virus that causes flu and common cold). By using traditional standard culture techniques, it is quite rare that viruses could be isolated from the middle ear effusions in the patient with otitis media. However, with the newly developed PCR-based molecular analysis, viruses in the middle ear effusions could be detected and discovered that 53% of the middle ear effusions are positive for viruses. An experimental, which was carried out by infecting real human with rhinovirus-39, had been carried out in Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to study the effect of this virus to the middle ear pressure and Eustachian tube. Result of this experiment showed a substantial increase of Eustachian tube dysfunction and also abnormal middle ear in approximately 30% of the people who had been infected in this study. However, all these people who had been infected by this virus had less possibility to develop an otitis media disease. In another study, where influenza A virus was intranasally inoculated to a group of peoples, 59% of the inoculated people experienced the development of middle ear under pressure and only 25% of these people developed otitis media. In this study, one of the inoculated people developed middle ear under pressure followed by purulent otitis media. This patient middle ear effusion was taken for PCR analysis and it showed positive result for both influenza A and Streptococcus Pneumoniae. Streptococcus Pneumoniae is some kind of spherical, Gram-positive, alpha-hemolytic bacterium and it is a member of the genus Streptococcus.  In this group of inoculated people, 80% of them who had infected by this virus experienced the development of Eustachian tube dysfunction and 80% of them had middle ear under pressure. With this group of infected people, five of them had developed OME on the 4th day after the viral exposure. One of the patients had dizziness and vertigo symptoms, which is mainly due to the inner ear malfunction. All these studies support the causes of otitis media by URTIs virus and causes of otitis media starting from the development of Eustachian tube obstruction and abnormal middle ear pressure. In the recent publication about the study of a group of children with acute otitis media, micro-organisms in the fluids of the middle ears of the children were isolated by the investigator of this study. They found out that 65% of the fluid samples that had been collected contained both bacteria and viruses. These results show that virus infection in the middle ear creates an environmental that is suitable for the breeding of bacteria.

Based on the information that had been collected from a few recent publications of the studies of the relationships of the allergic rhinitis to the OME (otitis media with effusion), we could conclude that allergic rhinitis or common cold/flu will cause Eustachian tube obstruction and middle ear pressure. When the situation becomes uncontrollable, Otitis media with effusion will develop and this may could permanent hearing impairment. Therefore, allergic rhinitis and common cold/flu should be treated immediately without any delay. This is because these common illnesses may become serious and develop to chronic sinusitis disease and otitis media with effusions, which is quite difficult to cure.

Dr Subbhramita Panda asked:


LLERGY



It is a commonly used term. Those who suffer from allergy they take it as a part and parcel of life. They believe it has no treatment. But the fact is allergy is an immune disorder and it is perfectly curable in homoeopathy. Because in homoeopathy the immune system is stimulated in order to cure a disease.

Let us first understand allergy at a glance.

It is the hypersensitive reaction of the body towards certain substances called allergen. Allergen can be dust, smoke, any food or vegetable or any weather, any smell, sun light etc. Allergy can affect people of all age groups

Cause-

a. Lack of body immunity

b. Increased body sensitivity

c. Family history of skin or respiratory or any major illness.

d. history of suppressed skin disease by external application or antibiotics.

The symptoms of allergy mainly appearing on skin and respiratory system are as follows-

1.Dust allergy- On slight exposure to dust; even from sweeping a floor, from opening an old news paper, fume from kitchen do you get itching in eyes and nose? Then sneezing for a long time which is followed by runny nose and eyes? If yes, then you are suspected of having dust allergy.

You are scarred of doing morning walk as the sweepress on the road may be sweeping and the dusty surrounding may aggravate your dust allergy. You don’t like to do evening walk as the home coming vehicles leave the road full of smoke and fume. The moment you inhale that air, the sneezing starts.

Tips-Avoid exposure to dusty environment and use a cloth to cover your nose while passing through a dusty road.

2. Allergic rhinitis-Sneezing starts early in the morning as soon as you wash your face. Constant sneezing followed by running nose and eye. This often is followed by headache (sinusitis). In winter the condition is worse. Constant itching and irritation in eyes cause redness of eyes. Watery discharge from nose is acrid which causes erosion of skin of nostrils.

Tip- Use leukwarm water for washing the face in morning and bathing.

3. Frequent sore throat-Does slight intake of cold drink, pickle, sour food, fruits, exposure to air condition etc. cause throat irritation, pain in throat with difficult swallowing etc.? It may be pharyngitis and tonsillitis. Sometimes these symptoms lead to viral fever. You avoid watching movie in theatre as exposure to A.C will affect you. You avoid joining a party as you can’t have cold drinks there. If these are your problem then homoeopathy has a lasting solution for you.

Tip- Avoid the fruit with citric acid and other food causing sore throat.

4. Sinusitis- There are 4 pairs of sinus (air filled pockets) present in our face. In cases of recurrent respiratory tract infection these sinuses gat infected and leads to headache. Headache from head bath, frontal headache, headache between the eyebrows, at the root of the nose, around the eyebrows , swelling of eyelids with heaviness in head, can’t bow down the head etc. are the main symptoms of sinusitis.

Tips- Avoid cold exposure, dry the hairs immediately upon taking head bath.

5. Asthma- If the above given complaints are not taken care of then often they lead to bronchitis or asthma. Here you have shortness of breath because of contraction of airway muscles. The attack may come with or without sweating. Craving for air makes you restless. It compels you to use nasal spray. But gradually the doses of the spray increases making your body resistant to that. Other side effects also get added.

For example- Steroids used for asthma reduces adrenaline in body. Hence it is followed by fatigue, tiredness etc.

Triggers- winter, cold drink, citric fruit, lying down posture, exposure to dust, smoke etc. are the aggravating factors for asthmatic attack.

Tip-Avoid taking cold drink grapes and orange.

While lying down keep the head slight higher than the body.

6. Sun allergy- Do you get darkness of skin (tanning), itching and swelling in patches (urticaria), rash on skin with or without itching. Skin rash coming in stripes or patches like coins. You go on itching and itching. It feels good to scratch. Then is followed by bleeding? Sometimes they vanish automatically. Do these occur after you are exposed to sun light even for few minutes? All these complaints come under one umbrella of sun allergy.

Ointments or external applications can’t bring lasting effect. They often suppress the complaints and give rise to more vigorous internal complaints. SPF (sun protection formula) lotion also fails to bring a permanent relief.

Tip-Cover the exposed part of your skin with white cloth which absorbs the heat efficiently.

7. eczema- Itching mostly around joints, in the skin folds like elbows, underarms, under breasts, thigh folds. Severe itching found often associated. Oozing of watery or sticky fluid from the eruption. Whichever body part is contacted with that fluid, new eruption appears. Peeling of skin from the dried eruption.

8. Acne/pimples- It is the inflammation of the sweat glands or sebaceous glands situated underneath the skin.

Cause-It may be genetic, hormonal, and wrong in diet or regimen, oily skin texture, dandruff etc.

Genetic and hormonal acne are usually painful, large, red (acne rosacea) in colour with whitish tip.

Pimples because of dandruff are usually small, multiple, present in forehead, cheek and arms like prickly heat; these are followed by dark blackish (blemishes) patches on skin.

9. Warts- It is caused by a virus called HPV (Human Papiloma Virus).It is seen as a genetic disorder also. Most of the people mention the presence of the same kind of warts in father or mother.

Warts may come in single or groups. Single ones may be flat type or cauliflower type etc. Warts coming in groups usually found around the neck, under arms and around *********.

Warts are treated the best in homoeopathy. No ligation, no cauterisation, no burning, no external application but only internal medicine is used. By homoeopathic medicine not only the existing warts disappear but also the tendency to form new ones is eradicated.

Caution- warts are because of internal cause. So external removal is not the permanent solution. Rather external removal gives rise to more injurious internal disorders.

10. Detergent/ornamental allergy –After washing clothes with detergent skin of the hand peel off. Skin surrounding the nail exfoliated causing the nail bed painful. Without washing machine you are bound to bear with the dirty cloths only! Nothing to be sad about. Homoeopathy has got cure for it.

Are you scarred of using ornaments, jewelleries? Having blessed by laxmi you are still not able to enjoy your gold! As soon as you use a ring the surrounding area around the finger start itching and eruption develop. After few days of wearing a necklace you find blakish tanning around the neck!

Many take these symptoms granted through out the life but trust me, try homoeopathy for once and get rid of these complaints for ever.

CURE- Lasting cure is effective with ‘constitutional homoeopathic treatment’(CHT).



Unique features of CHT-



1. Free from side effect.

2. Cost effective-It does not drain out your pocket. Even the poorest can afford it.

3. It not only removes present complaints but also prevents recurrence.

4. Method of treatment is mild, gentle, painless and lasting.

It is safe to use for all age groups starting from infants to elderly people as well as during pregnancy.





How allergy develops?



For every plant to grow 2 things are needed. (i) SEED and (ii) SOIL

Similarly for every disease to happen 2 things are needed. (I) the genetic tendency and (ii) wrong diet and mode of living.

The 1st point can be ascertained by family medical history and 2nd point from the patient himself. If anybody in your family (blood relations) is having allergy then genetically you also have the tendency to be affected by that disease. Later on when your body immunity goes down because of excessive physical or mental stress then that tendency develops into symptoms of allergy. Thus CHT considers the entire constitution of the patient and then constitutional medicines (3 types-antipsoric, antisyphilitic, antisycotic) are given as per the indication.

Speciality in Dr Meeta’s clinic-

1. Here the homoeopathic medicines are dispensed in the latest method (as per the sixth edition of organon by Samuel Hahnemann) that is 50 millesimal medicines and fractional doses are used. This makes the duration of treatment faster and rapid.

2. Individual case record is maintained for every patient.

3. Prescription is issued to the patient. No medicine is kept hidden.

4. Time to time sincere follow-up is done.

5. At the beginning of the treatment the patient is explained about the method and duration of treatment.

6. No food restriction from the medicinal point of view is given.

Dr Meeta

www.yourdoctor.co.in

Brenda Williams asked:

The medical term for hay fever is allergic rhinitis. It is very similar to asthma except for one important difference. If you have asthma, airborne particles cause an allergic reaction in your chest and lungs. If you have hay fever you experience this reaction in your eyes, nose, and throat.

The airborne irritant is called an allergen. When you are exposed to the allergen your body releases a chemical called histamine. This results in an inflammation in your sinuses, the fragile lining of your nasal passages, your eyelids and the surface layer of your eyes. Common allergens that trigger hay fever are dust mites, pollen, animal skin and hair, and feathers.

There are two types of hay fever, seasonal and perennial. If pollen is the only allergen that triggers your hay fever, you have seasonal allergic rhinitis, as pollen is not present in the air all year long. Your symptoms will only appear when you are in an area where plants produce pollen at the time of year when this happens. However if your hay fever is triggered by dust mites, animal hair or feathers, it would be perennial as these airborne particles are present year round. It is also possible to have both perennial and seasonal allergic rhinitis if more than one allergen triggers your symptoms. People with allergic rhinitis will start to sneeze, develop a runny nose and red watery eyes whenever they are exposed to the allergen that triggers their attacks. The eyes also itch and rubbing them makes it worse. Sometimes the skin itches and the throat becomes dry. Wheezing also occurs. An allergy attack will be most severe for fifteen to thirty minutes. Most people are aware when they are allergic to pollen. However, they may not know what other allergens they react to. If this is a problem, physicians can perform skin tests to identify the allergens that trigger the attacks.

Once you know the substances you are allergic to, try to minimize your exposure to these irritants or avoid them altogether. There are many over the counter preparations designed to help hay fever sufferers. The most common are antihistamines. These can both prevent and stop an attack however they may need to be used for several days. Antihistamines have certain side effects such as dryness in the nose and throat and drowsiness. A person taking antihistamines should exercise caution about driving or operating machinery until they know how the medicine affects them. If over the counter medications are not effective, there are prescription medications available from a physician. Antihistamines only relieve the symptoms of hay fever. They do not cure it. However, if you have had a skin test and your doctor has identified the substance that triggers your attacks, it is possible to cure the underlying cause. The doctor can administer a series of desensitizing injections. These actually contain the allergen and are given in increasingly stronger doses to stop reactions. While they have been successful with some patients, they do not work for everyone.

Nikhil Abraham asked:

Allergic rhinitis

Also known as hay fever , this condition refers to an allergy to pollen , dust , pets etc. which results in sneezing / running nose , nasal stuffiness , watery and itchy eyes.

In most cases, symptoms are mild and at the most are inconvenient . But if its severe and persists for extended periods of time , it is a cause of concern and needs to be treated.

If the allergy is due to pollen , symptoms are seen in particular seasons depending on when the plant in question flowers. Allergies to other things could be throughout the year.

Diagnosis is by clinical symptoms. Skin/ blood allergen testing can also be done to pinpoint the cause for the allergy.

Though the obvious preventive step is to avoid exposure to the offending agent , in most cases since its environmental, it just cannot be avoided. Regular cleaning of living spaces and personal effects minimizes exposure to allergens.

Medicines for treatment fall into the following categories :

Antihistamines – these control symptoms such as sneezing , watering and itchiness of eyes etc. Though the older ones are cause drowsiness , the newer generation antihistamines have minimal sedative effects and are safe. There are even antihistamine nasal sprays which take effect fairly quickly.

Decongestants – are often combined with antihistamines in tablet form or are available as nasal sprays. Though these provide instant relief from nasal stuffiness, it is wise not to use them for more than a couple of days since long term administration is known to cause adverse changes in the nasal skin lining. This is also due to preservatives added to the solution. Also, with repeated use , the response decreases till there is no effect ultimately.

Intra nasal steroids are very effective in the treatment of symptoms that are present for long periods.. It is administered locally and hence is safe for long term use.

Other drugs that influence the allergic reaction cascade such as cromolyn and leukotriene receptor antagonists are also useful but need to be taken on a regular basis.

Oral/ injectable steroids are rarely given keeping in mind their long term effects and are only prescribed for short periods when symptoms are very severe.

Immunotherapy is also an option for those whose symptoms are severe, uncontrolled by medication , or if other allergic conditions (eg. asthma, eczema ) begin to develop.