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

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.

Tom alter asked:


Some people who inherit an allergy sensitive background develop certain allergies from time to time. These allergies may be due to many environmental factors and sometimes symptoms of asthma are also impersonated by them. Some common forms of these allergic reactions may be seasonal while others may be perennial in nature.

It is important to understand the differences between these and asthma so that they are never confused with asthma because their treatments as well the severity both differ from each other. Seasonal sneezing is called seasonal allergic rhinitis or hay fever in the common parlance. As against the name it is not caused because of hay but because of certain pollutants mainly certain kinds of pollen in the environment to which a person may be allergic.

In contrast to these people some others suffer with sneezing bouts, stuffy or running nose almost all the year round. These people suffer from perennial sneezing or perennial allergic rhinitis. When these people are exposed to cold wind, sunlight, dust and fumes the symptoms of the sneezing bouts precipitate.

In hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis the symptoms appear gradually or all of a sudden. This depends upon the degree of exposure to the offending allergen and also upon the degree to which the person may be allergic to them. When the symptoms appear gradually they are accompanied with mild sensation of itching and burning of the eyes and mild irritation in the nose or itching of the palate inside the mouth.

The symptoms usually appear in the early morning hours when the concentration of pollen grains is at its peak. The sneezing bouts are also accompanied with marked increase in the nasal congestion, throat congestion, running of the nose profusely and watery eyes. The nasal mucous membrane becomes highly sensitive with advancement of symptoms and any slight change in the nasal mucous membrane manifests in heavy bouts of sneezing.

These changes may be of very slight nature like appearance of a draft, strong odours, or even minute quantities of dust. In addition to these symptoms there may be appearance of other associated symptoms like general lethargy, loss of appetite, drowsiness and also pain in the body with slight rise in temperature.

In some patients in addition to the above mentioned conditions the symptoms of bronchial asthma also develop side by side making the conditions worse. These symptoms either develop right from the start of the other symptoms or may develop later as the disease advances. The worse part is that once a person starts with these symptoms he may continue with the symptoms of asthma even after the sneezing attacks stop.

This condition can be very easily diagnosed with the study of the case history of the patient. The tests usually undertaken to identify the pollens are skin tests with extracts of the pollen and scratch or intracutaneous tests giving positive reactions to the pollens simultaneously with a confirmation of the same through consultation of the pollen calendar.

Once the offending pollen is identified the effect of it can be controlled efficiently by hypo sensitization tests. Treatment with antihistamine tablets generally proves to be every effective. But it is only a temporary resort. The allergen has to be properly identified and then treated accordingly with preventive measures and drug therapy if need be.

Taking preventive action to overcome seasonal sneezing attacks is very important. For this undue exposure in a particular season should be completely avoided. Outdoor activities like tending to the garden or farming should not be done. The windows of the rooms should be kept closed as far as possible to avoid exposure to the allergen. In extreme cases using air conditioning may be the only way out.

The patients of perennial sneezing or perennial allergic rhinitis have sneezing, running nose, blocked or stuffy nose and nasal discharge almost all the year round. These people many – a – times are found to be snoring at night and are in the habit of breathing through the mouth. They have discomfort in the ears because of blockage in the ear tubes that open in the throat.

These are called Eustachian tubes. When the irritation persists for a long time a person tends to rub the nose vigorously and repeatedly. This leads to development of a crease across the nose called the allergic crease. Some paranasal sinuses may also get blocked leading to accumulation of secretions.

When the ear, nose and throat get infected repeatedly there may be accompanying fever. Exposure to irritants like cold wind, sunlight, dust, fumes and smoke all lead to aggravation of the symptoms. These symptoms usually occur in the early morning hours and then the symptoms may continue throughout the day and even at night. The symptoms in severe cases may resemble symptoms of asthma accompanied with bronchial spasm and suffocation.

The condition is generally diagnosed after studying the family history of allergy. The lab test of eosinophil count is a must to come to concrete conclusions. Skin test of pollen and other allergens is necessary in case the eosinophil count is normal. Treatment with antihistamines helps very limited people. Nasal drops may provide temporary relief but they should be used very sparingly as they work on the principle of cauterization, that is burning o the mucous membrane of the nose so that the nasal passage becomes insensitive. Hyposensitization works efficiently and surgery may be used in very extreme cases only.