Homeopath Em Colley Article on Hayfever and Homeopathy

Hayfever – an ideal place for homeopathy?

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Em Colley

It’s that time of year again, the one that all the warmth lovers eagerly anticipate (or at least hopefully wish for) and those who suffer from hay fever retreat inside, counting down until the season is over. The dark rooms, closed windows, sunglasses to cope and countless days of irritable sneezing, sniffing or weeping eyes, or the over the counter meds to get through each day. Neither of which make for a particularly glamorous sounding summer. Or that enjoyable either.
But what can homeopathy do? Well, as well as ideally helping to strengthen your own healing ability longer term and perhaps reduce the chance of getting the hay fever, whilst you’re in the thick of the season you can also treat the symptoms with remedies that may help.
Following is a round up of the most commonly used remedies in hay fever:
Allium Cepa

• Strong burning sensation from the eyes accompanied by a bland watery discharge – better open air.
• The eyes are sensitive to light, often red and irritated with burning and smarting. 
• Nose can become red and sore from the copious, burning, acid discharge. 
• Sneezing on entering warm room. The voice can be hoarse and there can be a hacking cough on breathing in cold air. 
• Allium cepa hayfever often comes on worse in spring or August, is worse for being in a warm room and better off for cool air. A peculiarity is that it particularly affects the left eye or nostril or may start off on the left side and spread to the right. 

Sabadilla

•  Persistent and spasmodic sneezing, running nose, copious watery discharge and an itchy, stuffed up nose. 
• The eyes water in the open air, from sunlight or whilst sneezing. 
• Symptoms are also worse for cold air and there is usually improvement from eating warm food and warm drinks or from keeping warm. 

Euphrasia

•  Eyes water all the time with acrid watering (cf Allium Cepa)
• Burning and swelling of the lids (especially the lower), blinking, conjunctivitis like symptoms.
• The nasal and throat symptoms are less marked but include profuse watery bland mucus, which is easily discharged. Euphrasia symptoms are worse for sunlight, evening and night-time, for windy weather and indoors, and better for the cool, open air.
• Euphrasia tincture can also be used as a local eyewash by diluting one drop in an eyebath of cooled sterile water. 

Arundo

•  Hayfever begins with burning and itching of the palate and conjunctiva.
• Annoying itching of the roof of the mouth and in the nostrils sometimes with pain at the root of the nose.
• Initially the nose can discharge clear mucus which can then turn green and slimy with lots of sneezing.
• Loss of smell.

Wyethia

• Intolerable itching felt on the roof of the mouth and behind the nose, sometimes extending into the throat and ears.
• Irritable throat with dry cough.
• Everything in the head feels dry and irritated, but the nose may still be runny.

(Information from www.materiamedica.org.uk)