Homeopathic and Homotoxicological Treatment of Allergy

The treatment of allergies provides a unique opportunity to bridge homeopathic and allopathic medicine. Allopathic medicine uses some of the principles of isopathy in desensitization regimes and the ever expanding knowledge of immunology provides a valuable window of information on some of the defense systems of the body and their interactions.

In the mid-1980’s, David Taylor Reilly, M.D. of Glasgow, Scotland, conducted a study demonstrating that a homeopathic preparation of 12 common pollens was effective in reducing the symptoms associated with hay fever. The study entitled “Is homeopathy a placebo response?”, was published in the Lancet. It would be intriguing to develop a homeopathic allergy desensitization protocol for the treatment of allergies beginning with low potency homeopathic remedies (allergens) and proceeding to high potency remedies (allergens). This would be a reversal of the traditional allopathic treatment regimes which begin with highly dilute preparations of allergens and then proceed to less dilute preparations.

Allergic reactions can be studied on a number of different levels in an attempt to both understand the phenomenon and to develop a strategy for treatment. Some patients have an allergic reaction to a specific substance (such as a specific dog, cat, or plant); whereas other individuals seem to be highly reactive to a wide variety of substances in a wide range of circumstances. The first example can usually be treated as an acute problem whereas the latter often represents a chronic immune disfunction. Allergies can be classified as immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reactions. Immediate hypersensitivity reactions are as suggested, immediate; occurring within seconds to minutes after the antigen-antibody interaction. They are mediated by the binding of IgE with the cell receptor sites found on basophils or mast cells. Delayed hypersensitivity on the other hand is a cell-mediated immunological reaction in someone who has been previously sensitized to an antigen. As suggested by the classification of these reactions, they occur between 12 to 48 hours (more or less) after exposure.

Regardless of the classification scheme used, allergies are representative of a hyper-functioning immune system, the very system that is responsible for distinguishing between “self” and “non-self”. The failure of the immune system to function properly can present some of the most challenging clinical problems that one encounters in the practice of medicine.

From a homeopathic point of view the pathological classification is much less important than the symptom picture of the patient, even though there are some correlations between the allopathic and homeopathic classification systems. I have successfully treated cases of acute allergies (to a newly acquired dog or cat for example) with homeopathic preparations of the actual dander from the offending animal. Seasonal allergies to specific allergens (juniper in the spring, for example) can sometimes be successfully treated and even prevented with a homeopathic preparation of juniper.

My approach has been to evaluate the patient individually and determine to what extent the allergy is interfering with their ability to function in the way that they would like and to see if the allergies fit into a broader pattern of illness. If the allergy is related to a specific situation or substance I will either try and make a remedy from that substance, use a combination remedy such as BHI Allergy or BHI Hayfever, or give the appropriate single remedy. If the allergy seems to be part of deeper illness then I may use a product such as BHI Allergy for the acute symptoms.

but I will also direct homeopathic treatment at deeper, more constitutional levels.

In 1989 I treated a patient who was an artist, working with ceramics. He had suffered allergies for years, primarily allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis. He responded almost immediately to BHI Allergy with a complete resolution of his symptoms. However, whenever he stopped taking the medication, his symptoms would return. Three months after the initial visit I made a homeopathic remedy for this patient out of some of the kiln dust from his studio. After one week we stopped all medications and he has remained symptom free since that time.

Another patient was a 43 year old woman who had allergies that began with the blooming of the juniper trees in February and continued unabated until midsummer. She also felt completely depleted in energy and paradoxically suffered from insomnia. She had been taking BHI Allergy which provided some symptomatic relief for her allergies but had no effect on her chronic fatigue or insomnia. A constitutional homeopathic prescription began moving her slowly towards a state of increased health. By the following February she was almost completely recovered and interestingly enough, she had no juniper allergies for the first time in years. (She also had no insomnia or fatigue.) I have also treated several cases of hay fever successfully with combination remedies.

BHI Hayfever Nasal Spray for the treatment of hay fever contains Luffa operculata, Galphimia glauca, Histaminum, and Sulphur, all remedies with a proven track record in the treatment of allergies in general, and hay fever in particular. Galphimia glauca is a plant that grows wild in Mexico whose provings were done in Germany in the 1960’s. The main clinical symptoms associated with the proving were a “hypersecretion from the nasal and ocular mucous membranes, ...sneezing, ...edema of the eyelids...”(O.A. Julian): all symptoms classically associated with hay fever and allergic rhinitis. Hay fever has been successfully treated with Galphimia glauca in Europe for years. There are some clinical trials that have been conducted with this remedy (Wiesenauer M., Gaus W.).

Luffa operculata is a plant from South America with provings done in 1962. Acute and chronic inflammations of the nasal mucous membranes was one of the keynotes. Histamine had provings done in 1950 and hay fever and other allergic conditions figure prominently in its symptom picture. Sulphur, the greatest of the homeopathic polycrests, has hay fever and allergic rhinitis present in the many symptoms that it is capable of treating.

BHI Hayfever Nasal Spray is formulated for specific effectiveness in the treatment of hay fever and allergic rhinitis. It is important to remember that many patients with these disorders are, for all practical purposes, addicted to the use of nasal sprays. They suffer from drowsiness and rebound congestion after using anti-histamine nasal sprays. Providing these patients with a homeopathic nasal spray as an alternative is an effective solution for treating their hay fever while simultaneously weaning them from their anti-histamine nasal spray.

Sources

• 1. Julian, O.A.: Dictionary of Homoeopathic Materia Medica - 131 New Homoeotherapeutics, 1994, Jain, New Delhi
• 2. Reilly, David Taylor, M.D.: “Is homeopathy a placebo response?”, Lancet, October 18, 1986
• 3. Wiesenauer M., Gaus W.: Double-blind trial comparing the effectiveness of the homeopathic preparation Galphimia potentisation D6, Galphimia dilution 10^-6 and placebo on pollinosis. Arzneimittelforschung., Drug Research, 1985; 35; 1745-7.

Address of the author

David Riley, M.D.
P.O. Box 9080
Santa Fe, NM 87504

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BHI Biological Homeopathic Industries, Inc.
11600 Cochiti Road SE
Albuquerque, NM 87123-3376