Besides the coronavirus, people continue to suffer from many other diseases including hay fever. According to the WHO, the prevalence of seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever) ranges from 1 to 40% in different countries and perennial (year-round) allergic rhinitis – up to 18%.1 The number of such people is progressively increasing. There is a close relationship between allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma.2,3
The homeopathic approach to the treatment of seasonal rhinitis was described by James Kent:
“You may know that the true nature of hay fever is not generally understood. Many a time have I seen hay fever wiped out in one season by a short-acting remedy, only to return the next just the same, and perhaps another remedy will be required. As soon as the hay fever is stopped you must begin with constitutional treatment. It is a difficult matter to find a constitutional remedy when the hay fever is at its height, for it resembles an acute disease; but it is a manifestation of psora, like any other manifestation of psora, as eruptions, cough, etc. In a psoric condition a short-acting remedy is insufficient, it may help for one day only, and the deep-acting remedy that includes the patient as well as the hay fever and all the other symptoms will have to be administered. The best time to treat hay fever is after the acute attack subsides and until it begins again the next season”.4
Among the constitutional remedies that should be prescribed outside the period of exacerbation of hay fever, many authors pay special attention to Psorinum and Tuberculinum. Henry C. Allen wrote about Psorinum: “Hay fever appearing regularly every year the same day of the month; with an asthmatic, psoric or eczematous history. Patient should be treated the previous winter to eradicate the diathesis and prevent summer attack”.5
James Kent wrote about Tuberculinum bovinum: “When Psor., Sulph., or the best selected remedy fails to relieve or permanently improve; follows Psor. as a constitutional remedy in hay fever, asthma”.4
Choosing an acute drug for hay fever is not an easy task because the symptoms are very general. George Vithoulkas wrote about Ambrosia: “This remedy should be thought of in cases where Dulcamara, Sabadilla, Wyethia, Aralia, Arundo or Ars-iod were prescribed and failed, especially in cases of hay fever that start with catarrh and end with asthma”.6
Also, he wrote that Arundo has proved useful in certain obstinate cases of hay fever where Sabadilla, Wyethia, Kali-b. or Agaricus have had no effect, though seemingly indicated.
Below is a table for comparative study of some acute hay fever remedies. It can be used for studying, teaching and practical purposes. In the differential diagnosis of such drugs the special attention should be paid to the time and conditions of the onset of hay fever, the peculiar symptoms, concomitant pathology, especially asthma, and modalities. An attempt to reflect all these features is presented in the table. The material was collected from Materia Medica of many authors.
| Remedy | Season | Trigger | Symptoms | Concomitants | Worse | Better |
| Agar.
Agaricus muscarius |
Redness, burning itching of ears, as if they had been frozen.
Itching of eyelids, palate, inside and outside the nose. Sneezing on exposure to the least bit of sun. |
Angioneurotic edema | Cold
Alcohol Sun exposure |
Slow motion | ||
| All-c.
Allium cepa |
August | Odor of flowers
Skin of peaches |
Acrid nasal discharge with profuse bland lachrymation is the most characteristic symptom.
Much itching of the nose, conjunctiva and nasopharynx. Nasal obstruction morning. Redness in eyes, photophobia. Violent sneezing from rising from bed and deep breathing |
Headache (forehead, temples) Disturbance of sleep and appetite | Indoors
Warm Morning Evening
|
Open air |
| Ambro. Ambrosia artemisiae folia |
July
August |
Ambrosia All kinds of pollen, especially from roses | Lachrymation and intolerable itching of the eyelids, and a feeling as if the whole respiratory tract and the head were blocked.
Stuffed sensation in the nose and chest; oppressive pain in the left chest, must sit up; awakens suddenly with pertussis-like cough; face dark red; eyes congested, smarting, watery; nose red, swollen; watery coryza. |
Diarrhea
Asthmatic breathing |
Evening
2 am |
Sitting |
| Aral.
Aralia rasemosa |
Violent sneezing from least current of air.
Asthmatic attacks, whistling breathing, must sit up. Copious, watery, acrid, salty discharge from the nose excoriating the nostrils; soreness of the posterior nares. |
Asthmatic breathing | Slight drafts
Cold air Lying |
Warm
Walking in the sun Sitting |
||
| Ars-i.
Arsenicum iodatum |
Yellow thick discharge alternates with or follows a thin water discharge both acrid and excoriating.
Great irritation and tingling of the nose, with a constant desire to sneeze but this brings no relief. |
Mental and physical restlessness | Dry, cold windy, foggy weather Apples
Tobacco Sea wind |
Open air | ||
| Arund.
Arundo mauritanica |
Begins with burning and itching of palate (Wyeth) conjunctiva and nostrils.
Severe sneezing with the itching in the nostrils, with constant catarrh. |
Loss of smell | ||||
| Bad.
Badiaga |
Coryza, sneezing, watery discharge from the nose with asthmatic breathing and suffocative cough.
Spasmodic cough from tickling in the larynx, resulting in the forceful ejection of viscid mucus from the bronchial tubes, which sometimes flies forcefully out of the mouth. |
Asthmatic breathing with paroxysms of suffocative cough | Cold
Afternoon |
Warm | ||
| Dulc.
Dulcamara |
August, (warm days, cold nights)
June (rose cold) |
Cut grass Newly mown hay | Nostrils entirely filled up, preventing breathing, constant sneezing.
Profuse discharge of water from nose and eyes, eyes sometimes swelled and full. At one time nose most affected, then again eyes. |
Sudden change of weather to cold, wet
Open air Morning Evening |
Covering nose
Warm Closed room Seaside |
|
| Euphr.
Euphrasia officinalis |
Contrary to All-c, this is the remedy with a nonirritating nasal discharge, but with pronounced conjunctivitis.
Cheeks are red and hot. Cough is only during the day. |
Evening
Warm South wind Light |
Fresh air
Dark room |
|||
| Linu-u.
Linum usitatissimum |
Linum (flax) | Severe allergic
bronchospasm, urticaria. The more pronounced the respiratory manifestations of allergies and skin symptoms, the more indicated. |
Asthmatic breathing
Urticaria |
|||
| Lycpr.
Lycopersicon esculentum
|
Dust
(Smallest amount) Tomatoes |
Itching in anterior chamber of nose, agg least dust.
Profuse watery coryza excoriating alae nasi, drops down into throat, salty taste. Later the coryza is thick, white and tenacious. Sneezing abundantly. |
Outdoors
Dust |
Indoors | ||
| Naja
Naja tripudians |
Spring
August |
Asthmatic breathing, especially with dryness in the larynx, suffocation.
Flow of water from nose for a few minutes; then intense sneezing, which > the breathing. The rawness in the throat and larynx; dreadful aching in the throat extending to the larynx, swallowing does not relieve. Much sneezing; with running of water from nose; inability to lie down at night; suffocating spells after sleeping; dryness of larynx. |
Asthmatic breathing | Lying down
Night Sleep |
Sitting
Standing Sneezing |
|
| Napht.
Naphtalinum |
Eyes are inflamed, painful, bloodshot.
Constant sneezing. The head is hot. High degree of asthma. |
Asthmatic breathing | Open air | |||
| Phle.
Phleum pratens |
Hay-fever with asthma.
Watery coryza. Itching of nose and eyes. Frequent sneezing. Dyspnoea. |
Asthmatic breathing | Walking in forest
Open air |
|||
| Ran-b.
Ranunculus bulbosus |
Smarting and burning in the eyes.
Stuffy dry nose: particularly tingling and crawling, which the patient tries to relieve by hawking and blowing the nose Sometimes this sensation attacks the posterior nares, causing the patient to hawk and swallow, and endeavor in every way to scratch the affected part (Ars, Sil). Itching in soft palate (Wyeth). |
Hoarseness General muscular soreness
Sharp stitching pains in and about the chest Burning on urinating |
Cold
Air draft Evening |
Warm | ||
| Ros-d.
Rosa damascena |
Spring
June (rose cold) |
Rose pollen | Beginning of hay-fever, with involvement of Eustachian tube (Sil, Ars, Ran-b) and hardness of hearing, tinnitus (Lob). | Ears involvement (hardness of hearing, tinnitus) | ||
| Sabad.
Sabadilla |
June (rose cold)
August |
Odors of flowers
(roses), fruits (apples) Thinking about them |
Hypersensitive to odors.
Violent, spasmodic sneezing (Stict). Itching in soft palate (Wyeth). Lachrymation upon going into the open air. Running nose; copious watery nasal discharge; itching and tingling in nose and soft palate. burning in eyes with lachrymation. severe frontal pains; dryness and roughness of throat. |
Pain in the forehead | Open air
Odors of flowers or fruits, even thoughts about them |
Warm room
Inhalation of hot air |
| Sin-n.
Sinapis nigra |
From August to late
autumn |
Hot, dry nose; either nostril may be affected alone or alternately.
Oppression of chest, as if something heavy oppressed it from neck to diaphragm. Rattling, wheezing in chest, dyspnoea. Eyes red, smart, burn and itch. |
Asthmatic breathing | Afternoon
Evening (Hay fever) Lying Night (asthma) |
Sitting up in bed with shoulders drawn forward
Rest |
|
| Stict.
Sticta pulmonaria |
Incessant sneezing (Sabad.)
Fullness in the forehead and root of nose and tingling. Nose is completely plugged up, though continual sneezing. Irritating hot watery mucous discharge which may become thick and even purulent. Distressing dryness of the nose and palate, the mucous surface feeling as stiff as leather. |
Asthmatic breathing | Night
Lying Weather change |
Open air
Discharge |
||
| Succ-ac.
Succinicum acidum |
Paroxysmal sneezing.
Dropping of watery mucus from nostrils. Inflammation through respiratory tract; causing asthma, chest pains, etc. Itching of eyelids, canthi and nose. |
Asthmatic breathing | Drafts | |||
| Wyeth.
Wyethia helenoides |
August
Autumn |
Itching of the soft palate (Arund, Ran-b, Sabad); patient must scratch it with the tongue. (Nux-v – itching extends to the larynx and trachea, irritability, sensitive to cold).
Violent acrid copious coryza. Extreme dryness of the nose, mouth, throat and pharynx with burning. Constant desire to swallow saliva and cleaning throat. Elongated uvula and burning of the epiglottis. |
Afternoon
Talking |
REFERENCE
- CS E, HC P. Epidemiology of allergy. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2011;44(3):537-548. doi:10.1016/J.OTC.2011.03.001
- J B, PW H, I A, et al. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) Phase 4 (2018): Change management in allergic rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity using mobile technology. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019;143(3):864-879. doi:10.1016/J.JACI.2018.08.049
- Morjaria JB, Caruso M, Emma R, Russo C, Polosa R. Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis as a Strategy for Preventing Asthma. Curr Allergy Asthma Reports 2018 184. 2018;18(4):1-9. doi:10.1007/S11882-018-0781-Y
- J.T.Kent. Lectures on Homeopathic Materia Medica. B.Jain Publishers (P) LTD; 2002.
- Allen HC. Allen’s Keynotes. 10th ed. B.Jain Publishers (P) LTD; 2016.
- George Vithoulkas. Materia Medica Viva. Volume 1. International Academy of Classical Homeopathy (IACH); 1993.
