CHAPTER 6: HAY FEVER

from ‘Basic Homeopathic Therapeutics’ by Karen Johnson

HAY FEVER
This condition is best treated with good constitutional prescribing to help diminish the allergic tendencies of the patient. However, there are several homeopathic medicines that can alleviate the acute symptoms. (Two remedies that can be very useful although they have not been adequately proved are two combinations. Mixed pollens and Mixed moulds. They are combinations of the most common allergens.)

ALLIUM CEPA
Coryza in the spring and hay fever in August every year. Worse after getting up. Sensitive to smell of flowers. Sneezing with increasing frequency. Profuse watery excoriating discharge drips from nose. Nose feels blocked as mucous membrane inside swells. Profuse bland lachrymation (opp. Euphrasia) though eyes smart and burn as does the nose. Can also have a headache, hoarseness, or hacking, tickly, cough with the hay fever symptoms. Symptoms can go from left to right. Patient is better for open air or cold air.

ARS ALB.
Sneezing is a prominent symptom, tickling sensation in nose that triggers the sneezing. There is profuse watery, acrid, excoriating nasal discharge which reddens the nose. Nose is totally blocked. Patient is chilly, anxious, and restless. There can be wheezing or asthma with the hay fever also. Profuse acrid lachrymation with burning in the eyes. Patient is very sensitive to light. Eyelids may be oedematous. Intense thirst for cold water which can upset the stomach. Warm applications help the burning. Can feel very worn out by the symptoms. Symptoms can be worse in the middle of the night (1-2 am).

ARS IOD.
Hay fever when the discharges are hot, thick, yellow like honey or green and very excoriating. Tingling in nose and constant desire to sneeze. Sore red nose. There can also be difficulty in breathing. The eyeballs feel heavy. Burning sensation in the pharynx. Also thirsty for cold water. Restless, anxious like Ars alb. but much warmer.

ARUM TRIP.
Acrid, fluent, coryza that causes red streaks on the skin, but bland lachrymation. Nose feels stopped up especially the left side, has to breathe through the mouth. Severe catarrh. Sneezing much worse at night. Terrible irritation in the nose which spreads into the face. Tend to poke into the nostrils, however sore until they bleed. Patient can also become very hoarse, and the lips can chap and peel.

ARUNDO
Hay fever starting with terrible burning and itching of palate, eyes, nose and in canals of the ears. Discharge from nose is watery at first, then goes green with pieces of hard green mucus in it. Lots of salivation with the sneezing and nasal discharge. Loss of smell. Coryza with lots of snuffling. Patient can be very cross and stubborn.

DULCAMARA
Constant sneezing with profuse watery discharge from eyes and nose. Greatly affected by newly cut grass and being in the open air. Symptoms much improved when in a closed room. Nose blocked, cannot breathe through it. Wants to keep nose warm. Eyes can be swollen and worst affected, then they improve, and nasal symptoms get worse, then the eyes worsen again. Cannot bear and is worse for cold and damp. Particularly affected by freshly cut grass. Has difficulty concentrating.

EUPHRASIA
Profuse watery, acrid lachrymation with profuse bland nasal discharge (opp. Allium cepa). Photophobia, eyes much worse in sunlight, open air, and wind. Eye discharge can also be thick, acrid, and yellow and patient can wake up in the morning with eyelids stuck together. Redness, burning and itching of eyes. Bland nasal discharge. Postnasal drip overnight causes coughing in morning. Intense sneezing, cough with the coryza and much expectoration. Cough is better when patient is lying down and at night. Catarrhal headache. Worse in the evening. Feels much better in the dark.

GELSEMIUM
Symptoms worse in spring and summer. Hot, dark red, face. Violent paroxysms of sneezing in the morning. Tingling in the nose. Watery, excoriating discharge. Sensation of hot water flowing from nose, also nose can feel stopped up. Drooping eyelids. Red, sore, aching eyes. Dull, heavy, headache. Feeling of great weight, and tiredness of body and limbs. Trembling and weakness and sneezing exhausts the patient. Wants to be left alone, apathetic state.

LACHESIS
Spring/Summer hay fever. Paroxysms of sneezing, worse after sleeping. Headache from sun, before an attack, extending into the nose, with frequent paroxysms of sneezing. Mucous membranes of nose swell. Dry, stuffed up sensation. Red sore nostrils/ lips. Tickling, suffocative cough, Asthma from hay fever. Face is purplish and swollen. Can’t bear anything around or near the throat.

NATRUM MUR.
Watery discharge from eyes and nose. Nasal discharge is very profuse, like a running tap. Discharges can be acrid. Violent and frequent sneezing. Loss of taste and smell. Chapped lips. Tickling in throat pit causing a cough. Eyes water and run with the cough. Itching, sore eyes especially inner canthi. Feeling as if sand in the eyes. Headaches from exposure to sun. Worse in the sun, better at the seaside.

PULSATILLA
Profuse bland watery discharge, but as with pulsatilla discharges could also be yellow. Bad itching and watering of eyes which is helped by cold applications. Patient is much worse for getting overheated, being in the open air- unusual for Pulsatilla who are usually better in the open air. Symptoms are improved by being in air-conditioned room like having fresh air without the pollen in!

SABADILLA
Violent incessant sneezing with copious discharge. Fluent coryza worse on smelling or even thinking of flowers. Itching and tickling in nose, bleeding from nose. Very sensitive to smells (especially garlic!). One nostril can be stuffed up. Severe frontal head pains and redness of eyelids. Lachrymation worse during sneezing, coughing, and walking in open air. Face feels hot. Patient is chilly. Patient is generally better for warm drinks or being in a warm room.

STICTA PUL.
Constant need to blow nose, but there is no discharge. Feeling of fullness at base of nose. Nose stuffed up; discharge dries so rapidly it cannot be discharged. Virtually constant sneezing. Tingling in right side of nose. Dryness of the soft palate and tickling high up in the pharynx. Catarrhal headaches. Burning of eyelids, eyes feel sore on closing or turning them. Patient is worse for sudden changes of temperature.

WYETHIA
Terrible itching in roof of mouth eased by running tongue over the soft palate. Itching in posterior nares. Sneezing, continuous watery discharge, but the nose, throat etc. feel dry. Dry hacking cough from tickling in the epiglottis.