What is Allergy:
Allergy means an unpleasant reaction of the body to a substance which normally does not cause any harm to the body.
The word allos and eargen together form the term allergy. Allos means altered and eargen means reaction. Hence, allergy means altered reaction.
What is Allergen?
Allergen is a substance which causes/initiates allergic process or reaction. An allergen can be classified into various categories according to the following:
1.Site of its action in the human body 2.Its origin 3.Place of its contact. Based on the site of its action, an allergen can be classified into: a) Cutaneous allergen- An allergen which causes allergic manifestations after coming in contact with the skin b) Inhaled allergen- An allergen which enters the body through inhalation and acts mainly on the respiratory system c) Trophallergen- A Trophallergen causes gastro-intestinal allergies after ingestion. For example: Asthma is a condition that affects a lot of children and adults. It is caused by inhaled allergen. Steroid treatments and inhalers commonly prescribed by doctors lead to weight gain and other side effects but patients continue to remain symptomatic and get flareups of condition requiring more steroids. I have treated a lot of patients with Asthma and have achieved symptom freedom or minimal symptoms in almost all of them.
Based on its origin, an allergen can be classified into the following: a)Allergens of animal origin- Animal dander, dust mite, eggs etc b) Allergens of plant origin- The most common example of this group is pollen. c) Chemical allergens- About 3 percent of the adult population is sensitive to Aspirin. Allergy to Penicillin is well known. Any chemical used as a preservative, coloring agent or flavoring agent can cause allergy. d) Microbial allergens- This group includes various microorganism (s) which can act as allergen (s) in an individual. For example, Streptococci, Staphylococci etc. e) Mycotic allergens- Allergy causing molds, Candida albicans, Alternaria etc. f) Parasitic allergens- Such as Ascaris or Filaria g) Physical agents- Temperature (cold and heat), Sun etc., are some agents which do not come under any of the above categories, but these do cause allergic symptoms, and are called as pseudo-allergens. For example: I treated a patient with parasitic allergic reaction. He was suffering from irritative, suffocative cough, which did not improve despite several months of prescribed medicines. Past history of the patient revealed that he was suffering from similar symptoms lasting months about 6-7 times in the past, the first episode started about 25-26 years ago. After about a month of starting my treatment, the patient observed some worms in his stools. I adjusted his medicines further and after 3 doses, the improvement started and within a week the patient was symptom-free. Based on the place of contact: an allergen can be classified into the following two types: a) Indoor Allergen- An allergen which is present inside one’s home and with which one comes in contact indoors; for example, house-dust, kitchen smoke, bed-hug etc. b) Outdoor allergen- An allergen which is present outdoors and with which one comes in contact outdoors; for example, pollens, industrial smoke etc.
Symptoms of Allergy:
Symptoms of the allergy depend upon which part of the body is affected and which kind of allergens causing the symptoms.
1. Eyes: Itching or Irritation, Redness, Lacrimation (watering od eyes), Oedema (swelling of one or both the eye lids)
2. Nose: Itching, stuffiness, Running nose, Sneezing, Block nose (intermittently) (common cold also have same symptoms but compare to common cold symptoms of allergy last for longer period of time and the discharges are more watery, thin, clear and profuse.)
3. Respiratory system: Hoarse voice, Irritation of Throat, Cough, Wheezing, Broncho-spasm.
4. Gastro-intestinal system: Persistent and unexplained diarrhea, Nausea, Recurrent vomiting, Cramps and colic, Constipation, Aphthae (ulcers in mouth) and large amount of Gas.
5. Genito-Urinary system: Increased frequency of urination, Enuresis (involuntary urination) and Itching of Genitals.
6. Skin: Eczema, Urticaria and Angioedema.
Homoeopathic approach to Allergy:
Homoeopathy is based on Principle of Like cures like means substance that has capacity to produce symptoms in healthy human being, can cure the similar symptoms in a diseased person. Example when we cut the onion, we feel irritation of eyes, watering and sometimes nasal discharge starts. Similarly, medicine prepared from onion, Allium cepa is able to cure the symptoms like redness of eyes, irritation in eyes with watery and thin nasal discharge.
Homoeopathy is also based on Principle of Individualization. Each person is unique in this world. This uniqueness is due to a force or energy. When we feel ill, we often get some symptoms that everyone gets, representing common symptoms of disease. But at the same time, some of our symptoms are unexplainable or unique. Homoeopathic prescription is based on this unique combination of symptoms of a person.
Example: Pollen allergy: Lots of people suffers from Pollen allergy but some people have marked redness of eyes or redness of eyes is their initial symptom, while in others nasal discharge is the first symptom or most pronounced. In some people discharge from nose is thin, watery and bland while lacrimation (tears) is acrid (irritating, strong), while in some patients, lacrimation is profuse but bland and nasal discharge is acrid causing nose to be red and itchy.
In Traditional (over-the-counter) medicine, for both of above condition same medicine is used, but in Homoeopathy, different symptoms are treated with different medicines based on classifications described above.
References-
Homoeopathic Therapy for living with Allergies by Dr. Dhiraj Nanda.
Organon of Medicine by Dr Hahnemann