ALLERGIES, IMMUNITY AND HOMEOPATHY

FACTS

The immune system is the body's natural defense system. A healthy immune system recognizes foreign substances, such as bacteria and viruses, as being different from body tissues. It then attacks and destroys them. When working properly, the immune system allows the body to fight off infections. The health of the immune system can be affected by many factors, including age, medical conditions, and medications. If the immune system is weakened or impaired by disease or medications, the person will be at higher risk of infections.

The immune system is also responsible for allergic reactions and allergies. In an allergic reaction, the immune system starts fighting essentially harmless substances like dust mites, pollen, or a medication as though these substances were trying to attack the body. This overreaction causes problems that affect the skin, nose, lungs, digestive organs, and blood vessels.

Sometimes the body responds to its own tissues as if they were foreign substances. This is called an autoimmune response.

Most people will have some problem with allergies or allergic reactions at some point in their lives. Allergic reactions can range from mild and annoying to sudden and life threatening.

Allergies can present as

1. Seasonal allergies: show up at the same time of the year every year and are caused by exposure to pollens from trees, grasses, or weeds. Hay fever is the most common seasonal allergy.

2. Perennial allergies: occur for more than 9 months out of the year.

3. Chronic allergies: Year-round symptoms (chronic allergies) are most likely to occur from exposure to animal dander, house dust, or mold.

Of the many types of allergies, some of the more common ones are respiratory allergies, skin allergies, allergies to cosmetics, such as artificial nails, hair extensions, and henna tattoos, medication (aspirin, ibuprofen, vaccines etc), food, insect venom, natural rubber etc.

Allergies may cause other problems, such as sinusitis, asthma, ear problems, nasal polyps, sleep disturbances (due to blocked nose), nose bleed, skin infections, etc.

Homeopathic Approach

“Excess of everything is bad.” This statement has been true and valid from the time immemorial. A pinch of salt can make the food and flavor enhanced; and a little more can take away the entire flavor turning it bitter and non-palatable. The true health is ALL bodily and mental functions occurring at the OPTIMUM level. OPTIMUM (Latin optimus) means Best, Most favorably. In other words, any bodily or mental function either underworking or overworking denotes imbalance i.e. disease. In allergies also, the hyper-reaction of immune system denotes imbalance.

As stated earlier, allergies can present as seasonal, perennial or chronic allergies.

In allergic diseases, where you are having problems or symptoms appearing under some particular condition and otherwise you feel “not much of a problem” – for example - loss of sleep, late or missed meals in migraine, cold and sour food causing throat problems, asthma at change of weather, dust and change of temperature causing allergic rhinitis etc. With CONSTITUTIONAL HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT, you can expect the problem to diminish surely and gradually, with each new episode being

· Lesser in intensity

· Lesser in duration and

· Episodes being lesser in frequency.

Moreover you will experience rise in periods of increasing FREEDOM. Your endurance level will increase and can be appreciated by the fact that whatever precipitating factors were causing discomfort, are no more affecting you in the same intensity. As the CONSTITUTIONAL HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT continues, you will also improve on many associated problems. You can measure and evaluate your improvements on a percentile scale – e.g. 40-45 % improvement in my migraine, 70-75% improvement in my stamina etc.