Allergy

An allergy is an abnormally high sensitivity reaction to an ordinarily harmless substance. The immune system of an allergic person reacts when an allergen is absorbed into their body, treating the substance as a harmful invader. When this occurs it causes the body to release histamine, which causes allergic symptoms — watery eyes, itching, sneezing or a runny nose.

Conventional medical treatment for allergies usually consists of antihistamines, steroids, and desensitization shots. In obstinate cases, laser surgery may be utilized to vaporize mucus-forming nasal tissue. People with allergies know that these treatments don’t work; at best, they provide temporary relief of symptoms and at worst, they create side effects which can be worse than the allergies themselves.

Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding about allergies is the assumption that the allergen (the cat dander, the pollen, the house dust mite, or whatever) is the problem. Actually, the allergen is simply the trigger, while the allergic person’s body is the loaded gun. Rather than just treating symptoms or avoiding the allergen, the best course is to take action to strengthen the body’s own immune and defense system. Natural therapies which do this help empty the loaded gun or simply make it shoot blanks.

Other systems of medicine suppress immunity by giving anti-allergy medicines so that body should not respond at all, but such treatment helps only in the short term.Homeopaths instead prescribe a “constitutional medicine,” a remedy that is individually chosen to the totality of symptoms that the person is experiencing, not just the allergy symptoms. Homeopaths treat the patient behind the allergy. Finding a person’s constitutional medicine requires the care of professional homeopath.