Hay Fever: To See a Doctor or a Naturopath?
By Stacey Butterfield
Hay fever. A little sneeze here and there, some red itchy eyes and a little watery discharge mean that it is not a condition that has the estimated 17% of the suffering Australian population rushing to a doctor. And why would they? If you compare a little hay fever, to say, Cancer, Diabetes or a car crash requiring immediate life saving surgery, then one might agree that the medical community is correct in their thinking that the hay fever sufferer ought to be thankful for their health. The doctor might empathetically hand over a tissue with a prescription for some anti histamines and corticosteroids. If the patient is lucky they might also have their blood run or a skin prick test to find the specific allergen and then be told to avoid the trigger before the doctor moves on to the next patient. Case well done. Case closed.
Case re opened. 10 years down the track the patient might be given a diagnosis of exclusion of chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or multiple chemical sensitivity. It is interesting to note that all three diagnosis have a long term stigma within the medical community as psychosomatic conditions, a term that the general public might refer to as a hypochondriac, also known as “all in their head”. But hang on! Isn’t that exactly what that person was saying 10 years ago when they had their hay fever actual “head symptoms” of that little sniffle, sneeze and the red itchy eyes? Doctors advice might be to take some anti depressants and that you will live. Case closed.
20 years down the track. Patient is suffering from Addinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Hashimoto’s Condition, Grave’s Disease, Lupus, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac Disease or one of the numerous other auto immune diseases. This time you might get some seriously powerful drugs like cortisone to help with auto immune response but it might thin your skin and cause weight gain. Not happy with weight gain as a side effect? Try some Azathioprine. That stops purine synthesis but has a side effect of being carcinogenic. Still not working? Why not use Cyclosporine? Why would you need to worry about liver and kidney toxicity and the creation of a similar state of AIDS in the body?
Common sense can tell us that there actually is something significantly out of balance when the human body cannot cope with a little inhaled pollened and starts to attack itself in the form of an allergic response. Look closer into the individual case and there is often simultaneous asthma, dermatitis and digestive disturbances of constipation and/or diarrhoea and reflux. As women get older there tends to be a high rate of urinary tract infections. Run a urinary indicants test and chances are you will find a positive reading for dysbiosis, which means bad bacteria in the bowel. Take a medication case history and you might find a long term use of corticosteroids.
So what do all these things have in common? They all stem from a basic problem with the immune system.
Naturopathic treatment for hay fever is actually a simple process. The basic treatment plan is to use a variety of herbs and supplements to modulate the immune system, restore the mucous membrane integrity, restore positive bacteria in the bowel and help the liver to detox the build up of toxins. Vitamin C in itself can act as a natural antihistamine and reduce allergies. Acupuncture can also be of assistance in re establishing communication systems and pathways in the body. The best thing about a naturopathic treatment plans in comparison to corticosteroids is that the hay fever begins to minimise as do the outbreaks of dermatitis and the asthma might reduce in frequency and severity.
So instead of running to a doctor for your child’s hay fever does it not make sense to use a naturopath first and let the medical community focus on their life saving surgeries after car crashes? When you look at hay fever, not as critical disease or an illness in its own right,but as a part of the picture of an individual’s total signs and symptoms, then it is worth having an appointment to start on an individual treatment plan. Prevention and early intervention, especially for the young, is critical before the total individual signs and symptoms develop into a full blown auto immune response in the future.
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