Homeopathic Allergy Remedies

Allergy sufferers who want to avoid medication can often find relief for their symptoms using homeopathy, which is safe used alone or as a complement to other treatments. Choose a remedy based on what closely matches your symptoms. If that remedy doesn't work, try another. When treating allergies, it is best to work with a trained homeopath; they can help you choose remedies and treat whole body symptoms as well as underlying health conditions that may be exacerbating allergy symptoms.

Nasal Discharge

• Allergies often affect your nose. Whether your nose is running, stuffy or both can help you choose the right homeopathic remedy. Choose Allium cepa if you have a runny nose with clear mucus that is irritating to your upper lip. Other indications for this remedy are watery eyes, sneezing, a tickling cough, thirst, and feeling worse when indoors and better when outside.

  Choose Ferrum phosphoricum if you have a watery nose and runny eyes. Other indications for this remedy are a gritty or burning feeling in the eyes and a hard, short, tickling cough. Ferrum phosphoricum is also useful to take at the first sign of allergy symptoms: it can lessen the severity of an attack and sometimes stop an episode all together.

  If your nose is dry and irritated, choose Wyethia, even if your nose is still runny. Other indications for this remedy include itching in the ears, throat, roof of the mouth and behind the nose.

Sneezing

• Sneezing is another symptom that can help you choose the right homeopathic remedy for your allergies. Choose Sabadilla if you have long bouts of sneezing, watery eyes and feel like you have a lump in your throat. Other indications for this remedy include a runny discharge from the nose, an itchy nose, and headaches that occur when you are drowsy or trying to concentrate.

  Choose Gelsemium if you sneeze frequently and have aches in the back of your head and neck. Other indications for this remedy are tiredness brought on by allergy symptoms, flushing of the face, and swollen membranes in the nasal passages along with an irritating watery discharge.

  Another remedy to consider if allergy attacks cause you to sneeze, Natrum muriaticum, works well for people who sneeze, have watery eyes and clear nasal mucus that looks like egg white. Other indications for this remedy are dark circles under the eyes, thirst, having problems smelling or tasting, feeling sad or withdrawn and being irritated when someone tries to comfort you.

Coughing

• An allergy cough may be a short tickling cough or a hard tickling cough. If you have a wheezy cough, you need the remedy Arsenicum album. Other indications for this remedy include a watery discharge from the nose that may burn, swelling under the eyes, and feeling tired, restless, anxious or chilly.

  If you find yourself coughing in the daytime but less at night, the remedy Euphrasia is your choice. Other indications for Euphrasia include swollen and irritated eyes which may have some discharge, and eyes that are sensitive to light.

  A teasing cough that mostly just produces a tickling feeling in the throat is an indication for Nux vomica. People who respond well to Nux vomica often find their nose alternates between being stuffed (at night or outdoors) and runny (during the day or indoors), and they may feel impatient and irritable.

Dosage

• Take the above individual remedies as directed by your practitioner or according to package directions. If your package has no directions, try using three pellets (small, round tablets) of the 30C potency remedy. Wait at least three hours to see if your symptoms improve. Take a second dose when improvement stops or slows down. If you see no improvement try up to two more doses, allowing three hours in between doses. During allergy season, you may need several daily doses to keep symptoms at bay.