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Healing & Alternative Health:
Homeopathic Medicine
Hay Fever: Homeopathy Can Help
by Deborah Olenev,
CCH, RSHom (NA)
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Everybody else may not like the existence of hay fever, but I, as a homeopath, would be out of business were it not for this condition which brings clients to me regularly when the pollen counts are high.
Seasonal allergies are amongst the top five conditions that I treat with homeopathy. I would like to tell you about the homeopathic approach to the treatment of hay fever, and present a case history of a young girl I helped with this condition.
If you are suffering from allergies and come to see me for this health problem, what you will find is not a quick fix over the counter remedy solution. Hay fever is regarded in homeopathy as a complex miasmatic condition. What this means is that several genetic factors go into the composition of this disease, and these genetic factors must be addressed and taken apart for the condition to resolve.
How this translates to the person seeking relief is that they can often expect excellent results right away, with a reduction in their symptoms, but that the allergies may come back for several more seasons in a progressively milder form, while the homeopathic remedy is at work addressing the genetic factors that comprise this disease, until it is fully addressed.
In homeopathy we do not treat health problems based on their diagnosis, but we treat individuals based on their characteristic symptoms. So the first thing the homeopath has to do in order to help someone suffering from hay fever, is to get to know who they are. This means taking the full homeopathic case, which usually takes about two and a half hours.
The information gathered during the intake would cover the following major areas: The Physical Health, Personal History, Emotional Health and Mental Health.
The Physical Health
When investigating the physical health, I also ask about the genetic background of the family. This means finding out what diseases relatives on both sides of the family have had. Then I ask about the physical health complaints, such as hay fever and any other concomitant complaint bothering the client now and in the past.
Next I want to learn how the client functions in his life: What is he sensitive to? How does he or she respond to the different weather conditions and environments? How well does he or she sleep? What are the peaks and valleys in her energy during the day?
Of great importance is the diet. I go into great detail finding out what the client likes or doesnít like to eat and drink. Food preferences are so important in homeopathy, that I often look to these to verify a prescription.
For both men and women investigation into the reproductive health and functions is very important. Are there any problems with PMS, menstruation, menopause, and sex drive?
Personal History
In this portion of the case taking process I ask the client to tell me about his or her life starting from where they were born; their relationship with parents and siblings; their education; important relationships and career, bringing me up to date on where they are now in their lives.
Emotional Sphere
Great emphasis is placed on the importance of the emotional symptoms in homeopathy, because the strongest clues as to what remedy the client needs are often embedded in the emotional life of the client. Examples of some of the types of questions I usually ask in this portion of the case taking process are:
1) What are the activities you enjoy doing the most?
2) How moody are you? What moods do you tend to go into?
3) Do you tend to get angry or impatient? How do you express your
anger?
4) What are your fears and anxieties? Your worries?
Mental Health
Homeopaths believe that the most vital area for one's survival is the mental sphere, and that if the disease is affecting the mental plane, it is already in an advanced state. This means that the healthiest people have health complaints that are predominantly physical, and the sickest people have health complaints that are predominantly mental . I ask about the memory, concentration, phobias, delusions, and obsessions at this time.
Conclusion of the Case Taking Process
Now that the homeopath has gathered her information, she needs to see what remedies come to her mind while taking the case. Sometimes the homeopath will know right away what the client needs. It is as if the client has presented her case right out of a textbook, and it corresponds perfectly to the picture of a homeopathic remedy.
If the remedy choice is not perfectly clear, the homeopath will need to repertorize. This means looking up each individual symptom in a book called a repertory. A repertory is a huge book in which all (or at least most) of the symptoms of mankind are listed by rubrics.
Each rubric corresponds to a symptom. Listed under each rubric are the remedies that have produced that symptom in provings on healthy people, or cured them in the sick.
After looking up each symptom or rubric the homeopath looks to see which remedies run through the case. This process of repertorizing can be done manually or in a computer program designed for that purpose.
The homeopath then looks up the remedies that look like they may fit the case in a materia medica. A materia medica is a book which lists the remedies and describes their characteristics, and how each body system is affected by that remedy. There are many materia medicas available, from pocket books, which summarize the salient points of each remedy, to encyclopedic volumes, which go into great detail, quoting directly from the provings.
After studying the patient, and the remedies in the materia medica, the homeopath makes her prescription. This will include not only the single homeopathic remedy, but also the strength or potency in which it should be given. Now time and a waiting process, in which the remedy is allowed to do its work, needs to transpire. I usually wait six weeks
before scheduling the first follow-up visit. This allows time for initial reactions to subside, and for the client to have several weeks where they are starting to feel the positive effects of the remedy.
I would like to present a case now in which homeopathy has helped with hay fever symptoms.
A Young Girl With Hay fever
I first saw Anisa in June 1999 when she was thirteen years old. She was a very cute girl who suffered from allergies from a very young age. She was allergic to grass and eucalyptus, and her symptoms were worse in the spring. Most of the time her allergy symptoms consisted of a runny nose, watery and itchy eyes, a sore and itchy throat, and sneezing.
She also became slightly asthmatic in the springtime, and developed rashes from sitting in the grass. She had a history of ear infections, occasional headaches, and constipation.
Anisa loved to eat potatoes, chocolate, ice cream and fruit, and had very little thirst. Her father also suffered from allergies, and there was a family history of cancer on the motherís side. The young girl was very perfectionistic in her artwork, had a love of animals and was very concerned about being on time to school. The remedy I prescribed for Anisa was Carcinosin 200C. She responded beautifully to the remedy and her allergy symptoms subsided quickly.
The following year when the spring allergy season came round she consulted me again. This time her symptoms were milder than the previous year. She no longer had the itchy eyes and throat, but she was having the runny nose and sneezing. I gave her a remedy to hold onto, which she ended up not taking because these symptoms soon subsided as well on their own.
When I saw Anisa again in March of 2001 two years after taking a single dose of her homeopathic remedy, she reported that the only allergy symptoms she was having were sneezing, a runny nose, and watery eyes. All other symptoms such as the asthma, itchy eyes and throat, and constipation were not bothering her. I did repeat the remedy at this visit.
The following year in February of 2002 I saw her again for a new set of symptoms. The allergies had not been a problem that year. This time her mother brought her to see me because of menstrual cramps and moodiness at PMS time and headaches. She was now sleeping very late,
and craving orange soda, and fruity candies. Her new symptoms called for a new remedy. This time I prescribed Medorrhinum 200C.
In my experience almost 90% of people who need Carcinosin also need Medorrhinum at some time in their treatment. Now that the Carcinosin layer had been addressed, the underlying Medorrhinum layer had come up
to the surface. These two remedies address underlying genetic factors, which are usually present when there are autoimmune problems such as allergies.
I saw Anisa for a follow-up at the end of October and now she said menstrual cramps were no longer a problem, and her PMS moodiness was nothing compared to what it had been. She was still getting the headaches, so I repeated the Medorrhinum at this visit.
The last time I saw Anisa was two months ago. Her headaches and PMS symptoms were much better, but she did develop allergies for two weeks after a cold. These subsided shortly after that on their own without need for treatment.
I presented Anisaís case here because it is an excellent example of how effective homeopathy can be in the treatment of seasonal allergies. Also you can see the evolution of her case over several years of treatment, during which time her allergy symptoms became progressively better.
This case also illustrates how there are often several disease layers that may need to be addressed over several years, as the client is brought to better health. Anisa may still need other remedies in the future as she moves into healthier states, such as Pulsatilla, a wonderful women's hormonal constitutional remedy.
If you are suffering from hay fever, or any other chronic health problem, don't hesitate to try homeopathy. It is a beautiful system of medicine, and in the hands of an experienced prescriber can deliver magnificent results.
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Deborah Olenev,
CCH, RSHom (NA)
Homeopath
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About the Homeopath
Deborah Olenev began her homeopathic education in 1982 when her daughter was a few months old. Unhappy with her daughter's reaction to her first vaccination and frustrated with the ineffective treatment for the babys colic, Deborah was ripe and ready for an alternative.
Over a dinner conversation, a friend told her about an interesting alternative therapy called homeopathy. What he said about matching the symptoms of the patient to those of the remedy, and using very tiny doses of medicinal substances to stimulate a healing response made sense. Her curiosity was sparked.
Deborah, a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City, had been working for a publishing company doing copyediting and proofreading work. The company gave her a free book on homeopathy they had published.
The book stood unopen in Deborahs bookshelf for over a year. Now she was ready to open it. While reading the book Deborah could not contain her excitement about the subject. Her passion was ignited. From then on Deborah devoted every spare moment of her life to studying materia medica and repertory.
She enrolled in a three year homeopathic college in New York, and attended seminars taught by prominent visiting teachers for the next eight years. She gained experience treating family, friends and a growing clientele.
In 1990 Deborah moved with her family to Menlo Park, California, whereshe had the good fortune to be able to apprentice with and work for a homeopath for nearly two years. Deborah received board certification in homeopathy in 1993 and also joined two alternative health groups, where she could practice her craft in the company of colleagues.
She continues to practice at Integrated Healing Arts in Palo Alto and in her home office in Mountain View. This proved to be a very good association for Deborah, because she met her husband, Paul Sibcy, at IHA. They subsequently produced Abraham, her third child.
Paul is a practitioner of process acupressure, does individual and couples counseling, and teaches meditation and Kriya yoga. Together they have formed a partnership, where they support each other on their spiritual paths and in their healing work.
Deborah's clientele includes men, women and children of all ages, with the full range of health complaints. Now, Nastassia, the baby daughter who prompted Deborah to study homeopathy is herself enrolling in a homeopathic college in San Francisco, making her the second generation of homeopaths in the family.
Deborah is available for phone consultations and office visits.
Deborah Olenev,
CCH, RSHom (NA)
Integrated Healing Arts
4161 El Camino Way,
Suite B
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Voice Mail:
(650) 569-6219
EMail:
Olenev@att.net
Web:
http://home.
att.net/~Olenev/
www.homeopathy
forhealth.net
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