The Homoeopathic treatment of Asthma and Allergies
National Journal Of Homoeopathy 1995 Jan / Feb Vol IV No 1.
Wallace K R.

We deal mainly with psoric Miasm when healing allergic diseases. One of the most important characteristics of psora is the inheritance of a tendency to develop certain diseases and I need hardly remind you of the strong family history of one or more of the triad of asthma, eczema and hay fever. This is the first important approach and Homoeopaths will frequently use remedies which are classed as antipsoric, notably Psorinum and Sulphur; other important antipsoric remedies are Lycopodium, Calc-carb, Silicea, Natrum-muriaticum and arsenicum.

It is also held that the use of constitutional remedies can improve allergic illness. The subject of constitutional remedies is the most important and at the same time the most difficult for the newcomer to Homoeopathy.

Thirdly it is possible to desensitize patients to know allergens, using Homoeopathic doses of the allergens. The obvious examples ar house dust mite, grass pollens, animal dander, moulds and so on. Homoeopathic preparations can be made of any allergen and acute reactions to their administration have never recorded.

These three approaches to Homoeopathic treatment are common to the tried of atopic illness, but one or more of these approaches may be considered in any particular case nd desensitization can even have a dramatic effect on its own, as will be shown below.

My approach to treatment of asthma is summarized in Table 1.

TABLE 1:

Homoeopathic treatment of asthma.
Prevention of Attacks
Components -

1. Allergy
2. Infection
3. Stress

(1) Similar approach Antipsoric remedies as to allergies in

general

Constitutional

remedies

Desensitization

using suspected

allergens

(2) Use of Nosodes:

Prevention of

infection

Treatment of

infection

(3) Psychotherapy Use of constitutional remedy

Treatment of Attacks - choice of remedy on basis of exact

symptoms.

Examples:- Arsenicum, ipecac, Natrum-sulph.

You will see that both prevention and treatment of attacks are considered. The components have been listed to show the approach to the treatment of each of these. The general approach considers antipsoric remedies, constitutional remedies and Homoeopathic desensitization, but when we come to the asthma which may follow prior infection with respiratory viruses and so on, Homoeopathy is able to provide a group of remedies known as the nosodes. These are potencies of material from infections diseases containing the causative organism, or sometimes potencies of the cultured organism only, which are used to prevent episodes of infection or for clearing up the remote (in time) effect of infection. Thus Homoeopaths use common cold tablets given at regular intervals, especially during the winter months, in the belief that this reduces the frequency of that infection many may also give a dose of the nosode Tuberculinum occasionally for prevention, for clearly a nosode from tuberculous lung is Homoeopathic to patient who have episodes of productive cough and pyrexia, etc.

That is one approach, but a nosode should also be considered where a patient has only wheezed since an episode of an infection illness like whooping cough (pertussin) or measles (morbillinum).

As far as stress is concerned I will say very little, but perhaps emphasize that Homoeopathy teaches you to look at each patient as a unique individual, hence the constitutional approach. A variety of methods may be used to reduce the impact of stress, be it psychotherapy, hypnosis, meditation, relaxation, etc, but in addition the use of constitutional remedies should be considered, based on the totality of psychological and physical characteristics.

In the prevention of asthma the Homoeopathic approach is undoubtedly highly rewarding. When we come to the treatment of asthmatic attacks, we are on much more difficult ground. There is the problem of recording the exact symptoms of a patient during an attack in order to identify the remedy. Much more serious problems arise because many patients are farflung, are on other doctors lists, and it is not usually possible to see them at all during the acute attack. To me this raises considerable ethical problems. If, however, one can gibe your individual attention to your own patient, one is fully justified in the initial administration of remedies. A thumb-nail sketch of three remedies with their main indications may illustrate the method of selecting the appropriate drug. (Table 2).

Doctors new to Homoeopathy may think that the time modalities in the choice of a remedy are a little curious and fanciful. Whoever heard of a choice between one conventional drug or another according to the times of onset or exacerbation of an illness, but this time thread will be found to run right through Homoeopathy and I suggest an analogy between this conception and really very recent work linking the efficacy of drug action with the bodys chronological rhythm.

TABLE 2: Examples of remedies used in the treatment of asthma.

Arsenicum

Onset 12-2 am

Must get out of bed

Very chilly patient

Wants hot drinks, hot

applications

Restless

Fearful

Anxious.

Ipecac

Violent sneezing

Coughing and retching

Worse for warmth

Better for open air.

Natrum sulph

Onset 4-5 am

Worse in wet weather

- especially warm

wet weather

Cough with expectoration ++.

CASE 1:

The first was a woman aged 26. She was seen in February 1982. She had asthma since she was there years old. She also had eczema and hay fever, but both of these had improved spontaneously as she grew older. She, herself, had noted wheezing when she handled cats and dogs. Her main worry was that she was devoted to her long-haired cat. Skin tests showed marked sensitivity to cat fur and dog hair, as well as to horse hair, rabbit fur and grass pollens. She was given three powders of a Homoeopathic preparation of cat fur and reported 3 months later that there had been no significant wheezing except for a contact with her mothers dog. She was given a Homoeopathic preparation of dog hair and I did not see her again until October, 1983, when she said that she had no wheezing until the last three weeks when she had some breathlessness after brushing the stair carpets. She is a very house proud patient. The skin test to House dust mite which had previously been negative was now positive and she was given three doses of this. In February,1984 her eczema became trouble some and this has been the main problem since then. She was seen in November, 1984 when she required a further dose of House dust mite (as well as Psorinum) and again in August of this year when her eczema had become very trouble-some. In fact, by this time she regarded her asthma as something quite indicated and of no great significance, so I am now coping with the Homoeopathic treatment of her eczema which is really a separate story.

CASE 2:

The case is that of a boy who was four years old when he first came to see me in 1981. There was a very strong atopic family history. He had been wheezing since the age of two years and despite conventional treatment the parents were exhausted by the constant attention which he needed at night. In fact as they all sat in my consulting room it was difficult to tell who was the most exhausted of all of them. Skin tests showed sensitivity to house dust mite and to grass pollens. The Homoeopathic prescription of House dust mite produced dramatic improvement. So much so that after the fourth week the parents reported that they had five undisturbed nights. He had a few ups and downs after that and still continued with some of his conventional treatment (Ventolin Syrup). He had needed occasional doses of House dust mite and other remedies (antipsoric), but the over all improvement was maintained until they moved out in 1984.

CASE 3:

Another boy, aged ten saw me in 1981. He had all the problems of atopy, asthma and hay fever, but it was the asthma which was causing the most disruption in the familys life. The skin tests showed dust mite sensitivity. A Homoeopathic prescriptions of House dust mite (and Petroleum for his moderate eczema) was followed by initial improvement. In his mothers words, in July there has been a great improvement to his asthma and by October of the same year his mother wrote to say that, on average, six out of seven nights were completely undisturbed. It is of great interest to know the aggravating effect of grass pollens in this boy on his eczema, for in June, 1982, after playing with other boys in a field of freshly cut grass, he developed patches of flexural eczema.

CASE 4:

A fourth case is of interest as it involves a rather unusual allergen. I normally include this in my skin testing but rarely get a positive reaction. A man of 35 came to see me in July, 1983. He had summer wheezing since 1982 only. This actually started in September, quite unlike grass pollen sensitivity, of course. He was initially given the remedy Ambrosia and his wheezing improved, but it was not until March, 1984, when I skin-tested him, that I found a truly tremendous reaction to the mould Alternaria, as well as a number of lesser reactions. He was given regular weekly doses of a Homoeopathic preparation of this mould from April, 1984 onwards. In August he reported a little wheezing and the dose was increased to once a day. His total episode of wheezing only lasted two and half weeks, as against the usual 3 months or so, and he required no conventional treatment whatsoever.

TABLE 3:

Homoeopathic eczema -

Antipsoric

remedies

Constitutional

Pathological

remedies

Known or

suspected

allergens

(desensitization).

Treatment of

Sulphur

(Mite) animal-fur (Dander)

grass pollens

moulds.

In the treatment of eczema (Table 3) the approach is in many respects very similar, although there are some differences in that remedies are included which have well marked skin symptoms in their provings.

Again we have the great antipsoric remedies Sulphur and Psorinum and one may consider giving a dose of one or the other of these at some stage to counteract the inherited atopy. Secondly, we have the constitutional remedies which are chosen with particular reference to the disposition of the patient. Examples are given in Table 4.

TABLE 4:

Pulsatilla -

Soft, yielding, good nature disposition

Tearful

Changeability of moods

Heat intolerant-skin itching mainly in the evening and night in

the heat of bed.

Red spots-like

Nettle rash

Phosphorus

Mentally alert

Fine skin

Nervy and excitable

Fears (Thunder and dark).

Sensitive to bright

lights and loud noises

Often artistic

skin cracks and forms

pustules

Silicea

Despondent,

melancholy

Weepy, Touchy.

Bright mentally

tires easily physically

Excessive sensitivity

of the skin

Perspires excessively

on hands, feet and

axillae

Calc-phos

Especially

suited to adolescents

Sensitive

Timid

Intelligent (but easily exhausted by school work)

Often peevishly

Irritable

Eczema on scalp

Lycopodium

Sallow

appearance

Diffidence

Seem older than their

years

May give impression of intellectual superiority

Itching during day time on getting heated

Skin gets chapped.

It does take time until one gradually acquires the feeling for constitutional remedies. By pathological remedies I mean those that have very marked skin symptoms in their provings and can be used without too much attention to the constitutional characteristics of your patient. The characteristics of just three which I have found useful are listed in Table 5.

TABLE 5:

Petroleum

Deep cracks which

split and bleed

Itching

Itchy eyes

Hands crack especially finger tips.

These cracks very sensitive and very painful to touch.

Adapted especially to thin, irritable and quarrelsome children.

Take offence easily.

Bright mentally but lazy at school.

Sensitive to noise, to crowds and to the cold.

Graphites:

Widespread skin eruptions, oozing a thick honey-like fluid.

Adapted to overweight, chilly, pale, often constipate Timid with

lack of self-assurance.

Mezereum:

Especially for eczema and crusting on scalp.

Intolerable itching.

Irritation worse at night in bed.

Lesions often moist. Adapted to melancholy people.

Indifferent, Irritable Poor memory, Slow thinking.

As we have seen, the fourth approach in the prevention of asthma is the use of desensitization to known or suspected allergens. Your case history may give you some clues about this, but you should again skin-test your patients as well. Let us look at just a couple of very simple cases.

CASE 5:

A girl aged 15, had eczema, on her hands, since the age of three. Her mother previously had hay fever, but there was no other family history of allergic illness. The prescription was simply the remedy petroleum and advice to use oily cream frequently as a soap substitute. There was an immediate improvement, but she required occasional repeats of her prescription. By March 1983 I noted that, in her mothers words the eczema was fine. There was an occasional rough patch of skin on her face after using stage make-up. I should add that all skin tests were negative so that there was no clue to a particular allergen involved. This patient had an exacerbation of her eczema in 1984 in the run-up to A levels. She was given a repeat prescription of Petroleum as well as a dose of Psorinum and one of the anticipatory remedies. Arg-nit, to help her with the pre-exam stress. I last saw her in February this year, for advice on debility after glandular fever, and her eczema was in complete remission.

CASE 6:

The second case is that of a child who was two years and nine months old when I first saw her in October 1984. She had the classical pattern of infantile eczema which was not noted until she was a year old. Steroid creams had been copiously applied, but despite these she was having very poor nights with irritation and scratching. There was a strong family history of atopy. The parents were quite determined not to use steroid creams again. She was given Psorinum and Petroleum with immediate improvement, but the remedies had to be repeated a month later. There was gradual improvement with occasional repeats of the remedies until March of this year when I skin-tested her, only to find a number of minor, insignificant, reactions. There was some minimal eczema, but by April she was so much better that the parents really felt there was no problem and the nights were undisturbed. I had earlier suggested that we should enlist the advice of a dietician to see if an oligo-allergenic diet would be helpful, but the parents decided this was totality unnecessary.

We will look finally at the Homoeopathic treatment of seasonal pollen allergy and non-seasonal allergic rhinitis. The cocktail is essentially the same as before. (Table 6).

TABLE 6:

Homoeopathic treatment of hay fever and allergic rhinitis.

Prevention of seasonal allergy -

1. Antipsoric remedies.
2. Constitutional remedies
3. Desensitization using known or suspected allergens.

Treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis -

1. Allium-cepa
2. Arsenic-alb
3. Arsenic-iodotum
4. Euphrasia
5. Nux-vom
6. Phleum
7. Sabadilla
8. Sticta
9. Teucrium
10. Wyethia.

Non-seasonal allergic rhinitis -

1. General approach
2. Use of specific allergen
3. Choice of remedy based on symptom picture.

Firstly, seasonal pollen allergy. The foremost remedy for prevention is Psorinum and a dose of this should be given at 3 monthly intervals out of season. A 3-monthly dose of the constitutional remedy should also be given, but this may be difficult for physicians new to Homoeopathy. I suggest therefore mixed pollen and grasses to be given pre-seasonally, either at monthly intervals or, as I now prefer, dally for two weeks prior to the onset of grass pollination.

Quite a number of remedies are available for the treatment of seasonal pollen allergy, and in view of Dr. Reillys trial in 1983 you should add mixed pollens and grasses to your treatment schedule. The trick with the choice of remedy is to try and ensure that some of the general symptoms fit the patients clinical picture. (Table 7).

TABLE 7:

Treatment of seasonal pollen allergy.

a) Allium-cepa:

Sneezing

Watery eyes

All discharges non-irritant

Much worse in a warm room

Much better in cold room and open air.

b) Arsenicum-album:

All discharges burn.

Much better in warm room

Patient feels chilly

Very restless and anxious, especially in early hours of morning

c) Arsenicum-iodatum:

Very similar to Arsenic-alb but not such a chilly patient

d) Euphrasia:

Acid lachrymation

Bland coryza

Eyelids stick in mornings

Margins of lids red and swollen

Worse for warmth

e) Nux-vom:

Nasal discharge. Dry at night, fluent in day

Worse warm room

Better cold air

Very sensitive to noise, etc.

Quarrelsome and irritable

Throat irritates and feels raw.

f) Phleum:

Nose and eyes intensely irritable

No marked general symptoms

Not proved in detail

g) Sticta-pulmonaria:

Nose feels blocked and blowing it is useless

h) Teucrium v marum:

Sneezing

Polyps

Irritable

Irascible

i) Wyethia:

Intense itching of post nares

Throat feels swollen

Constant desire to swallow.

If there are problems with choosing the appropriate remedy one should at least consider giving mixed pollens and grasses preseasonally and possibly also Psorinum at intervals during the winter months.

In practice, perennial allergic rhinitis is a difficult problem, for conventional medicines has no real cure but a wide spectrum of suppressant treatments. Look carefully at the patients environment. I have one patient with long-standing allergic rhinitis and nasal polypi who is relatively in remission until they light the solid fuel central beating boiler it the winter. I saw her only last Wednesday. They were on holiday last week and the boiler was not lit until they had been back for 24 hours. Within 12 hours of lighting it her nose was once more congested and she has followed this pattern recurrently for two years (since they moved to their present house). It is important to look for allergens.

Two case histories will illustrate the approach to treatment.

CASE 7:

A patient aged 20 came to see me in 1982 with an 18-month history of frequent sneezing on walking in the morning, and streaming discharge from his nose. There was some allergic family history. Skin testing showing sensitivity to dust mite and cat fur (no cat in the house). His prescription was House dust mite. He wrote to me three weeks later to say although my nose is still slightly blocked in the morning and I sneeze once or twice, there has been a significant improvement. Two months later he wrote as follows: "I am pleased to tell you that my nose has completely cleared up and apart from the occasional sneeze I am not troubled at all, I heard from him again in March, 1983, when his nose had recently been a little troublesome, and the prescription was repeated.

CASE 8:

The second patient, seen in 1981, was perhaps not a typical allergic rhinitis in that she was a child aged 8 with chronic catarrh intermittently for years. Her mother had noticed that she sneezed more with the grass pollen season and very much more after bouncing around on her mattress. Skin tests showed a very strongly positive reaction to dust mite and this, of course, was the prescription. There was a considerable improvement and she did not require a further prescription until August, 1982. I saw her mother in February 1983 and gave her a further prescription. She said that her daughter had been completely free from trouble until a few weeks ago.

CONCLUSION:

Physicians new to Homoeopathy should at least be able to make a start with treatment of atopic patients by giving antipsoric remedies and specific allergens. This is not difficult. The use of constitutional remedies, pathological remedies and so on will follow as more experience is gained. I am however going to sound a note of caution. Please learn from my mistakes. In my early days I would instinctively adopt an allopathic approach to treatment. I would see a patient with asthma for Homoeopathic treatment. Out would come Kents Repertory, opened at the section on Respiration. To start with there is a section on Asthmatic Respiration. 147 remedies are listed; under Difficult Respiration 82 and Wheezing Respiration 62. Matters get worse if you turn to the section headed Chest. Under Constriction there are 85 remedies and under Oppression 129. This approach offers little hope of successful treatment, for until you have acquired experience of Homoeopathic materia medica you might just as well blindfold your self, stick a pin in the list of remedies and hope for the best, but I fear you will become quickly disillusioned with Homoeopathy.

8 REFERENCE:

Reilly DT. Taylor MA. Patient placebo or potency? A proposed study model with initial findings using Homoeopathically prepared pollens in hay fever. British Homoeopathic Journal 1985; 74:65.

Acute Attack - Constitutional or Acute Acute Attack -Constitutional Or Acute.
National Journal Of Homoeopathy By Vishpala Parthasarathy.
1995 Jan / Feb Vol IV No 1.
Parinaz Humranwala.
Cases.
` Tub.

Baby N A aged 8 years consulted me for Bronchial Asthma and Allergic Bronchitis at the O P D of Mumbadevi Hospital. The child had cough with difficult respiration which was aggravated by ice-cream, cold water, banana, damp weather, sweets, oily food, change of weather and by lying down. Cough would terminate in vomiting which left the child prostrated. Her attacks were severe and could be managed only by steroids. Her asthma had been persistent for five years and the parents left no stone unturned to seek relief for the childs poignant situation. Homoeopathic medicines were also tried but without relief.

She had low appetite and craved for milk, curds, bread-butter, biscuits, rice. The girl had Kochs at the age of 3, for which she was administered AKT for a period of six months.

The child resided with her parents and younger brother. I found the child very restless, wanting to run in and out of the OPD. She then perched herself on the examination stool and rocked it to and fro. Very obstinate, self willed, intelligent and did well in school. Gets very angry if refused anything and shouts and screams to get the desired object. Fear of dark, dogs and cats. Creative minded.

On basis of the following rubrics I decided to prescribe Tuberculinum-b 200 (1 dose) as her constitutional remedy.

RUBRICS:

1. Impulse to run-dromomania.
2. Restlessness.
3. Fear of dogs and cats.
4. Obstinate, head strong.
5. Past History of Tuberculosis.
6. Desires milk products.
7. Worse damp weather.
8. Worse change of weather.

FOLLOW-UP:

16-7-92 Tuberculinum-bov 200 (1 dose) and SL for one month.
27-8-92-Was better all these days. But has developed dyspnoea and cough today. Examination revealed-scattered ronchi. Tuberculinum-bov 200 (1 dose) and SL every 2 hours for two days.
30-8-92-Better. For the first time the child did not need any allopathic medicines during an acute attack. Treatment-SL for one month.
1-10-93-No more attacks. Treatment-SL for two months
21-1-93-Occassional colds but no breathlessness. Treatment-SL for 2 months.
4-3-94-Cough. Treatment - Tuberculinum-bov 200 (1 dose) SL for 1 month.
22-4-94-No trouble. Treatment - SL for 2 months.
10-6-93-Slightly breathless. Treatment-Tuberculinum-bov 200 (1 dose) and SL for two months 11-10-93-Cough worse at night. No breathlessness. Treatment-SL for one week.
14-10-93-Cough persists. Treatment-Tuberculinum-bov 200 (1 dose)

There have been no attacks of Asthma for almost two years now. Her mother still visits the OPD for herself and reports that since 16-7-92 to date the child has never taken any allopathic medicines and is maintaining excellent general health.

Generally when a patient of Asthma comes in an acute state, we immediately discontinue our constitutional and start treating with Ipecac, Antim-tart etc. In the above case Tuberculinum-bov 200 (1 dose) a nosode, her own constitutional remedy was given in an acute state which saw her through the attack. There are however times when a constitutional remedy though well indicated does not help the patients complaints, and we need to administer other homoeopathic remedies. We therefore come to the question Are Homoeopathic constitutional remedies helpful in acute state of disease?" Readers send us your comments.

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