Breathing is inhalation and exhalation, where oxygen is inhaled into and carbon dioxide is released from the body. Air passes through the nose, which has fine hair and mucus to filter out suspended particles in the air like pollen. When the person s immunity is weakened or is highly reactive, the mucosa reacts to many substances which are generally present. This is known as allergic rhinitis.

Types: Depending on the occurrence, it can be:

Seasonal: For instance, in spring when there is too much pollen in the air; known as hay fever. This is an acute rhinitis and subsides with a change in weather.
Chronic: This is when the body reacts to some normal substances like eggs, animal dander, extreme cold, dust, mites, etc. via an allergic reaction.
Causes of allergic rhinitis as per Ayurveda

Mandagni   low digestion strength
Kapha vruddhi   increase of Kapha dosha
Allergens   external factors such as pollen, dust etc
Residing with pet animals
Exposure to humidity, dust, cold
Virudh aahara   wrong food combinations
Long term intake of drugs like aspirin, leading to depleted immunity and making the person prone to dust allergies.
Symptoms:

Runny nose for prolonged periods of time
Chronic congestion
Persistent sneezing
Teary eyes
Fever and headache
Ayurveda believes that this is due to excessive kapha dosha. So, in order to manage allergic rhinitis, two approaches should be taken. Foods which increase kapha should be avoided, and elimination of kapha from the body should be targeted.

Non-medical ways to combat allergic rhinitis: 

Prevention has a big role to play in managing allergic rhinitis.

Whether it is animal dander, eggs, tomatoes, or extreme cold, if you know it could cause an attack, stay away from it.
Chew foods properly to ensure through absorption of vitamins and minerals, which are essential for immunity
Boil water with a spoonful of turmeric and a pinch of salt and drink it regularly
Basil and mint leaves can be boiled in water and consumed for improving allergic rhinitis
Clove and pepper can be chewed to get immediate relief
A mixture of crushed clove and pepper mixed with turmeric and honey works wonders for allergic rhinitis
Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables. They are more likely to be chemical-free, are cheaper, fresher, and definitely more nutritious.
Carrots eaten with a bit of fat produce the best defense against allergic rhinitis, as the beta-carotene in it is fat soluble.
Whole grains, green leafy vegetables, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and dairy products, contain a number of vitamins and minerals which help in fighting allergic rhinitis
Ayurvedic remedies like shilajit and guduchi boost immunity function
Neem, Ashwagandha, liquorice, cinnamon, tulsi, and curcumin are proven remedies for allergic rhinitis.
Panchakarma specifically aimed at rhinitis include Nasya, Dhoomapana (medicated smoking) and emesis (vaman ). This helps in eliminating kapha which is believed to cause allergic rhinitis.
Though allergic rhinitis is a very common condition, the treatment is also easy and many home remedies help in managing the condition.

Lifestyle improvement:

Always keep cloves and black peppers with you. Immediately keep two pieces of it in mouth when you feel of attack.
At the pre attack or attack rub Nilgiri oil , Mint oil, or pain balm on chest and get fomentation.
Keep watch on the elements that causes irritation for you and stay away from this.
Use mask while driving vehicle or going through public places.
Always take warm water bath.
Do not expose to hot sunrays.
Regularly take inhalation of steam.
Regularly go for morning walk in warm weather.
Do sufficient exercise.
Do not reside in dark or dump places. Get fresh air.
Do not get sleep at day time or immediate after dinner.
Take sufficient rest.

Diet, Nutrition & Ayurveda Treatment For Allergic Rhinitis!

It is said that the mind controls the body. If the mind is healthy so will the body be. The condition of the mind is often reflected in bodily symptoms and conditions including illnesses.

The temptation in mostly to treat with heavy drugs that might offer temporary relief but have dangerous side effects and do long term harm.

Homeopathy tackles this issue considering safety and cure in a balanced manner to ensure recovery but without harmful side effects.

The concept of psychosomatic disorders has been in existence since the time of Sigmund Freud. The belief is that with the varied emotions that a person experiences, each disease manifests with a different set of symptoms in each person, implying that each person needs to be treated differently and not given the same disease-specific medication. This is where homeopathy plays a very strong role in psychosomatic disorders as it also believes in treating the person as a whole and not just the symptoms.

In homoeopathy, we base our prescription on what we call constitutional symptoms where we give lot of importance to the mental symptom as well as to the characteristic physical symptom. Hence every prescription from a Homoeopathic physician will surely include an element of psychosomatic angle. It is beyond the scope of this editorial to mention all the remedies of Materia Medica which has the scope for the treatment of psychosomatic disorders.

The homeopath always undertakes a thorough discussion with the patient to understand the accompanying symptoms in detail and then arrive at a customized treatment plan.

Some of the most common psychosomatic disorders include irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, GERD, ulcerative colitis, and allergy disorders.
Specific substances are given to manage anxiety, depression, irritability, insecurity, paranoia, etc. These feelings are considered inducers for the above disorders, and managing them can help bring about a harmony in the patient's overall health.


GERD: Gastro esophageal reflux disease is a disorder that results from stomach acid moving backward from the stomach into the esophagus. GERD usually happens because the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the muscular valve where the esophagus joins the stomach, opens at the wrong time or does not close properly.

Homeopathy For GERD:
Homeopathic medicine relies not only on identifying the symptoms of the disease, but on a variety of personality traits, the person's mental state and other characteristic symptoms a patient exhibits which correlate to any particular remedy. When choosing a correct remedy for the treatment of heartburn, all aspects of the patient are taken into account.
These are some of the Homoeopathic medicines that may prove beneficial:- Argentum nit, Cal.carb., China, Carbo veg, Lycopodium, Nat. phos, Nux vomica, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, Robinia, sulphuric acid etc.


Migraine: Migraine is a form of headache. The pain is usually throbbing, pulsating and bursting in character. At times, the pain is one sided or may involve the whole head. Such pain may last for hours or even days. It is often accompanied by other symptoms like nausea or vomiting. At the same time, there is increased sensitivity to light and sound. In some cases, the pain is preceded by some warning symptoms like flashes of light, temporary blindness or tingling sensation in the limbs.

Homeopathy for Migraine:
Belladonna is widely used homeopathy remedy for migraines, where headache is throbbing and violent, occurs suddenly, worsens on touching, and relieves with pressure. Glonoine is useful in congestive headaches with a reddened face that is worsened by sun or heat. Natrum Mur is useful in cases where headache is brought on by grief or stress.

Ulcerative colitis: Ulcerative colitis is a serious chronic inflammatory disease of the large intestine accompanied by ulcerated lesions of the intestinal tissues. It is characterized by episodes of abdominal pain with profuse diarrhea in which large quantities of blood, pus, and mucus are present in the feces. There is an urgency to move the bowels, as many as, three to ten times per day. It may be accompanied with pain, nausea, and vomit. Because of the loss of blood, the patient may become dehydrated and anemic.
Complications of ulcerative colitis includes liver and kidney disease, peritonitis, toxic mega colon, and risk of developing colon cancer.

Homeopathy for Ulcerative Colitis:
To identify the actual inducing agent, some foods are removed to see if they are inducing attacks. Once identified, that is removed from the patient's diet. In addition, aloe, arsenicum album, carbo vegetabilis, colocynthis, are commonly used remedies for ulcerative colitis. The patient is asked for associated symptoms like bleeding diarrhea, color of the feces, involuntary defecation, abdominal pain, anxiety, cramps, and stress before deciding on a treatment mode.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Irritable bowel syndrome, also known as spastic colon is a functional disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain, cramping, and bloating. Some people suffer from constipation, which means hard, dry stools, difficult to eliminate, leading to straining without success. Some people experience diarrhea, with frequent loose watery stools.

Homeopathy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome:
Sulphur, Pulsatilla, Phosphorus, Nux Vomica, Lycopodium clavatum, Argentum Nitricum, and Silicea are commonly used homeopathic remedies. Associated symptoms that need to be considered before deciding on a therapy include frequency of stooling, nature of stools, abdominal bloating, restlessness, irritability and nervousness.

Homeopathy is a preferred mode of treatment for psychosomatic disorders as they aim at a holistic treatment of the individual and not just at symptom management.

Allergy: Allergy is an abnormal reaction or increased sensitivity to certain substances. The allergic individual produces symptoms when exposed to these substances, which are harmless to non-allergic people. The main reason for this is that allergic people make a special type of antibody called immunoglobin E (IgE), which can react with environmental substances in harmful way. These substances which lead to secretion of IgE antibodies are called allergens.

Homeopathy for Allergy:
Few important remedies for the homeopathic treatment of allergy are- Histamine, Natrum Mur, Kali Bich, Sepia, Hepar Sulph, , Carbo Veg , Sulphur, Bryonia, Nux Vom, Apis Mel, Ailanthus, and Justicia adhatoda.

Psychosomatic Disorder - Only Homeopathy Cures

Can Food Allergies Be the Likely Cause of Your Infertility?

Infertility in a woman refers to the inability to conceive after having regular unprotected sex. Cases of unexplained infertility have been on the rise recently.  Though obstructed fallopian tubes and ovulation disorders are some of the common causes of infertility, reasons pertaining to dietary changes can also be responsible. Food allergies and dietary changes affect infertility to a great extent; and if you're struggling with conception or infertility, heeding to your diet can help.

Below is a list of diet constituents that are likely to cause infertility.

1. Gluten - Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, rye, and barley. Among the general population, women suffering from unexplained infertility have a higher incidence of gluten intolerance. Gluten intolerance is also related to miscarriages, and if left undiagnosed can lead to malabsorption of micronutrients like iron and zinc. Following and maintaining a gluten-free diet may relieve a sufferer from the symptoms. Try and include gluten free cereals like rice, corn and gluten free oats to manage the situation.

2. Inflammation - Another connection of food allergies and infertility would be inflammation. Inflammation occurs when the food allergens reach the stomach. This inflammation, if heightened, can cause damage to the fallopian tubes and the ovary. The body responds to the food allergens by treating it like a foreign substance that needs to be eradicated, and when your immune system is subjected to chronic inflammation, it can lead to infertility.

Additionally, apart from food allergies, even the consumption of certain foods and beverages can be a reason behind infertility, with those being rich in caffeine being a major cause. Increased consumption of caffeine can augment the risk of infertility and delayed conception. However, avoiding caffeine and eliminating problematic foods along with a careful scrutiny of your diet can increase your chances of getting pregnant.



Can Food Allergies Be the Likely Cause of Your Infertility?

Allergies are caused by unnatural reactions between your body's immune system and foreign substances, which have gained access into the body. When these substances, known as allergens, enter your body, your immune system produces antibodies, which are responsible for warding off unwanted substances like harmful viruses or diseases and helping in the body's overall resistance.

The main cause of allergy is the uncontrolled reaction between the immune system's antibodies and harmless allergens. Allergic reactions are triggered when antibodies, like histamine, come into contact with particular types of allergens. These may include:

    Certain eatables: Peanuts or sea food
    Medications: Penicillin or penicillin-based antibiotics
    Airborne allergens: Pollen, mold, or dust mites
    Insect stings: Bee stings or scorpion stings
    Latex: Latex or other substances, which are responsible for causing allergic skin reactions

Symptoms of allergies depend upon a wide range of factors, which are subjective and vary from person to person and from allergen to allergen. Depending upon the type of allergen involved and the nature of the allergy, symptoms may include any of the following:

    Facial swelling
    Wheezing
    Severe itching
    Swollen or red and watery eyes
    Hives
    Flaky skin which can peel off

These symptoms are common in mild to moderate allergies, such as atopic dermatitis, hay fever, drug or food allergies. There are certain rare cases (say, scorpion stings), however, in which the allergic reaction turns out to be potentially life-threatening. This type of reaction is known as anaphylaxis. Here are its signs and symptoms:

    Nausea and vomiting
    Loss of consciousness
    Skin rashes
    Intense shortness of breath
    Lightheadedness

Homeopathy effectively deals with any sort of allergy by taking into account individualistic symptoms and thus nipping the root cause in the bud. Natrum Mur, Urtica Urens, Sulphur and Natrum Carb, among others, are very effective medicines against allergies. But these must be taken after due discussion with the doctor as they check out the symptoms and then prescribe the medicine basis that.

Allergies: Causes, Symptoms and How Homeopathy Deals With It Efectively

Food allergy is actually an abnormal response triggered by the immune system to food as if it is threatening. Food intolerance looks similar to food allergies. However, the difference lies in how each one of them affects an individual. Food allergy is extremely intrinsic and to an extent, affects the internal organs. 

On the other hand, food intolerance is less severe, mostly just affects the digestive system due to the inability to digest that particular food properly, leading to an upset stomach. Most of the people suffer from food intolerance only, but they confuse it with food allergy.

About ninety percent of all cases of food allergy are related to only eight types of food as per research statistics. These are milk, tree nuts, egg, peanut, soy, wheat, shellfish, and fish.

The Reaction:\

In order to understand how symptoms manifest, it is of utmost importance, in this case, to understand how an allergic reaction to food occurs. An allergic reaction is a bi-step process as discussed further.

Step1: On exposure to the food allergen for the first time, the body reacts abnormally and produces IgE antibodies against the perceived allergen. These circulate throughout the entire body with blood and attach themselves to basophils (found in blood) and mast cells (found in sites like the nose, lungs, throat, gastrointestinal tract, skin, etc.).

Step 2: The next time the body is exposed to a particular food allergen, it gets alert and alarms the tissue that releases histamine in large quantity. Depending on the site of release, allergy symptoms are caused, ranging from mild to severe to potentially life-threatening (for example, in anaphylaxis).

The time span for an allergic reaction manifesting into symptoms can vary between a few minutes to several hours post exposure to the food allergen. The site of mast cells for release of histamine greatly affects the location and timing of the reaction.

Who is at Higher Risk?

If a person has a family history of developing a food allergy, it creates even greater chances for him/ her to have the same or similar reactions. If both the parents have some kind of allergic reaction to food, it is very likely that the child would have that too.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of food allergies largely depend on the sites of mast cells that release histamines. It is possible that these sites are located in nose, ears, or throat leading to itching in mouth, having a trouble in swallowing and breathing, and swelling of lips and tongue. If the location is in the gastrointestinal tract, it may lead to vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain. If it is in the skin, it might lead to hives, itching, decolourization, pigmentation, worsened eczema, etc.

Cross Reactivity:

If a person has an allergy to a particular food, it is advisable to abstain from similar types of food. For example, if somebody is allergic to crab, he/ she should abstain from shrimp, crayfish, lobster, etc. too as they might also trigger the reaction. This is called cross reactivity.

Treatment:

It is always advisable to abstain from foods which cause an allergic reaction in an individual. However, in case it has already occurred, there are two major types of medication which help in relieving the symptoms. Antihistamines are used for treating mild to chronic reaction, whereas adrenalines are used for severe reaction like in anaphylaxis.

Take Away:

Food allergy is usually a condition for life and cannot be permanently treated. However, symptoms can be relieved. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid the allergy, causing group of food.

Food Allergy - Everything About It!

A rash on your child s body or their regular cough bouts can sometimes be triggered by an allergy. We can excuse it by calling it a common flu or a heat rash, but the reason behind it might be something you are not aware of. Your child might be allergic, and it is imperative for you to find out that exact thing your child is allergic to, it can be dust, nuts that you may think is beneficial for your child s health or even the fabric of the clothes you put on them. Allergies are caused when children come in contact with allergens, which can he inhaled, injected or even eaten unknowingly. If you see any of the symptoms of allergies, consult your doctor at the earliest and do not treat it lightly.

Some common triggers for allergies

These are divided into four groups

Foods: Certain foods like peanuts, eggs, milk and it products which you feed your child might be triggering their allergy.
Outdoors: When kids play outside pollens from trees or flowers might causes allergies. Even insect bites and stings are a major trigger
Indoors: Animal fur or hair and even dust mites and mold that exist in your house can trigger an allergy
Irritants: Common irritants like cigarette smoke, perfumes or even car exhaust should be watched out for.
Symptoms of common allergies

Nasal Congestion: It is referred to as stuffy nose, which is very common in kids. Allergies are the most common cause of chronic nasal congestion (a stuffy nose) in children. Sometimes a child s nose is congested to the point that he or she breathes through the mouth, especially while sleeping.
Allergic rhinitis (hay fever): It is also common and its symptoms include a runny or itchy nose and constant sneezing. A child with allergies may also have itchy, watery, red eyes and chronic ear problems. Even though it s commonly known as  hay fever,  allergic rhinitis isn t triggered by hay and doesn t cause fever.
If you suspect your child has an allergy, make an appointment to see a specialist. Start a diary before the appointment and keep track of what symptoms your child experiences and what you think causes them.

Common Allergies in Children - That You Need to Know!

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