Muslim Lifestyle

Hayfever and how to beat it the natural way

Issue 4 Mar / Apr 2004

The worst time of the year is about to start again, at least for hay fever sufferers. Soon, you could be one of them as one in three people in the UK are expected to develop an allergy at some time in their lives. Why? It has been suggested that pollution, diet, early weaning from breast milk and fastidious over-cleanliness could be to blame.

Previously rare and severe allergies are also on the increase with more children affected as is the case with peanut allergies. There has also been an increase in the number of patients with several different allergic disorders affecting different organs, known as multi-system allergic disease.

The provision of NHS allergy services has not kept pace with the growth of allergy itself. These allergies can be life threatening at worst but certainly are debilitating and can spoil anyone’s summer spirit as the immune system becomes hyper sensitive and over reacts to the environment. Hay fever symptoms include violent sneezing, itchy, watery and red eyes, itchy and runny nose, itchy and sometimes swollen throat, headaches and asthma like coughs.

For the hay fever sufferer dark sunglasses and pocket loads of tissues become a must just in case the conventional medicines wear off. I never used to get through a summer without taking an anti histamine tablet every day. The side effects made me drowsy and sleepy and the hay fever was always back the next day as conventional medications merely suppress the symptoms but don’t actually heal allergies.

I have had hay fever since I was a small child. When I was 11 years old my parents sent me to be desensitised, which meant after an allergy test I was injected with the pollen and animal hairs I was allergic to once a week in the winter for three years. Not an entirely safe treatment – after each treatment I had to wait in the doctor’s practice for 20 minutes to make sure I did not collapse from an immune shock. This kind of treatment was popular in the 1970s but became less practiced when people allegedly died as a result and the effectiveness was also questioned.

Once I tried Chinese herbs - they also didn’t help and I thought I was stuck with this debilitating allergy for life. But then a kind of miracle happened, which led me to change my life and career. I can now enjoy the summers in the countryside surrounded by flowers in full bloom without sneezing. And if I do, a small globuli of milk sugar takes care of everything - no side effects whatsoever.

After having been on TV around Europe for over nine years every day with MTV Europe and NBC interviewing artists and hosting programmes, I needed a creative break from the hectic TV and showbiz world. I decided to follow my heart and study natural medicine at Neal’s Yard and the University of Westminster.

It was there that someone suggested I see a homeopath and claimed this is the only way to actually heal hay fever. I was sceptical and did not believe it, but thought there was no harm in trying. After an hour’s consultation discussing the physical symptoms as well as my mental and emotional state, my medical and family history, food preferences and much more I was prescribed a few white globuli one month and a few different ones the next month and to my astonishment, my hay fever that season was hardly noticeable!

Herbal tea or capsules from Neal’s Yard with elderflowers, eyebright, nettles, chamomile and peppermint also eased an acute situation when it occasionally arose. For the first time in 25 years I did not need any chemical tablets. Now, a couple of years on, I don’t even need the herbal support. Inspired, I decided to study homeopathy further and went from enthusiast to qualified and registered homeopath.

Homeopathy is a 100% natural, non invasive but highly effective medicine. It is gentle and safe for all ages. Any ailment can be treated from allergies to accidents, first aid, digestive and skin problems, anxiety, stress and grief to menstrual and hormonal problems as well as children’s ailments. It is holistic and treats the patient as a whole, not just the local disease by taking the mental, emotional and physical picture into account to really understand the problem.

Homeopathy like all complementary therapies works well alongside conventional medicine.

For enquiries and appointments with Kristiane please email Kristiane@energy-for-life.com, telephone 0207 3514344 or look in the yellow pages to find a registered homeopath near you.