That environmental factors can cause illness was
known even to Hippocrates. But research in the field of allergies
is fairly recent. Clinical ecology, in fact, has only
relatively recently begun to study the reactions triggered by certain types of
foods, pesticides, fungicides, dust, fumes produced
by petrol and industrial combustion, detergents and
all those highly polluting chemical products.

While many researchers acknowledge that hypersensitivity and
allergies are the cause of many diseases, not everyone accepts or
recognises as valid the tests used to define diagnoses of
allergic diseases.

Pollen found in meadows, flowers and on
trees is the main cause of repeated sneezing,
a blocked or congested nose, itching and watering
eyes, an irritated throat and sometimes asthma as well. This
allergy is called allergic rhinitis or, more commonly,
"hay fever".

The cause lies in the release, by our
immune system gone "haywire", of an "excessive" amount of a
substance called histamine, which in turn triggers
allergic symptoms whenever it comes into contact with "at-risk"
substances, such as pollen.

Conventional medicine recommends taking antihistamines during the
critical period. However, the side effects that
these chemical drugs cause include drowsiness and sleepiness, posing serious
risks to those who need to drive.
In some cases, cortisone is also prescribed. This remedy,
however, cannot be used over long periods
due to its dangerous side effects, such as anaphylactic shock —
requiring immediate emergency care!

It is better to follow the advice of an experienced naturopath and find
in "gentle" or "natural medicine" a valid solution,
provided the treatment is carried out regularly and without
anxiety about immediate results. Natural therapies,
in fact, tend to stimulate healing from within
the body rather than substituting themselves for the body itself in
fighting the allergy. To achieve this, it is quite right
that self-healing should be given the time it needs!
With this method of treatment, no contraindications
have ever been found, and healing is also
more effective as well as more…pleasant,
because…gentle!!

As a preventive measure, it may be advisable to take
vitamin B and C in late spring or at the beginning of summer. It is
advisable, in any case, to reduce consumption of milk, cheese and
white sugar, as they encourage the production of
mucus.
Excellent results are obtained with homoeopathic medicines, whose
superiority over chemically synthesised remedies has been extensively demonstrated in
numerous studies (a recent publication by GUNA is one such example), with acupuncture, with hypnosis (the Ospedale San
Carlo in Milan has a dedicated department), with phytotherapy,
with aromatherapy and with trace elements.

Let's look in practical terms at how it is possible to treat and prevent the
well-known and troublesome pollinosis, whose flare-ups become
more frequent from May to June and which tends to worsen
on windy and sunny days.

Gabriele Bettoschi

Month by month
the whole of nature in the dock

The various natural therapies:

Ayurveda

Aromatherapy

Acupressure

Chinese
phytotherapy

Classical
phytotherapy

Oligotherapy

Homoeopathy

Kinesiology