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Allergic Rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is a reaction to airborne particles (allergens) that primarily affect the nose and eyes. There are two types of allergic rhinitis: seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and perennial allergic rhinitis, which occurs year-round.  Outdoor allergens such as pollen cause hay fever, and indoor allergens such as dust, dust mites, or animal dander cause perennial allergic rhinitis.

The symptoms of allergic rhinitis include stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, irritation of the eyes, sore throat, post-nasal drip, cough, headache, fatigue, and dark circles under the eyes.   At least 50 million people in the United States have seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever)1, accounting for approximately 12 million visits to physician offices annually.2 The overall annual costs of allergic rhinitis in the United States totals ~$4 billion.3

Homeopathic treatment of allergic rhinitis has been well-documented in the scientific literature.   Here are just a few of those studies:

  • A study by Taylor et al., published in the British Medical Journal in 2000, showed a statistically significant improvement in objectively measured nasal air flow for patients treated with homeopathy compared to placebo.4Taylor and colleagues have completed a total of 4 studies looking at the effectiveness of homeopathy for allergic rhinitis treatment.   A meta-analysis review of these and other studies by Jonas et al. for the Annals of Internal Medicine reported that these studies were high-quality, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials significantly better than placebo on both subjective (reported) and objective (measurable) outcomes.5
  • Studies testing individual homeopathic remedies for allergic rhinitis include Wiesenauer’s 8 randomized controlled trials of Galphimia for pollinosis, which showed Galphimia was more effective than placebo when reviewed in a meta-analysis by Linde in 2001.6,7
  • In 2005, a 4-week, double-blind clinical trial was published comparing homeopathic preparations with placebo in the Phoenix metropolitan area during the regional allergy season from February to May. Preliminary findings indicated potential benefits of the homeopathic intervention in reducing symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis in the Southwestern US.8
  • In a study published in 2009, a prospective, open, non-comparative study was conducted to assess the effect of homeopathic care on patients with allergic rhinitis in Belgium. Patients aged between 14 and 68 years with SAR were treated by one of seven homeopathic physicians. Patients completed the RQLQ (Rhino-conjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire ) at baseline and again after three and four weeks of homeopathic treatment. After homeopathic treatment, patients reported an alleviation of their symptoms of allergic rhinitis, as reported in the RQLQ.9
  • A study published in 2010 compared the effectiveness and safety of specific sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) to non-specific homeopathic therapy in the treatment of intermittent (IAR) and persistent allergic rhinitis (PAR). They found that specific SLIT was less effective than homeopathic treatment in children with allergic rhinitis regarding PRQLQ.10
  • In 2012, researchers published a paper investigating the effect of the homeopathic medicines Cat saliva 9cH and Histaminum 9cH (combined) on cat-allergic adults. Thirty participants with a positive test result for a cat allergy skin prick test (SPT) were recruited to a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The research team found that the homeopathic medicine reduced the sensitivity reaction of cat-allergic adults to cat allergen, according to the SPT.11
  • Another recent prospective multicenter observational study assessed the real-life efficacy of classical homeopathic treatment and the potential to reduce conventional medication dosage in patients with allergic rhinitis. The study was conducted by general practitioners specializing in homeopathy in nine Austrian test centers. Personal data and symptoms of allergic patients diagnosed with allergic conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and neurodermatitis before and after homeopathic treatment were assessed using questionnaires (classification of patients’ condition by using visual analog scales/VAS). All clinical symptoms were shown to improve substantially, in most cases quite markedly (p< 0.001). Twenty-one patients undergoing conventional medication therapy at baseline (62%) were able to discontinue at least one medication, while the remaining patients (38%) reported a dose reduction in at least one medication. No side effects were reported during treatment.12

The effect of homeopathic treatment has been demonstrated through repeated controlled trials.   While homeopathically prepared medicines were prescribed in all of these trials, in some cases the medicines were more technically “isopathic” (which means that the medicines were made from the same identical allergen known to induce the allergy). Truly homeopathic medicines typically utilize substances that are capable of  producing similar symptoms, but don’t contain the same identical substance that causes the problem. 

Allergic rhinitis involves over-responsiveness of the immune system and is therefore not limited to a local problem with the nose but tends to be a systemic issue.   Homeopathic treatment of allergies is best carried out by an experienced clinician. As with any other medical condition, homeopathic medicine is best not directed against a specific disease but individually prescribed to treat a patient with specific symptoms.  Any, long-term successful outcome will likely require a complete medical history, individual evaluation, and determination of the particular constitutional medicine suited for each particular patient, and provided by a clinician experienced in homeopathic treatment.

References: 

  1. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2825326.
  2. https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-library/allergies/spring-allergy.
  3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8062294/.
  4. Taylor, M. A., Reilly, D., et al: Randomised controlled trial of homoeopathy versus placebo in perennial allergic rhinitis with overview of four trial series. BMJ, 321: 471-476, 2000.
  5. Jonas, W.B. et al: A Critical Overview of Homeopathy, Annals of Internal Medicine, 138:5,  393-400, 2003.
  6. Wiesenauer M, Ludtke R: A meta-analysis of the homeopathic treatment of pollinosis with Galphimia glauca,Forsch Komplementärmed, 3:230-236, 1996.
  7. Linde, K. et al., Systematic reviews of complementary therapies an annotated bibliography. Part 3: Homeopathy, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 1:4, 2001.
  1. Kim LS, Riedlinger JE, Baldwin CM, Hilli L, Khalsa SV, Messer SA, Waters RF. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15741420. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2005, Apr, 39, 4, 617-24. 
  2. Goossens, M., et al. (2009). “Evaluation of the quality of life after individualized homeopathic treatment for seasonal allergic rhinitis. A prospective, open, non-comparative study.” Homeopathy: The Journal of the Faculty of Homeopathy 98(1): 11-16
  3. Filtchev S, Dimov V. Comparison of specific sublingual immunotherapy to homeopathic therapy in children with allergic rhinitis. J of allergy clin immunol 2010; 25(2 Suppl.1): AB34.
  4. Naidoo P, Pellow J. A randomized placebo-controlled pilot study of Cat saliva 9cH and Histaminum 9cH in cat allergic adults. Homeopathy April 2013;102(2):123-129.
  5. Grundling C, Schimetta W, Frass M. Real-life effect of classical homeopathy in the treatment of allergies: A multicenter prospective observational study. Wien Klin Wochenschr. Jan 2012;124(1-2):11-17.

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