Even though the above prescriptions sound quite straightforward, there are actually dozens of homeopathic remedies which can be prescribed for hay fever and it takes quite a bit of knowledge to know how to gather all the symptoms correctly and which remedy to give. With homeopathy, the correct prescription brings dra-matic, often extremely rapid, results, whereas an incorrect prescription brings ab-solutely no change, and can be quite disappointing. It took us about two years as ho-meopathic doctors before we felt confident about our results with hay fever, so you may need some help if your own prescribing doesn't work. Two excellent books which we recommend in our first-aid and acute homeopathy classes are Homeopathic Medicine at Home by Dr. Maesimund Panos and Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicine by Dana Ullman and Steven Cummings. They are available through us if you have difficulty finding them. Occasionally we cannot seem to find the correct single homeopathic remedy for hay fever. In this case, we use homeopathic prepara- tions of spring or fall pollen mixtures.

From the point of view of Ayurvedic medicine, which comes from India, the type of hay fever a person will experience depends on his or her body type. If your hay fever is characterized by a lot of mucus congestion, swelling of the face or eyelids, and an overall sense of sluggishness, this is a Kapha (water and mucus) condition. We would tell you to cut out all dairy products, decrease your liquid intake and stick to only warm or hot drinks in order to cut mucus, and drink two to four cups of hot ginger tea daily. We would give you a special Ayurvedic mixture of l9 herbs which has a heating effect and dissolves mucus. We might also, depending on your overall state of health, recommend a specially-designed juice fast along with a colonic or two and plenty of saunas, steam, or hot tubs in order to heat and cleanse your body and speed your healing process. If you had much nasal congestion, we would suggest a neti pot, a unique porcelain container used to irrigate the sinuses with warm salt water. A second type of hay fever, according to Ayurveda, is the Pitta (fire) type. Here the person might experience heat and burning in the nasal passages and eyes, the eyelids would be red, any discharges would be burning, and the sinuses would be inflamed. There might be accompanying skin allergy symptoms such as hives or a red rash,the person's face might appear flushed, and he or she might feel unexplain- ably irritable. In this case, we would prescribe cooling herbs, advise that the person avoid hot spices and acidic foods, avoid excessive exposure to heat, practice cooling yoga breaths, and we would suggest cool or cold water or herbal poultices to take down the swelling. The third picture of hay fever in Ayurvedic medicine is the Vata (air) type. This person would likely complain of feeling quite chilly, a dry, scratchy, itchy throat and dryness of the skin and nasal passages. They might notice that their lips were cracked and dry, increased thirst, and may also experience some joint cracking or pains as well as increased nervousness. In this case, we would again recommend heating herbs, plenty of warm or hot liquids, an enema for cleansing, and lubrication of the lips and skin with warm sesame oil. We would use a soothing, mucilaginous herbal tea for the throat such as slippery elm or licorice root, and would again recommend saunas, steam, or hot tubs.