The spirit section comprises energetically oriented treatments that have to do with intention, energy healing, prayer, and in some cases god. These terms may be volatile for some seeking allergic rhinitis treatment, and for others they will resonate. Some of these treatments have proven to be profoundly healing for certain individuals. Though some people are skeptical, prior notions of these words should be set aside when reading about these healing treatments, as many of the are truly incredible!
Hypnosis is not nationally recognized as a distinct profession and therefore has no licensure. Various certifications are available but not required for practice. Hypnosis practitioners are often separated into two camps: clinical hypnosis and lay hypnosis.
Clinical hypnosis is a credential for people with advanced study and experience in a health profession who are formally trained to use hypnosis as part of their health profession. This could be dentists, doctors, nurses, psychologists, and others. Sessions offered by these people might be fully or partially covered by your health insurance. Two professional institutions, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and the American Psychotherapy and Medical Hypnosis Association, offer certification in clinical hypnosis.
Lay hypnosis is less formally defined and is not as centrally organized as clinical hypnosis. It generally refers to all other hypnosis training and practice. There are a number of schools and organizing bodies that offer training and certification in hypnosis.
People seeking hypnosis as a treatment for a health challenge such as allergic rhinitis will probably have the most success if they choose a hypnosis professional who understands at least the basic physiology of their condition.
Hypnosis is probably most effective when it is practiced regularly and frequently. It is also most effective when it is tailored to the individual patient, including his or her specific health challenges, preferences, experiences, etc. For instance, some hypnosis uses imagery and colors to help relax the patient and make hypnotic suggestions. The images and colors employed should be those that speak to each individual patient.
Hypnosis is currently available in a variety of forms. You can purchase pre-recorded hypnosis sessions for general or specific health challenges. You can also have one-on-one sessions with a hypnotherapist or health professional who practices hypnosis. At the end of the day, all hypnosis is actually self-hypnosis because it requires you to engage your own mind. You can experiment with various options and use the hypnosis techniques that suit you best to practice hypnosis by yourself. Indeed, most hypnosis will only be effective if you practice it regularly and frequently.
Hypnosis has been studied for its effect on a number of health challenges and has demonstrated potential for treating such things as asthma, burns, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), peptic ulcers, psoriasis, warts, headaches, vertigo, and pain.
Hypnosis has not been widely studied as a treatment for allergic rhinitis, but in one study, self-hypnosis appeared to provide some benefits.47 (In this case, self-hypnosis refers to the self-administered application of hypnotic techniques. Theoretically, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis because it is an active treatment that requires the patient to engage his or her own mind.) Because it is a very low-risk treatment option for allergic rhinitis, hypnosis might be worth trying.
Hypnosis might be helpful for treating allergic rhinitis for a variety of reasons. First, stress is generally accepted as playing a role in triggering or worsening allergic conditions such as allergic rhinitis; by helping the patient relax deeply, hypnosis might help decrease the stress that contributes to the condition. Second, a growing field of study called psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) recognizes the biochemical connections between the mind and the body. Hypnosis might help alter the allergy-related immune response by acting first on the mind, which can then influence the physical body symptoms of allergic rhinitis.
Anecdotal and research evidence suggests that hypnosis may be an effective [treatment for allergic rhinitis. ][3] Hypnosis comes in different forms, but generally it is described as a form of heightened attention combined with deep relaxation ("trance"), uncritical openness, and voluntarily lowered resistance to suggestion. Suggestions are typically introduced once the person is deeply relaxed into a trance state. In the case of hypnosis for a health challenge, the suggestions involved will relate to the that specific health challenge that is being addressed. For allergic rhinitis, this might be, "Your body recognizes pollen as a harmless substance and chooses not to mount an immune response."
Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis does not involve the patient losing control and becoming vulnerable to manipulation by the hypnotist. More theatrical versions of hypnosis are called "stage hypnosis," which has little in common with therapeutic hypnosis.
Yoga can help to bring general relief and healing to the body in innumerable ways, even helping to assuage the symptoms of allergic rhinitis. The breathing practice within yoga known as pranayam has been used as a treatment for asthma. It may play a role in alleviating the symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis. Certain physical postures that are part of Hatha Yoga may help treat many of the symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis.
Yoga can help to bring general relief and healing to the body in innumerable ways, even helping to assuage the symptoms of allergic rhinitis]1]. The breathing practice within yoga known as [pranayam has been used as a treatment for asthma. It may play a role in alleviating the symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis. Certain physical postures that are part of Hatha Yoga may help treat many of the symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis.
Numerous double-blind, placebo-controlled studies indicate that SLIT can improve all major symptoms of allergic rhinitis when the offending allergens are known.32,43,48,49,51,63,68,69 However, in a 2008 comprehensive review of evidence for using SLIT for grass pollen and house dust mite allergies, researchers raised questions regarding the quality and consistency of these and other studies.65
SLIT may help prevent the development of new allergies or mild persistent asthma in children with allergic rhinitis or intermittent asthma.70
The immune system has many components, and only one of them, the IgE/eosinophil system, produces typical allergic reactions. The intended effect of SLIT is to “train” other branches of the immune system to neutralize allergens before the IgE/eosinophil system "notices" that they are there and causes an allergic reaction.
Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is an alternative to conventional immunotherapy (also known as allergy shots). SLIT involves using allergenic substances placed under the tongue. One advantage of SLIT over allergy shots is that SLIT does not involve needles; this makes it less unpleasant and a treatment that can be done at home rather than at a doctor’s office.
Research supporting the use of SLIT for allergic rhinitis is promising. One study suggests that SLIT is not only effective for treating allergies, but may also help prevent the development of new allergies or mild persistent asthma in children with allergic rhinitis or intermittent asthma.70
A similar but less widely accepted treatment for allergic rhinitis is enzyme potentiated desensitization (EPD).
Constitutional (or classical) homeopathy is a holistic art that looks at the symptom picture of a person, including psychological, emotional, physical, and hereditary information, and tries to choose an appropriate remedy. Recently, however, a simplified form of homeopathy has developed, disease-oriented (or symptomatic) homeopathy, in which remedies are given based solely on specific diseases. Both types of homeopathy have been studied scientifically, although disease-oriented homeopathy has received more attention for the simple reason that it is easier to study.
Homeopaths, sometimes called homeopathic physicians, practice homeopathy. Homeopathic support is also available from health professionals, such as naturopathic doctors, who use homeopathy as part of their broader medical practice.
In contrast to classical homeopathy, isopathy makes use of the precise substance that causes your symptoms, diluting the allergen to make a homeopathic remedy.
In the US, over-the-counter homeopathic remedies are available in pharmacies and healthfood stores. Unlike herbs and supplements, manufacturers of homeopathic products are allowed to make strong healing claims on the labels, in part because one of the founders of the organization that became the Food and Drug Administration, Senator Royal Copeland, was a homeopathic physician. He made sure that homeopathic medicines were given a specially protected status.
Several well-designed double-blind, placebo-controlled studies testing the efficacy of isopathic remedies for various allergy symptoms have been reported, most of them conducted by one highly respected research group.
Two such studies by this group tested the effects of a combination isopathic preparation consisting of mixed grass pollens at a 30c potency on almost 200 people with active hay fever.1,2 Overall, the results were quite positive. Homeopathic treatment, as compared to placebo, produced a clear and measurable reduction in hay fever symptoms over a 2-week period of treatment. In addition, improvement of the treated participants continued even after they stopped taking the medicine.
Another double-blind, placebo-controlled trial by the same research group used isopathic remedies made from allergens specific to each participant.3 All 50 participants suffered from perennial allergic rhinitis. Again, the results were positive. Furthermore, benefits were seen regarding allergic asthma in a small, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using an isopathic remedy made from allergens specific to the participants.4
More than a decade before the studies described above, another group of scientists had also studied isopathic remedies for hay fever–like symptoms, and they too found positive results.5 In 2005, similar benefits were seen in a study conducted by yet another research group.14 This double-blind, placebo-controlled trial used isopathic remedies made from common Southwest allergens, including tree, grass and weed species. Once again, the results showed reductions in allergy symptoms in the treatment group as compared to the placebo group.
However, there have been negative outcomes as well. Two double-blind, placebo-controlled studies performed by a single research group evaluated the effects of an isopathic remedy made from birch pollen on people with allergies to that plant, but no benefits were seen.6,7 In addition, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 242 people with asthma caused by dust-mite allergy failed to find any benefit with an isopathic remedy made from the mites.8
Isopathy is a special branch of homeopathy that makes use of the precise substance that causes your symptoms, diluting the allergen to make a homeopathic remedy. This may sound the same as the approach behind allergy shots, sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), and enzyme potentiated desensitization (EPD), but that is not the case. Homeopathic remedies do not work in such a direct or obvious way.
A special form of homeopathy known as isopathy is often used for allergic rhinitis. Isopathy makes use of the precise substance that causes your symptoms, diluting the allergen to make a homeopathic remedy. For example, if you are allergic to cats, you could make a homeopathic remedy out of cat dander; if to ragweed, diluted ragweed pollen would be an appropriate isopathic remedy. This is different from standard homeopathic remedies, which are based on unrelated substances that happen to produce a similar symptom picture.
Several well-designed double-blind, placebo-controlled studies testing the efficacy of isopathic remedies for various allergy symptoms have been reported, most of them conducted by one highly respected research group.
The homeopathic remedy Euphorbium, especially in a combination remedy, has shown promise for treating allergic rhinitis. Homeopathic treatment offer a relative natural remedy for allergic rhinitis with minimal side effects.
Researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Euphorbium D3 for the treatment of an acute attack of hay fever.12 In this study, which lasted 14 days and followed 104 participants, the homeopathically treated group did not show a statistically significant improvement in their nasal symptoms. However, the author of this study noted that a mistake was made in the study design. The problem was that evaluation of possible benefit was made on day 8 or day 15 after the treatment was first given. As it turned out, the illness tended to resolve itself by day 3 to 5 in most cases, so it was hard to tell if the medicine made a difference or not.
Another double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested two homeopathic nasal spray formulas containing Euphorbium for the treatment of chronic sinus problems.13 A total of 155 people participated. The first remedy consisted of Euphorbium, Pulsatilla, Luffa operculata, Mercurius bijodatus, Mucosa basalis suis, Hepar sulfuris, Argentum nitricum, and a sinusitis nosode. The other solution contained only Euphorbium, Pulsatilla, Luffa operculata, and Hepar sulfuris.
In each case, participants were instructed to use two sprays to each nostril four times per day for 4 weeks. Information from questionnaires, as well as the findings from fiberoptic scope and ultrasound examination of the sinuses, were recorded at the first appointment, again at 2 weeks and at 4 weeks, and then again at a post-treatment follow-up at 4 months.
The results indicated that the first homeopathic solution was more effective than placebo, improving such symptoms as nasal congestion, sensation of pressure, and headache. However, the second remedy did not prove effective.
The homeopathic remedy Euphorbium, especially in a combination remedy, has shown promise for treating allergic rhinitis][2]. Homeopathic treatment offer a relative natural remedy for allergic rhinitis with minimal side effects.
Proponents of EPD are very enthusiastic about its usefulness in treating allergy-related conditions such as allergic rhinitis, but research evidence is weak.
In the first double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 183 people with a history of consistent hay fever were treated with EPD or placebo and followed throughout the hay fever season.33 The EPD preparation contained beta glucuronidase, 1,3-cyclohexanediol, protamine sulphate, and a mixed extract of allergens, including pollens, fungal spores, cat and dog danders and dust mite. The fake treatment contained only saline. Neither the researchers administrating the injections nor the study participants knew which was which. Both groups improved markedly. However, there was no difference in symptoms between the two groups, as measured by problem-free days, quality of life scores or symptom severity scores.
A slightly smaller study did find benefits. In this double-blind study of 125 children, use of a single dose of EPD reduced hay fever and asthma symptoms as compared to placebo.34
