Finally, Catherine came in just last week. She called, desperate to get in the same day, saying she "wasn't doing well at all". We had treated her successfully for allergies in the past with Phosphorus, and hadn't heard from her in almost a year. We squeezed her into our schedule after the last patient. Prepared for the worst, we figured she was probably very depressed. She came in, kleenex clutched to her nose, lamenting her, you guessed it, hay fever! She said her allergies had continued to be non-existent since treatment with Phosphorus, but that her hay fever was driving her crazy. The roof of her mouth was itchy. Her throat was terribly raw, especially on the right side. The throat pain was better from warm drinks and worse from swallowing. Her voice was beginning to crack. Her nose dripped constantly. The hay fever began just a few days beofre she came in. At the same time she noticed a tenderness of the right shoulder. It bothered her so much that she was answering the phone all day (she was a receptionist) with the left hand. She was much thirstier the past few days, and found herself drinking "all day long". She felt sick, tired, cranky, and achey, much unlike her good-natured, upbeat self.

So, what can a homeopath do to help these five poor, suffer- ing souls? Please turn to page __ to find out.

Homeopaths, in emphasizing the individualization of homeopathic pre-scriptions, can often be heard to say, "If we see five patients with a sore throat, we may give them five different remedies." So it is here. Each of these patients was treated, effectively and quite rapidly, with a different homeopathic remedy. You may wish to know, if you are not an experienced homeopath, where to look up "hay fever" in Kent's Repertory . We use the rubric NOSE; CORYZA; annual on page 326. All of the other symptoms are found in the eye, ear, nose, throat, or other sections, as appropriate. In each of these cases, we gave a 30c potency of the specific remedy, to be used up to twice a day, to stop when the symptoms improved, and then to continue only on an as needed basis. The patients were told to call in three days if their hay fever symptoms were no better.

We gave Prabha Nux vomica because of the dry cough with wheezing on waking, combined with the sneezing and itching inside the nose. She received the remedy in the spring of l990, with great benefit, and took it occasionally, as needed, during the summer. She returned again this past spring, with the same symptoms, and was again given Nux vomica, also with success.

Erik, the young Norwegian man with the violent sneezing, was given Sabadilla, a Mexican grass. Sabadilla is one of the main homeopathic reme-dies for a hay fever with spasmodic sneezing, nasal congestion, itching inside the nose, and a fluent, copious coryza. The sneezing and itching were relieved completely within two days. He experienced a swelling of the nasal passages, which passed.

Todd, the man who was keeping the kleenex company in business, was given Allium cepa, onion. Along with Sabadilla, Allium cepa is a prime remedy for hay fever. Just think about what happens to you when you slice an onion, and you'll know just the kind of hay fever to use it for. It works wonderfully for a hay fever, or a cold, which runs like a faucet (it may be an excoriating coryza), along with itchy, watery eyes (bland lachryma- tion), and considerable sneezing. Todd called three days later to say his nose was no longer running. The first day after starting the remedy, he experienced lots of sneezing, which passed quickly. Then he had a few mild headaches and pressure behind his eyes. By the time he called, the symptoms had passed and he had only slight nasal congestion periodically. He was told to take the Allium cepa as needed.