As naturopaths, we have still other treatments available for hay fever. We gene-rally recommend increasing Vitamin C and Beta carotene (a directly assimilable form of Vitamin A which promotes healing of the mucus membranes). We sometimes use Western herbs such as Ephedra, Echinacea, Urtica urens (stinging nettle) or other herbs to stimulate immune function, open the bronchioles, and promote expectora- tion. We also have a homeopathic nasal spray and soothing herbal lozenges if necessary. We use all of these as backups to the homeopathic hay fever remedies, which we find to have the quickest action.

As with all other "dis-eases", be sure to ask inside what your body is trying to tell you through the hay fever. Is it time to slow down and enjoy spring? Is your body tired of Seattle's wet winters and want you to fly it to Hawaii? Is it time to do a thorough spring cleaning around your house to get rid of accumulated dirt and mold and unfinished projects? Does your body really want its own spring cleaning in the form of a fast and detoxification? Is the hay fever a perfect excuse to quit smoking or to stop overindulging in sweets? And just because you've had hay fever in the past does not mean you have to get it again. The stronger you become, the less you need to re-experience those illnesses and imbalances which have limited you in the past.

Recently we got together with a friend for dinner. He mentioned that one of our former patients said to tell us hello. We say "former" because we hadn't seen him since his initial visit for a terribly annoying hay fever two years ago. He is a businessman with a busy work schedule and did not want to spend his spring sniffling and sneezing incessantly as he had in the past. When we asked our friend how this man was doing, he said, "Oh, the homeopathic remedy you gave him took care of his hay fever. You haven't seen him again because it never came back." His treatment? Homeopathic Nux vomica, the botanical source of strychnine.

Drs. Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman are naturopathic and homeopathic physicians and cofounders of the Northwest Center for Homeopathic Medicine in Edmonds, WA. They are coauthors of The Patient's Guide to Homeopathic Medicine and Beyond Ritalin: Homeopathic Treatment of ADD and Other Behavioral and Learning Problems. They can be reached at (206) 774-5599.