Hay fever can be an agonizing condition for both children and parents. For those under six, the symptoms—such as itchy eyes, sneezing, and congestion—can be especially challenging.

​Allergies are a daily issue for those of us and our children that suffer them.  Anything from foods, grass, pollen, dust, cats, horses, nickel and more can cause really excruciating itching and worse. 

​There are four types of allergic (immune system hypersensitivity) reactions as classified in 1963 by British immunologists R. Coombs and P. Gell.
Type 1 – Immediate – Anaphylactic reactions – your body immediately produces IgE antibodies as an immune system defence to the offending allergen which causes life threatening swelling of the  airways constricting breathing. Naturopath advice is to seek Medical care which may include carrying an EpiPen.
Type 2 Cytotoxic type – symptoms appear minutes to hours after exposure. The immune system response by producing IgG and IgM antibodies.  This type of reaction involves the immune system attacking healthy cells, causing irritation or damage. Sending in our immune cells to defeat invading particles causes damage to surrounding structures and sets off a cascade of molecular reactions that appear on the body as red, itchy irritation and can in the extreme, cascade into conditions such as Myasthenia gravis and autoimmune neutropenia (reduction in an important immune cell type).
Type 3 – Immune complex-mediated reactions where the IgM and IgG antibodies react with the allergen molecules to form immunocomplexes such as in Lupus.
Type 4 – Delayed Hypersensitivity – symptoms may not appear for hours or days after exposure to the allergen.
These four types show us that not all reactions are immediate and while anaphylaxis is a medical emergency there are other allergens that do not cause an immediate affect. 

These four types show us that not all reactions are immediate and while anaphylaxis is a medical emergency there are other allergens that do not cause an immediate affect. If your child has asthma and shows signs of wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath, seek medical attention immediately. Asthma and anaphylaxis are life threatening conditions and time is crucial. 
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​Medical conditions such as Lupus, Myasthenia gravis and autoimmune neutropenia require medical diagnosis and an integrated approach with General Practiitioner, Specialists and a qualified Naturopath if looking for natural medicines to support optimal health and management. 

There are natural, plant based and home remedies for less debilitation yet aggravating common allergies.
I completely understand your struggles, as my own children inherited these allergies, which led me to study Clinical Naturopathy to find natural solutions.​

It never occurred to me in the honeymoon phase that my husbands severe hay fever and my severe asthma would result in two boys with asthma, eczema and hay fever to varying degrees.  Hayfever, asthma and skin conditions or dermatitis – (Latin for skin irritated by an allergen) are often genetic and the whole family may be affected by one or more of these conditions.  The daily agony of these conditions can have us reaching for a strong cure such as Phenergen but there are things to consider.

​Whilst natural substances like pollen, grass, mould, animal dander and foods can cause these allergies there are also natural substances and attention to dietary intake that can reduce their occurrence or severity. 
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Antihistamines are readily available and useful for peak periods but are not recommended for daily or extended periods without review and oversight by your GP.  Reducing overproduction of histamine is a short term solution but Histamine is present throughout the body. The highest concentration in the lungs and immune cells – basophils and mast cells, which accounts for its action in allergies, causing runny nose, itching and sneezing. But Histamine also regulates sleep-wake cycles, cognitive (brain) function and gastric acid secretion so we don’t want to cancel all of our histamine production or activity. 

I have written about over the counter medicine and supplement safety in a previous article: 

A cool wet towel on itchy eyes is soothing and relieving. You can the age-old eye remedies cucumber slices or cold tea bags.
Inhaling eucalyptus for congested nose and throat from trusty Vicks rub, steam inhaler or diluted essential oil in warm water with a towel draped to inhale the steam directly into your airways.

Keeping hydrated allows your biochemical reactions to happen smoothly and irritants and wastes to move quickly through and out of your system

Salt water wether in nasal sprays, ear washes, eye washes or gargles are a very simple and cost effective solution. 

Horseradish on sandwiches may be something that you can adopt as it is a powerful decongestant.
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Magnesium is a cofactor in the degradation of histamine thus reducing the amount of histamine circulating in your body. Magnesium rich foods are bananas, cocoa, almonds, cashews, figs, kelp, leafy greens, legumes, molasses and seeds. Increasing these foods in your diet or taking a supplement (with consideration of your medications and other mineral intakes) can help to alleviate allergy symptoms. 

​Anti-inflammatory nutrients:

• Vitamin A, and Vitamin C both found in fruits and vegetables particularly yellow, red and orange varieties.
  
• Vitamin E from nuts and seeds
  
• Omega-3s found in fatty deep sea fish, flaxseed, walnuts and avocadoes, Vitamin C (fruits and veggies), and Vitamin E (nuts, seeds)
  
• There is also Bromelain found in pineapple and Quercetin found in apples and onions.

If you are not consuming these foods you can supplement your diet with nutritional medicines. 

Probiotics have been scientifically studied for their ability to reduce occurrence and severity of allergic reactions.  It has been found that the allergic conditions themselves cause a change in the flora of our intestines and that there are probiotic strains which do improve structural integrity of our body and have a clinically significant affect at reducing allergic reactions and the associated damage.  This article delves into allergic reactions and the role of probiotics and the microbiome: www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.821900/full

There is a particular strain that has excellent evidence based research and is available in prescription only medicines in a dairy free supplement or ask for it at the chemist – L. Rhamnoses along with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. 
​Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosusLacticaseibacillus rhamnosus

Herbal medicines can also be beneficial and a herbal cream can assist in managing skin irritations in daily life.  There are some beautiful herbs that work to reduce the occurrence of hayfever and allergic responses including baical skullcap, elderflower and eyebright.
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 With so many allergens being natural substances it is important to do a patch test on skin and single herb trials to ensure that the cure is not an allergen itself.  Many species of plant are related and reaction to one will indicate an allergy to the rest of that species and plants that contain the same phytochemical compounds.

A Skin prick test can be done to find your specific set of allergen triggers. 

​For food related allergies that can present as type 4 hypersensitivity reactions, hours or days after consumption, a food diary is a fantastic tool.  Keeping track of your food intake and symptoms over time will show which foods you need to limit or avoid and which you can continue to enjoy. 

​An elimination diet where foods are pared back to basics and each food reintroduced individually with a four day period to detect any reaction is a good way to see what your body reacts to. You can retry foods after implementing probiotics and supportive immune foods or supplements (unless your reaction is potentially severe anaphylaxis).  It is also Important to remember that avoiding a food or food group puts you at risk of nutrient deficiencies and care must be taken to ensure the full range of essential vitamins and minerals are being consumed regularly. 

​Managing hay fever in children under 6 can be challenging, but with a combination of natural remedies, dietary adjustments, and professional guidance, it’s possible to reduce symptoms and improve your child’s comfort.

Chinese Traditional Medicine and the Ayurvedic Medicine of India both have a body clock that recognizes the ebb and flow of nautures energy thoughout the day. 
Both systems and Alchemy of the ancient Greeks considered nature and ourselves to be composed of five elements. 
As with any system that breaks things down into parts to understand the whole these Traditional Medicines used these five elements throughout their health care and medicinal knowledge to work in harmony with nature and promote vitality.

In Ayurveda the five elements were condensed to three Doshas - the Tridoshas and the Ayurveda (Science of Life) is a vast understanding of plants, foods, bodily functions and natural timings that permeate the earth and us. 

Harmonising our sleep, wake, action and eating with the vital energies of the earth and sun allow our body the best opportunity for optimal function.

Seeing a sunrise, a flower or bird the sky clouds a smiling face all give us a momentary lift of joy contentment and happiness that is free and health promoting in a very holistic way.  In the same manner the sights sounds and placement of items in our home whether organisational, decorative or the art of feng shui all affect our daily routines moods and physical wellbeing.  

This is what is referred to as Energy in Holistic Medicine.   Seemingly minor or subtle things have an effect in our lives.  A regular nuisance in our lives has a detrimental effect on our mood and vision of the world.  Things like furniture that we injure ourselves on regularly a tap that drips an inhospitable co-worker or a space that is too dark or too bright all irritate our senses and cause friction in our body and mind.  The alternative is modifying these intrusions to alleviate stress to our system and there is a possibility of using this same mechanism to promote peace calm happiness and even joy in our daily lives.  Fixing a dripping tap or rearranging furniture is changing the 'energy' of a space and our relationship to it.  Introducing a plant, painting or decorative object that we like gives us a pleasance in the atmosphere of our homes and ourselves.  It is this that the art of energy healing enhances. 

​Energy healing ranges from interior design and home maintenance to relaxation and the minor differences experienced from different natural shapes, colours, textures, sights and sounds.  In this way music is an 'energy medicine' it can cause a shift in our emotion as can the weather and the water temperature in a pool or the touch of a person or a perceived intention of a person which may or not match their words.  Yes the ultimate perception comes from within, is experienced within but our bodies are not exclusive of the environment we are open systems to weather temperature sound sight smell taste and touch.  Our senses are always on, whether taking information in subconsciously or perceived as noticeable conscious recognition.  Our brains actually divert important information to our conscious mind for dissemination and discernment and to alert us to danger or potential opportunities. 

​We are mammals and yet we have the capacity for imagination and thought generation.  We may draw on our memories and paint glorious pictures or fearful projections of what may happen.  We may also misconstrue our subconscious impressions by ascribing incorrect meaning to them for example a noise heard in the night may take a shape in our minds as we use previous data to make a working assumption to act upon.  This is where the mind can create all manner of things and believe them to be real when in fact it is just the wind moving branches or a humble wildlife creature going about its nocturnal business.  A draft or passing breeze can feel ominous or a projected imagining can become a vision because we have imagination and the input to our brains is physical whether it is light waves sound waves chemicals in smell and taste or pressure in touch, the sense that we make of our sensory perceptions is created in our mind.  This ranges from obvious graze on a chair leg which sends pain signals to our brain notifying us of injury to hints of smells that trigger memories pleasant or fearful.  Our systems are complex the nervous system and brain are superhighways of information that we take for granted.  

In our everyday lives all of this is happening constantly incessantly mercilessly, input prioritising and background processing as well as the conscious awareness of happenings and decision making there is a vast array of subtle inputs and reactions that are also taking place.  It is in this context that Energy Medicines are discussed and applied.  So from a focus on the prioritised data and a sense of congruency and control these things may seem inconsequential or of having no discernible bearing on ones life mood health or day to day. 
- Shairin2022. 

It has been interesting and showing my age to say but the term "New Age" has transitioned from a hippy remnant to a popular if still Alternative pursuit and not New at all.  Not that it really ever was as this Traditional Knowledge of All Cultures on Earth has been with us since we started using tools and buried our ancestors with flowers and love. 

The Now age has a strong focus on mental and physical health and Artificial intelligence is answering our questions and bringing the Carl Jungian Collective unconscious to light, albeit in the whatever information we have digitized and fed to our AIs. 

A favorite Author of mine whom brings the Ancient Vedic knowledge to the english speakers and into the New Age of modernity regularly is Deepak Chopra.  

His latest book looks well worth a read.  ​

Such an interesting concept for our Stress driven society and communitites. 

The Chakras are as small disks, spheres and great energetic funnels that stretch from a singular point near the spine to large swirling vortices either side of the body - front and back.

Chakric centres are resounding points, where the electromagnetic fields of the human body intercepts the micro-organism centres of the physical body flesh. There fore are not so much physical points rather perceptual points of exchange of energy from cellular and molecular activity to radiant excess energy production forming circular pulses of emergence.

​Chakras are a concept of spinning wheels of light (as translated from Sanskrit the ancient language of the Indian Subcontinent).  The knowledge comes from the 5000 year old Vedas.  The Vedic texts include Epic stories, detailed study of physical and spiritual health, singing, music art and sympathetic magic.

I had the opportunity to visit India to study Ayurvedic Medicine and I took then time to have private lessons with a Kundalini Yoga teacher Dr Prafullata, whom recommended the book Kundalini An Untold Story: A Himalayan Mystic's Insight into the Power of Kundalini and Chakra Sadhana Om Swami.  Which you can buy on Amazon here: amzn.to/3OIiCTY
 
Kundalini Yoga is the Vedic method of purifying the energy systems and allowing the energy circuits to flow freely in their divine power and to work diligently towards achieving union of the powers within and connection to the Universe.  That great all-pervading essence that just is life itself. Aummmm. 

Yoga is Sanskrit for Union and Kundalini is the energy that you are born with that sits in a coil at the base of the spine and provides nourishment and security throughout your life.
 
There are a lot of warnings about raising Kundalini and rightly so.  It is not a simple conjuring trick that unwinds a powerful serpent of energetic current from the base of your spine and then you are some kind of Cool Groovy Elite Awakened soul... It is a gently growing awareness and a move towards conscious action, thought, feeling and being that allows peace and calm balanced, thoughtful actions in the world and within.

The Chakra positions as explained to me by my Guru are that each is at the back of the body near the spine and with palm outstretched and fingers extended one can find each of one’s own chakras by measuring from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger along the central channel of the body. 

​Each of our chakric centres is aligned perfectly for us and our body proportions. 

During our Kundalini meditation masterclass my Guru described the base chakra as residing around the space of the perineum and the sacral chakra as being on the front of the pubic bone. 
 
The third Chakra is located at the navel or thereabouts.  There is a large field that encompasses the solar plexus area yet this is also in the realm of the heart chakra and the interplay of both will be significant in the manifestation of this body areas energy field.  

This was a revelation for me and in the midst of my meditation I could tell that this description of the placement of the power centres made perfect sense as I could feel it and was the puzzle piece that had kept me from truly mastering Chakra knowledge and therefore a practice and method that could help to heal self and the world with implementation of chakra harmonizing that creates the peace within and connection to the universal all which is to yoke and Yoga. 
 
The heart, throat, third eye and crown Chakras are a hand span above each to the next, yet attention to these is unwarranted until the grounded chakras are sturdy and secure. 
 
As seen in the Chakra chart above, our Crown Chakra is a white Horizontal disc on the crown with 1000 petals.  This Chakra naturally opens when all others are harmonious and our posture and concious peace of mind cultivated. ​

The aim is for a stable base and posture that allows for full functioning of all physical body systems and cells which inturn creates its own natural well being. 

Any Chakra healing should be approached Holistically, that is to harmonise the whole system not simply letting a pseudo healer open or close a single chakra centre with blatant disregard of unintended consequences. 

You can use visual meditations on the small discs in front of your spine at each chakra and or chanting the Mantras 108 times each or Gently work on a Chakra with colour therapy, wearing the associated colour or eating the colour foods or Usui Reiki or Crystal healing by placing a crystal on the area or all chakras or simply carrying a crystal with on or with you, 

To go to the source and dedicate yourself to a process of diciplined growth of body, mind and spirit you could look to Kundalini Yoga and find a reputable teacher. 

Kundalini yoga or other yoga dicipline starts with the body postures or Asanas in Sanskrit as these create the posture and stability for a healthy vital human being.  The other eight limbs of yoga are practiced as a stairway or tree climb to Mukti Enlightenment. 

In Australia Yoga is well known and is but a piece of the Ancient Vedic Philosophy that has landed on our shores as seeds bourne on the wind. 

We have intellectualised the Chakras and Kundalini to such an extent that sitting and stretching and breathing may be seen as futile navel gazing, yet Chakra images are prevalent.