Ayurvedic Treatment for Allergies

An allergy is the response of your immune system to a foreign substance. These foreign substances are allergens, and they are typically not harmful.

Allergies are very common in the world. While there is no cure for most of the allergies, there are treatments that can better manage your condition.

Ayurvedic treatment for allergies is one of the popular options as it has minimal side effects and is quite effective.

Allergens include

Pollen
Dust mites
Mold spores
Pet dander
Food
Medicines
Insect stings

Your immune system will fight off these to keep you healthy. It is your body's defense system.

Depending on the allergen, the response may be sneezing, inflammation, or a host of other signs.

What causes an allergy?

It happens when your immune system mistakes a harmless substance (allergen) to be a virus or bacteria. It will then produce antibodies that will attack these allergens.

These antibodies will then release many chemicals that will cause allergy symptoms. These allergens can be

Certain foods - It can be peanuts, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, soy, eggs, and milk.
Airborne - These can be pollen, animal dander, dust mites, and mold.
Some medicines
Insect stings - From a bee or a wasp
Latex or any other substances

Risk factors of allergies

You are more prone to developing allergies if you:

Are a child
Have asthma
Have a family history of asthma or any allergies
Symptoms of allergies
The signs may differ as per the type of allergen
If you had a food allergy, you might have these signs
Skin rashes or hives
Swelling of the lips, face, tongue, and mouth
Tingling in the mouth

Hay fever can cause

Sneezing
Runny, stuffy nose
Itching of the nose, eyes or roof of the mouth
Conjunctivitis

The signs of drug allergies include

Hives
Itchy skin
Rashes
Facial swelling
Wheezing

Ayurveda and allergy

Ayurveda, an old medical system from India, provides another way of handling our health. It has a holistic approach that considers your body, mind, and soul as a whole.

Ayurveda's focus will be on the person as much as it is on the disease. So, the doctor will consider the person's nature while preparing the treatment plan. Thus, the plan will be specific to each person.

A key feature of Ayurveda is the focus on the balance of elements for a healthy life. As per Ayurveda, the main elements, earth, fire, water, air, and space, are present in all of us as three doshas or energy forces.

Each of us has a primary dosha, which defines us. The other two doshas are also important, and the three have to be in balance for us to be healthy.

Ayurveda stresses the importance of digestion in our bodies. Many diseases have digestion as the root cause. Allergy is one such case.

When the food that you eat does not get digested, it becomes a toxin. This toxin or 'Ama' in Ayurveda then accumulates in your digestive tract. If you continue having improper or junk food items, it adds to these toxins. They then spread to other parts of your body, adding fat to the tissues and blocking your channels.

The immune system starts to work more to overcome these problems. It then becomes more defensive. It starts to assume even harmless substances (allergens) as threats and attacks them.

As per Ayurveda, these allergens tend to aggravate specific doshas. So, you will have three types of allergies as per these doshas.

Vata allergy: These are related to food items. You will feel the effect of this in your digestive tract with signs like burping, bloating, gas, pain in the gut, etc. Food items like black beans, raw food, and animal proteins tend to aggravate this.
Pitta allergy: It usually happens due to the contact of some foreign elements with your skin. You will have rashes, hives, itching on your skin due to this. You may also experience stomach upset, heartburn, acid reflux, etc. Tomatoes, eggplants, citrus fruits can all make this worse.
Kapha allergy: This type occurs mainly due to seasonal changes. It is more common in winter seasons. Cold, cough, asthma, sleeping disorders are the major signs. The food items that aggravate this condition are dairy products like milk and cheese, cucumber, wheat, etc.

Ayurvedic treatment for allergy

The main goals of the Ayurvedic treatment for allergy are

Pacify the aggravated doshas
Clear any blocks in your system
Improve your digestion process
Strengthen your immune system

The treatment includes internal medicines and external therapies. Some of the common methods are

Nasya- the administration of medicines through your nostrils. It clears any blocks in your nasal channels.
Vamana - the induced vomiting process where the toxins get eliminated through your mouth
Virechana- the induced purging process to remove the toxins through the lower pathways
Internal medicines to improve your digestion and to reduce the allergic reactions.
Rasayana procedures to optimise your immune system

As mentioned above, your doctor will decide the right methods for your body type, main dosha, and allergy type. You will have to be in the hospital for 14-21 days for the treatment.

Yoga and meditation are part of the treatment as it helps to reduce stress and to improve your metabolism. Diet is another key factor in the treatment. Your doctor will advise the diet that you have to follow both during and after the treatment.

With proper treatment and by sticking to the advice of the doctor, you can expect great results.

Other treatments for allergies

The common treatments for allergy include

Medications - Medicines can control the reaction of your immune system and lessen your symptoms. These can be nasal sprays, eye drops, or other medicines.
Allergen avoidance - Your doctor will help you identify your triggers and avoid them.
Immunotherapy - For severe pollen allergies, you may have allergen immunotherapy. It involves a number of injections of purified allergen extracts. It can also in the form of a tablet.