Homeopathic Desensitization Treatment of Allergies
By Ifeoma Ikenze MD
The past few decades have seen a shift in the kinds of illnesses that most patients exhibit. In the past, illnesses were more simple and straightforward in their presentation. Today we see patients with multiple organ system dysfunction and recurrent illnesses that cannot be traced to any one single cause, but rather to multiple factors. The migration of ethnic groups has led unavoidably to an increasing conformity to a uniform diet, imposed by the prevailing socio-economic system. In addition, with chemical and biologic modification of our food by agribusiness we are seeing an alarming increase of multi-organ diseases in the population. This often masquerades in so many ways that it is often difficult for the practitioner to discover the underlying cause of illness.
To better understand the scope of the problem one needs to look at the history of botanical, zoological, and agricultural bioengineering that started in the twentieth century in North America and Europe and extended to encompass the entire globe. Initial engineering efforts were aimed at increasing food production and shelf life by use of chemical pesticides and preservatives. These chemicals have proved to be as harmful, if not more, to our human cells than to the bacteria, insects and small animals for which they were intended. This is because our metabolic rate is much slower than that of the targeted organisms. So we are much slower in excreting the chemicals and gradually accumulate them until a critical and toxic level is reached that leads to a break down in the normal metabolic and immunologic processes.
Later bioengineering efforts extended to selective breeding of certain strains of pollinating plants to increase and accelerate growth and propagation. For example, on the Pacific Coast of the US where flowering plants are prized for their esthetic value, there is a selective preponderance of male flowering plants sold and planted with no female receptors for the masses of pollen produced each summer. The result is that for most of the spring, summer and fall, there is cloud of pollen in the air that is not used up and finds its way into the nose, eyes, ears and lungs of unsuspecting humanity.
In the twenty-first century the attention has been on genetic modification of staple foods such as wheat, soy, corn etc. in such a way that the entire population is forced to consume on a daily basis, food that is genetically foreign to its immunologic recognition system. There is also the common practice of growth hormone injections not only in meat and milk and egg production, but also in the growth of plant foods. We are already seeing the result of this by the not-so-mystifying increase in food sensitivities, especially to milk, egg, wheat/gluten corn and soy. What is even more interesting is that we are beginning to recognize that the newer food sensitivities are manifesting more in autoimmune symptoms than in what we would describe in the past as allergy symptoms. So we are seeing patients with chronic recurrent respiratory infections such as sinusitis, otitis, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia; chronic gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS, Crohn's disease, colitis; chronic skin disorders, such as eczema, psoriasis, severe acne, and recurrent skin infection; chronic fatigue, headaches and arthritis.
So how does one set about treating a patient who presents with any of this constellation of symptoms?
The first step is to pay attention to the patient's dietary and environmental case history even when the presenting complaints are not necessarily "conventional allergy" symptoms. In the process of a constitutional intake evaluation we are trying to determine the following:
Totality of the patient's symptoms
Depth of the patient's experience of his symptoms
Extent and depth of the patient's life experiences
Genetic, environmental, and dietary factors impacting the flow of his vital force
Compensatory or decompensatory responses to the above factors
By looking closely at these factors in the course of over twenty-five years of practice, I have come to realize that the vast majority of chronic illnesses may be traced to a food sensitivity. And that even environmental allergies can be first triggered by toxic overload of the system from ingestion of foods subject to the same biochemical processes as the item to which the patient is allergic. For example, the relationship of tree pollen allergy to tree nut allergy, or allergy to wheat grass pollen preceding ultimate signs of sensitivity to ingested wheat. Can a patient's chronic sinus infections or arthritis or migraines be due to an allergy? In other words searching beyond the usual symptoms of asthma or eczema for manifestations of allergy in a patient.
The second step in the evaluation process is to determine the patient's homeopathic constitutional remedy based on the five itemized areas of the case. As a homeopath I find that discovering the appropriate constitutional remedy for each patient is critical to success in restoring the normal function of the excretory, and immunologic systems, which in turn are the main pathways for expelling toxins and restoring normal immune function. In my experience the discovery of the true similimum eliminates the need for innumerable supplements, enzymes, vitamins, etc. since the restoration of the vital force also restores more efficient function of each organ system. However this second step is only the critical springboard to the third step, which is to desensitize the patient to the offensive agents in the diet or environment.
For the third step, allergy or sensitivity testing, blood or skin testing may be utilized in addition to non-conventional methods. In general, skin testing is more effective for environmental allergies while blood tests are more dependable for food allergies. Dependable blood testing requires first, an in-depth review of the patient's diet and a high level of suspicion for each possible allergen. A list of the possible offensive foods is drawn up in cooperation with the patient or parents if it is a child. If it is a nursing baby, the mother's diet has to be looked into very closely too. Once the list of possible agents is drawn up, an IgE + IgG RAST test panel can be done that includes each food item in the list.
The IgG RAST test will detect delayed sensitivity reactions that are not picked up by the IgE test. Where there is a question of wheat or gluten allergy, the IgG + IgE RAST test will only pick up a wheat allergy but not an enteric autoimmune gluten sensitivity. Enteric gluten sensitivity - including Celiac Disease - is becoming increasingly common. It is an autoimmune disorder which is IgA mediated and requires an IgA + Antigliadin and Tranglutaminase Antibody assay. Food elimination is also a way to determine what foods are allergenic to the patient. But I find that this method is difficult for the patient and I only resort to it if blood and skin testing have proved unyielding.
Once the diagnosis has been made of allergy or sensitivity, and the patient's constitutional remedy has been determined one can proceed with treatment in a step-wise manner. The first phase consists of starting the patient on the constitutional remedy without changing anything else. For example I do not eliminate the allergens from the diet or environment because if the patient shows an initial improvement, I will not know if it is simply from removing the allergens. I usually give the constitutional remedy in a daily dosage. For this a low C or LM potency of the correct similimum given 1 to 3 times a day will bring about an overall improvement in the totality of the patient's symptoms and overall sense of well being within 3 to 4 weeks. In order to proceed with homeopathic desensitizing it is important for the patient to be on the correct constitutional remedy to prevent severe symptoms from administering the allergen remedy when we start desensitizing. This must be determined without any other changes or treatments or supplements that could cloud the picture. If the patient shows no improvement on the remedy alone, then it is not the right remedy and one has to go back and retake the case.
On follow-up, if the patient has shown improvement, then we may discuss allergen elimination to bring them to a much higher level of wellbeing although it is not always possible to eliminate every last allergen. This is where desensitizing comes in. Often the list of items to be desensitized includes foods as well as environmental agents. Depending on how severely symptomatic the patient is, allergens can be administered together or singly. For severe symptoms I start with one allergen at a time and insert additional allergens as the patient continues to do well. I usually start with a 30x potency of the allergen given sublingually, perhaps once a week for the first month and then twice a week for the next month and then once daily. Throughout the treatment the constitutional is given 1 to 2 times a day. Both remedies may be taken together when they coincide. If the patient has severe symptoms at any point in the increasing frequency of dosing we back off to the prior frequency for a couple of weeks and then try again. Once the patient is stable on daily allergen dosing we add the second allergen using the same schedule.
Illustrative Case#1
K.R. is an 8 year old girl who started seeing me at 6 years old. She had asthma and eczema and would break out in hives and difficulty breathing without warning. She had frequent illnesses that usually ended up with pneumonia, and frequent stomach aches. Her eczema consisted of dry leathery skin that would crack and bleed and was worst in the creases and the itching kept her up at nights. Areas where she scratched became easily infected and required frequent antibiotics to the point that the antibiotics no longer worked for her. She had been put on daily steroid inhaler and still had break through asthma and pneumonia. Mom described her as strong willed and when given Albuterol she became overactive and difficult to manage. Her stomach aches seemed to coincide with the hives and irritability. On first encounter my impression of Kate was that she was a bright out-going child but when ill she became easily angry and stubborn.
Blood testing showed she was allergic to soy, eggs, corn, peanuts and tree nuts. I initially gave her Sulphur 30c 2x times a day. She showed no improvement and I increased Sulphur to 200c once a day. Her skin improved but the stomach aches persisted and she still had frequent respiratory illness. I had to retake her case. I decided on Antimonium Crudum based on the appearance of the skin, the stomach aches and the tendency to anger. After starting Antimonium Crudum 200c, she never had a single episode of hives or stomach ache again and her frequent illness became much better.
At this point we started desensitizing. We chose to begin with eggs since this was a food that she really wanted to be able to eat without getting sick. We started with Egg 30x given once a week while getting Ant. Crud. 200c once a day. Even though she had been completely symptom free for at least 3 months before we started desensitizing, she developed some wheezing and itching of her skin after the first dose of Egg30x. I reassured Mom. Subsequent doses had milder and milder reactions. We then gradually went up to once a day with Egg 30x + Ant. Crud. 200c. Then we started giving Peanut 30x once a week while continuing Ant. Crud.200c and Egg 30x once a day. When we started Peanut 30x she again was symptomatic with asthma on the first dose which required an increase of potency of Ant Crud. to 1M given as a single dose to control the reaction. After she had gone an entire month with absolutely no reaction to the weekly dose of Peanut we were able to increase the frequency to 2 times a week and then gradually to once a day. The other allergens were added on in the same manner. So the schedule for desensitizing was as follows:
Ant. Crud. 30c b.i.d. x 3 months
Ant. Crud. 30c q.d. + Egg 30x q.wk. x 1 month
Ant. Crud. 30c q.d. + Egg 30x q.d. until she has been symptom free x1 month
Ant. Crud. 30c + Egg 30x q.d. + Peanut 30x q. wk. Increased symptoms, so Ant Crud. increased to 200c q.d.
Ant. Crud. 200c+ Egg 30x+ Peanut 30x q.d. until symptom free x 1 month
Ant. Crud. 200c +Egg 30x + Peanut 30X q.d. + Soy 30x q. wk.....etc....
Add additional allergens in 30x in the same way until she is on all allergens 30x + Ant Crud 200c q.d.
After 3 months of being symptom free we reduce the potency of all the allergens to 12x to introduce tiny material doses of the allergens. When going down to 12x we give the all the allergens together but only once a week for the first month and then go to once a day. i.e., no need to split them up again. But the constitutional remedy is still given everyday during this period.
After another 3 months of Ant. Crud. 200c daily + all allergens 12x daily, we decrease the allergens to 6x, again starting at once a week and then going to once a day. When we went to Peanut 6x it was necessary to increase Ant Crud to 1M temporarily to avoid any possibility of severe respiratory reaction. She had no trouble at all with Peanut 6x and remained on that dosage for a period of 3 months completely symptom free in spite of minor inadvertent exposures to peanuts and tree nuts and egg in school.
At that point we decreased her dosing of Ant Crud and allergens to once a week for a period of two years and she has remained completely free of asthma and eczema. She has been inadvertently challenged by eating the allergenic foods accidentally with no bad effects. So mom became less vigilant and she has gradually gone to eating eggs, corn soy and nut butters including peanut butter happily. After 2 years she no longer requires desensitization. Ant Crud. is still her constitution and she takes Antimonium Crudum 1M whenever exposed to illness at school.
Illustrative Case #2
G.G. is a 60 y/o woman who was initially seen at age 58yrs for treatment of severe shellfish allergy. She had had several life threatening anaphylactic episodes requiring ambulance trips to the emergency room. Each ER trip was more severe that the previous and it had become so bad that she had had episodes of hives and airway swelling when she was inadvertently around shellfish including shrimp, crab and lobster. These episodes were very terrifying for her. She was Hawaiian by ethnicity, born and raised in Oahu. She has a great affinity for the ocean and for Hawaii especially. So the sudden appearance of shellfish allergy in her fifties was rather devastating for her. In addition, she suffered from hypertension, and chronic anxiety.
She gives a history of abuse and trauma in childhood and adolescence. Her life changed when she got married and she has been very happily married for the past 22 years to a man 25 years older than herself. Her husband has been diagnosed with diabetes in the past few years. Although he is quite active and endeavors to manage his own health, medications etc, she is very worried about him and lives in fear of what might happen if he dies. She has trouble sleeping for more than a few hours at a time at night and is often awakened by the slightest sound. They have a very active social life and do a lot of traveling in spite of her fears and she makes every effort not to allow them to interfere with their social life.
I prescribed Aconitum 200c nightly. She responded immediately with improvement in her anxiety and and a drop in her blood pressure. At that point I felt it safe to start desensitizing to shellfish.
We started with Crab 30x once a week while continuing Aconitum once a day. Since her sleep was also better it was not necessary to take the Aconitum at bedtime and she could take the dose at any convenient time. The Crab dose however, had to be taken with Aconitum.
After a month we increased Crab 30x to twice a week for another month and then to once a day while still taking Aconitum daily.
Next we added Shrimp 30x, gradually increasing the frequency of dosing to once a day.
After one month of Aconitum 200c + Crab 30x + Shrimp 30x once daily, we added Lobster 30x according to the same schedule.
After 3 months of being on all three allergens daily we dropped the potency of all three allergens to 12x. When we went to 12x, we started out giving all three allergens at 12x once a week to be sure there would not be a strong reaction. Then we gradually went back to once daily. Throughout the process she was always on Aconitum daily.
After another month we went down to 6x. This time we went to 6x of the allergens one at a time, and for one month before making the next reduction in potency. This way if she reacted we would know which one of the shellfish needed more treatment time.
She had a few episodes of mild hives, throat discomfort, and anxiety which we managed by giving extra doses of Aconitum 30c. The episodes occurred only when we initially introduced Crab 6x and Shrimp 6x, but not with Lobster 6x.
After she had been on 6x of all 3 allergens for about 4 months she informed me that she had been on a cruise and had inadvertently eaten a fish dish that turned out to have some crab and to her great surprise, she did not react! After that she was able to summon the courage to eat small finger foods containing shrimp and again she had no reaction. This was very liberating for her because she could now visit her home and eat her favorite foods without fear.
Interestingly, her fears concerning her husband's health have disappeared and needless to say her blood pressure has remained in the normal range. Her sleep is also much better. We discontinued daily dosing of Aconitum and the allergens after about a year and she has done very well since.
Potential pitfalls
There are some potential difficulties, pitfalls and questions that are raised in this method of desensitizing.
I have found it is imperative that the patient is on the correct constitutional remedy for rapid and longterm success.
I have also experienced that my patients do much better on daily dosing of the constitutional remedy during the period of desensitizing, and not so well on single or intermittent dosing. My experience is that though a patient with a food allergy feels much better overall after a constitutional remedy they still tend to have reactions to the offending foods until they are desensitized. People with environmental allergies on the other hand, in many cases, tend to do fine with just the constitutional remedy.
The decimal dilutions act more in a desensitizing manner and less in a therapeutic manner than the centesimal dilutions.
The low potency of 6x or 9x contains material amounts of the allergen and should never be used in the initial phase of desensitizing. it is best to start with 10x or higher.
It is always safest to introduce the allergen slowly i.e., first infrequently at a higher dilution and then increase the frequency and lastly, go to the lowest dilution.
For practicing professionals, most of the food and environmental allergens are available from the commercial homeopathic pharmacies. Some will also manufacture specific isodes (low potency remedy made from a food, plant or animal allergen) if not already available in their formulary.
Ifeoma Ikenze MD
October 2013
