"Allergy is one of the earliest signs of stress in the body." As health writer Jillie Collings warns, they are a sign that the immune system is under stress. They usually start in childhood, and should be taken seriously.

Treating allergies with homeopathy is the best way of strengthening your immune system. Catching the problem early enough means the difference between a quick response to homeopathy, or a rather more drawn out process. And the sooner you treat it with homeopathy - the less likely you are to experience the dangers of steroid drug treatments. Steroids tend to be very effective at subduing the inflammation, but do nothing to sort out the underlying problem of hypersensitivity.

Allergies can be defined as an abnormally heightened sensitivity of the immune system to a substance. Allergic reactions occur on the skin (hives, dermatitis and eczema) or mucous membranes (allergic conjunctivitis, or rhinitis, hay fever and asthma). All these allergies are characterised by similar immunological reactions, regardless of their location in the body, and whether food allergies or allergies to environmental irritants.

Likely offenders, called allergens because of this ability to provoke a hypersensitive immune response, can be any one of a range of substances. Common foods such as cow's milk, egg whites, as well as house dust (which harbours dust mites), detergents. A diet of fresh fruit, vegetables and whole foods. The biggest culprits are dairy products, including eggs, and wheat products. Almost any other foods can be suspect, including cheese, fish, tomatoes, and artificial food colours.

Atopy describes the familiar group of allergies (eczema, hay fever and asthma) that are likely to run in families. While there is often a family history of one of the atopic allergies (asthma, eczema and hay fever) some sort of trigger is needed to activate the hereditary tendency.

Allergic reaction have apparently increased massively over the last three decades, and lots of theories have been put forward to explain this rapid increase. Dr Jean Monro, co-author of Chemical Children, suggests that the incredible 30% increase in children with allergies is due to the range of environmental pollutants and other factors we're constantly exposed to that are weakening our immune systems through sheer overload. Numerous studies of asthma consider a range of possible risk factors. Pollution is the most popular thing to blame, but it is clearly only one of a host of factors, since rates of asthma are similar throughout the industrialised world regardless of whether children live in town or the Scottish Highlands.

Clearly there's no one answer to the question of why you develop allergies. Like most serious health problems, they are due to a variety of factors. But if your parents have any of the atopic illnesses, you are predisposed to developing allergies. In my opinion, each factor which undermines your immune system is likely to increase your risk of allergies.

Whatever the causes are for allergies, it is clear that they are difficult to treat. Once you have become oversensitised to common environmental particles, trying to encourage the body to desensitise is a long job that can take up to a few years to resolve, depending on how long the problem has been going on. For this reason, it is important to seek professional help as soon as you notice your allergies, rather than waiting to see if they go away on their own (not a very common outcome), or experimenting with food exclusion regimes on your own.

the main atopic allergies can be ranked in order of severity. Food intolerance is the least serious of the disorders. You can be intolerant to milk, suffering from diarrhoea or vomiting. Other foodstuffs like eggs, or tomatoes can cause rashes around the mouth and cheeks. In many cases, eczema can appear.

Homeopaths regard eczema as the next most serious allergy problem.

Early signs of eczema are dryness and cracking appearing just behind the earlobes. It can look like deep raw cuts, which sometimes ooze some homey like fluid, or may form crusty scabs. Other places where eczema very commonly makes its first appearance is on the insides of the elbows and knees, along the lines formed by the natural creases in the skin. In fact eczema can occur in creases anywhere, or as a rash around the mouth - especially if it reddens after contact with food allergens like tomatoes or eggs. Eczema is always itchy, although the degree of discomfort does vary.

Signs of allergic problems moving to a deeper level are the emergence of respiratory allergies; hay fever or allergic rhinitis. Sometimes rhimitis can be mistaken for frequent colds, but a sure sign of allergy is frequent bouts of sneezing, especially in the morning. The discharge from the nose is clear, not thick and white or yellow-green. It looks like water dripping from a tap, and the nose is usually very itchy.

A tell-tale sign for hayfever is an itchy roof of the mouth. If you find yourself making a clicking noise at the back of the throat, by squeezing the muscles at the top of the mouth to scratch the itch - you've developed hayfever.

Sometimes the eyes seem to be affected more than the nose or throat. Your eyes are swollen, and watery, and you rub them frequently.

Asthma is the most serious allergic problem of the whole group, which is obvious, because the breathing is affected. Asthma is a constriction of the airways leading to the lungs - the muscles lining the bronchial tubes constrict. So if you have been taking treatment for eczema, whether conventional medicine or natural medicine, and they develop asthma, homeopaths regard this as a sign that overall health is deteriorating and allergic sensitivity growing. That's one of the main reasons why homeopaths are not keen on the use of suppressive cortisone creams for eczema. While they may well provide relief to the eczema sufferer, they often drive the allergic tendency deeper.

Homeopaths pay a lot of attention to the idea of susceptibility. Each of us are susceptible to particular diseases - exactly which diseases depends on our genetic inheritance, and then on environmental factors, lifestyle, stresses, traumas, and also what medical treatments we make use of. In the case of allergies, a family history of any atopic allergy will predispose children to developing allergy. But it is not inevitable. If their birth is gentle and untraumatic, and we don't assault their bodies with medical treatments which compromise their immune systems they will not necessarily develop an allergy. Furthermore, if we don't expose them to common allergens in the first year of life, while they are building up natural immunity, we will have improved their susceptibility. Foe children who have developed allergies, the level of allergic problem they suffer, whether eczema or asthma, tells us a lot about their individual susceptibility. Homeopathic treatment tries to work in accordance with these natural hierarchies. What this means, is that if you suffering with asthma, and they have a history of eczema, they will often re-experience the eczema during the process of homeopathic treatment. While sometimes uncomfortable and distressing, this is a sure sign that the allergic susceptibility is lessening, and your health improving.

Case

A.N Woman 7/3/56

April 1985: Hayfever has started this year. It is worse from a draft of air when travelling in a car.

Strong llergies to cats, dogs, horses, dust, feathers, paint, aerosol, talc.

Nose itches, coryza from eyes and nose. Eye membranes swell. Sneezing. Skin rash from contact with cats.

Developes shortness of breath, wheezing. Feels panic and must go outside.

Eczema on face and upper eyelids up till 3-4 years ago.

Dry red patches persist around eyelids and chin which can be itchy. Itching nipples and anus at times.

There is a family history of asthma and eczema.

Over last three years frequent cystitis.

Neck of uterus corroded.

Mouth ulcers.

In last few years also tendency to take cold. Sinusitis and headaches after colds. Sinusitis worse in hot weather. Tonsils removed around 10 or 12 due to frequent sore throats.

Rheumatic fever at 4 years of age. Occasional aching joints over last two years. L shoulder, knees and fingers are stiff on waking. (Stiff knees since the age of 10) Shoulder aches at night, worse lying on it.

Tired. Esp around 3-4 pm for 2 hours.

Chilly and desires more heat, even if skin hot and sweaty.

Desires sweets and salt.

Angry and moody. Doesn't suffer fools; caustic sense of humour. Gets pet hates about people because she's very sensitive to criticism.

Depressed since moving in with her boyfriend 6 months ago. Feels the situation is inadequate to her needs, yet resents her growing dependence on him. Anxiety about change; new job. Also waves of fear of loosing relationship.

needs company, worse alone.

What is the relationship between the symptoms and how did they progress. How would you expect them to go?

What is the remedy indicated here?

Jan 1986: Shocked and betrayed by boyfriend's affair. Lost a stone in a month: desires food but stomach constricts at the sight of it. Insomnia, wakes at the slightest noise. Unrefreshing sleep. Nausea with tension. Body shakes with tension. Fearful.(x3) Panic attacks: with palpitations, flushing and sweating. Resentful and dwelling on what happened. Insecure. Anxiety about losing everything. Impulse to run away. Complains of suicidal depression.

Eczema all over face (x2), behind knees and anus. Terrible cat allergies.

1991; Father developed lung cancer. depression. Doesn't want to live. Extreme anxiety about health. Anxiety she has a wasting disease. fear of cancer. Fear of death. Anxiety boyfriend will die. Anxiety he hasn't paid his access bill.

Had all jabs for travel to Carribean. Developed flu the next day and had severe blocked ears when flying. Fear of flying. Anxiety about being bitten by a mosquito. fear of dengue fever. Agitated; feels in a constant search for happiness. Wart developed on little finger.

1993: Fear of death cured after extraordinary experience when a call came through from a neighbour asking her for help. When she got there the woman was unconscious, and dead by the time the ambulance arrived.

Generally feels much more positive ~I can't bear people who are always moaning~. restless and bored. Very ambitious; book accepted for publication. Palpitations since last visit to publishers. Heart skips a beat. ECG normal. Worse from heat and alcohol, better if occupied. Fell out with someone in writer's group. Feels unjustly criticised. Joints good except in damp weather. Still allergic to cats (x2).