‘Runny nose, sniffles and ahh-ahh-achho…’

What is an allergy?
Allergy is an intensified hypersensitivity to a foreign substance (allergen). The severity of an allergic reaction can vary from mild discomfort to life threatening situations. You can develop allergy at any age, right from their infant days to adulthood. You might not be previously allergic to some substances. But, over a period of time, due to unknown reasons,immune system starts to identify them as allergens and develops antibodies towards them.

Allergens are special types of antigens that cause allergic reactions. These could be cat dander or pet dander, pollens, dust mites, molds, animal proteins, insect toxins, food stuff and many more. Medications, such as Sulpha and Penicillin could also produce allergic reactions.

When a non allergic individual comes in contact with these allergens, the body perceives the allergen as harmless and there is no allergic response. On the other hand, an allergic person develops a specific type of antibody called immunoglobulin E, or IgE, in response to these allergens. IgE causes certain cells in the body to release chemicals such as histamine .This causes symptoms of allergy, such as:

• Itchy nose, mouth, eyes, throat, skin, or any area
• Problems with smell
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Severe Wheezing
• Teary eyes
• Sinus Problems
• Skin Allergies
• Food Allergies

An individual can exhibit allergy to single or multiple allergens.

An allergy could be:
• Contact
• Seasonal
• Perennial

In India common allergies such as, allergic asthma, sinusitis, skin allergies, respiratory allergy, allergic rhinitis, food allergy, dust allergy, drug allergies and pollen allergies are prevalent.

Common Causes of Allergy

Environmental allergens : These are the most common allergens and would include dust and dust mites, mold spores, animal dander and pollen from grass; ragweed, parthenium (commonly known as congress grass) and trees.
Genetics : Heredity seems to play an important role in allergic diseases. If both your parents suffer from allergy, the child has 50% chances of developing the same. Children with one allergic parent have a 33% chance of developing allergies; with two allergic parents, it's a 70% chance.
Stress : When a person is stressed, the body releases hormones and other chemicals, including histamine. Histamine leads to allergy symptoms. While stress doesn't actually cause allergies, it can make an allergic reaction worse by increasing the histamine in your bloodstream.
Food : Reactions to chemical components of the diet are more common than true food allergies. They are caused by various organic chemicals occurring naturally in a wide variety of food items, both of animal and vegetable origin, more than, food additives, preservatives, colours and flavours.


Types of Allergic Manifestations

Respiratory allergies : These are triggered by air allergens such as mites, dust, animal dander moulds and pollen. According to WHO estimates, in 2012 there were close to 1.7 million premature deaths attributed to household air pollution from cooking in the South East Asia region with India shouldering the biggest burden. Sometimes it could also be induced by strong chemicals, perfumes, fumes, smoke and much more. Food additives, stress and certain medications could also serve as a trigger to these allergic episodes.These include:

Allergic Rhinitis : According to World Health Organization (WHO) and other medical resources approximately 20% (i.e. 24 crore) of total population suffer from at least one of the allergic diseases in India. The current statistics confirm that about 15-20 million people have asthma whereas symptoms of allergic rhinitis were present in 75% of children and 80% of asthmatic adults.

Symptoms include : itchy nose, runny nose, sneezing, nose block, red itchy and watery eyes.
Asthma : India has an estimated 15-20 million asthmatics. The number of adult asthmatics is estimated at 23,709K and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) at 592,719K. Estimates of Aspergillus (Genus of common molds causing food spoilage and some pathogenic to plants and animals) sensitization rates in adult asthmatics in India exceed 16% and are 50% in asthmatics admitted to ICU with asthma.

Symptoms include : breathlessness on exertion, chest tightness, dry cough, nocturnal cough, wheezing.
Allergic Bronchitis : Crude estimates suggest there are 30 million chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in India. More than 3 million people died of COPD in 2005, which is equal to 5% of all deaths globally that year. As per the statistics, almost 90% of COPD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Symptoms include : shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, cough and increased mucus production.
Eye Allergy : It is triggered by exposure to allergens such as dust mites, pet dander, pollens and mold spores.

Symptoms include : red, itchy and watery eyes with or without swelling .It could also be associated with allergic rhinitis.
Skin Allergies : They are triggered by contact with substances such as metals, leather, irritants and chemicals present in cosmetics and hair dyes/ colours. In some people exposure to sunlight would trigger an allergic response on the skin. The other allergens include food preservatives and additives, nuts and animal proteins.

The most commonly encountered skin allergies are :
• Atopic Dermatitis : Usually seen in young infants ,this condition is also encountered in some adults with atopic tendencies- allergic tendencies.Various studies done in India have reported the incidence to be 0.01% to as high as 28.46% from different parts of the country. The skin is sensitive to allergens and manifests as dryness, itchiness, redness, tiny blisters, crusting and scaling and hyper pigmentation. This could be associated with seasonal allergies and asthma.
• Contact Dermatitis : It is a localized patch of skin irritation caused by exposure to allergens such as metals or irritants such as dyes.It could present as burning and itchy rashes on the skin at the site of contact.
• Photo Dermatitis : This is an allergic reaction of the skin to the UV rays . It may manifest as redness, itching, burning of the skin in the sun exposed areas . There may be bumps or blisters, darkening of the skin. Long term effects would be thickening and scarring of the skin.
• Urticaria : These are also called as hives and would present as red or pale wheals with itching. These could be triggered by food items, heat, cold, stress, dust, external contact with allergens.
Food Allergies : This is an adverse reaction to the proteins in the food. It would cause symptoms such as hives, itching and swelling of the mouth, lips, stomach pain, loose motions, difficulty in swallowing, runny nose, wheezing, fainting and in severe cases death. Common food allergens are nuts, egg, milk, peaches, soy certain fish and shell fish.Food allergies cause roughly 30,000 emergency treatments and 100 to 200 deaths per year in the nation. Up to 3 million Indians may have peanut allergy alone.


Insect bite Allergies : Most of the people are not allergic to insect bites. But few people develop severe allergic reactions to bites of insects such as honey bee, wasp, red ant and more. Symptoms of an insect bite allergy could range from mild to severe and include itching, hives, flushing of the skin, tingling or itching inside the mouth, and nausea or vomiting. Severe allergic reaction would include symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swallowing, hoarseness, swelling of the tongue, dizziness and fainting .This could be life threatening.
Medicine Allergy : Most common drugs that cause allergy are penicillin and similar antibiotics, sulpha drugs and many more. Symptoms of a drug allergy can range from mild to life-threatening. A drug allergy could cause symptoms like hives, skin rash, itchy skin or eyes, congestion, and swelling in the mouth and throat.
Anaphylaxis : It is severe reaction to allergens. Symptoms would include difficulty breathing, blueness of the skin, dizziness, fainting, anxiety, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal problems and death.

The conventional approach for the treatment of allergy is to identify and avoid the allergens. Although this would help to a certain extent; it is not possible to avoid the allergens, all the time. For the symptomatic relief they prescribe antihistamines and steroids. These cannot be taken regularly due to their habit forming nature and side effects. For more severe allergies, there is immunotherapy which involves regular injections of small amounts of the relevant allergen(s) in the body. This would lead to a gradual desensitization of the body to the allergens.

A study of 200 patients suffering from hypersensitivity illnesses, including asthma, eczema, urticaria, allergic rhinitis and other allergies, showed that homeopathy was at least as effective as conventional treatment. The study took in to account the everyday practice experience of general practitioners and the classical homoeopaths.

• Where most patients who were treated by medical doctors experienced an aggravation of their symptoms when stopping conventional drugs, only 1/3 of patients in the homeopathy group experienced such an aggravation.

• Only one patient on conventional treatment experienced improvement of symptoms after stopping medication, compared to improvement in 2/3 of homeopathy patients.

• Patients in the homeopathy group reported a larger improvement in their general state of health, with 57% improvement, compared to 24% in the conventional group.

• Homeopathy patients also experienced more positive change in their psychological state. 53% patients in the homeopathy group showed improved quality of life, compared to 15 % in the conventional group.

Salient Features — Allergy Treatment at Dr. Batra’s
• 94% Success Rate in homeopathy treatment of allergy
• Spot Allergy Test Kit from London to know your Allergy type
• Customised Homeopathic solutions to specific Airborne Allergies
• Builds overall immunity

45,000 allergy patients treated with 94% success rate#

Dr.Batra’s Homeopathy Treatment for Respiratory & Environmental Allergies
Homeopathy treats allergies safely and effectively. At Dr. Batra’s, we follow a holistic treatment approach for both acute seasonal and chronic allergies of all types. We believe that the allergy symptoms our patient experiences are not a disease in themselves, but a result of underlying imbalance in the defense mechanism. Hence, it is not correct to suppress this expression of allergy.

A deeper approach is required to correct this altered sensitivity. We prescribe a homeopathic medicine which is based on a detailed analysis of patient’s personality, allergy modalities, reactions to external influences of food, weather, likes and dislikes, significant past events in his personal and family history, such as accidents, emotional trauma, and serious disease, if any.

Homeopathy medicines are unique to the patient and no two patients with similar allergies get the same homeopathic medicine. Such a medicine helps to desensitize the patient to the particular allergen and hence offer, long lasting results.

Physical examination may provide tangible clues, along with certain skin tests, such as needle prick, or scratch, to confirm diagnosis. If there is an allergy, a hive which is a swollen, reddened area, may emerge within 20 – 25 minutes.

Innovation at Dr. Batra’s
Your allergy and medical history will be carefully evaluated by our homeopathic doctors who will also perform a comprehensive physical examination, in order to determine preliminary diagnosis.

The occurrence of allergy is rapidly increasing not only in India, but all over the world. This is because people's immunity levels are decreasing, sensitivity is increasing and majority of allergies that occur are because of environmental allergens.

Dr Batra's® allertreat clinic will provide a 360° holistic approach, comprising of diagnosis, technology, prevention, self help and treatment. You can avail a complete allergy treatment that builds immunity against identified allergens and individualistic constitutional treatment to build immunity against unknown allergens. Our technology comprises of Dr Batra's Allergy Detection and Dr Batra's Asthma Monitoring systems.

• Dr. Batra's allergy detection system is an advanced scientific tool to detect the main causes of your environmental allergy, in just 30 minutes. It gives accurate and reliable results, without laboratory assistance.

Dr.Batra's Allergy Detection System
Identifies the trigger causing allergic reaction in just 30 min
Gives accurate, reliable and easy-to understand results, without lab assitance
Treatment charted to yield optimum results

• Dr. Batra's asthma monitoring system is an advanced scientific technology that helps to monitor your respiratory allergy and ward off asthma attacks, before they occur. Periodic improvement of your asthma is scientifically recorded facilitating the doctor to change, improve or alter your medicines.

Asthma Monitoring System (Digital PEFR)
Will analyze the reading
In built memory maintains the record
Graphical representation is available
Print report can be obtained

How do I relieve my sudden symptoms of stuffy and blocked nose? Questions pondering on your mind!

Such allergy is extremely frustrating in the middle of your urgent work schedule. You're wondering if taking medication on regular basis would be detrimental to health even though it is relieving-flu-like symptoms. Experience a 360 degree approach comprising of diagnosis, technology, prevention, self-help and treatment. Visit Dr. Batra's allertreat - India's 1st environmental and respiratory allergy clinic!