Nasya: Prevention for Allergy Season
Do you suffer from spring allergies? As the days get longer and the landscape begins to bloom , you may find yourself stocking up on different allergy fighting herbs and vitamins. But there’s another option that can be more effective for you.
One of the five treatments in Panchakarma, or the five ways of detoxification, Nasya is an Ayruvedic technique to help prevent allergies. Medicated herbal oil is applied into the nasal passage, leaving an oily film over the nasal mucosa that prevents allergens from attaching. Nasya has been scientifically studied to help people suffering with hay fever, but it’s also effective as a preventative treatment.
Ayurbeauty is pleased to offer Nasya treatment as part of our Ayurvedic wellness services. Get in touch with us to find out more about Nasya and how it may help you this allergy season.
Find out what Dosha is involved
Pitta allergies and hay fever express in very red, sore eyes and sore, red, inflamed and itchy nose. It may feel exactly as if you have been chopping onions. You may run a low fever or feel tenderness throughout your body. The liver area may be sore and tender and you may feel unusually irritable. Exposure to bright sunlight sets off sneezing attacks. There are some allergens that are notorious for setting off pitta allergies in people of any constitution. Citrus blossoms, for example, can initiate a pitta allergy attack because the pollen is so hot, sharp and sour. The same applies to the pollen of anacardiaceae or members of the Sumac family such as mangoes and cashews.
Kapha allergies manifest with a dull, heavy feeling in the head, very stuffy nose and sinuses, a feeling of fullness in the face, swollen eyes, lethargy and sleepiness, and copious mucus production. There may be an onset of asthma related to post-nasal drip. Some damp-related allergens such as molds will set off kapha allergies and asthma in susceptible people of all constitutions.
A vata-caused allergy attack could be set off by exposure to dry dust and would typically involve a feeling of excess dryness and pain in the nose and sinuses, as well as a dry, hoarse feeling in the throat. Spasmodic asthma may result in severe cases. However, above and beyond these typical vata manifestations, it is very important to be aware of the role of vata in allergies that appear to be related to pitta or kapha. The doshas that are present throughout the body are not necessarily those that are expressing in the head. It is often the case that vata may push the other doshas to the head. In fact, it is in this situation that Ayurvedic analysis really comes into its own.
