In search of a cure for hayfever, Lucya Szachnowski tries out a complementary medicine approach.

I am not unhealthy but, like many people, I tend to wonder whether I am eating the right things, if I need vitamin supplements and whether minor symptoms are worth seeing a doctor about.

In particular, I have suffered from hayfever in June and July for many years. So, with that time of year upon us, I decided to try out the Bio-Energetic Screening Test (BEST), which is offered by Bromley Health Management, in South Street, Bromley.

Edith Maskell, who runs Bromley Health Management, says a full body screen helps take the guesswork out of health-related questions by spotting how well the bodies' organs are working as well as testing for allergies, vitamin and mineral deficiencies and hormone imbalances.

It uses complementary medicine theories, similar to acupuncture but without the needles, to measure electrical energy levels at acupoints on the hands and feet. Through this, it monitors and records energy readings from different organs and tissues to find out if they are "stressed" or "out of balance". It also checks an extremely long list of vitamin and mineral levels and potential allergens including house dust, various pollens and lots of different foods.

Arwel Jones, who carried out my screening, was a qualified doctor but now specialises in homoeopathy, herbal medicine and acupuncture. Before starting, he explained what the body screen involved.

The BEST system looks like a small, white box with a computer screen and two leads coming out of it. One lead is connected to a metal rod which the person being tested has to hold in one hand, the other has a metal pointer at the end which Mr Jones used to prod various points on my fingers and toes to get his readings.

Every organ, or whatever, is tested in turn but it doesn't take very long just second or two for each individual reading so the full body screen can be over in about an hour.

Next, Mr Jones went over my results to discuss which of my organs were not working as efficiently as they could, what vitamins and minerals I was short of and what allergens I should avoid.

It didn't surprise me to learn I was suffering from stress and my liver, kidneys and gall bladder weren't working as efficiently as they could be. A shortage of the minerals calcium and magnesium was also diagnosed.

I was slightly surprised and a little sceptical at the results of the tests for food intolerances and allergies. Having suffered from bad hayfever since I was a child, I had thought I would be allergic to most kinds of pollens. The BEST system indicated I was only sensitive to tree pollen. It also told me I was slightly intolerant to a number of foods including strawberries, potatoes and kidney beans which I am sure I have eaten in the past with no ill effect.

Mr Jones explained slight intolerances were common and could vary from week to week, depending on how run-down a person was. After finding out what areas of the body aren't functioning as well as they could be and putting that right, minor intolerances can disappear.

Mrs Maskell added: "People often come to us complaining of allergies. But an allergy may only be the body's way of coping with some underlying problem. A full body screen can show this."

Mr Jones prescribed a number of treatments for me. To help my liver, kidneys and gall bladder, a course of cleansing herbs were recommended.

Other vitamins and herbs were prescribed to help me cope with stress. Calcium and magnesium were prescribed to deal with my mineral shortage. I was also told to drink plenty of water and book weekly reflexology treatments reflexology is a treatment for the feet which works on similar theories to acupressure.

Finally, I was given printouts of my BEST results together with a somewhat daunting quantity of reading matter on healthy eating.

Bromley Health Management provides a very wide range of complementary therapies and was able to supply me with all the herbal supplements prescribed as well as arranging reflexology sessions for me at convenient times after work and offering me the advice of an in-house nutritionist.

I felt quite pampered, although the herbal remedies reminded me of some of the home-made concoctions my grandmother poured down my throat when I was a child, and her advice, "it only tastes bad because it is doing you good!"

After completing the treatment, a follow-up body screen about a month later can show how effective it was.

In my case, it showed a slight improvement. My gall bladder and liver were working more effectively, but I was still suffering from stress and a few minor imbalances.

Mr Jones said: "It can take three to four months, with checks each month and slight variations in the treatments prescribed to get the body back into balance."

But did I feel any better? I certainly found I lost some weight possibly thanks to a healthier diet and all those cleansing herbs. As for the hayfever, my symptoms have been slightly but noticeably less severe than usual, which is not bad for a season when the pollen count has been quite high.

For more information, call Bromley Health Management on 020 8315 0165.

June 28, 2001 10:29