PAGE I. The Diagnosis 9 II. Rosin-weed 14 III. Ichthyol and the Point in the Naso-pharynx that Controls the Symptoms 17 IV. Menthol and Eucalyptol 20 V. The Faradic Current and Other Forms of Electricity 27 VI. Hay Fever as Urticaria 38 VII. Dr. Gueneau de Mussy. Hay Fever as Urticaria Again 44 VIII. Hay Fever as Gout 51 IX. The Uric Acid Theory 66 X. Hay Fever as Anaphylaxis 76 XI. Immunizing with Pollen Extracts 91 XII. The Bacterial Vaccines 108 XIII. Diet 113 XIV. Rosin-weed Again. Historical and Pharmacological 123 THE TREATMENT OF HAY FEVER CHAPTER I _THE DIAGNOSIS_ Under the name "hay fever" I include rose-cold and the so-called hyperæsthetic catarrh or vaso-motor rhinitis, all characterized by intense itching of the eyes, nose, and throat, free discharge, sometimes asthma, the attacks being precipitated by strong odors, dust, or pollen. There are many forms of the disease, some occurring in May or June, some as early as March, before the budding of vegetation, some even in the winter; but the large majority of cases occur in August, coincident with the flowering of late summer vegetation, notably the rag-weed and golden-rod. It is not so well known that the California privet, so widely used in hedges and parks, aggravates many patients, especially in June and July, when the scent of the flowers is strong. Others are irritated instantly by the odor of crude oil that is spread so freely on the roads in summer, by metal-dust, and by the cinders of a railway trip. Some patients are sensitive to one irritant, some to many irritants. I knew one man whose itching of the eyes began in March, nose and throat following in April and May, cough in July and August, who was sensitive to each and all of these irritants from March to October every year for thirty years.