As a hayfever and allergy sufferer I have tried numerous products to cure, minimise or alleviate my horrible symptoms. These little pills are something which my Gran actually had when I was really young. I have since come across them again in Tesco and have begun to use them to see if they help.

~~~ Background ~~~
New Era is a company specialising in homeopathic remedies. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information out there about the company. However, I can tell you that they are based in Hull in England and that the remedies come from combinations originally made by Dr Schuessler.

Schuessler was a German medical doctor who endeavoured to find natural cues and remedies for his patients. His research was published in 1873 and led to a list of 12 "Biochemic" cell salts which were taken forward and used in alternative therapies and homeopathy.

From what I can gather, New Era have been producing these homeopathic pills for a number of years going back to at least the 1960's or before. There does not seem to be a lot of information about them out there.

~~~ Combination H Tissue Salts for Allergy ~~~
The pills come on a rather satisfying white plastic tube like tub with a clip on lid. The tube has the New Era text and logo in blue and contains some information about the pills including dosage instructions.

The tub tells us that the Biochemic Remedies are "homoeopathically prepared from safe, natural and non-habit forming active ingredients". The back of the tub also contains a warning to visit your doctor if you have major symptoms and that you should check with your doctor if you are already using other medicines.

These pills claim to reduce the symptoms of hayfever, and allergic rhinitis.

~~~ So what are they? ~~~
I will not claim to know much about what a "tissue salt" is. Apparently, there are 12 salts which need to be in good balance within the cells of the body in order to achieve good health.

The pills themselves are white and powdery. They are cylindrical in shape and measure about 5mm in diameter and 4mm in height. They feel quite soft although after trying to squash one between my thumb and forefinger I have found that they are pretty solid!

Adult Dose: 4 tablets
Child Dose: 2 tables
3 doses per day or increase if needed.

The instructions tell you to measure out a dose into the lid of the container. You are not supposed to touch them because touch can taint homeopathic remedies. You then tip the on to your tongue.

When they are on your tongue you will feel them slowly dissolving and disappearing. It's a weird but rather enjoyable sensation! They don't fizz or anything, just softly dissolve. They taste very subtly sweet and when they dissolve the almost have the consistency of icing sugar. Although they are not ever nearly as sweet as that, I still think of icing sugar every time I take them.

~~~ Do they work? ~~~
The short answer is "I don't know."

They might well work. I take them in short bursts of a few days but I usually try other things too and something works. I would like to think that they do work, as when I take them I often find that I have less catarrh and my nose doesn't itch quite so much. I really hope they work because it seems like such a beautifully simple concept - balancing the salts in your cells.

~~~ Conclusion ~~~
Whether these salts actually work or not, I will continue to take them. They are not harmful in any way and do not cause any side effects. If they work even a little then they are worth it.

I also kind of enjoy the melting sensation of them. As soon as the little dry tablet touches the moisture in your mouth it just dissolves and disappears, kind of the way I hope my allergy symptoms will some day!

I would recommend trying these for the sake of trying something natural and different to alleviate allergy symptoms.

They cost £3.14 in Tesco when I bought them. They are available through various websites for £3 and a box contains 450 tablets.