Conquering seasonal allergies naturally?

[Bri'sgirl]

Is it possible? I have seasonal allergies for the first time, this year. Headache, stuff nose, coughing, itchy eyes...I've got it. So does DH, and a bunch of other people around here.

Is it possible to fight seasonal allergies naturally? If so, what can I do? I don't want to end up taking allergy meds for the rest of my life.

Thank you!!

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Everyone around here is having allergies, too, even people who have never had allergies. We live in the Pacific Northwest and it seems to be a combination of a mild winter, making everything bloom more voraciously, and possibly the polllution reaching our western shores from China, which aggravates allergies.

As a person with allergies who has had them for a long time, and tried absolutely everything, there is nothing that really works (except desensitization shots which you have to take forever and are more of a pain than the allergies, really). They pass with the seasons. Some seasons are easier than others. Some are terrible, like this one.

Flonase (a prescription nasal spray) and antihistamine eye drops usually help enough to get me through. I feel that they are better than taking a systemic antihistamine.

Vitamin C is supposed to be a natural antihistamine - it never worked for me.

I've been gluten and diary free for years; this is supposed to help with some kinds of pollens that are similar to gluten, but it hasn't helped at all.

Local honey is supposed to be good, perhaps having a desensitization effect, but it hasn't helped me at all.

You might not have allergies again next season. This just seems to be a particularly bad allergy season in many parts of the country.

[staceychev]

Bee pollen worked really well for me. However, it gave me really bad gastric upset. I've read that's an uncommon side effect of it, so you could give it a try and then if you start having stomach pains, discontinue it. (It also might be too late... I started taking it in February the year I took it.)

[Boobs]

I've had miserable seasonal allergies my whole life. I don't know that there is anything that makes it completely better. Local honey helps and also rinsing with a neti pot daily. Keep windows closed (bummer, I love airing out the house) and wash hair before going to bed at night to remove the allergens. So far, mine haven't been quite as bad this Spring and it's my first one without gluten and dairy. Don't know if it helps or not, but something is making a difference.

[tanyalynn]

If this is your first year with allergies, I'd think it'd be a lot easier for you than for someone like me--I've had them since my early teens. I expect them to go away in a couple years, but I've had a lot of stuff to fix and I'm not there yet.

Folate and B12 can help, they support methylation which breaks down histamine. When I ran out of my B12 supp, my allergies really got bad, and a new bottle fixed the issue within two days--but it just got me back to my baseline. Folate's the other half of that, and I was taking that the whole time. You may see improvement with a multi with folate. Vit C helps with related issues, so that's worth a shot too.

Fun, easy page on folate and methylation (with related pages on the left)...
http://www.detoxpuzzle.com/methyl.php

Some people find that removing a subtle, low-level food allergen helps. I think I've removed all my food allergens, but I've had the allergies for years, and I saw other improvements by getting rid of gluten and dairy.

And something like acupuncture could help too, I haven't used it for this, but I'm seeing improvements in other areas.

eta: and maybe check your vit D and get it into a good part of the range? I've never read about it specifically related to allergies, but it's important for immune function, and this is an immune function oddity, and it's worthwhile for other reasons, if you haven't done it already.

[*bejeweled*]

[Bri'sgirl]

Thanks so much for all of the responses!

Tonya, my DH has been dealing with both seasonal and animal allergies pretty much his whole life, too, and he thinks that I've probably got it somewhat easier than he does. You're both probably right. I'm also hoping to help with his allergies, especially since he has suffered for so long.

So, I do take vit. D3, but not religiously, like I should. Usually it's 4,000mg a day.
We buy local honey, but I don't eat it daily. Maybe a tbsp a day?
My multi has 150mg of vit. C, which I'm guessing isn't close to being enough. 800mcg of folate, 20mcg B12, and 200IU more of vit. D.
Does the bee pollen have to be local? There is a vendor that sells local bee pollen at the farmer's market, but it's pretty pricey from him.
My MIL has been telling me how important a neti pot is, for years. She swears by them. Since using one 2x a day, she has not gotten one sinus infection, which she used to get all the time.

I may be able to do gluten and dairy free, but I know there is no way I could convice DH to do it.

I'd love to hear any other suggestions, too.

[JessicaS]

I agree with your MIL about neti pots, they really do help.

[LauraLoo]

I would consider upping your dose of Vit. C and also adding in quercetin - which is a bioflavonoid, so you can find it naturally in foods and is another natural anti-inflamatory, like Vit. C.

I've had seasonal/animal allergies since I was a kid. I've taken rx and otc meds - all with not so great side effects. About 3 years ago, I started taking a Vit. C and quercetin supplement year round and it has really, really helped with my seasonal allergies. The key for me is that I have to take it year round - I can't wait until allergy season to start, or I'm too late.

You can google for more on quercetin, but here's a quick link:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4848506_use-...allergies.html

[Bri'sgirl]

Thanks for the info on quercetin. I'd never heard of it. It definitely sounds promising, though, so we'll also be giving it a try.

[nichole]

Originally Posted by Bri'sgirl

Thanks for the info on quercetin. I'd never heard of it. It definitely sounds promising, though, so we'll also be giving it a try.

Vitamin shoppe sells a "c-complex" with flavonoids like quercetin. I do think it has helped my allergies.

[lookatreestar]

we are getting hit hard over here. we never have allergies and everyone in our household is coughing, wheezing, sneezing, itching etc. grrr.

i looked up our pollen count, 11/12.

weather report says it looks like rain towards the end of this week hopefully things will die down. we have been outside a ton, plus warm weather and it has been breezy/windy.

[Coco_Hikes]

Nettle (Urtica dioica)! A few years ago before I was ever interested in using herbs medicinally, I tried taking nettle in capsule form for spring allergies that plagued me every year. It worked so well--no runny eyes, headaches, sneezing. I didn't use it the next spring because I was pregnant (and didn't know nettle was great for pregancy!) and was totally miserable.