Allergy symptoms may be relieved with natural remedies
April 16, 2009 by Personal Liberty News Desk
Before reaching for antihistamine drugs to relieve the sneezing and the watery eyes, it may be worth considering so some natural options that can minimize the unpleasant symptoms as the allergy season gets underway in parts of the country.
Protective clothing, including masks and gloves, while gardening and washing hands and changing clothes afterwards can go a long way, suggests Dr Ewen Tseng, otolaryngologist at Baylor Medical Center at Frisco.
"An alternative to wearing a mask is nasal irrigation with saline (saltwater) to rinse allergens from the nose – it’s like cleaning your own air filter," he adds.
Allergic gardening enthusiasts may also create an "allergy-proof" yard by selecting plants that pollinate through insects rather than by releasing pollen.
There is also many herbal supplements and remedies to choose from.
They include quercetin, a plant-derived bioflavonoid, that helps stabilize mast cells and prevents them from releasing histamine, according to MotherEarthNews.com.
Quercentin can be found in citrus fruits, onions, apples, parsley, tea, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce and wine, but – according to the source – allergy sufferers will most likely need to use nutritional supplements to build up enough of the compound to protect against attacks. 
How about this for a natural aid to allergies – restructure your indoor environment so that it is friendlier and healthier to live in? I am a Council-certified Indoor Environmental Consultant and I’ve been able to assist a lot of people over the past seventeen years to live a better life by just adjusting some of the systems and items in their homes. Having a bedroom that allows your body to rest at night is a great way to receive a multitude of benefits including a less debilitating allergic response to allergens. Ask your doctor how the indoor air quality can affect your allergies and ask what suggestions they can give you (or a CIEC) to improve the indoor air quality so you can live healthier.
I have replaced all my allergy meds with local raw honey. One tablespoon in the morning on toast or alone…and I am good for the day. Sometimes in the Spring, I will take 2 tablespoons a day…morning and night, if the pollen is especially bad.
This does work!
A friend had horrible pollen allergies years ago. Then he ate raw honey DURING THE WINTER. (You eat it during allergy season and it will likely make it worse.) Then the following year he had no problem whatsoever.
I have had two pint jars of raw honey this winter….I’m excited.
After suffering with worsening yeast/mold allergies for over 20 years, I finally found a cure, not a coverup.
Twice a day I take raw apple cider vinegar (2 tbsp), 1 tbsp local raw honey and filtered water. Shake until the honey is dissolved and the drink is smooth an nice.
After 2 weeks on this regiment, I put down my 20 year addiction to allergy meds. After 2 months my blood pressure had dropped nearly 10 points and my cholesterol too.
Now I no longer have “acid reflux” (really caused by lack of acidity), weight is easier to control, no more yeast infections and don’t crave sugar anymore.
But, as I have learned, my friends while b*tching about the evil FDA and pharmaceutical companies would rather pop hundred’s of dollars of pills a month, see doctors all the time than mix a quick cocktail and enjoy twice a day.
We are the laziest nation on earth and unemployment is only going to make it worse as the law of inertia kicks in.
Taking honey sounds somewhat counterintuitive, since ‘allergy’ as a class is a protein reaction, and honey is rather pure carbohydrate. I have had good results from adding pollen to my diet, though I was told it would work better if I found local pollen, and I never did, the store stuff I bought helped a lot. My daughter also had good results from that addition to her diet.– (about a tablespoon of bee pollen added to the breakfast cereal)
So…Can I use the raw cider vinegar and honey now, or will my symptoms get worse? Should I wait until next winter to start this? I have constant drainage down the back of my throat. It makes me cough and clear my throat constantly. I do use nasal irrigation and that helps, but only for a few hours and then it starts all over again. I was told Claritin (sp) helps and I take it in the mornings and Benedryl at night but I have not noticed any change.
This is a great blog I really do like diet related blogs and yours is one of the best.
Allergies are not all environmental. I have severe allergy to all dairy products. When I ingest something that has dairy as a hidden ingredient, I can and have many times, went into anaphalactic shock. Meaning that I can’t breathe deeply, can’t stay awake, muscle weakness to the point of not being able to walk, severe muscle pain. These symptoms last from 1 – 5 days, until all the milk product has had time to leave my system.
I would like to know if there is a product to offset this problem.
Mary