Natural Allergy Remedies Anyone?
Holy allergy season Batman.
I’ve never had allergies until this year, but before you think I’m on some random non-beauty tangent… I beg differ! Incessant sneezing, red eyes, and a runny nose are all very real beauty problems. Not to mention that allergies feel like crap!
Word is they’re getting worse with climate change—something about a longer growing season, more pollination and something something. To boot, according to this NPR piece, pollen got going even earlier this year in LA, which may explain why I’ve felt like I have a cold for two months. A cold that mysteriously appears and disappears over the course of the day.
Another reason more people are suffering from allergies? We’re too clean and our immune systems are suffering for it.
I’m pretty sure that’s not my problem though: As many of you know we’re big proponents of being a little dirty (and skipping the soap sometimes). Whatever the cause, everyone seems to be suffering. Which has got me thinking about possible natural remedies.
Some quick googling lead me to peppermint tea, face steaming, and reminders to wash your pets. Oh, and don’t smoke if you have allergies, you guys. Real remedy gold here.
The Neti Pot was also mentioned on NPR as a good natural way to combat the achoos. It’s a tiny little pot that let’s you poor water through your nasal passage, known more formally as nasal irrigation. This apparently clears our allergens, which sounds like an awesome plan.
I tried a Neti pot once in ashram in India. I know, I’m embarrassed for me too. Anyways, it felt super weird, but I’d totally do it if it works.
Have you tried the Neti Pot? Know of any other good natural allergy remedies?
Neti pot is AMAH-ZING! And there is absolutely nothing cooky or silly about it – the first time I used it on recommendation from my ENT specialist. Once you get used to it, it feels great and using the neti pot has seen me through countless colds and congestions (I’ve a toddler, so those are a fairly common occurrence). There is a company called Baraka that makes neti pots and related product. Their pots themselves are lovely, but it’s not really necessary to spend money on a fancy neti pot. They do, however, have a neti pot salt infused with decongesting essential oils and that stuff is absolutely brilliant – I can’t praise it enough. Plus, they are California-based, so unlike us East Coasters, you won’t have to wait years for your package to arrive (or you might be able to find them in your local Whole Foods). Here’s the link: http://www.sinussupport.com/
And one more piece of advice: try taking butterbur. By way of background, I have been suffering from terrible and pretty much permanent migraines for ages. I have seen some of the best specialists in the country and their solution has been to pump me full of various and rather awful drugs (including Topomax – a seizure medication that can cause depression, suicidal thoughts and have severe cognitive effects, i.e. making one very, very stupid and slow). After months of fruitless suffering and having terrrible problems at work (because I got stupid and slow) and at home (because I was miserable, depressed and dull) I decided to tackle the problem myself. I started researching various supplements and herbals used in treatment of migraine and started using them. After I mentioned my research to my doctor, his reaction was “oh yeah! I wonder why I didn’t mention this to you?” To make a long story slightly shorter, my migraines have improved dramatically already, I am off Topomax and planning on stopping all meds in a couple of months. Pretty awesome, eh?
But anyway, I had to share “my journey” (sorry, totes pretentious, I know!), but when I was doing my research I found that butterbur, a herb that has been shown in several studies to have a significant positive impact on migraines, can also be an effective treatment for hay fever. You do have to make sure that you get very good quality pills – root is much better than leaves and should have a high dose of actives. I must warn you: it’s one of the most foul-smelling things I have ever come across, but boy, does it work! If it works on hay fever half as well as it does on migraines, you’re golden!
I love my neti pot. As someone with non allergic (allergy symptoms but no actual allergies basically) it is a life saver. I am so happy my allergist recommended it.
I use it nightly before I go to bed to rinse out all the pollen, dust, and other particles from my nose before I go to bed. One thing I would point out that for me it is most helpful when used regularly. (I use mine 365 days a year) Also make sure to always boil the water and let it cool or use distilled water.
Me again! Check out the reviews on Amazon: folks say it really helps their allergies :) This is the brand I use and I like it.
http://www.amazon.com/Butterbur-Extract-Manufacturer-Out-Stock-/dp/B0009ENKLS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334239176&sr=8-2
I’ve been fortunate enough not to suffer from seasonal allergies while living across the South, and in several locations where I was told “If you didn’t have allergies before, you will here.” But, I have heard that eating local honey is a good way to acclimate your body to the local pollen that may trigger allergies.
But really, what can’t honey do?
Raw, local honey. Spread it on toast, mix it in your tea. SO delicious and it helps my husband’s allergies!
Basically everything that flushes out those nasty allergens should work: Drinking enough, washing/rinsing your hair, showering, using the Neti Pot. Moreover, when it gets bad, I change the sheets and sleep with the windows closed (since 3 am apparently is rush hour for pollen). No real remedy, just a short term relief: I brush my teeth when my nose and mouth start to become itchy. If this doesn’t help, it’s dirrty chemicals all the way…
I once tried the Neti Pot out of complete desperation in the middle of a particularly nasty cold. Let me tell you, it works! Using it sucks but it cleaned out my sinuses SO WELL.
I now use it for allergy season and again, it works like a charm. I cannot recommend it enough.
Another thing I’d like to mention is that I once went on a hypoallergenic diet and I found that corn makes me sneezy. I can eat it with no major repercussions (and popcorn is just so good), but I avoid it around allergy season because it makes all of my allergies a lot worse. So, look out for common food allergens because they definitely make things worse.
The neti pot takes a bit of getting used to, but after years of being weirded out by them, I recently decided to give it a go to help with lingering sniffles and it totally seemed to help! Also, for those who are OK with honey, I’ve heard a lot of good things about local, raw honey and bee pollen for allergy sufferers.
A RESOUNDING YES to the Neti Pot! As soon as you mentioned allergies and natural remedies the Neti Pot instantly came to mind. I am a long time allergy sufferer and the Neti Pot has changed my life. Not only hugely helpful when it comes to allergies but it also keeps sinus infections away and seems to shorten the life of my colds when they are congestion related. That being said, while I will praise my Neti Pot day in and day out, I have zero remedy for the wheeziness I get sometimes related to allergies. I’ve got an inhaler, but I don’t really want to use it so I only use it when the wheezing gets really bad, but any wheeziness is super uncomfortable. Does anyone have any natural remedies for the “wheezies”???
Neti pot neti pot neti pot! I never had allergies until this spring (and I live in the South, so they’re pretty bad) and I was very skeptical about the neti pot when my mother recommended it. I thought it sounded gross and uncomfortable. It took my sinuses getting so irritated and me getting my first nosebleed before I switched. I can’t believe I waited so long to try it! I now do it twice a day (for about the first week I only did it once a day though, to avoid excess irritation) and I’ll probably continue like this well into the summer. I went two days only doing neti once a day, and my allergies got worse!
I agree with Lolly, Baraka is the salt to use! Other salts burn. Baraka has beautiful little pots, but I can’t justify paying $18 to pour water and salt through my sinuses when. Maybe someday I can toss the little plastic one…
Neti Pots are WONDERFUL for noses….unfortunately the water always makes its way into my crappy sensitive eustachian tubes so I don’t do it very often now :-( It won’t help all your symptoms or anything, but it clears out the crud, which is nice.
I swear by my neti pot! I resisted it forever, but finally gave in when my allergist suggested it – I am SO glad that I did. My doctor gave me a recipe to make it at home, since those packets can get expensive: one cup of lukewarm distilled water (it stings less if the water is the right temp – I had to experiment with this a little bit), one tsp uniodized salt, 1/2 tsp of baking soda. Stir together until dissolved. It’s really important that you use distilled or sterile water; a couple of people in Louisiana died recently from a brain parasite that they traced to using tap water in a neti pot. Yikes. I’ve tried the squirt bottle nasal irrigation things and the neti pot, and I think the neti pot works a lot better. I use it twice a day during allergy season, and it has made a huge difference. I haven’t been able to stop taking meds entirely, but I no longer have to take nasal steroids. My mom also uses a neti pot and she’s been able to go without allergy meds altogether for the last three years.
I agree with the raw, local honey. Try and get your hands on as many kinds of local honeys as you can- it goes along with your “too clean” statement. By eating local honey, you are dosing yourself with small amounts of the pollens you are being exposed to daily, and letting your body get used to it. The Neti pots are great also, but those are for treating the symptoms, while honey will help with the cause.
@ Lolly, WOW!!! I, too, take Topomax for migraines, as well as sick amounts of meds when migraines do strike. I’m going to try your recommendations. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! And great that it helps with hay fever; I suffer from that too… What great timing on your post. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Neti pots work, but make sure (and this is life threatening if you don’t) to use distilled or water that has been boiled, or filtered. NEVER use hot tap water as it can contain parasites/amoebas that work their way into your brain and cause encephalitis. Make sure to completely dry in between uses so that no critters are allowed to thrive. Gross, but there have been some cases of death due to improper use of neti pots.
Shower at night. I have a mass of curly hair and after being outdoors to work out or live my life I must shower and clean my hair that can be full of pollen and cause me to go crazy at night.
Change your bedsheets and pillowcases often. And although I usually wash in cold water, during allergy season I wash my sheets in hot water.
Wash your face, (if you don’t shower at night) and wipe clean your eyelashes with raw, virgin coconut oil as the enzymes help minimize pollen buildup.
Drink lemon, manuka honey and warm water to detox before bed. If you’re brave enough strong licorice tea also helps with my allergies, it’s just very powerful tasting.
Make your own herbal facial steams using parsley, thyme, ginger, and cardamom or use quality herbal teas to steep in a teapot and pour into a bowl with a towel over your head to steam skin and clear sinuses. You can add a few drops of manuka essential oil too.
I hope some of these tips help, they work wonderfully for me!
Nicole: I am SO pleased I can help! I have been a miserable cow for months not just because of the Topomax, but also because I was taking as many pills as a very sick, very old person, probably ruining my liver and kidneys, while continuing to suffer from constant pain. Butterbur is just one of the supplements I take and I learned that they work best in combination. Here is my “cocktail”:
Magnesium – this is possibly the most important one – some docs even give injections of magnesium to treat migraine attacks. Also, apparently a lot of migraineurs have problems with absorbing magnesium, so you might not get it from your diet and should get the easily-absorbable kind (Magnesium Calm is a water soluble powder that I use and seems to work great)
B2 Vitamin (Riboflavin) – the normal daily dosage is about 100 mg, but make sure to take 400 mgs. Works best when combined with the magnesium.
CoQ10 – this one is generally good for you and works best in combination with the magnesium and B2.
Butterbur
Feverfew – this one is a little more controversial, although I think it does work very well. It can increase the effects/side effects of medication processed in the liver, so if you take Voltaren or Fioricet for the pain, I would suggest you allow plenty of time between doses of Feverfew and the other meds.
I made sure to looks at reputable sources when doing my research. If you want to learn more, rather than just taking my word for it, I’d suggest Wikipedia, Dr. Weil and sources like the Mayo Clinic or Sloan Kettering. Good luck!!!!
Lavender essential oil works great for allergies! Put a few drops in your palm and with your fingertip apply to the inside of your cheek. Since you are taking internally you need to check the quality of your oil–it should be therapeutic grade. I like Young Living essential oils. You can also put peppermint on your chest and the bottoms of your feet.
The neti pot is not my friend. Obviously lots of others swear by it so it may be worth a try – but it makes me feel worse (and I did follow all the instructions). I like raw honey, but I don’t know the extent of the effect on my allergies. For me the biggest thing was switching to raw/vegan (except for honey). I didn’t do it for allergies but soon realized that I went from needing year-round daily allergy medication to needing basically no meds at all. I still might get a little sniffly sometimes but I don’t suffer like I used to.
I live in Indiana where things are blooming all of the time. I’ve been neti-ing and using raw local honey this season and my allergies have been much better. I also take NAC (N-Acetyl_cystine) 1800mg per day as a decongestant. It works wonders; great for colds too. I also avoid (more like decrease I love cheese) which helps decrease mucus production. Also, nettles are supposed to be helpful with respiratory support, but I haven’t tried it because I’m allergic to it. Traditional Medicinals makes some tea geared toward this… and they have a breathe easy one http://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/breatheeasy
Their teas are fabulous, I’ve used other ones, so I highly recommend them!
Eat raw pollen! Local pollen.
I’ve had allergies all my life and that’s really the only natural one that’s good. Local honey works too but takes longer for me. Beyond that antihistamines can really save your life. My allergies get so bad that I literally cannot function, but I try to only use antihistamines when I must. Keep in mind that most antihistamines take about a week to be effective. But they do really mess with you so again, I try to keep away.
Eating raw pollen for me was just as effective as getting weekly allergy shots which I did for years until I finally had had enough. The allergy science is really not where it ought to be. We’ve come a long the way since I was a kid, but yeah still pretty lacking. Immune systems are complicated.
I use a sinus rinse device…same general idea as the neti pot. I’m super precise with it–measure out purified water, warm up in the microwave (our LA hard water burns my nose!) and then I add the premix packets by NeilMed. Every night. And since I started doing this every night (almost) for a year and a half, I haven’t been super sick. I work with kids so yes, I do “catch colds”, but here’s the difference…instead of 10 days of horrible stuffiness and gook coming out of my nose, it’s like 2 days of feeling not ideal, a little stuffy, and then pretty much done. AND, I’ve noticed it helps with my horrible chronic allergies I’ve had since I was 7.
Other allergy tips…humidifer and air purifier in my room. Tackle the dust mite triggers in your bedroom and rest of your home (pillow covers, etc).
Nope, never tried a Neti Pot but I prefer homeopathic allergy remedies. They seem to work better for me plus they don’t make you drowsy like traditional allergy meds.
@ Lolly, brilliant!!! Thank you for all the information on your “cocktail”; I will most definitely be trying what you’ve recommended. Aside from the B12, do you follow the dosing instructions on the others? If not, would you mind sharing? Sorry for asking this of you after you’ve provided so much already, but I’m from Canada and sometimes our recommended dosages can be radically different from the US’. Thank you again… I honestly have so much hope right now, and it’s so exciting :)
Love the Neti pot, it really keeps the allergies at bay and seems to prevent or shorten the length of colds.
Here is a great video from “Fat Man Radio” that totally demystifies the process if you haven’t done it before. Although I definitely use distilled or sterile water instead of tap water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=t8KOsNtpV8w
The neti pot sounds quite handy, but I’m terrified to get water down my throat (it hurts when that happens!!! :[ ) and if I can’t use tap water, that becomes a drag. I haven’t had allergies in a few years, but when I did, I used the generic version of Claritin (Loratadine, 10 mg). A little bit on the expensive side, but non-drowsy and acts for 24 hours. I’ve never heard of anything natural that’s actually proven to work, and Benadryl is not effective for me, so loratadine was my pick.
I have a bad hey fever and I had to used allergy medicines several past summers. I wanted to find a medicine-free option because we have been trying to get pregnant for several years, without success, 3xpregnant, still no baby…:( Now I have managed 2 summers quite nicely without any medicines after discovering a cellulose powder spray from my local pharmacy, it´s called Nasaleze and all it contains is fine cellulose powder. It works! The way it works is that it creates a protective film on your mucous membrane and this prevents the allergens from entering your system in the first place. This is a Finnish product so I don´t know if similar products are available elsewhere but ask around!
http://www.nasaleze.fi/
@Nicole: No worries at all – I wish I had someone tell me this stuff ages ago! And yes, aside from the B2, I use the dosing instructions for the supplements. With the magnesium, it can act as a laxative, so I started with the lower dose (two rounded teaspoons) and then went up to the high dose (3 teaspoons) to avoid cramping. I do so hope this works for you as well as it did for me!
@ Lolly, thank you again! I’ll give it a couple of months and then let you know how it’s going :) I’m so appreciative for all of your help! xo
You guys seriously rule with all this feedback. THANK YOU
Yup. Local fresh honey or bee pollen. Your body will become immune to the pollen in the air over time and it tastes so yummy!!
The neti pot is a life saver! It is the best allergy relief I’ve ever found if you use it regularly and kicks colds butts.
The local bee pollen trick works for my brother and dad as well, and they have quite bad allergies. Just make sure you start increasing the amount you take SLOWLY. My dad thought he could just take a spoonful after two days of being fine with 3 pellets. Bad idea.
Make a tea of approx. 1tbsp apple cider vinegar (ACV), hot water and raw local honey (to taste). Every morning during hay fever season I wake up sneezing uncontrollably, and my eyes are itchy and watery. The moment I drink this concoction it calms my allergic reaction. Then I follow up with a neti pot.
Doing this diligently both morning and night has made this allergy season totally bearable, and I’m able to go about my day without the running nose and sneezing I’ve experienced in the past. I’m prone to recurring sinus infections, so I put a 1/8 tsp ACV in my neti pot along with the salt and water, and that has totally saved me (I fought off a bad sinus infection this winter with this and the tea, no antibiotics).
More on ACV for allergies:
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/allergies.html
I’ve gone with allergy medicines in the past but I have to say that natural allergy remedies work the best!!
Agree with the statement that we’re too clean…that’s the only problem of thousands of people suffering from allergies…