Although we’ve been lucky with a quite mild winter this year; the downside of it is a hard upcoming season for people with allergies.
According to meteorologists, this will be a wet spring so the grass, tree, and weed pollen levels will be high.
But, if you have seasonal allergies, you should know that you can ‘survive’ them if you do the right things to alleviate them.
In addition to nasal steroids and nasal sprays, as well as oral meds like antihistamines that your doctor has prescribed, you can also do some things at home to improve the symptoms.
What Triggers Seasonal Allergies?
Airborne agents, i.e. allergens or pathogens like grass, mold, pollen, and even some chemicals can enter our bodies and trigger distress.
In the people with allergies, their immunity overreacts and begins to release antibodies to fight them off, including a chemical known as histamine, through the lungs, eyes, and nose.
The excessive amount of histamine can result in congestion, runny nose, sneezing, etc. To help you put them under control, we’ve decided to present several useful home remedies you can try out!
Natural Remedies for Seasonal Allergies
- Clean your nose
Pollen attaches to the mucus membranes in our nostrils. So, try to clean your nose as much as possible using a neti pot, sinus irrigator or nasal oils.
- Find useful stress management methods
Stress hormones can cause a real distress in our body and damage our immunity and thus, worsen our seasonal allergies.
Therefore, make sure you’re managing stress properly- by reading, doing yoga, meditating, doing breath work, walking, exercising, etc.
- Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is often promoted as a natural way to boost your immunity, dissolve mucus, and encourage lymphatic drainage.
You can mix one or two tbsp of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water and several squeezes of lemon juice and drink it three times per day.
This may help reduce the sneezing, runny nose, and other common symptoms.
- Herbal remedies
Some herbal remedies are often recommended for people with seasonal allergies. For example, butterbur, an herb which has shown a potential for reducing the unpleasant symptoms, similarly to antihistamines.
Another remedy is quercetin- a nutrient present in apples, onions, and black tea, which according to some research may block the release of histamines.
- Body detoxes
Allergies may become worse when there’s too much toxic stuff in the body.
This is why a body cleanse may be beneficial- you can do this through some changes in your diet.
For example, stay away from fried foods, refined sugar, and alcohol. Opt for foods that support your liver’s health and functioning, including turmeric, milk thistle, citrus fruits, nuts, and artichokes.
- Probiotics
Allergies are often a consequence of some imbalance in the immunity which may further cause the body to overreact to external stimuli.
A lot of studies have also linked the presence of good gut bacteria with lower occurrence of allergies. Probiotics can be therefore useful to strengthen the immune system.
- Essential oils
Adding quality essential oils to your bath, massage oil or diffuser may help lower your symptoms.
Some of the best essential oils for allergies are eucalyptus, peppermint, basil, and tea tree.
This is because they can help lower inflammation and are good for our immunity. They may assist the body in the fight against parasites, microorganisms, bacteria, and other toxins.
Sources: