Of all the allergies, airborne allergies are one of the toughest to treat. It’s pretty difficult, after all, to avoid breathing air! Don’t despair, however. Here are some tricks you can try during allergy season to ease sneezing, watering eyes, and a stuffed-up nose:
— Drink a hot soup spiced with plenty of onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, or horseradish (especially wasabi). Each of these ingredients should help to eliminate excess mucous.
— Breathe in a little eucalyptus. This essential oil from Australia can clear your sinuses and help you to breathe better. Put a few drops into the bath and soak. Or buy some eucalyptus leaves and add them to boiling water. Allow the water to cool slightly, then, with a towel over your head to trap the steam, and breathe in the eucalyptus vapor.
— If hay fever makes your life difficult for part of every year, try drinking herbal tea made from fenugreek. Fenugreek is full of calcium and other minerals that could help soothe your respiratory system. Fenugreek is pleasantly sweet to taste, as well!
— To help with sneezing, try eating honey. Greeks, Romans, Hungarians and Italians have eaten honey-laden foods like baklava for centuries to treat hay fever. Honey naturally contains very small amounts of pollen from the flowers that honey bees harvest. These minute amounts of pollen can desensitize you to the allergic response you normally have to these flowers. For this reason, it is best to buy local honey, so that you are teaching your immune system to better adapt to your own surroundings.
— If all else fails, you might consider giving acupuncture a try. Many have reported finding relief from allergy symptoms after a few treatments. Researchers at the Institute for Social Medicine in Berlin selected studies for review based on the following parameters: 30 patients or more and at least six acupuncture sessions. The studies were a mixed bag consisting of comparisons of acupuncture with sham acupuncture, medication control groups, and one study that combined acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. The research team concluded that there is evidence that acupuncture is beneficial and relatively cost-effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
One final note: there are some all-natural nasal sprays you can make yourself at home to ease symptoms. Here’s one to get you started.
— Saline Nasal Spray. Boil some water. Allow to cool slightly. Mix eight ounces of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a nasal spray bottle.