Spring is a great time of the year, bringing with it the return of warm weather, longer days and the first of the year’s flowers. Unfortunately, for many, it also means the return of allergy and sinus symptoms that can really have an impact on everyday life and make you absolutely miserable unless they are treated. While there are many over the counter remedies available to help with this, antihistamines are not everyone’s cup of tea. Below, however, are seven natural therapies for allergies that are both gentle and effective.
Neti Pots
These many look a little strange, but they are a very effective way for clearing your nasal passages from pollen and other allergens. To use, simple fill with a warm saline solution, tilt your head to one side and slowly pour the solution in. It will come out your other nostril and flush away the allergens as well as keeping your mucous membranes hydrated.
Spicy Foods
As long as you do not have a gastric or similar medical condition, eating a diet of spicy foods can also help clear the sinuses naturally and give you some relief from sinus congestion. Such foods could include things like red peppers, brown mustard, horseradish or wasabi. This is also a highly effective treatment!
Local Honey
Buying locally made honey, which is made by bees using local bee pollen and ingesting it regularly is a natural and delicious way to desensitize yourself to this common allergen and there is mounting evidence to suggest that this treatment is highly effective as well.
Green Tea
Sometimes just inhaling the steam coming off a cup of hot green tea can be enough to ease some of your allergy symptoms; studies suggest that regular consumption of it can help block the histamines which cause many of these symptoms to begin with.
Steam
Sometimes simply steaming with a hot shower or bath or putting a towel over your head and leaning over a bowl of hot water is enough to help relieve symptoms, especially if a few drops of essential oil like eucalyptus is added to the water to enhance the effect.
Essential Oils
As mentioned above, essential oils can be a great addition to steam therapy to help with allergy symptoms and apart from eucalyptus, lavender or peppermint can work great as well. It is also possible to use them in a diffuser if you are not fond of the steaming method.
Herbal Supplements
Many people also help control their symptoms with use of herbal supplements that can help relieve allergies. The most popular of these supplements includes stinging nettle, butterbur, eyebright and golden seal.
So if you are miserable with allergy symptoms right now, but want to try a more natural alternative to anti-histamines, then consider one or more of the methods listed above. They are more gentle but just as effective as allergy symptom control.
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