Naturopathic Remedies for Allergies

Naturopathic Remedies for Allergies

If you or anyone in your family has bad allergies, you know how disruptive they can be.  In certain parts of the country kids miss school and adults miss work due to seasonal allergies more than they do with colds, the flu and every other kind of illness combined.  Allergy medication doesn’t always seem to cut it, especially when certain plants are in bloom.  There are a few things around the house you can do to help and also a few different kinds of herbs to help.  Here’s what I’ve learned over the years of treating the allergies that make us desperate. 

1.      Switch to All-Natural Cleaning Products

Studies suggest that harsh cleaning products break down our natural defenses.  Of course you want to use cleaning products and anti-bacterial soap is what you might want to use when you are cleaning a wound, but all natural soaps and cleaning products can clean without destroying the good bacteria our bodies house to fight off the bad.

2.      Neti Pot

Though it is not exactly as fun as eating candy, flushing out your nasal passages with sterile salt water is an excellent way to get rid of allergies.

3.      Humidity and Baking Soda

If the lungs fall victim to the allergies and get heavy with mucus you can pour boiling water with a cup of baking soda in a large bowl, put a towel over the allergy sufferer’s head and have them inhale the steam.  This is an old-school remedy, but it definitely works for me.

4.      Herbal Remedies

·         Stinging Nettle is a natural antihistamine, it can be drying, which isn’t always a bad thing, but note the side effect.

·         Butterbur is an English natural antihistamine.

·         Quercetin is another natural antihistamine herb

·         Oil of Oregano will help if the allergies reach the lungs and causes chest congestion.  This herb is powerful and works better than steroids when it comes to cleaning out the lungs for good.

·         Raw, local honey can help build the immune system against seasonal allergies.

·         Probiotics – More and more research is coming out that suggests the intestinal track to be the source of health and illness in the body.  The good bacteria found in probiotics balance the immune system and a proper immune system can be the best defense against allergies.

Allergy season can be absolutely dreadful and you just sort of have to do everything you can to survive it if you’re among those who really get hit hard by it every year.  Try these things out to help you make it through. Bad seasons can feel like times to simply survive and these treatments will help.

Carolyn is a guest post blogger who writes about health and health education programs like LPN programs and medical schools.