More Good News About Natural Allergy Relief
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There are a few more interesting allergy treatments that haven't been covered yet. It's okay to allow yourself to try some types of alternative and complementary medicine that you hadn't considered before. Would you like to live allergy free? It's worth a shot to look into some alternative treatments.
Allergy symptoms can lay you low. The various allergy and allergy asthma symptoms of sneezing, water eyes, coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, hives and even anaphylactic shock are no joke when you are the one suffering. Prescription and over-the-counter antihistamines, decongestants and other prescribed drugs may offer temporary relief, but their side effects such as sleepiness and confusion can be as debilitating as the symptoms themselves. Most people have daily tasks that demand vitality and clear-headedness and cannot take to their beds because allergy medication made them feel groggy and sleepy. What is the ideal solution? The answer is natural allergy relief.
Herbs are one answer. Some of these plants have antihistamine and decongestant properties and provide natural allergy relief without the usual side effects.
Herbal Antihistamines
There are herbs which can block the histamines in your body which trigger allergic reactions. The best of these is the stinging nettle. It is currently the big gun in natural allergy relief programs. Other herbs with antihistamine properties are eyebright, yarrow, jewelweed, wild rue, ginger, tarragon, amaranth, basil, ginkgo, fennel and passionflower. Research has proven ginkgo as an effective remedy and preventative for allergy asthma.
Natural Decongestants
Some herbs with natural decongestant properties include: eucalyptus, horseradish, marshmallow root, hot chili peppers, burdock, onion, mullein, white pine, and, as always that medicinal powerhouse, garlic.
These herbs are effective against your allergy symptoms, and they can also strengthen your immune system. A better idea than treating the allergy symptoms is to prevent them from occurring in the first place. These herbs with their immune-boosting antioxidants have the potential to get rid of the allergies before symptoms start.
What Healing Properties Some Herbs Offer
1. To clear congestion and get help for colds as well as allergies, use burdock.
2. To help your body move mucus out, take marshmallow root.
3. To soothe inflamed membranes take goldenseal root. It is also an antibacterial.
4. Capsicum stimulates circulation and helps fight infection in the respiratory
system.
Homemade Natural Remedies for Allergies
You don't have far to travel to take advantage of these helpful hints for allergy treatment. Just go to your kitchen cabinets. Green tea is one of the best natural remedies. It is a natural antihistamine. Drink one or two cups per day to obtain the desired results.
Peel and crush a one-inch piece of fresh ginger root. Ginger, too, is a natural antihistamine as well as a mild decongestant. Use plenty of garlic in your cooking and in salads. It stimulates the functioning of the immune system. Iced peppermint tea and eucalyptus are helpful when you have a cough or congestion.
Tip: You may want to check with your physician before starting a course of herbal self-medication.
Food to the Rescue
Here's a tip: Remember the last time you had Chinese food and maybe ordered the egg rolls and went with the mustard sauce for dipping them? It cleared up your sinuses, your head and your nose. Great allergy relief. Or try the hot and sour soup next time you are suffering from seasonal allergies or any allergy symptoms. It is decongestant in a bowl and it tastes good too.
Hot and spicy foods do alleviate allergy misery. Cook up some natural allergy relief tonight. The reason it helps allergies, experts say, is because the spicier the dish, the more likely it is to thin mucous secretions which in turn can clear nasal passages. The most frequently recommended spices for purposes of healing allergy symptoms include cayenne pepper, hot ginger, fenugreek, onion, Dijon mustard and garlic.
Speaking of food allergies, you may need to take a hard look at your diet and cut out any foods that provoke even a mild sensitivity. If a food gives you hives or even just an upset stomach, don't eat it again. This will help your immune system get stronger, and reduce the impact of seasonal allergy symptoms.
More on food: According to New York University allergist Clifford Bassett, M.D., if you suffer from ragweed or other pollen allergies, there are foods you need to avoid if you don't want your symptoms to get worse. Avoid eating melon, banana, cucumber, sunflower seeds, chamomile and any herbal supplements containing echinacea, all of which can make allergy symptoms worse.
Arachidonic acid is one of the essential fatty acids required by most mammals. Limiting foods that have arachidonic acid can bring allergy relief. One study found a link between arachidonic acid and hay fever. It is essential for health, but too much has been found to worsen inflammation. Reduce intake of egg yolks, red meat and shellfish.
Do Air Filtration Systems Help Allergies?
Air filtration systems are not the answer for your time indoors. Many say that they can remove irritating dust and help those with dust mite allergy. They are also said to remove pollens from the air. According to a recent report from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, while these costly units may clear the air, once an allergy is already in progress they don't appear to have much impact on symptoms. This includes HEPA Air Cleaners.
Acupressure For Instant Relief
Many allergy sufferers report that putting steady pressure with the index finger on certain points can bring relief. These points are located above the nose and between the eyes at the brow, on either side of the nose at the corners of the eyes, and to the side of each nostril. They affect the sinuses. Start at the nostrils, move to the corners of the eyes, then to the web on the back of your hands, then to the back of the neck, and end at the area between the eyes to experience significant relief.
Top Ten Natural Allergy Relief Products
The top allergy relief products available in the market today include:
Saline nasal sprays
Nasal strips
Nasal gels which relieve irritation in the dry nose and the chafed nose.
Vacuum cleaners, with HEPA filters if you have pets, and dusters are capable of capturing and removing the allergens that cause dust mite allergy.
Air filters - These are disposable adhesive filters with the inside coated with a liquid adhesive that captures dust and lint particles.
Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the atmosphere to reduce humidity. They are extremely helpful in controlling allergy asthma or bronchial allergies.
Dust mite control devices and mattress and pillow coverings.
Face masks - Disposable and for purchase at hardware and drug stores.
Hypoallergenic bedding is usually made using cotton, wool or silk which most people do not react to.
Allergy relieving tablets, preferably homeopathic or herbal.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is not a new healing tool for allergies. The use of hypnosis by health professions occurred more than two hundred years ago. It has gradually garnered strength as a potent clinical tool. It is gaining widespread acceptance as a safe, reliable, effective and comfortable alternative or addition to more tradition methods of treating allergies. It has the advantage of possibly discovering the root cause of an individual's allergy--the original emotional event that became associated with the food or other substance that now serves as a trigger for allergy symptoms. Getting out the cause of the allergy to desensitize its emotion component can be very effective. It is known that allergies aren't "all in your head", but there is a psychosomatic component to them that is acknowledged by most medical people.
Note: Hypnosis for medical issues may require a physician's referral.
Other Natural Treatments
High doses of vitamin C, acupuncture, and energy therapies all can work too. No one method works for everyone.
Juice Fasts
Juice fasts are detoxifying with their fruits and vegetables. The fiber scrubs the intestines clean. You clean out toxins that contribute to an inflammatory response as well as enhancing your liver's ability to detox the poisons that contribute to overload. It's a good thing to own a juicer when starting a juice fast. That way you get the freshest, purest juice.
Vegetables are detoxifying to the body because they have lots of fiber and scrub the intestines clean. You're clearing out toxins that contribute to an inflammatory response and enhancing your liver's ability to detox the poisons that contribute to overload.
Intranasal Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
The results of a new Creighton University study may soon spell relief for some of the estimated 40 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) caused by pollens such as trees, grass and ragweed.
According to Creighton researchers, noninhaled, intranasal carbon dioxide (CO2) may offer a new, effective and safe treatment for many seasonal allergy sufferers. Findings indicate that it is very promising as a safe and effective treatment to provide rapid relief for seasonal allergies. With the exception of a burning or stinging sensation when the CO2 is first administered there appears to be no significant side effects.
It could be an excellent alternative for people who don't want to take intranasal steroids. Currently there are no treatments that provide truly rapid relief of SAR symptoms and can be used safely on a long-term basis.
In the Creighton study, patients receiving CO2 reported a significant and rapid improvement in congestion, sneezing and other nasal symptoms within ten minutes and lasting at least 24 hours over those taking the placebo of lain air. The CO2 group also reported some improvement in non-nasal symptoms such as watery and itchy eyes.
So don't say that you have tried "everything" to find natural allergy relief, because that is a lot of things you probably never before considered.
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