Your natural spring survival guide for allergy sufferers
Spring is here! And although that usually brings pure joy to some people with the warmer weather and beautiful blooms, it can send the 3 million of us that are hay fever sufferers into a sneezing frenzy just thinking about it.
What happens for allergy sufferers is shortly after the mucus membranes in the upper respiratory tract come into contact with the allergen whether that is pollen, grasses, dust mites or mould, is the immune system misbehaves by producing antibodies which gear up to attack what should be a harmless particle.
What happens next is the mast cells release histamine which is what causes all the troublesome symptoms like sneezing, coughing, itchy watery eyes all of which is called allergic rhinitis. Fun huh?
So how can we help reduce the severity and soothe the symptoms short of wearing a hazmat suit?
- Try some Antiallergic herbs via your CAM practitioner to dampen the mast cell response like Nettle, Baical Skullcap, Albizzia, or drink some herbal teas such as:
- I AM A GODDESS https://www.littlewildlingco.com/products/i-am-a-goddess or
- REHAB Cleanse & Detox) which have nettle leaf. https://www.littlewildlingco.com/products/rehab-cleanse-detox
- Soothe and help clear sinuses with Peppermint, Eyebright, Elderflower:
- BLACK (BERRY) HEART https://www.littlewildlingco.com/products/test-black-berry-heart
- PEPPERMINT, LEMON MYRTLE, LAVENDER https://www.littlewildlingco.com/products/peppermint-lemon-myrtle-lavender
- Avoid mucus forming foods like sugar and cows dairy
- Vitamin C – Eat more wholefoods like fresh fruits and vegetables full on Vitamins and Antioxidants like capsicum, Kiwi, broccoli, kale, and berries.
- Try to avoid outdoor if there is a high pollen count.
- Manage other allergy aggravators like dust mites and mould indoors by keeping the humidity as low as possible with a de-humidifier and proper ventilation and investing in a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
- Saline solution can help to clear the particles from the sinuses.
- Eat Garlic: Compounds in garlic can help to clear mucus and is a natural anti-bacterial.
References:
Moyer. N, Healthline article “Mast Cell activation Syndrome”, May 2019
Hay fever: Overview, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279488/, April 2020.
Asica website, “Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)”, https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergic-rhinitis-hay-fever-and-sinusitis/allergic-rhinitis-or-hay-fever, April 2019