Healthy Living

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Deal With Seasonal Allergies Naturally and Cheaply

If you are experiencing itchy eyes, a dry, raspy throat, sneezing, sinus headaches and tiredness, and it’s spring, chances are you have seasonal allergies. What happens in the spring? The earth comes alive, bursting with new growth and the wind is spreading the news. Commercials bombard us with idyllic images of allergy medication from pills to nasal sprays.

However, we quickly adapt to the medication and soon need a stronger prescription. As for the over the counter pills like Advil and Aleve we take for headaches, many experience rebound headaches which research studies have validated as a real side effect. Medication is no free ride; it has side-effects and costs you money.

Try This Solution:

Your response to allergens correlates to how balanced you are regarding: eating, exercising, sleeping and stress-management. Allergies are actually an auto-immune response which translates into: the self against the self. So, it makes absolute sense that when you are intact and whole, your allergies will dissipate and no longer bother you; your immune system will be more vigilant. I present myself as a test case.

For years I was an allergy sufferer. My sinus headaches, dizziness, itchy eyes and occasional tiredness always arrived with spring. Every morning I woke up to coffee and Allegra D 180 mg. However, in the past few years I rarely have any symptoms except for the occasional itchy eye and more important, no more killer headaches and sinus pressure!

What has changed? I stopped taking the medication five years ago, ate more fruits and vegetables and basically stopped fighting Mother Nature; I vowed to get along with her no matter what the weather. Brazenly, I went out to my garden, in the trenches, fertilizing, weeding, mulching and pruning without the fear or the expectation of an allergic reaction. I made up my mind not to have any symptoms and oh yes, I almost forgot, I managed my stress.

It’s time to ease up on yourself and find your balance in all that you do. When you are centered, you will feel well, able to inhale the fresh air as you exhale the staleness. Here are some suggestions that worked for me: 

CONTINUE READING: Deal With Seasonal Allergies Naturally and Cheaply


By Debbie Mandel for Intent.com

Debbie Mandel on Intent.com
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From the Community…

Comments 1-10 of 26
  • Mrs. Carol B's Avatar
    Posted by Mrs. Carol B Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:19am PDT

    Try a nettie pot to clean out your sinuses.

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  • jluv's Avatar
    Posted by jluv Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:41pm PDT

    ZYRTEC over the counter med. works good for indoor and outdoor allegies with very minimal if any drowsiness.

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  • jluv's Avatar
    Posted by jluv Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:41pm PDT

    ZYRTEC over the counter med. works good for indoor and outdoor allegies with very minimal if any drowsiness.

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  • omerlm's Avatar
    Posted by omerlm Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:27pm PDT

    CarolB you read my mind!!! I got turned onto the Neti when I moved to a dry climate, and all of a sudden I started getting sinus infections. My friend finally forced me to buy one - sure, some stupid thing you stick in your nose, gross, whatever, but I HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM SINCE!!!

    I can't understand why more people don't do it! Seems like people want to turn to a chemical/artificial solution instead of naturally aiding the body in what it can't always do itself.

    NETI NETI NETI!!!

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  • KELLYMORE's Avatar
    Posted by KELLYMORE Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:44pm PDT

    thats so true with allergies i also used to suffer but the less i think of them the les i got reactions i haddly ever get bloked nosses and watery eyes any more i think i out grew it the older i get the lesser the reactions

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  • C's Avatar
    Posted by C Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:24am PDT

    it is just not that simple sorry dear.

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  • Habanero♥™'s Avatar
    Posted by Habanero♥™ Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:20am PDT

    Alpha lipoic acid !!!

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  • Ahleah G's Avatar
    Posted by Ahleah G Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:50am PDT

    I wish it were that simple. I get severe sinus headaches in the spring and the fall. They are essentially migraines that can last for days. I wake up feeling hungover, have light sensitivity during the day, and shooting pain in between my eyes if I stand up too fast. Unfortunately it seems to be more related to the barometric pressure and the change in the weather than the pollen counts. I don't see how anything other than Sudafed and Excedrin on those days is going to help. I have tried to avoid taking the medications and treating it naturally but have had no success

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  • cutebanker's Avatar
    Posted by cutebanker Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:53am PDT

    all she did was expose herself to the allergen. that's the exact same principal as allergy shots. duh. your body builds up immunity over time.

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  • C's Avatar
    Posted by C Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:41am PDT

    Unfortunately, it isn't just that simple. Granted, I have little patience for "natural" remedies as a whole with regard to allergies (one nearly killed me, thank you). I can make up my mind not to have an allergic reaction, but please - mind over hives and asthma to boot don't work. Articles like this make the truly allergic have an even more difficult time attempting to explain that "no, I can't really be around X or eat a little bit of x" because they're taken as exact science, when they're pseudo, at best.

    I have tried a neti pot - worked one direction, not the other (due to a broken nose), which really bummed me out...plain ol' saline solution helps a bit with my sinuses, thank goodness. In my case, my best bet is basically "avoid what you can that makes you react the worst", which would be cats. Some of the others, well, immunotherapy (shots) helped significantly. And I take loratadine (that's the generic name for Claritin) daily during the peak season because really, I'd rather do that and not deal with daily asthma attacks.

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