Seasonal Allergies? Try a Bit O’ Honey

Try local honey to prevent seasonal allergies.
Image: Shutterstock

The other day, I was on the bus with a man who had the sniffles and sneezes—seasonal allergies. As is usual, everyone just stayed quiet and minded their own business, some perhaps being annoyed at and others feeling sorry for the man. All except one woman, who looked up from her seat and very frankly said, “Have you tried seasonal honey?” The man looked a bit blankly at her, and she clarified. “Seasonal allergies, right?” He nodded. “Try local honey. It’ll help.”

The guy thanked her, and a few stops later she got off, leaving her little bit of wisdom behind. I had never thought about it before, but it completely makes sense that a local product like honey would help with seasonal allergies. Here’s why:

Seasonal allergies are dependent on your environment—if you’re allergic to something that exists in your environment, then you’ll suffer from allergies. Unless you move away from that allergen, you won’t escape it. But you can help your body deal with it. Sure, seasonal allergy medicines will help suppress allergies after they begin, but they won’t usually help prevent them.

Honey bees collect pollen from local plants, carrying it back to the hive and transforming it into honey. Honey that is collected locally and packaged raw will still contain traces of the pollen collected by the honey bees. The belief is that ingesting that honey will trigger your body’s immune response because of the pollen still present. Like when you get a vaccine, though, the amounts are so low and weak that your immune system can begin desensitizing itself.

Honey probably won’t work as a cure, but it’s likely that it can lessen the severity of your seasonal allergies if you eat one or two tablespoons per day for three months prior to the allergy season peak. Plus, who doesn’t like a bit of honey? Just be sure that it’s local, raw, and organic.

Essential Home Remedies: Sinuses

Welcome to the third part of my “Essential Home Remedies” series of articles. I’ve already talked about skincare (here) and stomach problems (here), and today we’re moving up to the head area to talk about sinuses. Got one of these problems? Check out these awesome remedies:

Cold or Flu: Been there, done that. But I never knew that grapefruit could make a difference. Yep, that delicious pink fruit can help you feel way better in no time. Cut a grapefruit into quarters (don’t peel it), place it in a pot filled with water, and heat it to just under a boil. Stir, adding a tablespoon of honey. Pour the mixture into a mug and drink it as a cup of tea. There is vitamin C and flavonoids in the fruit and rind that will help boost your immune system. Plus, the honey and warmth will make your sore throat feel better.

Fresh grapefruit tea will help boost your immune system and make your throat feel better.
Image: prevention.com

Nasal Congestion: The key to getting rid of nasal congestion is getting out any mucus or pollen that might be clogging it up. This can be done using a nasal saline solution from the store, or with a homemade one. Just dissolve a teaspoon of salt in one cup of water, then use a bulb syringe to squirt the liquid up each nostril. This should provide some instant relief, even if it doesn’t make your cold or allergies go away.

Seasonal Allergies: Itchy eyes, runny noses, and sneezing sure have a way of ruining the beautiful spring weather. While there’s no “cure” for seasonal allergies, sufferers can get some relief by using butterbur supplements three times per day. Researchers in Switzerland found that the butterbur worked just as well as antihistamines but didn’t have the side effect of drowsiness.

As with the previous articles on home remedies, these are just suggestions to consider. Before treating yourself, be sure to consult with your doctor or other licensed health professional.

Can Acupuncture Help Fight Allergies?

Seasonal allergies start earlier than they used to

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I don’t suffer from allergies (thank goodness), but I’m pretty sure that puts me in the minority of people. My mother gets terrible hay fever and I can remember her having to pull the car over when I was a child because she couldn’t stop sneezing. Colleagues of mine often seem sick, but when I ask, the response is always the same:

“It’s just allergies.”

Spring allergies are always the worst, with new flowers blooming, pollen and seeds being released into the air. And with global temperatures rising, spring seems to come earlier every year—which means allergies come early, too. It’s not quite March yet, but many are already feeling the first hints of spring allergies.

Lots of people suffer from seasonal allergies

Image: Shutterstock

A study from Germany, published in Annalsof Internal Medicine, has suggested that seasonal allergies may be treated using acupuncture. Participants in the study were placed into one of two groups and either 1) given acupuncture over eight weeks alongside Zyrtec, or 2) given “fake” acupuncture over eight weeks alongside Zyrtec.

Researchers for the study commented that the results were statistically significant and showed that acupuncture did have a positive effect on those who received treatment. However, the statistical results may not translate well practically. Researchers did acknowledge that “no effect of active treatment on individual symptom severity could be shown.”

Heather Rice, a licensed acupuncturist at the University of California Ivine’s Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine, says she’s seen acupuncture in action—and believes it works.

Acupuncture might help with seasonal allergies

Image: Shutterstock

“One thing I notice almost immediately is that in just 30 minutes, they [patients] say, ‘Oh my God, I can actually breathe,’” she said. “I don’t want to say it’s 100 percent, but with at least 8 out of 10 people, their noses will open up. They can breathe better, and they’re not as congested.”

Whereas Western medicine requires that allergy sufferers take regular doses of antihistamines, those who favor acupuncture say that treatments are just once a week.

Unfortunately, this new study is inconclusive. Follow up will need to be conducted to determine just how helpful acupuncture really is. Thus far, there is not a wealth of scientific evidence in its favor—but that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s not effective, just that we haven’t proved anything yet.

For now, if you have an effective treatment for allergies, then that may be the best route. But if not, it couldn’t hurt to give acupuncture a try. After all, some people have sworn by its effectiveness.