Natural Cures: Allergy

Do you have a lot of "clutter" in your house or apartment? Do you find yourself suffering from unexplained allergies? The clutter might be the cause! Try removing all "unused" things - dried flowers, books, magazines, old pillows, even stuffed animals. These can all be allergen storehouses. If you must hang on to these possessions, try putting them in plastic containers in a storeroom.

Carpets can accumulate pet dander, dust, pollen, and even mold. So try to have as few rooms with wall-to-wall carpet as possible if you suffer from allergies. Replace with laminate or hardwood floor, or tile, and use throw rugs if you want a little "cushion."

- Wear a face mask when your allergies are really bad. It simply prevents those little things that are causing your allergies.

- Bee pollen,if taken before the hay fever season, will help to build a natural immunity. Start off slow and build up the amount of bee pollen you take.

- Chewing on a honeycomb can help calm a severe hay fever attack (check your local health food store).

- Lavender and chamomile oils can relieve some of the symptoms of hay fever.

My mom swore by this remedy when the spring and fall hayfever got into full swing - take cold showers! I don't know how it worked, or why, but it seemed to help the sniffles.

Instead of pills, inhalers, and nose sprays try nasal irrigation. It sounds weird I know but it's a throwback that has worked for decades. Basically you squirt salt water up your nose and let it leak back out. To deliver the saline solution, you can either use a teapot-like device called a neti pot (popular in India) or a water bottle with a squeeze top, a turkey baster, or a needle-less syringe. Just por some room temperature tap water with a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt into one nostril and allow the water to flow out the other. This will wash out mucus and grime, along with pollen grains and other airborne allergens you've inhaled. At first it sounds disgusting, but once you try it, you don't want to stop since it treats post-nasal drip and mucus better than anything else.