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Prepare Now to Lessen Allergy Symptoms Later
You might not realize it, as we still seem to be in the depths of winter, but now is the time to start preparing for allergy season. If you find yourself sneezing your head off in March, April and May, a couple of simple things you do now can ease the severity of your symptoms later.
Quercetin, for example, is a flavonoid found in citrus, onions and buckwheat and can be purchased in capsule form. It inhibits the production and release of histamine, which is what makes us all so miserable. It acts similarly to antihistamines, but is milder. At the same time, it’s cheaper and has very few side effects, if any. Quercetin possesses anti-inflammatory properties as well, which also help mitigate allergies and asthma — and as a side bennie, can perhaps give a little boost to helping heal that sports injury you may have unfortunately sustained in your laudable efforts to stay fit. One more benefit: The compounds in quercetin may help lower cholesterol.
Quercetin works best, however, if you start taking it before allergy season actually begins. So, if you start taking it two to four weeks before you usually experience symptoms, you could find that your symptoms are much less troublesome in March, April and May.
Other supplements you can take are pine bark extract (commercially marketed as Pycnogenol) and curcumin, which is found in the spice turmeric (turmeric in capsules can be found at health food stores and some grocery stores). Both have potent anti-inflammatory properties, and inflammation is the main culprit behind the unpleasant effects of having too much histamine in our systems.
The other strategy you can employ, though a controversial one in this country, is to take homeopathic remedies. Homeopathic remedies are widely used and prescribed in Great Britain and Europe, even by medical doctors, but they have not found favor with the medical establishment in the U.S. Part of the problem is that no definitive explanation has been established for the way in which homeopathic substances might work.
I myself looked askance at homeopathy for quite some time, as I had a master’s degree with an emphasis in molecular biology, and I couldn’t figure out how it could possibly work, given my understanding of biochemistry. But when I finally tried a high-quality homeopathic remedy for my hay fever symptoms, I found that it worked really well, despite my skepticism, without the side effects that my antihistamines gave me. Being an empiricist, I figured it didn’t matter whether I could figure out how they worked if they worked.
Like everything, however, these remedies won’t work for everyone. (This is true of many human health conditions; many people, for example, have to try a number of different blood pressure medications before they find the ones that work for them.)
As an interesting aside, one promising theory involves the unique crystal structures that water forms in response to different dissolved substances. To see a beautiful rendition of the shape of a pure H20 crystal, check out the water sculpture in Turtle Bay’s Mediterranean gardens. You’ll find a colossal one carved in stone.
With respect to treating allergies, it’s possible that they may work similarly to allergy shots, where exposure to minute
amounts of allergens desensitizes our immune systems to them. For those who want to try this approach, there are several high quality homeopathic remedies available. Some good brands are Unda, BHI and Bioenergetics.
All of these remedies can be continued throughout allergy season for palliative effects. As always, check with your doctor before taking new supplements; for example, quercetin may interact with a certain class of antibiotics or other drugs.
And when allergy season descends with a vengeance, there are additional home remedies that you can add to your medicine cabinet for itchy eyes, stuffy sinuses, wheezing and other miseries. Redding’s allergy season is long and intense, and there’s no reason to suffer more than necessary!
Celeste White is a writer and artist who lives in Redding. She is the author of the books, “Natural Asthma and Allergy Management” and “The Natural Remedies for Common Ailments Handbook.”
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A possible and powerful explanation for “why” things work without a basis in known pharmacology or physiology lies in the well known effect called placebo. This great and real response has been tainted by a popular misunderstanding of its role and origin. The roots are in us for better or worse and despite the sugar pill cure discounting which has occurred, the effect is not to be lightly dismissed.
Any belief construct whether medication, eye of newt, sound, color, aroma, doll, blanket, potion, position, incantation, advice, whatever taken or done to relieve or ameliorate symtoms WILL BE successful in thirty per cent (30%) of the affected. This is a significant and wonderful force which works for all of us if we only believe. Voodoo is based on the negative side of this effect and it, too, lives daily in our bodies.
What modern medicine tries to achieve is an effect greater than placebo. This does not detract from the underlying platform for cure which each person carries as a built in medicine cabinet for crisis intervention. Never let anyone destroy your placebo effect by insisting upon a rational or scientific basis for its existence.
Randall R. Smith, M. D.
Hooray for homeopathic medicine. My best medical results have been achieved when western doctors work with both traditional and non traditional methods. I’ll give this suggestion a try for my allergies and asthma.
OK….so where do I get this magic, voo doo potion, Quercitin?
I am earger to try it as my sneezing has already commenced! Thank you for the information.
Hi, Sandi–
Some grocery stores that have a health food section will carry quercetin, and for certain, Orchard Nutrition carries it. Any good health food store should have it; so if you’re on the east side of town you might want to check Enterprise Health Foods. There might be some new stores that have sprung up, too, that I’m not familiar with that carry herbs and supplements in your neighborhood. Check the Yellow Pages. Some brands make a combination remedy of quercetin and nettles - nettles work well for reducing allergy symptoms that have already started. So if you don’t find a combination remedy, you might pick up a bottle of nettles, too - freeze-dried, if you can find it.
Randy - thank you for the eloquent and thoughtful discussion of the placebo effect!
And Gerrine, hope you find these approaches helpful. Yes, I’m always grateful to find health care providers who are open-minded and find that this works best for me, too. A wealth of medical traditions exists in the world and since we’re all genetically and temperamentally unique, different things will work for different people. Vive la différence, I always say
As someone who is allergic to the atmosphere and its contents, I appreciate any tip that aims me toward something not otherwise dangerous that might help. Thanks a lot for the tip. I will give it a try. If it works, Celeste, I will be in your debt forever.
And thank you, Randy, for cogently explaining the placebo effect. Far too many people believe that if a placebo works, you must not have had anything wrong in the first place. Often the mind merely needs a little help to convince the body it is better.
You’re welcome, Dugan. I hope this works for you and anyone else who tries these remedies.
Incidentally, for anyone who is interested more information on obtaining the homeopathic allergy remedies I mentioned, I understand that BHI has changed its business name to Heel; its products (such as its allergy tablets) are available online and at some local health food stores. Unda’s Allergiplex is available online. And Bioenergetics has an allergy remedy and a sinus remedy. They don’t have an Internet or retail presence; however, anyone who would like more info or to place an order with them can drop me a private message and I’ll be happy to pass along their phone number.
Here’s to an enjoyable spring!
Hi Celeste,
Thanks for the info….I purchased Highland Quercetin/Nettle Plus today at Orchard. It was $17+ for 90 tablets. Are you familiar with this brand and is there a source for this product (or similar one) at a lesser price?
You’re welcome, Karen! Yes, this is a brand I’ve taken before and had good results with. And this is a good price. It works out to about $17 - $34 per month, depending upon whether you take the lower recommended dosage or the higher one. What I’ve been doing the last couple of years is to take quercetin alone before the allergy season hits and then adding the nettles when I start to have hay fever. Solaray quercetin can be found online for $12, which is a six week supply, and Eclectic Institute’s freeze dried nettles are a little over $16 for a one to three month supply. That works out, on average, to about $28 for four to six weeks. So, a little cheaper.
Over-the-counter antihistamines can be less expensive than this; so for those who tolerate them well and for whom price is a major consideration, they are another option. I tend to experience side-effects from pharmaceutical drugs and have had much better results along these lines with herbs and supplements. But everyone is different, as I’ve mentioned. One caution for those who do opt for OTC antihistamines: Never double the dose, even if one doesn’t completely take care of your symptoms or you missed a dose the day before. To do so can have serious consequences. Talk to your physician if OTC solutions aren’t working for you.
Some additional info now that the season is in full swing:
For itchy eyes, you can try some herbal eye drops for allergies by the brand name of Similasan (I believe this is available at Orchard). Also, rinsing your eyes with cold water (don’t rub! That will make things worse) and then using some drops like Allergan lubricant eye drops to moisturize your eyes feels very nice. And one of my very favorite remedies that is available online from http://www.originalswissaromatics.com is Myrtle hydrosol. Soak a cotton pad with cold water and squirt about twelve squirts of the hydrosol on it and then pat your eyes with it. Very very soothing. As much as your eyes might itch, don’t rub them! Rinse them in cool water or use drops.
An herbal remedy that my acupuncturist turned me onto for sneezing and itchy eyes is Health Concerns’ Xanthium Relieve Surface. Google it on the Internet - several places carry it. You take three tablets three times daily; 90 tablets come in a bottle, so one bottle is a ten days’ supply.
Also, the allergy drops and tablets I mentioned above for preventatives work well as symptom relievers, too. In addition, another very helpful homeopathic remedy is Heel’s Histamin tablets - homeopathic histamine. It’s available from http://www.allnaturalusa.com.
Quercetin and Nettles are good herbal remedies for the height of allergy season, too.
A few more tips: Pollen counts are higher in the morning than in the afternoon, so doing your outdoor work or exercise in the P.M. is a good strategy. If you work in the yard, wear a dust mask and shower when you come in. Avoid drying your clothes outside this time of year, too, or you’ll coat your clothes with it and bring pollen inside.
Finally, here is a remedy that lots of people swear by: I don’t enjoy it but I will do it when I’m desperate, and that is to irrigate your sinuses with warm, dilute salt water. Anyone wanting more details, let me know. It helps to clear out the pollen and gives you a breather. Sorry for the pun.