8 Tips On How To Relieve Allergies Naturally

Spring in Aotearoa means more sunlight, more flowers, more greenery, and unfortunately, more allergies. It is the season when pollen counts skyrocket, the winds whip everything into the air, and pets shed their winter coats. For allergy sufferers, that equals runny noses, itchy eyes, sneezing fits and sometimes itchy skin. So why does this happen, and what are some natural ways to relieve allergies (apart from living in a bubble)?

🌿Related: 10 Delicious Foods You Will Find When Spring Foraging In New Zealand

Seasonal allergies (hay fever, allergic rhinitis) happen when your immune system mistakes harmless substances like pollen for dangerous invaders. Your body releases histamine, an inflammatory chemical to ‘fight’ the pollen, but instead of saving you, it makes your nose run, eyes water and sinuses swell.

Unlike life-threatening allergies, hay fever is rarely dangerous, just really, really annoying. 

Allergy symptoms include:

• Rhinitis (runny) or blocked nose
• Sneezing
• Red, itchy and watery eyes
• Even itchy skin for some people

What is an allergy?

With an allergy, the body encounters a ‘foreign body’ like pollen and mounts an immune response. Your immune system thinks the pollen will harm you, so it reacts by releasing histamine. This release increases inflammation and results in those annoying symptoms.

For those who have life-threatening allergies, this reaction can be severe, causing the throat to close up and the heart to race as the body is allergic to the substance it has been exposed to. These people require adrenaline to counteract the allergic reaction, which is why they carry EpiPens

Seasonal allergies, or hay fever symptoms, are caused by the immune system’s overreaction to the environment, and are annoying but very unlikely to be life-threatening. The good news, however, is that there are some natural ways to help relieve these types of seasonal allergies.

Natural ways to relieve allergies

Seasonal allergies can be a funny thing to work around; some years are worse than others, and some people can go a few years with no real symptoms and then be hit with terrible ones that can feel quite debilitating.

Conventionally, you can take antihistamines that stop the histamine effect within your body. You can also take antihistamine nasal sprays, but they have a short timeframe during which you are allowed to use them. This is not helpful when seasonal allergies can last for months. Some plants can naturally help relieve the symptoms of allergies.

Elderflower

Elderflower has been traditionally used to reduce runny noses or catarrhal deafness (that awful blocked hearing you can get from too much mucus). You could find and pick some of your own in early summer, as that is when these bright, white flower heads are out. You can make elderflower tea to help with allergies. We use elderflower in our Vira-Defence Elixir. 

Ribwort

Peppermint

Nettle

Quercetin

• Apples and berries
• Black tea (which is astringent, which means drying - helpful when you have a runny nose)
• Green tea 
• Broccoli

Bitters

Allergies are not just about pollen; they are also about how your body processes histamine and inflammation. And like most things that comes back to your gut and your liver.

Your body relies on enzymes (like DAO in the gut) to help break down histamine. If these pathways are sluggish, then histamine can build up, which can lead to more sneezing, itchy eyes and blocked sinuses. 

Herbal bitters support your digestive system, but they also help to regulate your immune response by regulating gut function and reducing overall inflammation. They help to stimulate digestive secretions and support liver function. 

🌿Related: What Are Bitters? And How Can They Help Your Digestion

Paired with estrogen, histamine can exacerbate PMS symptoms and worsen allergy symptoms. Adding in bitters helps to improve bile flow and clearance, which can help to reduce the histamine ‘load’ your body carries into allergy season.

3 more ways to naturally relieve allergies

Saline nasal sprays can also help, as they help flush out pollen and dust, potentially stopping the reaction from setting in. You can make your own or buy them from pharmacies or health stores.

• If you have pets, vacuum a bit more. This can really help reduce your environmental triggers.

• If you have really bad seasonal allergies, consider avoiding going outside in the early morning, as this is when pollen is often released. The same goes for really windy weather.
  
  
• If you can’t avoid it, you can place some balm inside the lining of your nose to stop anything from travelling up.

Does eating local honey really stop hay fever?

The idea is that by eating local honey, you are exposed to local pollen in small doses, frequently. This, in theory, ‘trains’ your immune system not to react to the pollen. Some people swear by this approach; however, scientific studies don’t back it up. The reason is that most pollen that triggers hay fever comes from wind-pollinated plants (grasses and trees), not the flowers the bees collect nectar from. However, if this is working for you, then keep it up!

Hopefully, this has helped you arm yourself with the knowledge on how to relieve allergies naturally - and feel more comfortable spending time outside. I say this as a fellow seasonal allergy sufferer.