What are some natural remedies for seasonal allergies?

Go natural and try using nasal irrigation to cleanse and clear your sinuses. Nasal irrigation with the use of a Neti (sinus)-pot works well. You can even make your own salt water solution (try using Himalayan salt -- the purest on earth with many vital minerals) with 16 oz of lukewarm purified water and 1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt (available from most natural products markets).

Acupuncture is also effective in treating headaches and neck discomfort associated with allergies. Try to avoid the use of allergy medications that suppress your immune system and have side effects like increasing blood pressure, making you feel anxious or excessively tired.

Seasonal allergies can make you feel crummy, but there are lots of simple things you can do to help prevent bothersome symptoms, says allergy specialist Dr. Clifford Bassett. To find out why wearing movie star sunglasses can help you avoid allergy problems, watch this video.

There are safe, effective, inexpensive remedies available in any natural food store. They won’t make you drowsy, and the longer you take them, the less you’re likely to need. They are worth a try before you try something more medicated.

See if your symptoms match one of these remedies:

Allium cepa (“SEE-puh”): you sneeze a lot, you have a LOT of watery discharge from your nose (“dripping like a faucet”) that irritates the skin under your nose (“red mustache”), your eyes itch a lot and water pours out of your eyes – but ti doesn’t irritate the skin around your eyes.

Euphrasia (“you – FRAZE – yuh”) – here your eyes are the biggest problem. They’re really red, irritated, burning and itching, and bright light bothers you. Your eyes water a lot, and the skin around your eyes gets red and chapped. Your nose waters too but it doesn’t irritate the skin under it (the opposite of Allium cepa, above)

Nux vomica – the most prominent symptom is the itchiness of nose, eyes, even ears, plus swelling inside the nose – you may have trouble breathing through your nose, but when you try to blow it, there’s not much mucus there. You can’t breathe through your nose because the nasal passages are swollen.

Sabadilla – lots of sneezing! you sneeze many times in a row! plus the typical watery discharge from nose and eyes; itchy red eyes and tingling inside the nose. That’s what makes you sneeze so much!

Wyethia –You know when the roof of your mouth itches and you have to use your tongue to itch it? That’s how you know you need this remedy.

These are called ‘single remedies’. If you can find the single remedy that matches, you’ll get the best results. As a bonus, you may also find that the remedy helps you with other things too – for example, Apis can help with hives, insect bites, and water retention. Nux vomica can help with digestive problems – from heartburn to hemorrhoids.

But if you can’t find a good match, try a combination remedy which has several different allergy remedies in it. Some popular ones include Pollinosan,  Hyland’s Allergy Relief, and Boiron’s Sabadil.

Because the pollens vary in different parts of the country, ask your local health food store staff for the most popular remedy in your area. Supplementing with quercetin can also be very helpful.