Natural Treatments for Seasonal Allergies
It’s warming up. With the thaw of spring, comes the pollen and dust that triggers seasonal allergies, sinus congestion and pressure headaches. Over-the-counter medications for allergies may help you survive the day, but they are not long-term fixes.
Acupuncture is highly effective for not only managing the symptoms of seasonal allergies, but also retraining the immune system to be less reactive so that the allergy itself fades away.
The symptoms of runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, and sinus congestion are not the allergy itself, they are just how the body shows are tries to deal with the allergy externally.
Seasonal allergies are linked to systemic inflammation and imbalances in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We see this in the “atopic triad” where rhinitis (inflammation in the nose, as in seasonal allergies), eczema and asthma frequently go hand-in-hand. Studies have also found systemic inflammation and inflammation in the GI tract specifically going hand in hand with seasonal allergies. (Citations below)
From what we know now about inflammation and the relationship between the sinuses, nose and throat and the immune system more broadly, it is pretty clear that a seasonal allergy is more than just a runny nose to be turned off by blocking histamines. Antihistamines do not address the actual problem, and therefore when they are stopped, the symptoms return. What I also see sometimes is the underlying problem will simply get redirected when a medicine turns off that problem’s first expression. That is to say, what seems like a new problem will appear.
How to treat the root of seasonal allergies?
Acupuncture
Weekly acupuncture in winter and early spring, before peak allergy season, can minimize symptoms dramatically. Over time, acupuncture will reset the body’s allergic reaction.
Acupuncture is a safe, effective natural allergy treatment for children as well as adults.
I do not love acupuncture clinical trials, but seasonal allergies is one that has been studied a lot and is in many cases a fairly straight-forward treatment, making the standardized clinic trial data clearer. One high-quality study from Germany looked at 414 patients with seasonal allergies for at least two years. Over 2 months, the group who received weekly acupuncture used antihistamines on 8 days. The group who did not get acupuncture used antihistamines on 18 days and were increasing their usage as the they got deeper into allergy season.
Acupuncture is also simply a very common treatment for allergies. According to a journal article in Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, 1 in 5 people with seasonal allergies use acupuncture (in USA, presumably, though the article abstract does not specify)
Herbal Teas
Stinging nettle and butterbur specifically treat allergic rhinitis. Elder flower is a great, gentle immune tonic.
For kids, I highly recommend elderberry syrup either as a preventative if they have weak immune system, or to treat a cold as it is coming on.
Quercetin
This nutritional supplement is anti-inflammatory and, according to a 2009 study specifically helps with allergy symptoms in the eyes, such as pressure, tearing and itching.
Probiotics
A healthy microbiome in the intestines helps reduce inflammation throughout the body. Eating organic plain yogurt and fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut are fantastic ways to get your probiotics. There are some who really push the dietary sources, and I agree that this is the best way to do it, but I do not think it hurts to supplement with high-quality probiotic supplement.
Diet
Eliminiate refined sugar.
I know, I know, sugar’s delicious. It makes your brain scream with excitement. But it is also terrible for you. I spent years trying to tiptoe around this fact, in my own diet and with my patients. But there is no denying that refined sugar (as well as refined carbohydrates like white bread and pasta) are incredibly inflammatory and they suppress your immune system. It is one-two hit that messes your body up in many ways.
Refined sugar also wreaks havoc on your emotional balance. For proof of that, give any little child a bag of Halloween candy and watch the roller coaster. You may think that is just because they are children so that cannot control themselves. You may think that doesn’t happen to adults. But it does, we are either better at masking it or have sugar in our body so constantly that we do not recognize what it is doing.
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Henry practices acupuncture and natural medicine in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He also teaches Tai Chi and Qigong, and teaches acupuncture courses at undergraduate and professional levels.
Cover photo by
Citations:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12847478/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-29536/is-inflammation-at-the-root-of-your-allergies-an-integrative-immunologist-explains.html
https://medium.com/bodybio/allergies-and-inflammation-8e3fe8c156a9)
