In light of the COVID-19 situation, most of us would like to keep sneezing and coughing to a minimum. Unfortunately for those with pollen sensitivity, we are at the height of allergy season. The best home remedies for allergies are safe, inexpensive, and of course natural.

While mastering the use of the mighty neti pot, may take some practice and locating local honey may not be as simple as running to your neighborhood grocer, the results of these remedies are worth the added effort.

Raw Local Honey

Commonly used for sweetening, local honey can be a savior for seasonal allergy sufferers. However, for local honey to be most effective it should be taken daily, prior to the beginning of allergy season.

For those getting a late start, that’s OK too. You can still reap the benefits of raw local honey even after the pollen is rampant in the air.

For honey to be considered “local” it should come from a location within 100 miles of your primary residence.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I’ll go ahead and state the obvious. The closer, the better.

Raw local honey can typically be found at farmers markets, flea markets, and local swap meets.

If you cannot find local honey that way, contact your grocer, many retailers are happy to locate products for customers.

To enjoy the benefits of raw local honey, begin consuming a tablespoon daily. You may either add this to prepared food, drinks, or eat it as is.

Do not add the honey to food that must be cooked, as it will compromise the pollen that you are building immunity to. Continue taking the honey daily for as long as needed.

And remember, the longer you stick with it, the better the results.

Bromelain

Bromelain, a powerful gift from the fruit, pineapple. Bromelain has been used medicinally for ages. Treating swelling in the nasal passages and sinuses are one of bromelain’s top uses.

For treating outdoor allergies, simply eating pineapple will not provide enough bromelain to be effective.

It is recommended that 200mg to 400mg doses are taken three times daily to help treat allergies.

This can be taken safely, throughout the entire allergy season. (Unless, of course, you are allergic to pineapple)

Aside from the allergy relief bromelain may offer, it can also treat daily asthma symptoms (not acute asthma attacks), has anti-cancer properties, has also been shown to relieve IBS symptoms, and knee pain.

Neti Pot

Using a neti pot is an incredibly effective way of controlling seasonal allergies. For the uninitiated, learning to use one takes patience, and practice. Lots of practice.

It may sound like a simple enough task, but breathing through your mouth ONLY, while liquid flows into one nostril and out of the other is harder than it sounds.

Yes, you must learn to be a dreaded “mouth breather” to master this skill.

The neti pot rinses mucous and debris from nasal passages and sinus cavities. To use a neti pot, you should follow package instructions and be sure to mix your saline solution using distilled bottled water, or sterilized water only.

Neti pot rinsing can be done up to twice daily for symptom relief, as needed.

For more detailed information on utilizing a neti pot, please see my upcoming article.

Ginger Root

Ginger root or ginger root powder, can be added to drinks and food to help control seasonal allergies. This can be done several times daily, if you so desire to help your body respond favorably to allergens.

Ginger also has the added benefit of boosting the immune system, and is incredibly inexpensive.

Brewing a daily cup of tea, adding a slice of peeled ginger root, and sweetening your cup with raw local honey can keep allergy symptoms at bay, both effectively and deliciously.

Methods To Madness

There are countless ways to help stave off the symptoms of seasonal allergies. Adding turmeric to foods, eating capers, drinking chamomile tea, increasing Vitamin C intake and a host of other remedies are there for the choosing.

Make the most of this catastrophic time in history, by finding better ways to live. Now is the perfect time to ditch the allergy medicine and try a different approach.

I hope you find your personal favorite for curing allergy sniffles and sneezes, and as always, Happy Healing!