Any Luck with Natural Treatment for Seasonal Allergies?

Neti pot! Or Neil Med sinus rinse (at Walgreens, CVS....)

We still take some meds occassionally but a lot less since we all got our own neti pots!

Yes, you will want your own, after you see how it is used.

My Mom has asthma and allergies, and she always says it helps to have local honey, produced within 20 miles of where you live, like a tablespoon a day, is supposed to build immunity to allergies.

Hi -
Couple of things work for us:
1. Neti pot (my kids, ages 7 and 3.5 yrs will use it, it just takes practice - before they do it, make sure you re-enforce breathing through the mouth and not the nose).
2. Lots of Vitamin C - lots and lots of it. We like Emergen-C, but I also take the caplets because it's just easier. They make chewy ones for kids
3. Vitamin D - it helps with overall immune system, which will fight off the allergens.
4. Regular Chiropractic visits. "The knee bone's connected to the hip bone......" I know it works.

Our Pedi has tried to give us the same meds and I can never tell a difference, so I started doing these things about 4 years ago with my oldest and we've had really good luck. He doesn't take an Rx for allergies anymore.

C.

The local honey is great to build up an immunity to allergies, but it does not alleviate symptoms immediately.

I have used Super Quercetin (it has vitamin C in it also) to treat allergy symptoms for myself and it works GREAT! The capsules I have are too big for my daughter to swallow, but I have broken one open and mixed the contents with orange juice...it seemed to help her as well. You might be able to find a children's version at a health food store. The Quercetin works like an anithistimine to dry up the runny mucus without the side effect of making you feel dehydrated.

Good luck!

I use the Netty Pot and works great! Not sure how old your son is, but the spray might work better for him. Feels like a gentler version of water up the nose, but clears out the sinus passage ways in a bit of a disgusting way. What am I saying... he's a boy, he'll love the disgusting stuff: )

J.

I'm allergic to grass, weeds, mold, and dust and my allergies seem to hit hard with every seasonal change. Local Honey has worked wonders for me. 2 tablespoons a day, year round. If your son likes honey plain fabulous, if not mix it in juices, cereal, etc..

p.s. I'm not sure if the honey will give you the immediate reaction you are needing,but it definitely can't hurt. I believe, for allergies, it is best to start the 'honey treatment' 2 months prior to allergy season.

You've gotten a few good suggestions so far.

I've been plagued by seasonal allergies my whole life. I have had to resort to inhaled cortisone for asthma, but acupuncture does seem to reduce the severity.

For nasal/hay fever symptoms and hives, I've used a Neti pot successfully, and have had almost instant results with homeopathic Histaminum.

And sometimes, I can just calmly tell myself, when symptoms just start, "I don't have to do this." I've been surprised to find this often works. (I think it's most likely to help when I'm not stressed out or upset about anything.)

Good luck. I hope you find something that works.

My nephews had SEVERE nut allergies until my SIL took them to an accupuncturist. It's hard to believe but they are now free and clear of their nut allergies and their pet allergies. I believe 100% in accupuncture. It's done lots of amazing things for my family members. Good luck!

If you're open to alternative treatment that could relieve your son's allergies completely, then I have a lady that can most likely help you. She is holistic practicioner of therapy such as Neuro Modulation Therapy, Theta-Healing and much more. She has been working with my son for about 2 years with a skin condition he has. She has also treated him for mild allergies and now he shows no signs of any allergies. She has also treated me for allergies, fear of heights, dermatitis and more. Children are VERY receptive to this type of treatment since it is (a) non-invasive, (b) doesn't involve medications and (c) they are young and there's not much "junk" in their bodies and minds like there is in ours. This type of treatment is not covered by insurance, but is well worth the price. You will probably end up saving money with all the prescription drugs your son is taking. If you would like her name and information, you can e-mail me privately and I'll be happy to send it to you.

My son's pediatrician says local raw honey works wonders. The key is to get honey from local bees so it has whatever allergens are in your area in it. Should be able to get it from the farmers market. We mostly have summer allergies so I haven't really been on it, but I plan to this summer.

Good luck.
T.

I did acupuncture (about 9 rounds of it) for something unrelated (fertility) and it didn't work for that, but one side effect was that I did not get any sickness--including colds--for an entire year.

So, you never know...

We use local honey and it has made a HUGE difference in my daughter's life. She used to be on Zyrtec every night and still have allergy symptoms, get bronchiolitis and have to do breathing treatments. One tablespoon of local, raw honey at night (it is her "honey" medicine that she takes before bedtime) every night, and when everyone else was complaining about allergies, we were symptom free! No bronchiolitis, no breathing treatments this year! I take it about every other night and I also have not suffered from my seasonal allergies.

I've seen many people have success with a NAET treatment (lots of chiropractors do this)....easy, non-evasive, not much to it.

In my research, I have learned that allergies are a hyper immune system response. So it is very important to keep the immune system healthy. My allergies were about as bad as you could get (weekly shots for 15 years, daily pills, daily sprays, chronic infections) Every day I started taking 2 multi, 2 sustained release vitamin c, 2 vitamin e with selenium, 2 b-complex, 1 probiotic, and 2 Shaklee nutriferon. Now if I have symptoms I take 4 sustained release c and 99% of the time, symptoms are gone. When that 1% happens I use the saline spray or netipot. I have done accupuncture too, its great, helped me get to my maintenance.

I've heard quite a few people swear by honey. You have to get honey from your surrounding area because the bees need to be close to you so that they are making their honey w/ the same stuff that your son is breathing in. Try farmers markets or small local stores and get honey from bees that are as near to you as possible.
Good luck!

I use plain ole' Simply Saline. I use it twice a day to clean out and lubricate the nasal passages and it helps a lot. I haven't had to use any meds since I started using it. My father recommended it and then I heard it recommended by a Fox contributor doctor.

My suggestion is, absolutely try the Netipot first! I have suffered for years from severe allergy side-effects, and, being in the Air Force, I was never in one place long enough to make it worth getting used to local allergens. Make sure, if you try alternative medicines, you do plenty of research on it first--there will be lots of arguments on both sides, and it may not be easy to determine which side has better evidence, but be sure you're not getting a compound that could be harming him, and be sure you're not just wasting your money! The Netipot is an easy (takes a few minutes, can find one at Central Market), cheap (less than $20), and great-feeling (give it a week of regular use) way to sort of get a fresh start on the allergy front every day.