Allergy Support – Simple Steps to Reduce Allergy Symptoms

It’s springtime and with the beautiful blooms and new growth many of us experience allergies. Allergies can show up as a runny nose, red itchy eyes, cough, headache, or facial pressure and they can affect concentration, energy levels, and sleep.

Allergies are a hypersensitivity reaction involving the Th2 immune response and immunoglobulin E (IgE), resulting in release of histamine from mast cells along with mucus production. Below are some simple steps to reduce allergies.

In Home:

• Change clothes and shower when come home to remove pollen
• Take shoes off in the house
• Wash bedding, including pillow cases, weekly
• Put pillows in dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill dust mites
• Vacuum weekly and wash drapes and furniture covers (unzip cushion cases of couch)
• Run an air filter in bedroom at night, change filters regularly

In Body:

• Send support to your immune system by avoiding sugar and known food sensitivities
• Vitamin C through supplements or foods (citrus, bell peppers, strawberries, kiwi, broccoli, tomato)
• Raw local honey
• Quercetin – a plant flavonoid, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects
• Nettle – freeze dried and encapsulated, inhibits key inflammatory pathways that cause allergy symptoms, works very well for 50% of people
• Break up mucus by drinking more water and with n-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a mucolytic that breaks disulfide bonds
• Nasal irrigation – can open a probiotic capsule and add to filtered boiled water

• Herbal eye wash – steep 1 TB dried Euphrasia

All of the small things we do on a daily basis add up to reduce allergy symptoms!

Citation: Roschek B Jr, Fink RC, McMichael M, Alberte RS. Nettle extract (Urtica dioica) affects key receptors and enzymes associated with allergic rhinitis. Phytother Res. 2009 Jul;23(7):920-6. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2763. PMID: 19140159.