Allergies

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Allergies

Imagine a car alarm that’s a tad too sensitive, letting out a piercing shriek at the slightest provocation. If you’re one of the 50 million Americans with respiratory allergies, you have a similar problem with your immune system: It treats harmless dust, pollen and pet hair as if they were the enemy.

If you’re allergic, it takes just a tiny particle of the right allergen to put your panicky immune system on the defensive. Your body strikes back by releasing a rush of histamine, the chemical that causes that familiar swelling and running in your nose, eyes and sinuses. Allergy shots and antihistamines can control your symptoms, but there are other things you can do as well. The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with your doctor’s approval—may help prevent or relieve allergic problems, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When... You have new symptoms that include hives or wheezing, alone or with severe chest congestion that makes breathing difficult.

Acupressure

To relieve hay fever and allergic sneezing and itching, press point LI 4, situated in the webbing between your thumb and index finger, close to the bone at the base of the index finger, says Michael Reed Gach, Ph.D., director of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California, and author of Acupressure’s Potent Points. (To help you locate this point, please see the illustration on page 565.) Hold this point with your thumb on top of the webbing and your index finger underneath, then squeeze into the webbing, angling the pressure toward the bone that connects the index finger to the hand. Work on one hand, then on the other. Hold firmly for about one minute per hand while breathing slowly and deeply.

This is not recommended for pregnant women, because pressing this point can cause contractions of the uterus, says Dr. Gach.

Aromatherapy

For quick relief of the watery eyes and runny nose of hay fever, Victoria Edwards, an aromatherapist in Fair Oaks, California, suggests mixing one drop each of cypress and hyssop essential oils in the palm of your hand. Apply the mixture to the back of your tongue with your fingertip. Edwards says to use the remedy every few hours whenever hay fever symptoms are bothering you. “It doesn’t taste very good, but it helps clear your head immediately, and the effects last from one to two hours,” she says.

For information on preparing and administering essential oils, including cautions about their use, see page 19. For information on purchasing essential oils, refer to the resource list on page 633.

Ayurveda

Kapha types are most apt to suffer seasonal allergies such as hay fever, with symptoms that include nasal congestion, coughing and sneezing, says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (For more information about the doshas of Ayurveda, see “All about Vata, Pitta and Kapha” on page 28.) To prevent attacks, Dr. Lad recommends lubricating the nasal passages with warm ghee, or clarified butter. Using an eyedropper or the tip of your little finger, put about three drops in each nostril three times a day, morning, midday and evening. This will make it hard for allergens to penetrate the nasal passages, Dr. Lad says. (For a recipe for ghee, see “How to Make Ghee” on page 26.)

You can also try taking ½ teaspoon of the Indian herbal formula sitopaladi after lunch and dinner with a little honey, he says. Sitopaladi is available from some Indian grocers and by mail order (refer to the resource list on page 634).

Food Therapy

Some allergies may be caused by congestion from eating the wrong foods, says Elson Haas, M.D., director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California, and author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition. He suggests his three-week detoxification diet (see “Detoxing Your Ills” on page 48).

Homeopathy

“Acute hay fever is commonly treated with homeopathy,” according to Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Edmonds, Washington, and co-author of The Patient’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicine. If you are sneezing a lot and have itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose, Dr. Reichenberg-Ullman suggests trying Allium cepa 30C once or twice daily until you begin to feel better. The same dose of Sabadilla can help people who have violent sneezing attacks in addition to other hay fever symptoms, she says.

For people whose prime symptom is watery, burning eyes, take Euphrasia 30C once or twice a day, advises Dr. Reichenberg-Ullman. If one of these remedies doesn’t seem to help within seven days, she says to consult your medical doctor or homeopath.

All of these remedies are available in many health food stores. To purchase the remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

A vitamin C bath can be effective for easing the symptoms of an allergy attack, suggests Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist and co-founder and co-director of Uchee Pines Institute, a natural healing center in Seale, Alabama. Add three tablespoons of ascorbic acid powder (available in most health food stores) to a warm bath. You can stay in the bath for up to two hours.

Reflexology

Focus on the following reflex point on your hands or feet, says Rebecca Dioda, a reflexologist with the Morris Institute of Natural Therapeutics, a holistic health education center in Denville, New Jersey: adrenal gland, reproductive system, solar plexus, ileocecal valve and any organ showing allergy symptoms (lungs or nose, for example).

To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

Some people with allergies might get relief by taking 5,000 international units of vitamin A daily, suggests Richard Gerson, Ph.D., author of The Right Vitamins. He also advises getting more essential fatty acids, such as those found in flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil is available in both liquid and capsule form in most health food stores; Dr. Gerson suggests that you follow the dosage recommendations on the labels of flaxseed oil products.

Yoga

Daily yoga practice can help bring allergies under control, according to Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association. She says allergies are caused by both physical and psychological problems, which is why they tend to emerge after illness or periods of extreme stress.

As part of your daily routine, she says, be sure to include these poses: standing sun (page 607), knee squeeze (page 612), seated sun (page 616), boat (page 621) and cobra (page 622). (You should practice the half boat pose, shown on page 620, for about one week before attempting the boat pose.) She also recommends that you include the complete breath exercise (see page 152) to strengthen the muscles that help you breathe and meditation (see page 153) to help relieve allergy-related problems such as poor sleep.

In addition to the exercises above, you can try a neti, or daily nasal wash, says Stephen A. Nezezon, M.D., yoga teacher and staff physician at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. The wash will remove pollen from your sinuses and toughen your mucosal membranes, he says. Here are Dr. Nezezon’s instructions: Fill a four-ounce paper cup halfway with warm water, and then add ½ teaspoon of salt. Put a crease in the lip of the cup so that it forms a spout. Slightly tilt your head back and to the left. Then slowly pour the water into your right nostril. The water will flow out of your left nostril or down the back of your throat if your left nostril is clogged. Spit out the water if it goes down your throat, or wipe the water from your face if it flows out of your left nostril. Fill the cup again, then repeat the procedure on the other side, pouring the water into your left nostril and tilting your head back and to the right so that the water flows out of your right nostril.

See also Food Allergies; Lactose Intolerance