Apr 7, 2009 11:40 pm US/Eastern
Go! New York Report: Battling Spring Allergies
There Are Several Simple Approaches That Will Make An Annoying Situation That Much More Manageable
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The start of spring often brings months of misery.
Tree pollen can punish allergy sufferers. Prescription and over-the-counter medicines work for some, but a growing number of allergy patients are looking for natural alternatives.
Bonnie Everhart's seasonal allergies were miserable, but prescription products just weren't working for her.
"It feels a little suffocating. You can't breathe. Your eyes are watery. You're searching around looking for tissues in the morning," Everhart said.
"I tried many and I just found it just kind of covered the symptoms."
So she turned to natural remedies for relief. Integrative medicine Dr. Roberta Lee said nettle leaf cuts down on allergy symptoms.
"It reduces the inflammatory reaction from the mast cells, that's the same kind of suppression we see with a medication like Claritin," Lee said.
Butterbur extract acts as an anti-histamine. Histamine is a chemical our body makes in response to allergens like pollen. Natural remedies as well as prescription drugs aim to cut down on histamine to reduce those allergy symptoms.
The neti pot is a popular approach to rinsing pollen out of the nose. Lee said some of her patients don't require any medications at all if they use the pot daily.
"Basically what you're doing is you're irrigating the nasal passages with a little bit of water infused with some normal saline, and a pinch of baking soda," Dr. Lee said.
"The neti pot is like part of my everyday routine, and it's, it helps a lot," Everhart said.
Quercetin and ginger may also help keep itching and sneezing at bay, and medicinal mushrooms are thought to support the immune system -- a good defense against allergies.
"It has reishi, maitake, and many other medicinal mushrooms that are used in Chinese medicine," Lee said. "These won't reduce inflammation, but they will boost your immune system so it's in a healthy state."
Hot spicy foods may also offer relief from seasonal allergies. Experts say the spicier the dish, the more likely it is to thin mucous, hence clearing the nasal passages. Sufferers can try cayenne pepper, hot ginger, onion and garlic.
Hay fever is one of the most common allergies. It affects about 40 million people in the United States.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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