But It's Natural!

I'd like to start with a quote from my mother on natural childbirth (she had four children, three of them without medication because she had serious reactions to the medications given to her during her first delivery): You don't see men singing the praises of natural heart surgery, do you*?

So I have a good background in being suspicious of the claim that "natural" means safer and more effective. (Arsenic is quite natural!) And, if you're chronically ill (sing it, denelian!), you get to spend a lot of your time hearing all about this natural thing and that natural thing that's going to make you all better. My eyes, they are still rolling from last time.

Natural Therapies for Allergies

full disclosure: I seem to have allergies for the first time ever this year. The pollen counts in Northeastern Pennsylvania are epic this year, and my husband, who always has allergies, is really suffering. He's never gotten any relief from Zyrtec or Claritin or any of that, so I'm coming from the perspective of someone who's never seen that anything works for allergies.

Dealing with allergy symptoms throughout the year can have a considerable impact on your life, making it hard to function at work and at play.

Allergy relief medications can help, but some have side effects such as drowsiness that may make it even harder to function. An alternative approach to allergies is to try natural therapies, including herbs, nasal rinses, and certain foods.

Keep the side effects thing in mind.

Natural remedies that help keep your allergies in check can empower you to take charge of your health, says Moshe Lewis, MD, chief of the division of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the California Pacific Medical Center, St. Luke's Campus in San Francisco.

Zyrtec: not empowering. Herbs: empowering. No particular reason, it just is.

However, some natural therapies, such as herbs, come with their own list of side effects, and they can be toxic if you take too much. “People can be deceived into believing that if it’s natural, it’s safe,” Dr. Lewis says. The goal is to take small amounts of herbs to get the effects you’re looking for.

So, herbs better why?

Lewis recommends consulting with a naturopath or a homeopathic physician if you plan to try herbs for allergy relief. It’s also vital to tell all of your doctors about the herbs you’re taking, because natural remedies could interfere with any drugs you’ve been prescribed, both for allergies and other conditions.

Feel free to also consult a brick wall, a shoe or my dog. They are all as much experts as a naturopath or a homeopath.

The first suggestion is nasal irrigation and a saline spray. That's good advice in my limited experience. Nasal irrigation works to some degree for my husband and I'm getting relief from the saline spray.

Butterbur. Extracts of butterbur are going head-to-head with antihistamine products on the market, Lewis says. In a study of 330 people who were given either butterbur extract, the antihistamine fexofenadine (Allegra), or a placebo, extracts of the herb worked as well as Allegra at relieving allergy symptoms. Another study found butterbur extract to have similar effects to the antihistamine cetirizine (Zyrtec).

The herb helps get rid of mucus and has been used to treat asthma and bronchitis. There’s some concern that if butterbur is from the same family of ragweed it could trigger allergies, but that’s only in theory, Lewis says. Butterbur does have side effects, including the possibility of drowsiness, headache, and an upset stomach. Lewis recommends taking butterbur in extract form.

Drowsiness, headache and an upset stomach are the side effects of most antihistamines, as well. So, basically, if butterbur actually does work as well as Zyrtec, it's the exact same thing. Same results, same side effects. At best, natural remedies are the same as "unnatural" medications.

Stinging nettle. The jury is still out on whether stinging nettle provides allergy relief. A small study found that it might help relieve symptoms, but more research needs to be done. If you try stinging nettle, be sure to consult your doctor before taking it. As with butterbur, Lewis recommends taking nettle leaf in extract form.

You shouldn’t take stinging nettle if you’re pregnant or give it to young children. And if you take a blood pressure medication, a blood thinner, or a diuretic, or you have diabetes, be sure to talk to your doctor before you take stinging nettle.

No proof that it works, more dangerous than Zyrtec. (The children's dose of Zyrtec is the same as the adult dose. So you can give Zyrtec to children.)

Quercetin. The flavanoid quercetin, which is the phytochemical that gives fruits and vegetables their color, has been found to block the release of histamine in test tube studies. Research hasn’t found definitively that quercetin can help with allergy symptoms in people. However, getting plenty of quercetin in your diet from apples, berries, grapes, squash, greens, and sweet potatoes certainly doesn’t hurt, Lewis says.

Yes, I agree that eating fruits and vegetables is good, but it's not doing anything for your allergies. Fruits and vegetables are basically all I eat.

Spicy foods. Turning up the heat of your food with horseradish and chili peppers can act as a decongestant and clear away the mucus that’s been building from allergies. If you like spicy food, this may be the most enjoyable approach to allergy relief.

Srsly? Soup has the same effect. So does a shower or swimming. This isn't allergy relief, this is a runny nose.

*If you think I'm snarky, my mother invented snark.