Reduce your allergy symptoms this spring

If pollen has you sniffling and sneezing this spring, try these tips to soothe your itchy eyes and runny nose.

Thu, Apr 28 2011 at 8:00 AM

Photo: mcfarlandmo/Flickr.com

For most of the country, warmer weather is finally here. And with it comes all of the beautiful signs of spring flowers in bloom, trees in full blossom, and lawns being mowed. I used to love these springtime indicators until I had a daughter striken with terrible allergies. Now, I equate warm spring days with the misery of itchy eyes, runny nose, and chest cough that plagues my daughter and the other 20 percent of Americans who suffer from allergies.

While it's hard to eliminate allergy symptoms altogether, there are a lot of tricks that can help you lessen them. These tips will help you breathe a little easier this spring:

Stay indoors. As an outdoor-loving mama, it was difficult for me to keep my daughter inside on these lovely fresh spring days. But by planning our activities around pollen counts (track them at www.pollen.com), we know when it's worth a day in the sun and when it's best to bring nature indoors and do a few nature crafts instead.

Stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of cool water throughout the day is one of the best ways to stay cool and eliminate toxins from the body.

Be shady. Wearing sunglasses potects your eyes from pollen and reduces agitation caused by bright sunlight.

Get clean. Follow up outdoor ventures with a bath and change of clothes as soon as possible. This will remove pollen from your hair and clothes and reduce your overall exposure time to the allergen.

Try magnesium. A diet rich in magnesium can provide relief from nasal allergies and breathing problems. Try adding a few magnesium-rich foods, such as nuts, beans, whole grains, green leafy vegetables and bananas to your diet each day.

Be sweet. Increase your pollen tolerance by adding a teaspoon or two of locally grown honey into your diet each day. Local honey contains small amounts of pollen from plants in your local area and daily consumption may help to alleviate its effect as an allergen.

Thanks to Chicago Healers Practitioner Dr. Ian Wahl for his contribution to this post.

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Comments: 2

smilinggreenmom Apr 30 2011 at 6:29 PM

We have allergies in our family and definitely try to use natural remedies. We hang our clothes out most of the time but when the allergy count is high, we do not since it can bring the pollen etc indoors. We also take our Belly Boost probiotic with the hope that it will boost our immunities and eat whole foods A LOT!!! We drink water and green tea and really just try to generally choose healthy things that we know will help our bodies stay strong and healthy. Awesome tips as always!