Pollen Allergies - help!

Spring has definitely sprung here in SoWal. Pollen is thick on my car and every other surface.

Stop by For The Health Of It and ask for help. Eating local homey is supposed to help, and the Barretts make some mighty fine local honey.

Spring has definitely sprung here in SoWal. Pollen is thick on my car and every other surface.

Stop by For The Health Of It and ask for help. Eating local homey is supposed to help, and the Barretts make some mighty fine local honey.

What does local homey taste like?

Neti pot/sinus flush- wash that stuff out of your nose every day, and shower before bed- your hair is full of that stuff, it gets on your pillow, and you rub your face in it!

I hope it's not a sinus infection. When my head feels like that, it's generally an infection! Good luck to you!! Feel better.

We are all feeling it Hop. You'd better get a neti pot, or the Neti Pot Nazis(I write this with love) will come after you.

We are all feeling it Hop. You'd better get a neti pot, or the Neti Pot Nazis(I write this with love) will come after you.

I don't know how we survived so many years without one. If someone had told me 3 years ago to shoot water into my head through my nose, I would have called them crazy.

Does anyone else feel like their head is about to explode? Weather Channel says pollen count is low...I'm not sure what I'd do if it were high. Natural remedies??? anyone???

JDarg is right, flush those nasal passages and sinuses with a Neil Med flush kit. Some like the Netti pot, but in my opinion it is easier to 'pressure wash' with a squeeze bottle rather than nimbly flex/extend/rotate your head hoping enough saline will get where it needs to be (as with the pot). The kits are available at all drugstores, Publix, etc. They go for about $13, but if you come dine for Habitat tonight I will give you one

If you want to get quick relief with some prophylaxis, I suggest you try Claritin-D. I use 12 hour formula. You don't need a prescription, but you do need to request and sign for it at the pharmacy counter as it contains pseudoephedrine.

You can try honey if you want, but I would enjoy it for taste rather than allergy relief. I can sort of understand how it might have some effect on allergies related to the blossoms it came from, but right now the big offender is pine pollen and most of our local honey is clover or some other bloom. It tastes good, though

Neti pot, indeed, and I'm gonna hafta start showerinng before bed as well as in the a.m. Hadn't thought of that pollen-in-hair-in-pillow-in-face bit. I keep a fine-mist spritzer of water, witch hazel and lavender essential oil to spray my face when it's itchy and puffy. Soothes at least for a few minutes and smells good.

Green tea (jasmine if you like it like that) has anti-inflammatory properties and can help to drink it as well as to put the cooled wet teabags on your eyes (mild astringent too). Witch hazel on eyes is also helpful. Alkalizing diet in general to reduce body's inflammatory response; drink plenty of filtered water. Reduce exposure to toxic chemicals in household cleansers, personal care products, any food or foodlike substance that isn't made from scratch, etc.

I have recently started making my own bad-chemical-free household cleansers and using no-bad-chemical shampoo, etc., and can really see a difference. Especially the cleaners, and mine smell so good! Before, I had been using "green" commercial cleaners. Till I started finding out what they don't put on the labels, and the green ink on the label doesn't mean it's as "green" a product as they want you to think.

Hop, they say to think of your allergies like a bucket of water. You can fill a bucket all the way to the top with water (allergens like pollen or allergic foods or irritants like chemicals), and the bucket will not overflow (no symptoms yet). But at some point, when you keep adding one more drop and one more drop, eventually the bucket will overflow (you will have symptoms).

That's why reducing the load of all irritants, toxins, allergens and likely allergens is recommended even though it seems like it's just the pine pollen that's bothering you.

Neti pot, indeed, and I'm gonna hafta start showerinng before bed as well as in the a.m. Hadn't thought of that pollen-in-hair-in-pillow-in-face bit. I keep a fine-mist spritzer of water, witch hazel and lavender essential oil to spray my face when it's itchy and puffy. Soothes at least for a few minutes and smells good.

Green tea (jasmine if you like it like that) has anti-inflammatory properties and can help to drink it as well as to put the cooled wet teabags on your eyes (mild astringent too). Witch hazel on eyes is also helpful. Alkalizing diet in general to reduce body's inflammatory response; drink plenty of filtered water. Reduce exposure to toxic chemicals in household cleansers, personal care products, any food or foodlike substance that isn't made from scratch, etc.

I have recently started making my own bad-chemical-free household cleansers and using no-bad-chemical shampoo, etc., and can really see a difference. Especially the cleaners, and mine smell so good! Before, I had been using "green" commercial cleaners. Till I started finding out what they don't put on the labels, and the green ink on the label doesn't mean it's as "green" a product as they want you to think.

Hop, they say to think of your allergies like a bucket of water. You can fill a bucket all the way to the top with water (allergens like pollen or allergic foods or irritants like chemicals), and the bucket will not overflow (no symptoms yet). But at some point, when you keep adding one more drop and one more drop, eventually the bucket will overflow (you will have symptoms).

That's why reducing the load of all irritants, toxins, allergens and likely allergens is recommended even though it seems like it's just the pine pollen that's bothering you.

Susan, do you mind sharing your recipe for the cleansers and shampoo? I'd love to try this. I turned green on household cleaners a few years ago and have never purchased the 'green stuff' at the store because of exactly what you state.

My Dr. says the pine pollen molecule is too large to penetrate and cause an allergic reaction......maybe there are different pine molecules? And, shampoo before bed is key. I love keeping my doors and windows open in the Spring and am always doing a great deal more laundry, cleaning, etc.......

I use the Neil Med, too. Skunkape has a point with the squeeze pressure. Instant relief! Happy Spring, everyone!

Susan, do you mind sharing your recipe for the cleansers and shampoo? I'd love to try this. I turned green on household cleaners a few years ago and have never purchased the 'green stuff' at the store because of exactly what you state.

My Dr. says the pine pollen molecule is too large to penetrate and cause an allergic reaction......maybe there are different pine molecules? And, shampoo before bed is key. I love keeping my doors and windows open in the Spring and am always doing a great deal more laundry, cleaning, etc.......

I use the Neil Med, too. Skunkape has a point with the squeeze pressure. Instant relief! Happy Spring, everyone!

Lynnie,

Well, I'm still working on the recipes for the spray cleaners. I followed recipes I found in this whole book about green cleaning, but they don't seem to be quite right yet. Maybe they never will be, without the evil chemicals, or maye our water is too hard, I don't know. For now, it's 2 teaspoons of borax and 1/8 tsp liquid castile soap to a quart of water for an all purpose spray cleaner. (add a few drops of essential oil of your choice for happy smells) Okay for very light cleaning, but the powders work better for heftier grime.

I use baking soda to clean sinks, tubs, showers, toilets, countertops. For tougher stuff like hard water stains, I've had good luck with borax, but use rubber gloves as it is strongly alkaline. Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds is a good concentrated liquid castile soap for house cleaning stuff, and that's what smells so good. Sorta piney-minty.

Mr. C and I use the neti. Jr. Critter prefers the Neil Med squeeze bottle. Both work. Flushing the gunk out prevents it from growing a nasty infection. And yes, evening hair washing helps.

Lynnie, Environmental Working Group has a cosmetics database that ranks products by toxic load. It's not 100% inclusive, but they do have a fair number of products in there. You can search by name or by type: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php.

My favorite online store for supplements and health-related products is Buy Discount Vitamins, Supplements, Low Carb and More at www.Vitacost.com. Kiss My Face olive and aloe soap bar is huge and long-lasting. Working on finding a shampoo that I like. As Susan said, many of the products that purport to be "green" are less so than they advertise. The datebase really helps to differentiate.

Lynnie,

Well, I'm still working on the recipes for the spray cleaners. I followed recipes I found in this whole book about green cleaning, but they don't seem to be quite right yet. Maybe they never will be, without the evil chemicals, or maye our water is too hard, I don't know. For now, it's 2 teaspoons of borax and 1/8 tsp liquid castile soap to a quart of water for an all purpose spray cleaner. (add a few drops of essential oil of your choice for happy smells) Okay for very light cleaning, but the powders work better for heftier grime.

I've been using a mix of borax, Dr. Bronner's lavender castille soap and water as a body scrub and shampoo, my skin LOVES it!

I should've added that my nose cannot tolerate the chlorine in tap water. I use distilled or filtered water for the neti pot. Also, it's best to use non-iodized salt like kosher or sea salt, and either too much or too little may cause a burning sensation. If that's the case the first time you try using a neti pot, don't give up on it. I use about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt to a cup of water, plus a pinch of baking soda. Also, heat the water to warm- about 40 seconds in the microwave seems to be about right. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but the fact the Mr. C and Jr. C - both of whom had to be dragged kicking and screaming into a more holistic lifestyle - actually voluntarily use the neti and recommend it to others, is proof that it works.

I should've added that my nose cannot tolerate the chlorine in tap water. I use distilled or filtered water for the neti pot. Also, it's best to use non-iodized salt like kosher or sea salt, and either too much or too little may cause a burning sensation. If that's the case the first time you try using a neti pot, don't give up on it. I use about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt to a cup of water, plus a pinch of baking soda. Also, heat the water to warm- about 40 seconds in the microwave seems to be about right. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but the fact the Mr. C and Jr. C - both of whom had to be dragged kicking and screaming into a more holistic lifestyle - actually voluntarily use the neti and recommend it to others, is proof that it works.

Do you find the salt packets that Neil Med sells produce a good rinse when combined with distilled water? They purport a 'no burn' experience.

Do you find the salt packets that Neil Med sells produce a good rinse when combined with distilled water? They purport a 'no burn' experience.

I haven't tried them, skunky, but Mr. C and Jr. C both use them with no complaints, so I'm guessing their "no burn" claim is accurate.

I shoot the saline up my nose (about a buck for a bottle at the corner store) for sinus headaches and it's great. I prefer drugs and shots and a really good vacuum cleaner for allergies.

I use nasalcrom when the pollen starts getting really bad. My pulmonologist advised me to "put on my storm windows" to prevent a bad asthma season. Nasalcrom is a non-steroid nasal spray. If I am vigilent with Nasalcrom and asthma meds, I can have a relativley attack free season as long as I put up the windows BEFORE the storm!!!