Useful Home Remedies for Allergies

Home remedies for allergies can bring a welcome relief to sufferers without the use of drugs or the risk of side effects.

Every year we dream of spring and warm weather only to remember the dreaded allergy season - this year be prepared with the right home remedies to relieve all of your allergy symptoms.

An allergy is characterized by a reaction to a particular antigen, also referred to as an allergen. An allergen can affect body tissues and mucous membranes either by direct physical contact or by an allergen being introduced to the bloodstream by absorption.

Some of the most common causes of allergic reactions are foods, animal hair, medications, dust, pollen, heat, sunlight, cosmetics and poisonous plants.

When the skin or mucous membranes come in contact with any number of the above agents or when they are absorbed into the bloodstream, a person may experience one or more of the following:

• Coughing
• Wheezing
• Itchy eyes
• Nasal congestion
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Rash or hives
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Swelling
• Nausea

The first step in discovering home remedies for allergies includes identifying what the offending allergen is if this information is not already clearly known. Through trial and error, and eliminating certain factors in a person's environment, an allergen can be isolated and identified. Once identified, the best treatment is avoiding the allergen as much as possible.

Other home remedies for allergies include:

• Ingesting local uncooked raw honey helps build immunity to pollen.

• Fresh ginger also builds immunity to allergens and reduces the amount of histamines released in the body, which cause allergic reactions.

• Drink a mixture of fresh lime juice from a half of a lime and lukewarm water upon rising in the morning for a period of several months. The mixture can be sweetened with honey to make the taste more tolerable. Routinely ingesting this mixture helps rid the body of harmful toxins and acts as an anti-allergen. People with citrus allergies should avoid this treatment, however.

• Juicing 16 ounces of carrot juice with 3 ounces each of cucumber and beet juice and consuming the concoction once per day is an effective home remedy for allergies. Juice fasts, where no other food is consumed, also helps to strengthen resistance to certain allergies.

• After a fresh juice fast of approximately one week, a person should slowly return to a solid diet beginning with nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables for an additional week. After the initial week, other foods can begin to be reintroduced one ingredient at a time while being cautious of potential allergens. If an allergic reaction occurs during the reintroduction period, that food should be immediately withdrawn and replaced with another. Finally, after three to four weeks, meat and proteins can begin to be added to the diet one at a time in this same way. By using this method, allergens can be eliminated while the body strengthens through natural food choices.

• Always avoid foods with preservatives and other additives.

• Unless the allergy is caused by ragweed, Chamomile tea is an excellent natural antihistamine.

• Daily doses of at least 400 mg of Vitamin E acts as a natural allergy remedy.

• Having healthy levels of Folate (a B vitamin) have been shown to reduce allergy symptoms. You can find Folate naturally in asparagus, broccoli and spinach.

• Flushing your sinuses out with a Neti Pot daily with a solution of salt and warm water will eliminate most allergies as well as prevent sinus infections.

• Eyebright
• Fenugreek seed
• Dong Quai
• Holy Basil

In using natural cures and home remedies for allergies, a person can accurately identify the cause of their allergy symptoms and live allergy free without concern about side effects from drugs. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and making healthy choices can enrich a person's overall life at the same time their immune system.