By Paul Abraham
Following on from last week’s column on hay fever, please find another six natural remedies to help ease your sniffles and watery eyes!
1. Garlic
Increasing your dietary intake of garlic can help boost your body’s immune system, while also acting as a decongestant and helping to alleviate minor hay fever symptoms. It’s also an anti-inflammatory and a good source of quercetin, a natural antihistamine.
When to take: With meals, one or two months before the hay season starts, but most effective when eaten crushed or raw. If you can’t stomach that, try garlic capsules from your local pharmacy.
2. Acupuncture
Research has found that the ancient Chinese medicine of acupuncture can be a natural hay fever remedy, helping to reduce hay fever symptoms, such as a runny nose and itchy eyes, dramatically. Using sterile needles, acupuncture pinpoints specific areas of the body and helps relieve any symptoms caused by current ailments. Studies have shown that acupuncture has a positive effect on alleviating hay fever symptoms.
When to try: Sufferers should have four to six acupuncture sessions before hay fever season starts to see the best results.
3. Self-hypnosis
Recent studies have shown that sufferers trained to use self-hypnosis saw a dramatic reduction in their hay fever symptoms, such as a runny nose and irritated throat. They were taught a special self-relaxation technique and soon noticed less discomfort when the first symptoms of hay fever appeared.
When to try: At the start of the hay fever season.
4. Vaseline
Hay fever sufferers praise Vaseline for being a vital hay fever remedy as soon as the weather begins to warm up. Spreading a thin layer of Vaseline inside the lower nostrils can help combat hay fever and reduce symptoms significantly, as the Vaseline traps pollen entering the nostrils. It effectively blocking the pollen from entering the nasal passages and stops hay fever symptoms from worsening.
When to take: Daily during hay fever season, before leaving the house.
5. Onions
Onion skins are a good source of quercetin, a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory proven to reduce symptoms in hay fever sufferers. Onions contain three times as much quercetin as kale and 10 times as much as broccoli and can be eaten throughout the day in a variety of meals, so they’re one of the easier hay fever remedies to try.
When to take: Daily with meals, although one option suggests you chew raw onions as an alternative – we only recommend this if you’re staying in.
6. Have a shower
While showering, washing your clothes and bedsheets won’t help to prevent hayfever, it’s one of the best way to sooth your symptoms. Pollen gets caught up in our hair and the fibres of our clothes when we leave the house – and especially when we spend time in the outdoors – so washing it all away can stop the sniffles in an instant.
If you’ve been suffering, be sure to follow these handy hay fever remedies, they could make your symptoms more bearable.
More of Paul Abraham’s wellbeing columns can be read here.
