Sneezing & Wheezing? We’ve got Natural Allergy Tips!

January 25, 2023

By Healthy Child Staff

It’s that time of the year when the weather starts changing, the wind is blowing, and in comes a  gust of allergens - both seasonal and environmental. Whether it’s in our food, on our clothes, or in the products we use, the sheer number of allergens out there can seem positively overwhelming.

To make life a bit easier, our blogger community shared with us their recommendations for how to deal with allergies of all types, from food allergies to those pesky fall sneezing fests.

Seasonal Allergies:

Jessika of JobDescriptionMommy.com writes that most allergy medications only mask the allergy by treating the symptoms, NOT the allergy itself.  She recommends strengthening your defenses before allergies have a chance to set in, or even after you start suffering the end result. 


• Neti Pot: Neti pots are a small Aladdin’s lamp shaped pot that you use to rinse your sinuses with.  Using a little salt in some warm water can rinse pollen from the inside of your nose out, thus lessening the severity of sinus drainage and sneezing.  Neti Pots are inexpensive, and quite popular these days.  Available at most health food stores, and in some more conventional stores and pharmacies.
• Nettle Tea: Nettle, although very irritating to the skin, prevents the body from producing histamines, which are what cause the symptoms of allergies.  I don’t recommend making your own, but buying on line or at a natural food store in bulk if possible seems the way to go.  The warmth of the tea, coupled with the effectiveness of the nettle will relieve allergy symptoms in most people.  Sweeten with some raw local honey to taste.  Also available in  powder to make your own capsules to swallow like vitamins.
• Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar: ACV also blocks your body’s histamine reaction, as well as being an anti-inflammatory.  Take a tablespoon in the morning before venturing outside.  Better yet, a tablespoon in a cup of warm water with some raw local honey and nettle tea….sounds like we just came up with a great allergy reliever!  Add to that some immune system support herbs, and you may not need anything else.

Environmental/Chemical Allergies:

Lori of GroovyGreenLivin.com recommends taking several natural steps toward allergy relief and prevention, such as breast feeding your baby, taking a daily dose of acidophilus, and cutting back on dairy. She also recommends reducing chemical exposure from the follow household products:

• Cleaning products: Make the switch to safe cleaning products. Many conventional cleaning products contain harmful chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, petrochemicals, and VOC’s. Breathing in the fumes from these products is toxic and can complicate allergic reactions.
• Personal care products: Check out all of your personal care products on the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database - it will help you figure out which of your personal care products are toxic and which are safe.
• Lawn care: Chemical weed killers, pesticides, and other lawn care products are not only killing our weeds, they’re and making us sick and killing the earth. Many of the symptoms we attribute to seasonal allergies and asthma could be from a chemical sensitivity to the chemicals lurking in our yards. These toxins are then tracked into our homes and absorbed into our foods.

Food Allergies: 

Charise of IThoughtIKnewMama.com warns about the causes and dangers associated with food allergies. Here are some of the facts she shared:

• In 1994, the FDA and the USDA approved new proteins to be added into our milk supply. All other developed countries said no to adding this protein. Soon after, a new protein was introduced into soybeans.
• Corn began to be genetically engineered so that it could produce its own insecticide internally. Corn was then regulated by the EPA as an insecticide.
• There was ONE human trial to test these genetically engineered foods. It showed a 50% raise in allergies.
• Elevated hormone levels in food are linked to various cancers. Cancer is the leading disease cause of death in children under 15 in the U.S.

What are your favorite tips for dealing with allergies?