It's spring and almost summer! I know in some parts of the West Coast, it is super, super hot. Not here in the Pacific Northwest. We have been having a cold and rainy May. In the Northwest, spring is probably the most frustrating season. The flowers are blooming, and you expect it to start getting warm and you might even get a little bit of a hint of a warm day or two. And then all of a sudden it's just freezing cold and raining again. We call it the second and third winter sometimes. But whether you have hot weather in the spring, or whether you have this super wet spring like we do, I bet you struggle with seasonal allergies. And maybe you have your allergies later in the summer or maybe super early spring, or maybe in the fall. But allergies are something that I think almost every single person I know struggles with.
Try These Natural Solutions if You’re Struggling with Seasonal Allergies
I have one daughter who really struggles with allergies, the other one not so much. My husband really struggles in, whereas my allergies get a lot worse in the later summer because I am allergic to weeds and grasses and where I live, that's when they really become their worst, in the height of summer. As a person who tries to be as natural as possible and not use medications every day, I have relied on some natural ways of dealing with seasonal allergies. And while I'm not going to say that I am totally free from suffering from seasonal allergies, I will say that I do think that they help a bit and that they're a great place to start and at least try:
Exercise. Did you know that exercise can help with allergies?
Acupuncture. If you've never tried acupuncture, I suggest you give it a go. I have done acupuncture in the past and it’s pretty amazing. I've done it for back issues and a shoulder injury and hip pain that have all been helped by acupuncture. Acupuncture really is pretty incredible. I don't even know how to describe it, but when you leave the acupuncturist you leave feeling like you had the best night's sleep of all time, and you feel so zoned out, happy, and rested. It's really such a cool thing. I really need to do it more often, but I don't really have an ailment right now so I haven't done it lately. Really, we should do it all the time just to keep ourselves in a really good chi. I need to go in and see how it can help with allergies.
Neti pot is something that my husband swears by. You need to use a saline solution and distilled or boiled water, not water from the tap! You can get very sick and even die if you do not use clean water with a neti pot. A neti pot helps flush your nasal cavities. It flushes all of those allergens that are stuck in your nose and gets it all out. You can also just use a saline spray, but there's something about using the neti pot that gets it out a little bit better.
Herbal treatments are always a great option to try, including butterbur, quercetin, stinging nettles and black cumin seed oil. If you're curious about how to use those, I am not a medical provider and I'm not providing any medical advice here, these are just natural solutions for seasonal allergies.
Pre- or probiotics There is some research to show that having a healthy gut can improve allergies.
Dust and clean often and make sure that you don't use a feather duster where you’re just spreading the dust everywhere. You want to use something that's actually going to pick up the dust. I like to use a wet cloth. A slightly damp cloth really picks up all of that dust, then you just throw it into the wash and have it clean again in the future. In my opinion, you don't have to use any sort of sprays or any specialty cleaning products, you just need to pick up the dust.
Leave your shoes at your front door. Having a shoe free home is healthier. Especially during allergy season when you could be bringing in allergens along with other dirt and toxins.
Use dust covers for your sheets and your mattresses. Dust covers can really help a lot, especially if you’re allergic to dust. Washing your linens including your pillow frequently can also help.
Herbal teas that are great for allergies include rooibos, ginger, peppermint, lemon balm, licorice, green tea, berry herbal teas and turmeric. So those are some teas that can be helpful.
Take a shower when you come in from being outside. If you’ve been outside and have a major allergy attack, the best thing you can do is take a shower, wash your hair and put your clothes in the wash too.
So those are my tips for really natural solutions if you're struggling with seasonal allergies, if you haven't yet detoxed your daily routines, the toxins in your products could be adding to your seasonal allergy issues because your body is overwhelmed by the number of toxins AND allergens it’s bombarded with. Don’t forget to detox your daily care products, your lotions, your perfumes, your cleansers, your shampoo, all of those things. Your body could be completely inundated by these chemicals and it can impact your allergic response.
I hope that you aren't struggling but if you do need help, reach out to me. You can reach me through DM @themeganmikkelsen and you can send me an email at megan@detox.design. If you have other suggestions for seasonal allergies, I would love to hear them.
