Over the counter (OTC) remedies (and some herbals) to help you in the Spring.
The spring time allergy season is upon us again.
Even though it was a winter for the history books, with long bitter cold periods, the suffering may still be considerable due to the accumulated moisture, etc.
There are a couple of suggestions that we might make.
- Allium cepa 8x –
for runny nose and watery, itchy eyes (similar to the symptoms you might get when cutting onions)
- Arsenicum metallicum 6x –
if the discharges are accompanied by a burning sensation
- Berberis vulgaris 6x –
if you suffer of swollen, congested nasal passages (especially in the presence of polyps).
- Histaminum hydrochloricum 30x –
lessens the allergic reaction in general and could be combined with any other remedy.
- Mercurius 30x–
whenever there is a lot of mucous production, cough, copious runny nose, etc.
Also: herbal supplements!
In terms of natural ingredients it is surprising how effective the frankincense spice could be! It is also known as boswellia, and its most active ingredient is the so called AKBA.
Probably breathing in the vapors of frankincense at the altar alone will not do the trick, but properly prepared and taken as a nutritional supplement, it could be a godsend.
Here is some of the evidence that it may help. Research, on both animals and in humans, has shown that boswellia extracts, taken frequently throughout the day, improved the frequency and severity of all those physiological functions that ultimately lead to the well known allergic symptoms: boswellia lowered eosinophilic counts, reduced mast cell degranulation, lessened shortness of breath, and increased pulmonary function, such as an increase in FEV 1 and FVC.
It goes without saying that the organism as a whole can be helped by lowering dairy, gluten and spice intake.
A very interesting attempt can also be made with a new suggestion that we would like to make: drink daily for the duration of the season a sugar free lemonade with quince added! It is not just the additional vitamin C that will help, but rather specifically the living forces that are manifested in those fruits: the hard leathery rind and the sour taste indicate that very profound structural forces are inherent in these plants. They counteract the dispersing gesture of the allergy. (If you don’t have time to regularly make a fresh lemonade, you might also want to have a look at a production that contains both lemon and quince, for example,True Botanica’s Sinus Plus.)