Speaking to many people in the last month it seems that many of us have experienced an increase in hay fever like symptoms, which seems a little prolonged this year, some think it is down to a mixture of the lockdown and being sedentary for several weeks whilst others are just unsure and think it may be down to them cutting the grasses because of lockdown, whatever it may be it can be a big problem for sufferers and I decided to talk about it this month, I hope these tips ease your symptoms if you are a sufferer.
Symptoms of hay fever can vary from puffy, itchy, watering eyes to continual sneezing and a runny or congested nose. Hay fever is sometimes confused with a condition called allergic or perennial rhinitis, as the symptoms are similar to those who suffer hay fever, the difference being allergic rhinitis lasts all year round. Common causes of allergic rhinitis include dust, food allergies and atmospheric pollution. Many people with hay fever and allergic rhinitis are also likely to have a sensitivity to certain foods, the most common being wheat and potentially dairy produce.
Helpful tips to ease the symptoms
Reduce your intake of salt, caffeine and alcohol.
Too much sugar greatly lowers the immune system so reduce foods high in sugar like desserts and sweets.
While symptoms are bad avoid milk in any form for at least a week, milk and other dairy products like cheese and chocolate are very mucous forming which won’t help the cause at all. Also avoid food high in saturated fats such as croissants, pastries, cakes and biscuits.
Citrus fruits can also worsen symptoms, especially oranges.
Stay hydrated (here I go again harping on about drinking the water!) but I can’t stress enough how good drinking water is for the body. In allergy sufferers’ researchers have found that people who are dehydrated suffer more than those who stay hydrated.
Eat more garlic and onions in your foods when symptoms are unbearable, these foods are high in the flavonoid quercetin, which can help reduce the severity of symptoms.
Include plenty of fresh vegetables (and think organic only, non-organic can be sprayed over 25 times with pesticides) also include brown rice and whole grains in your diet.
Next year (if it is definitely seasonal hay fever you experience) before the season kicks in buy a pot of honey, preferably with the honeycomb still in it, a client told me there is a man at the lemon tree market who sells it with the honeycomb, and take a dessert spoon full daily for about 2 month. The pollen in the honey may protect you from full blown hay fever.
Some essential oils are also very good, like basil and Melissa are great for clearing the sinuses, place a few drops on a tissue to inhale or mix some drops in a carrier oil such as almond or grapeseed and massage the oils into the chest.
Invest in a good quality ionizer and leave it near your bed to help reduce any allergens.
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