Hay Fever - Share Your Experience

[Kestra]

People tend to grow into allergies, not out of them, sadly.

These days I mostly just stay indoors and avoid allergens where possible since Illinois wants me to die.

But this something I really dislike. I love sitting in the sun and I don't want to be forced to stay inside. Although it's the thing that helps the most.

Oh, I wouldn't recommend it unless absolutely necessary. It's just the only thing that really "works" for me, unfortunately. If it were up to me, I'd be sitting in the grass and eating cantaloupe! Unfortunately that's just not going to happen for me.

Local unpasteurized honey, my friends. You'll find it at your local farmer's market.

The bees collect the allergens and put them in their sweet, sweet honey. You eat a tablespoon a day, and it is like an allergy shot optimized for the local allergens.

This is from someone who had allergies and asthma growing up, and 8 years of allergy shots. And it really, really works.

While there's low risk in trying honey as a "remedy," it hasn't actually been conclusively shown to have benefits to allergy sufferers. Mayo Clinic-Honey Evidence

Can honey lessen seasonal allergy symptoms?

Answers from Brent A. Bauer, M.D.
Probably not. Honey has been anecdotally reported to lessen symptoms in people with seasonal allergies. But these results haven't been consistently duplicated in clinical studies.

Still the idea isn't so far-fetched. Honey has been studied as a cough suppressant and may have anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, some experts point out that honey can contain traces of flower pollen — an allergen. And one treatment for allergies is repeated exposure to small amounts of allergens.

For now, however, it appears that honey may just be a sweet placebo. But don't let that stop you from using it in food and beverages. Just don't give honey to children younger than 1 year because of the risk of infant botulism, a rare but serious form of food poisoning.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/allergies/expert-answers/honey-for-allergies/faq-20057927

Q. Several people have recommended I eat local honey as a remedy for my seasonal allergies. Does it really help?


A. There is a widespread belief that eating local, unprocessed or “raw” honey can help allergy symptoms by regularly exposing you to pollen – not unlike the concept of how allergy shots work. Allergy injections help desensitize pollen-allergic people by exposing them to a specific pollen or pollen mixture injected at regular intervals. An important difference here is that the pollen amounts in allergy injections are known, and progressively increasing to a certain level, for best results. Studies have shown allergy shots are very effective for decreasing seasonal allergy symptoms.

Local, unprocessed honey does contain small amounts of pollen from the environment. The pollen in honey is mostly from the flowers where bees are found (with flowering plant pollen less likely to cause allergy symptoms) and allergenic, airborne pollen from trees, grasses and weeds (not pollinated by bees!) in lesser amounts. Thus, the amount of allergenic pollen in the honey is typically very small, as bees don’t intentionally incorporate this pollen into the honey. This is considered a contaminant, like the bee parts, mold spores, bacteria and other environmental particles that can be found in honey. (Commercial processing seems to remove most pollen and contaminants.)

There is no scientific proof that eating local honey will improve seasonal allergies. One study, published in 2002 in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, showed no difference among allergy sufferers who ate local honey, commercially processed honey, or a honey-flavored placebo. And in rare cases there might actually be a risk. In extremely sensitive individuals, the ingestion of unprocessed honey can result in an immediate allergic reaction involving the mouth, throat, or skin – such as itching, hives or swelling – or even anaphylaxis. Such reactions may be related to either pollen or bee part contaminants.

http://www.unitedallergyservices.com/will-honey-relieve-my-seasonal-allergies/

 

[BillJ]

Four months a year of pure hell here.

 

[dg1379]

I've been popping claritin like candy for a couple weeks now. Grass and tree pollen is incredibly high here.

 

[Owain Taggart]

People tend to grow into allergies, not out of them, sadly.

Guess it must have more to do with the fact that, I would get really bad allergies when I'd visit my grandparents in a different city. I never got it so badly when I was back home, but there was something different about the vegetation there that would really set it off. I spend less time there now, but when I do they're never quite as bad. I guess I must be lucky to be living in a place where things have been fairly neutral.

Although, I was mowing the lawn recently and my sinuses were acting up, to the point of making one of my ears feeling blocked as if it had wax in it. I had a doctor tell me once that using allergy medication can help clear it up.

 

[USS Triumphant]

While there's low risk in trying honey as a "remedy," it hasn't actually been conclusively shown to have benefits to allergy sufferers.

Well, YMMV, but it works for me. And hey - honey.