Allergies are driving me crazy!

Owl
Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭
edited November 2020 in General Health

I have never had issues with allergies until this year. I’m 56 years old and thought I was home free on the familial allergies. I’m not exposed to anything new that I’m aware of. It’s so bad I went to the local doc and he said there’s no infection. I’ve been using goldenrod tincture and basil tincture but it’s still awfully intrusive. I don’t know what else to do...

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Comments

  • Ethereal Earth
    Ethereal Earth Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    Stinging Nettle is great for allergies. Eating local raw honey and bee pollen is also supposed to help prevent allergies. You may also want to look into a neti pot to clear out any gunk in your sinuses if that is an issue.

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    I forgot to put that one down but I’ve been using nettle tincture too. I just started it on Saturday but nothing seems to make much difference. I’m frustrated!

  • If you have environmental allergies instead of food allergies, then I have found a great deal of success and relief in using a nasal rinse. It feels terrible for the five seconds you are doing it, but then the hours of not sneezing afterwards more than make up for it in my opinion.

    For decades I used neti pots, but in the last few years I've found more relief from a plastic squeeze bottle made by a company called NeilMed. Most allergy doctors will have a cupboard full of these and will give you one for free if you ask. If not, they are less than ten dollars to buy.

    I save money by making my own nasal rinse solution. The recipe I use is the one recommended by the American Academy of Allergies, Asthma and Immunology, so it is medically approved:

    Make sure you watch a video on Youtube on how to use it. You need to stand over a sink at a certain angle, and the salt water goes into your nose and comes out of your mouth. It burns like crazy and definitely feels awful, but wow, does it ever give relief to me from allergy pain and sneezing. It's a cheap or even free (if you can get one from a doctor) thing to try, so you don't have much to lose.

    Good luck, and I hope you get some relief!

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    Thank you both! I use a saline nose spray twice a day with colloidal silver but I’ve not tried a good flushing out. My worst symptoms are at bedtime when I lean back and read so this could well be the answer to my prayers.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Owl l wonder if something in your environment has changed recently? Did you move to a new house, buy new furniture? Did you perhaps have a water leak in your house that may have created mold? Is there a new cell tower nearby?

    All of the above have been cited as a source of allergies. I would investigate any changes, because to develop allergies at your age is unusual.

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    That’s what I thought but nothing has changed. It’s weird!

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Owl Review your body care and cleaning products for changes. Maybe a formula change is causing your system to react. Food might do it too.

  • smik123
    smik123 Posts: 60 ✭✭✭

    I agree with the local honey. For now I would try some hot water in a bowl and a couple of drops of peppermint oil and then inhale the vapors to clear your sinuses. Also, I usually find that eating fresh pineapple helps cut the mucous in the back of my throat.

  • annbeck62
    annbeck62 Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭✭

    Growing up I never had allergies. After college I moved to Florida and developed severe allergies. I had to take overdose on over the counter meds to get relief but then that knocked me out. I sought out an allergist got tested. He said that mine were some of the worst he'd seen. I was on 3 shots twice a week for ten years with no improvement. At that point he told me that the therapy wasn't going to work for me and discontinued my shots. That's when I found out about the holistic way. I always ate healthy compared to the general population but I started juicing, eating a lot more greens and raw living foods in my diet and did a liver and colon cleanse. I rapidly started having improvement. Gradually over the years I went gluten and dairy free now my allergies are almost non-existent. Not saying it was easy but for me the radical lifestyle change has been worth it cause of how bad mine were

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    Annbeck, that’s wonderful! I went refined gluten and refined sugar free and stopped all “vegetable” oils and got my brain back. I went from bed/wheelchair to active/busy and lost 62# and counting. Unfortunately, I also developed neuropathy and now allergies. I’m all about the healthy diet and lifestyle and grow a lot of my own food. I have done a couple of elimination diets that showed nothing of interest but I have discovered that I can eat organic flour without an issue. I limit it drastically but it doesn’t cause me any problems.

    I have 2 cell towers within a half mile. I raise my own bees and definitely eat honey but I could definitely stand to do that more regularly.

    Thanks for all the great ideas, you guys are awesome!

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    Are any of you familiar with boiron histaminum? Someone recommended it and I have ordered some. I’m sincerely praying that it makes a difference, I do not want to have to live on diphenhydramine!

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    Try a low-histamine diet. Some foods that are otherwise healthy can be high in histamine, like spinach (though boiling spinach removes a lot of the histamine). Avocado toast? High histamine. You can find plenty of lists online of what to reduce or avoid.

  • Amrik
    Amrik Posts: 9 ✭✭✭

    Essential oils are good way to combat allergies. Always dilute them first to concentrations of 0.5%, 1% or 2%. Patch test with individual oils to your skin for sensitivity. If you are diffusing them you can use distilled water to dilute them. If applying them on skin you can use carrier oil like organic coconut oil to dilute them. Lavender, Peppermint, Lemon and Cannabis oils are good for allergies. Lavender is best. You can make use of Eucalyptus oils to clear sinuses, it will make you breath easier. Caution: Never use Essential oils as such, because they are too much concentrated and will burn your skin. Trying is the best way to know if they are suitable for you.

  • MelissaLynne
    MelissaLynne Posts: 205 ✭✭✭

    Regarding histamines in foods, they increase as food ages, ripens, etc. if you are really sensitive to histamines leftovers should also be avoided. Refrigerating foods promptly helps slow the development of histamines, but doesn’t stop it.

  • KimWilson
    KimWilson Posts: 197 ✭✭✭

    Have you tried Brigham tea?

  • erikawinterton
    erikawinterton Posts: 98 ✭✭✭

    I have done several biofeedback scans for allergies. They are so accurate. That might help narrow down the cause.

    Sometimes you might have a histamine overload from other things such as sugar, stress, and other environments toxins.


    A cleanse would be a good place to start, but make sure to be under professional supervision.


    If it persists you might look into trying some essential oils, a blend of legendary, peppermint, and lemon.

  • Cornelius
    Cornelius Posts: 872 ✭✭✭✭

    If you use a neti pot make sure to sterilize the water first by boiling, otherwise you can make yourself sick. From the sound of it something in your environment changed and I personally would do a sweep around the house for any water damage that might have caused mold. I hope you start feeling better!

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    More great advice! Thanks so much! I have never heard of Brigham tea but I’ll look it up. I have a fused neck so using a neti pot is problematic. I have a new greenhouse and planted some herbs I had never grown before like calendula, yarrow and snapdragons. The snapdragons are blooming and smell lovely but I think they are the culprit. Could be the cosmos or zinnias, who knows....

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @Owl Maybe it is an allergy to Asteraceae plants. Calendula and Yarrow are both Asteraceae. At least one variety of Yarrow is known as Sneezewort. Cosmos and zinnia are also Asteraceae. Has the histaminum arrived yet?

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    Torrey, I got the histaminium last week but it doesn’t seem to make any difference at all. It’s all so weird because I have never had allergies before and it doesn’t seem to matter if I’m somewhere else. I have heavy metal issues so I keep as toxin free house as is humanly possible, living with a husband and grown son who couldn’t care less about such things. I take pectasol most days for that and sweat at least 30 minutes most days. Other that those things, plus all the regular vegetables in my garden that are not new to me, nothing has changed. This constant irritation in my throat has gone on for over a month now. I went to a doctor to make sure it wasn’t anything nasty and it’s not so I’m completely stumped. Goldenrod tincture helps with congestion but my throat is just irritated all the time and ramps up when I lay back in bed to read at night.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @Owl Sorry to hear that the histaminum didn't work. However, I'm sure that if you saw a homeopath and did the full homeopathic interview and work up, that they would be able to get to the root issue and find a remedy that would work for you.

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    Perhaps I’ll visit my DO and get her input. I’m going to harvest some stinging nettle and see if it has any effect on it today. I sure do appreciate you and your input. I’m very new to homeopathy and have much to learn.

  • Helen South Australia
    Helen South Australia Posts: 42 ✭✭✭

    Have you tried using a plain saline nasal spray containing only salt and water? I took antihistamine tablets each allergy season for a number of years, then tried a plain saline nasal spray and have not taken a tablet for 2 years.

  • JaneMcTavish
    JaneMcTavish Posts: 26 ✭✭✭

    First of all Thank you for loads of ideas and information. I had no, NO allergies until I somehow had Encephalitis. Since I have several, all nightshades (loved tomatoes), all dairy, and citrus. This year seems especially bothersome. I'm avoiding all the known foods and plants but from reading here, my spinach smoothies just might be part of the problem along with my avocado habit. I guess an elimination challenge is in order. And quite possibly more! Thank you again.

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    I’m finding that tomatoes are not my friends anymore too and it breaks my heart! The garden is yielding loads of them and they are causing problems but I haven’t given them up...yet. My husband cut down my goldenrod patch with the bush hog so now I’ll be foraging for enough for us and several friends who are hooked on the tincture. It has been somewhat miraculous for several of them but doesn’t seem to affect whatever is going on with me.

  • aurora.rebecca
    aurora.rebecca Posts: 62 ✭✭✭

    @Owl concerning nettle, you’re supposed to begin to use it 1 month before allergy season, so this may be why you aren’t experiencing relief. If I am surprised by allergies (this year allergy season was later than usual and my nettle intake had dropped) I drink elderflower tea, and also up my intake of turmeric. I recently read the Everlasting has anti-allergic properties and have begun to use it’s leaves as a spice for my savory dishes.

    Concerning your throat does it feel itchy at the back?

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2020

    @Owl Oh the great mysteries of life. When we were young, we grew out of allergies. As the merry-go-round slows, we seem to grow into them. What changes? We are exposed, mentally and physically, to many things that our bodies like, dislike or couldn't care less about. What can we do to control it? Can we even control it?

    There are theories that our gut microbiome controls our resistance/flexibility to outside influences/allergies. Some of us, for instance, are full of magnesium and may not be bothered by nightshades. Once our supply dips from being used by 200 or so daily processes, we may experience aches and pains, sleeplessness or migraines. Then, the little buggers in our guts do things on their own to solve their lack of the necessary nutrient without asking our permission and they don't leave a record in our health charts telling us what they did. Our great living chemistry set has run amuck - or so it seems.

    My husband used to sneeze and blow his nose a lot. One thing he noticed was that when he stopped ingesting dairy (like so many of us have tried), he was better. One thing that I noticed was that his allergy flared up when he was asked to do something he didn't want to do. Psychosomatic sneezing? Can one really create an earth shattering proboscal blast because they just might have to leave the man cave? The short answer is YES! Thoughts can cause the chemistry in your gut to do flip flops and rearranges the status quo.

    Did stress induce a nutrient deficiency which was the catalyst for his allergic reaction? Is the dust mite Death Star under the bed getting to him? Is there an unknown culprit lerking behind/in the food? Will he breath in a hidden enemy? Yep, you betcha to all of the above. I reluctantly/stubbornly changed my hubby expectations which changed his sternutation frequency. He's a great chap and we both learned a bit about ourselves.

    My point is not to offend/belittle those with allergies or to offer every possible diagnoses (which would be illegal here), but to encourage out of the box thinking about them. Try searching "NAET Allergies", "spiritual meaning allergies" and/or "gut microbiome allergies" for something to chew on while trying to stay cool this summer.

  • Owl
    Owl Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    Frogvalley, I know healing my gut stopped the constant cycle of infections but I had never thought of it as being responsible for my allergy symptoms. Definitely something to think about. As for the possibility of a psychosomatic response, I suppose anything is possible but I don’t really have much of anything I have to do that I don’t want to. I guess I’m really blessed in that way. I have a genetic disorder of the collagen that prevents me from doing a lot of things I used to so I putter around and “work” my little homestead in 30 minute slices. I attend daily Mass at my local parish and spend a good bit of time each day in prayer and feel completely at peace , finally. I spent many years in self destruct mode after a very traumatic childhood.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Mom mom has had runny eyes and nose for a few years. Lately its been worse.

    Two days ago I talked her in to trying a cup of peppermint tea. About an hour later, she told me her eyes has stopped running. Two days, going on three and no issues.

    She loves her peppermint tea

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Denise Grant It is my understanding that drought conditions are making allergies worse in my area. (And I thought my allergies were bad at my old house!)

    I intend to try the peppermint tea. Thanks for the idea.