Hayfever - help the natural way!

Here are things I have learned about hayfever which have helped me and I am now mostly symptom free.

 

I developed hay fever symptoms after getting Hep B vaccine (I had to have it to work as a carer) I was so bad it even kept me in bed.  Homeopathy helped a lot by getting rid of the side effects of the vaccine first then I got given a remedy specific to me. I still had to use most of the tips below to really clear it.

 

Watch you food: cow's milk and cheese are catarrh forming so cut them as much you can, (watch out for those tempting ice creams on sunny days! make some lollies from fruit smoothies instead (much better for your immune system too) You can use rice, almond, hazelnut oat milk which are now widely available in supermarkets. Wheat and soya can be problematic too so reduce these. 

If you have some nettle tea, make up a strong tea, as it helps has anti-histamine properties and you can or add a little lemon juice (cleansing) and honey (local if possible) and drink it. You can use young nettles in cooking - great for soup - (very similar to spinach)- remember to use rubber gloves to prepare them.

Avoid the caffeine, alcohol  and refined sugars as they trigger histamine release.

For the sore, itchy throat, here is what I do: A cup of hot apple juice (made with concentrated apple juice from my local health food store) with 1/2 a tea spoon of my spice mixture (This is pre mixed in a spice jar ready for use- 1ts of ground ginger, 1 of ground clove and 2 of ground cinnamon mix ready for use) stir and cuddle up somewhere comfy and rest.

To help balance the immune system: take Echinaforce (echinacea in liquid form from A.Vogel) especially if you are prone to colds and flue the rest of the year.  Bee propolis is good to take.

If it goes to your chest and you are coughing then you can also take Ivy thyme complex from the same company) Also read my earlier blog on clearing catarrh

For the runny nose you can take Luffa Complex by the same company.

All 3 can be taken with water together if necessary.

For the itchy eyes you can bathe them (with a clean egg cup if you don't have an eye bath)with cooled boiled water with a little bicarbonate soda added. Luffa complex mentioned above is also helpful for itchy eyes.

Read more on hayfever.

To tackle the root cause of the imbalance, you may want to consider what is irritating/ stressing you. You may find it is something you can't do much about (having to care for elderly parents, a situation at work) but you can still reduce the pressure you feel by checking in with yourself to see what would help ease this and do you best to state your needs clearly. (Make sure it is YOUR need, not what you want others to do, it is up to them how they respond to your need for example, I need to feel more supported- I need to rest -have a holiday...not I need you to cook dinner for me, do more round the house....- for more help with this find out about Marshall Rosenberg's Non Violent Communication or NVC)

Even if there is nothing you can do to change the situation, you can change how you view/perceive it. We often feel stressed because we feel out of control. In fact if you think about the situation you will realise that you are choosing to be there for some reason, often because not being there seems worse - putting parents into a care home , being out of work for example. By accepting that you have some choice in the matter can reduce your stress levels.

You might find having a good scream in a pillow and beating it (or beat the punch bag at the gym while thinking of your stressful situation) can help you release that frustration - better out than in.

If this isn't enough to create a shift then EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing- helps to reframe your situation and give you perspective. You can also watch these videos of how EMDR works on my channel playlist . 

Your body is letting you know something is out of balance so take more time to listen to it. We often spend too much time doing, not enough time being, resting, contemplating our achievements or just being grateful.  Allow yourself to be! Read more about stress and its effects

If none of this has helped, alternative therapies for you to consider are Homoeopathy, Acupuncture, Kinesiology or BodyTalk

I hope these help and please share what works for you and let me know if you would like to use EMDR to reduce your stress levels.

Get rid of catarrh with a bottle of water and a straw! Easy tip

I have been looking after my mother since she broke her hip skiing.
After my first night there, she had been coughing during the night, and woke complaining that she had a lot of catarrh stuck at the back of her nose and throat. When she blew her nose it had no effect.

I decided to test one of the exercises I had seen, while I was training as a nurse. This was used in the hospital by the physiotherapists for post-operative care to reduce the risk of lung infections.

It consists of a large bottle almost full of water and a pipe. The best I could do to replicate this was a 2 L bottle of water and a straw. I gave it to my mother and said: breathe in through your nose, then blow out through the straw that is as deep in the water as possible. Do this about 10x3 times a day.

That night I notice she had not been coughing much. When I got to see her in the morning she declared the catarrh had cleared.

The reason this works is because your body produces catarrh to fight chronic hyperventilation which occurs when most of the breathing is done through the mouth rather than the nose. Breathing against the pressure of the water also ensures the lungs function better.

This particular practice along with square breathing (as described in my blog about sleep) is also helpful for conditions such as asthma and other chest complaints. Cutting down on cow's milk and taking garlic are also helpful. For chesty coughs then Bronchosan A Vogel remedy is also helpful

To find out more about how breathing affects many aspects of your health, you can also learn about the Buteyko method. 

If you have any other tips for breathing then please share them in the comment box, thank you.