Hay Fever

[Fae Oonagh]

Herbal Home Remedies For Hay Fever Relief
What Is Hay Fever

Hay fever is the name given to pollen allergy. Other terms for hay fever include "seasonal allergic rhinitis" or "pollinosis." If you have hay fever, you are not alone. An estimated 26.1 million Americans have hay fever symptoms each year. 14.6 million Americans have asthma, which can often accompany hay fever.

Herbal home remedies for hay fever
Several studies have shown that bioflavonoids-substances from plants that help maintain cellular health-help the body utilize vitamin C more effectively.

After the morning and evening meals, take one pantothenic acid tablet (50 milligrams [mg]) and one vitamin C tablet (500 mg) along with a bioflavonoid-a grapefruit, orange, a few strawberries, grapes or prunes. If you don't want the whole fruit, take a teaspoon of grated orange or lemon peel sweetened with a little honey. This remedy has been said to have brought relief to many hay fever sufferers.
To subdue the symptoms of hay fever, folk medicine practitioners often suggest that their patients smoke coffee grounds in a pipe and inhale the smoke.
To relieve hay fever, mince the peels and white inner rinds of grapefruits and lemons (preferably organic) and simmer them with a small amount of water in a covered pot for about 10 minutes. Sweeten the mixture with honey, if you like, and eat one teaspoon three times a day.
Steep 1 tsp. fenugreek seed in 1 cup water, covered, for 10 minutes. Drink 1 cup a day to help hay fever symptoms.
Hay Fever Prevention
The US Army tested honeycomb as a desensitizing and antiallergenic substance for hay fever. Their results were very encouraging, especially those from subjects who chewed the honeycomb.

Start this regime about two months before hay fever season. By the time the season rolls around, the honeycomb may have helped you build an immunity to the pollen in your area. (You can also chew a bite-sized chunk of honeycomb at the stan of a hay fever attack.)

It's important to find a beekeeper in your vicinity and get local honeycomb. For prevention, chew a 1-inch square of it twice a day. The honey is delicious, and the comb pan turns into a ball of wax. Chew the wax for about 10 to 15 minutes, then spit it out.

If you don't have access to a local bee­keeper, look for honeycomb at your neighbor­hood health food store. Hopefully, it's from your neck of the woods.

CAUTION: People who are allergic to bee stings or honey should consult a doctor before chewing honeycomb.

Starting three months before hay fever sea­ son, drink 1 cup of fenugreek-seed tea each day. The tea is available at health food stores. This remedy goes back to the ancient Egyptians and forward to Armenian mountaineers who drink 1 cup of fenugreek tea before each meal to clear and stimulate their senses of smell and taste.