In this article, I am going to explain exactly how I used home remedies for seasonal allergies that has led to a dramatic decrease in the symptoms and suffering for my family.
Although I do plan to explain some of the science behind allergies (for all you nerds out there like me) I do not plan to quote tons of medical journals and research because the medical community had NOTHING to do with my husband’s healing. This information is truly a grass-roots approach and I am providing our personal testimony.
If you have tried everything in the past including working with an allergist without results, or you are tired of going down the path of prescriptions, this post is for you.
One thing I can promise is if you follow my instructions, your allergies will improve.
One thing I cannot promise is overnight healing. That isn’t possible if you are going to uproot years of chronic autoimmune disease which is exactly what allergies are.
We earn commissions through our links. Please read the full disclosure for more info.
I have waited a long time to write this article.
I wanted to write it last year because I was so impressed with my husband’s improvement that I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I know so many people need this information.
I waited because I wanted to be 100% confident that what we are doing is indeed producing results. Afterall, seasonal allergies affect everyone around the globe and the problem is only increasing. (source)
I would hate to get someone’s hopes up only to let them down.
I needed to experience my husband’s continual improvement to be sure this wasn’t a fluke or just a better year as far as pollen goes. I am now confident that our process has resulted in true healing for him.
Why Do Allergies Happen?
Allergies are an inappropriate and overexaggerated immune response to a something in the environment.
It all starts when our immune cells encounter a substance like pollen or grass and mislabel it as a dangerous invader. Subsequently, they develop antibodies against it via immunoglobulin E.
The next time the body encounters that substance, IgE is there waiting, ready to attack, releasing a cascade of inflammatory agents.
One of the chemicals released is histamine. Histamine is responsible for the unpleasant symptoms of allergies: the sneezing, itchy/watery eyes, runny nose, and stuffy head.
In order to stop allergies, we need to get rid of histamine.
The Conventional Approach to Allergies
Conventional medicine tells us to take drugs like Claritin®. These bind with histamine receptor sites (H1-receptors) which are all over the body, and therefore block the effects of histamine.
In this model, histamine is still around. Your body is still triggered by the allergen and still goes through the inappropriate immune response, it’s just the histamine can’t bind with the receptor site so you won’t feel the negative effects.
That seems ok except when you look at the list of side effects from these medications it’s hard not to wonder what is worse.
Another problem with this logic is that we are setting ourselves up to be constantly dependent on this medication to function.
The Healing Approach
It seems to me a better option would be to somehow retrain the immune system to understand that pollen, grass, dog hair, (whatever it is that triggers your allergies) is not the enemy.
Anytime I think about healing, the first thing that comes to mind is the wise words from the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates.
“Let thy food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food“
Hippocrates believed the body should be treated as a whole and with the natural healing process of rest, a good diet, fresh air, and cleanliness.
Treating the body as a whole is the exact opposite of using a medication to target a single chemical pathway of the body.
It is in this ancient wisdom that gives us the first step toward healing from allergies…healing the body as a whole.
That is the commitment we will make and what it will take to become allergy free.
We have come a long way since 460 BC and so the next thing we are going to learn the role our gut plays in the allergy problem and our healing.
The Role of the Gut Microbiome and the Immune System
So far, we know this…
Allergies = Dysfunctional Immune System
Over the counter meds block H1 receptors = Temporary covers up of the problem by blocking one chemical pathway
Healing = Reprograming the immune system
Over the past decade, the Human Microbiome Project has made outstanding strides in understanding the role of the trillions of microorganisms that symbiotically colonize us.
To take a direct quote from Gut Microbes journal…
“The gut microbiota that resides in the gastrointestinal tract provides essential health benefits to its host, particularly by regulating immune homeostasis. Moreover, it has recently become obvious that alterations of these gut microbial communities can cause immune dysregulation, leading to autoimmune disorders.“
This means that the microbes that live in our gut play a KEY role in communicating with our immune system. Our immune system literally needs these little guys to tell them what to do.
Our gut microbiome has evolved with the human species very slowly over time but within the past 100 years, the food we consume has gone from this…
To this…
We’re trapped in Stone Age bodies in a fast-food world.
It is no wonder we all have jacked up guts and allergies are on the rise, eating lifeless food like that.
Diet and Allergies
The first place to start when healing from allergies is to heal your gut.
I wrote an entire post about how to do this so I am not going to go super in depth here but I do want to mention a few things.
If you are addicted to processed food then the first place to start in your healing journey is to simply ADD IN more healthy whole foods.
I always recommend staring here because it is easier to add than to take away.
Start with making your own bone broth from grassfed beef bones and drink a cup a day.
I also like to start my day drinking hot water with lemon and apple cider vinegar to help my digestion.
I know this was a pivotal part of the process for my husband’s healing and we started with simply adding in more bone broth and other healing foods to his diet.
Healing foods
- Grassfed meats and organs
- Wild caught fish
- Backyard garden
- Organic/local produce
- Soaked/sprouted/fermented ancient grains
- Cod liver oil
- Soaked/pressure cooked legumes
- Non-inflammatory oil (olive, coconut, avocado, ghee)
Another key part is to avoid immune-triggering foods for a period of time like gluten and dairy.
You can still enjoy some bread but try to only eat sourdough bread made from ancient grains. This type of bread is fermented so the large gluten molecules are broken down into easier-to-digest bits.
The only dairy I would eat when you are trying to heal is raw grassfed dairy. This can be hard to find in many states but some grocery stores carry raw grassfed cheeses.
Trust me when I say, we still enjoy a good ole burger and fries, but more often we try to make it at home with meat we have vetted and cooked ourselves.
You will never be able to completely heal from allergies if you don’t heal your gut.
Definitely check out this post for an in depth guide on how to work on your gut health.
Replenishing the Microbiome with Probiotics
The earth has an abundance of microbes that inhabit it, way more than what colonizes us humans.
Eating raw, fresh produce or foraged food is one of the ways we have replenished our microbiome for years.
Over the past 50 years, monoagriculture (growing the same foods over and over) and the use of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides are destroying the earth’s once abundantly diverse biome.
This means that even when we are eating from our very own garden we still aren’t getting the variety of species our body once had access to.
It is really important to do something everyday that replenishes your microbiome whether that be getting outside in the dirt, hiking in the woods, swimming in the ocean, or taking a probiotic.
A couple years ago, we found a liquid probiotic grown in an organic, nonGMO sugar molasses medium. It comes to your door still alive, feeding, and producing the valuable prebiotics that are so important for cell signaling.
FIY when you buy a probiotic capsule, you don’t get any of the metabolites.
My whole family takes the probiotic Flourish on a regular basis.
When we first started it, we noticed a major change in our gut. There was definitely some die-off that happened which caused a change in our bowel movements.
It wasn’t pretty at first but now we just take a spoonful a couple times a week and have no issues.
The best part about this probiotic, is it is pretty cheap. One $30 bottle lasts my family around 3 months so it really isn’t a huge investment for our health.
Home Remedies for Seasonal Allergies
Healing the gut and retraining the immune system is a lifelong process but it does work and it will help your allergies get better!
Now I am going to go through the home remedies we use through every allergy season.
Classical Homeopathy for Allergies
We started using homeopathy almost three years ago when both my husband and son got the flu. We actually managed the flu completely at home using these powerful little remedies.
When allergy season rolled around, my husband reached for Claritin® and I asked him if he would be willing to try homeopathy instead. I am so glad he agreed.
That whole first allergy season, we searched through the book The Family Guide to Homeopathy, to find the remedy that suited his symptoms.
Depending on what was going on with him at the time would dictate what remedy he took.
One of his main complains has always been that his eyes are on fire. We read the description of the remedy Euphrasia 6C, “Thick, burning discharge from eyes that are very swollen. Symptoms worse indoors.“
That seemed to fit his symptom profile so he took a dose.
A “dose” of homeopathy is one single sugar pellet. You need to hit the vial on the palm of your hand before you dispense one tablet. This is to redistribute the energy.
I realize that sounds strange if you aren’t familiar with homeopathy, but trust me, it works!
Sometimes his allergies would call for a different remedy.
He often took Dulcamara 6C for constant sneezy, eyes swollen and watery, made worse from being in damp environments or outdoors.
As we went through that first allergy season using homeopathy, we constantly referred to our homeopathy book.
My husband reported mild improvement in his symptoms after 1-2 doses. Between homeopathy and rinsing his eyes and nostrils, we made it through the season only using Claritin® once when we were at a friend’s house and forgot his remedy.
Banerji Protocol
The second allergy season, my husband’s allergies seemed to come back but they were a little milder than the previous year.
He once again used homeopathy but this time he had more experience so was more familiar on which remedies worked for him.
I was first introduced to the Banerji Protocols by the homeopath Joette Calabrese’s podcast.
The Drs. Banerji are Indian homeopaths that have well established protocols for all sorts of disease.
The second season, we tried their Allergic Rhinitis protocol. He took Calcarea Carbonica 1M in liquid, once a week for 4 to 6 weeks and Arsenicum Album 6C for acute allergy attacks.
We hoped that this protocol would do more to uproot his allergies.
We obviously DIYed my husband’s allergy treatment but I am sure you could get results quicker working with a homeopath.
Most homeopaths recommend getting professional treatment for chronic illnesses due to the fact that as you treat a chronic illness, other problems can show up along the way as you uproot the illness.
Hering’s Laws of Cure states that homeopathy heals…
1. from the top to the bottom
2. from the inside out
3. from the most vital organs to the least
4. in the reverse order in which it occurred
How to get started with homeopathy for allergies
We are now in the third season of using only homeopathy for allergy medicine. I took this picture the other day when I was out for a walk with my son.
It seems all the trees decided to open up at once. I wondered how my hubs was doing and I am super pleased to report his eyes aren’t red this year.
In fact, he hasn’t needed much homeopathy at all compared to the previous two years.
I wanted to share this news with you so you can understand that he had to endure some suffering in order to get this place.
If he had thrown in the towel a few years ago when the remedies didn’t provide 100% immediate relief, we would never be where we are today.
I just want you to have some realistic expectations of this process with the understanding that it does work if you keep trying!
So where to start if you have never used homeopathy before…
1) Start with grabbing the Family Guide to Homeopathy book so you have a reference at all times. You can get a starter kit of homeopathic remedies if you want or just buy the individual remedies as you need them.
You can get them in lots of places but I tend to shop at Amazon or at Whole Foods.
2) Work on cleaning up your diet and decreasing your stress. I know this is easier said than done but the goal is to heal the whole body. The allergies will follow suit.
3) Lastly, during allergy season, it is helpful to rinse your nasal passages with a neti pot and wipe your eyes with a cool wet washcloth. You want to remove the pollen from your mucous membranes as much as possible to lower your suffering while you are working with your body to heal.
This is so important because if you give up and use the over the counters, you are also suppressing your healing and the process will take even longer.
Conclusion
In a lot of my posts, I list out specific remedies to take. I decided not to do that with this post because your allergy treatment is going to be so individualized and there are literally dozens of remedies that could be appropriate for you.
I sincerely hope you give homeopathy a chance and if you have any specific questions, feel free to leave me a comment below.
The last three years has resulted in immense healing for my husband and I don’t doubt that one day he will be 100% allergy-free and remedy-free.
This is the first season that he’s reported his allergies aren’t hardly bothering him so I decided it was time to tell our story in hopes it will help someone else.
I wish you all the health going forward.
