After my immune system got compromised in 2011, my allergy levels went off the charts. My IGE blood work was always greater than 1000 (normal range is 0-200) , I had a constant headache and a stuffy nose. I shuffled around from different doctors waiting rooms and somehow the top 3 doctors in Delhi were all giving the same prescription: An anti-allergy at night (Allegra/Montair/ Xyzal) plus a steroid nasal spray (Avamys/Nasonex/Flonase). Whenever I’d ask for how long I was supposed to do both, I was usually told that allergies are for life and packed off for their next patient to come in and go through the same motion.
Here’s where things changed, two years into this treatment, I refused to make this a lifelong issue, and went deep inside the Internet rabbit hole to read about people who cured their allergies, naturally. I also began reading medical journals and study reports to see if there was any conclusive evidence to support those natural ancient remedies.
Here’s what I learned:
Allergies are very bio-individual. What is triggering your histamine response, may not necessarily trigger mine. What will work for one person wasn’t working for the other either. But there are definite natural cures for allergy relief that have been passed down via generations and lots of medical journals run studies to check for their efficacy. You might just have to try all of them to figure out which one works for you.
Allergies occur when the immune system overreacts to a normally harmless substance, such as pollen, dust mites, a food group. The first thing you should check is your IGE level in blood work. And the next step that might help is to identify your allergy trigger. One simple way is to eliminate all allergen heavy foods to uncover food allergies. Top triggers are lactose, gluten, nuts and shellfish. If you’re still feeling the same despite removing food triggers, we might be looking at indoor or outdoor air allergies – dust mites, insects, pollen, dander. There is a simple blood test known as the allergy panel test, to know what is causing this allergy, please get it done.
The immune system overreaction can result in symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, wheezing, itchy eyes, runny nose, sore or hoarse throat, difficulty breathing, sinus congestion, excessive drowsiness or low energy, headache, facial swelling, skin rashes or hives, itching and itchy and scratchy nose and throat. In severe cases it can also result in rashes, hives, lower blood pressure, difficulty breathing, asthma attacks, and even death. Allergy symptoms can range from mild to severe.
Here’s some remedies Natural Remedies that I tried and their subsequent results:
Nasal Rinsing
What our ancestors called a “Neti Pot” is now repackaged as nasal rinse bottles.It’s usually a reusable plastic bottle that you fill up with clean water and a sachet of salt powder. The premise is the same as the Neti Pot- squeeze the bottle from one nostril so that it gets drained out from the other nostril. A deep dive into the internet got me to NeilMED, the global leader in nasal rinses. It’s truly been worth the effort to do this. I won’t call nasal rinse bottles a product magic, but if used consistently and long term, it is definitely a tool that helps me manage allergies. I’ve noticed that on days that I skip nasal rinsing, I’m more stuffy and congested. Seriously, if there’s one thing you need to start, get yourself this nasal rinse now.
Oil Of Oregano:
The internet was also full of praises for the oregano oil. My initial reaction was of “Wait, the same oregano we put on Pizza?!” Turns out yes, this is the extracted oil from Oregano and helps alleviate respiratory problems like magic, apparently. Also, it did nothing for me. I took 2 bottles (that’s 180 days) of this supplement and at this point I’m giving up on it. Didn’t work for me, but like I said, give it a try, each body composition is different so might work for you.
Steam Inhalation
This is every mother and general physicians favourite old folks remedy for congestion. Everytime I tell my mom I am congested and it’s my sinusitis, she insists I take steam for the problem. And here’s the thing, I tried. I’ve sat in steam cubicles, I’ve put my head under a towel and a mini steamer daily for months, I’ve added in camphor drops, eucalyptus, tea tree oil, I’ve taken so much steam that my face is red and skin looks like I’ve been swimming for months. But I get zero relief from steam. Zilch.
Xylitol Nasal Drops
I read studies about xylitol drops curing chronic sinusitis that were shared by a bunch of immunology reports, and I jumped to order big boxes from Amazon. I thought to myself, here’s what I was waiting for, this will be the thing to cure me. But this is what actually happened. I sprayed it once or twice, felt nothing was happening and shelved the bottles. Cue to a year later in lockdown 2020, I decided to give it another try and turns out they REALLY do work. It takes two three weeks for it to kick in, and you need to do 3-4 sprays per nostril. It seems excessive at first, but they really did work their magic. Try it, I ordered this brand from Amazon India.
Chilli Peppers:
Every corner of the internet will tell you that the heat of peppers, aka, Capsaicin, the compound found in chiles that gives them their heat, can help ease sinus pain, reduce inflammation and release blocked mucus. But here’s a fun fact about me, I LIVE on chilli peppers. Both my lunch and dinner is packed with green chillies or red chillies. I’ve been told by cooks at home that they’ve never seen anyone consume this much spice or been chided by chefs at restaurants that by requesting so much chilli, I am ruining the taste of the food. And YET, chilli does nothing for my sinusitis. So, I cannot vouch for this. Maybe my system is just immune to excessive chillies. I suggest you try upping your threshold and see if it helps you.
Ashwagandha:
The adaptogen that the wellness universe is currently going crazy over, is an ancient ayurveda cure for respiratory issues. Adaptogens are a whole other story, which means they’re magic workers by helping adapt to what your body needs help with most. Turns out it’s been acting as a cortisol(stress) manager for me more than any kind of help with the respiratory issues, so maybe Ashwagandha feels I need to rework my stress before fixing allergic rhinitis? Who knows!
Colloidal Silver:
I had reached that point of desperation, where I was searching on Amazon for the most reviewed items for Sinus issues. And here’s the thing, maybe it worked for 3046 people on Amazon, so maybe it works for you too. Maybe I’m just a unique case where half the things don’t work, so I still won’t write it off, give it a try and tell me if it works for you. I purchased the sovereign silver brand for immune support.
Orange Peel Tea:
A relatively new discovery by me, but orange peel seems to be used for centuries in China for congested respiratory issues. Here’s a fun fact- the peel of the orange contains the maximum amount of vitamin C of the fruit, so while we guzzle down orange juice, it’s the peel we’re throwing out thats the Vitamin C bomb! In Traditional Chinese Medicine, orange peel tea is prescribed for helping loosen mucus that’s causing congestion and making you feel so stuffy and sick. I started drinking this tea in lockdown, dried out the orange peels and added the powder to hot water, and while it might to be too soon to say, I have been feeling better the days I take it. Will keep you posted on this one.
Allergies are not only bothersome, but many have been linked to a variety of common and serious chronic respiratory illnesses (such as sinusitis and asthma). Additionally, allergic reactions can be severe and even fatal.
Beyond such hit and miss biohacking on my allergic rhinitis, some lifestyle changes that definitely worked for me was eliminating certain foods that are high allergen such as gluten and dairy, frequent bedding change and using soda free laundry detergents, adding on a mattress protector between my sheets and the mattress so completely eliminate dust mites. The last one worked wonders, I highly recommend starting with buying yourself a mattress protector and removing high allergen foods even if you aren’t unable to get hold of the above remedies.
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