I bought a new 80 acre place that is primarily used for growing hay.

I never had allergies before now. I didn't know I could do so much sneezing. I've wiped my nose so many times, the underside is a bloody, scabby mess.

How did I suddenly acquire hay fever?

Should I wear goggles or a mask?

What are some homeopathic / holistic / natural remedies?

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), June 26, 2001

Answers

My nose allergies are from mold and pine pollen, which is most of the early spring. The new nose sprays, which I actually think they work by deadening your noses ability to produce histamines, really work. Even the over the counter nasal crom worked the first season I used it. The perscribed ones, in which you can get free samples from your docotr to "try" work excellent. They do not have any side effects, they don't put you to sleep, they don't go systemic in your body, just your nose. Which is what works for me. I also have to be careful with allergy meds and my asthma meds. Without the nose sprays I am either asleep or blowing my nose. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.

Hay, hey? One of the big-time allergens is rye pollen - and that includes triticale, and also and particularly it includes rye-grass. I also agree about pine pollen, and poplar/cottonwood seed "cotton" doesn't help me one little bit, nor does flowering privet. You have other plants we don't have, thankfully, like ragweed. I agree that anti-histamines are the way to go. I haven't needed sprays - tablets work for me, and they also help when I get big-time allegic reactions to a particular type of mould (you know, instant red blotches, eyes swell shut, throat swells shut, etc.), so I always have them on me. In your case, I suspect rye-grass, and while de-sensitisation might help, I think it's either anti-histamines or get rid of several surrounding square miles of rye-grass or give up the country. One of my brothers actually had to do that - moved from the farm (asthma, allergies, migraines), he has a nice outer suburban home adjoining parkland and reserved open space which he is having to sell too, in order to move further into metropolitan Sydney - rye-grass again.

Some people recommend eating local honey as a means of de- sensitisation - I guess it's worth a try - there's may be some of whatever you're reacting to in it, and it's inexpensive to try it.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), June 26, 2001.

You can purchase nettle root capsule or nettle tea, if you don't want the drugs.

You can also grow it. It has natural vitamin C, which you should slowly add to your system, they say until you get diarhea.

Do you eat whole foods? The reason I ask is your immune system needs to fight the allergens, and a good food intake is important.

-- rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.

I found a source for local honey and have been eating a good dose of that twice a day. I think it might be helping!

I'm hoping to find something that will help me build a resistance so that next year I won't have this problem. This seems to be the root of homeopathy - although I have no experience with it.

As for the nasal stuff: I'm a little worried that if I start, I won't be able to get by without it.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), June 27, 2001.

Paul- About that honey- make sure you get some honey that was made from the plants that you suspect are causing the problem. I've had people ask me for "local" honey to combat allergies, but I produce several different kinds of honey throughout the year, depending on what's in bloom.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), June 27, 2001.

Paul, have you ever read "The Milk Book", by William Campbell Douglass? He states that if you have your own cow, allowing that cow access to the plants that you are allergic to, then you can drink her raw milk, and it will have give you natural resistance to whatever you are allergic to.

My son, 15, is allergic to pollen. This season has been his worst so far. We do have our own cow, and we drink the milk raw. (Son doesnt milk her yet.) However, we dont know how bad his allergies would have been without the cow. I do know that when he was away from raw milk for a full day, his allergies flared up worse. But then, he also had a change in environment, so perhaps we cant blame it on that.

It might be worth a try for you.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), June 27, 2001.

Paul, I feel for ya man, no fun! I know because for a few years I had allergies pretty darn bad. Here is what worked for me, I harvest and dry Nettle in spring and drink at least 2 cups a day. Also the local honey, I swear on that.I just put a tablespoon on my breakfast food,if I run out of honey, my nose starts to run, my eyes start to burn, and I run out and buy more honey from my back yard honey neighbor.! Allergies can be beat naturally! Tren

-- Trendle Ellwood (trendlespin@msn.com), June 27, 2001.

I have plenty of nettles growing here. What do I do to convert it from plant to tea?

What's in it that does this magic?

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), June 27, 2001.

I've been doing some recent research in this area and the consensus seems to be that allergies can develope if your gut microflora are a bit off whack either due to a bacterial opportunist (like citrobacter or klebsiella) or a yeast (like candida). I don't know if you've had a history of yeast infections or periodic diarrhea, but, from what I've read, they suggest you try to reestablish a normal gut flora with probiotics, and garlic and such. It seems the imbalance lets large protein molecules into the bloodstream where you get sensitized to them because they're recognized as a foreign body by your immune system. If you normalize your system, the sensitivity fades according to the reports I've read. You may want to try this approach, too.LOL

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), June 27, 2001.

I have friends that use the honey method and swear by it so I would recommend that you keep it up to see how it works over the long haul. Taking a little honey a day over drugs sure sounds like a better way to go if it works for you. Good luck and I'm glad to hear you are looking at alternative medicines.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), June 27, 2001.

I have to whole heartedly agree with the honey. My hubby used to have allergies so bad that from August until the first freeze, he was so miserable he could hardly function. I would get winter allergies so bad that I would be sick in bed for days. We started buying the local honey, making sure to get a variety of types and he has not had to take his prescription medicines in a long time. He saw some results the first season, it took me a bit longer, but I KNOW it helped. Good luck! Allergies are no fun!

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), June 27, 2001.

Don't know what's in nettles, Paul, but for tea I start heating water in the teakettle, and while that's getting hot I go out with the glass part of a coffee-maker (10 cents at a church clearinghouse, won't crack when boiling water is poured into it, and is easy to handle), and pick whatever I want to make tea from. I pick the tops from nettles, motherwort, ginger, lemon balm, spearmint, peppermint, catnip, lovage, parsley, black raspberry leaves, dandelion, violet leaves, strawberry leaves, lamb's quarters, etc. (not all at once!! just a sample of what you can use - there's more, I just can't think of them off-hand). Pour a good dose of honey over the leaves, and pour hot (just off the boil) water over all. Cover, so the essential oils don't escape, and let rest 10+ minutes or until cool enough to drink. The leaves stay in for me, and I sip on this all day in the summer, warm or cool, even take it to work with me.

I also dry lots of these plants and crumble the leaves and put in glass jars to combine and use for winter months. In winter, I put a lot of a mixture of the crumbled leaves into a container with a strainer, pour about 2 quarts of hot water over and let it sit for about 12 hours. Put in refrigerator and I use about 1/4 of this concentrated stuff to 3/4 hot water & honey for tea every morning.

I think nettles have a lot of vitamins and minerals - most native plants do - I've read that the best medicine for a person is right outside their back door!

-- Bonnie (chilton@stateline-isp.com), June 27, 2001.

Try some raw garlic - mix it with something else better tasting. It really helped our little boy with multiple handicaps and mystery allergies. I give him half a (small)clove a day mixed in his oatmeal.Good luck to you.

-- Joyce Mahoney (joycemahoney@yahoo.com), June 28, 2001.

I've used the nasal sprays for three or four years now. I usually use them for a few weeks in the spring when the alders are blooming, and then a few weeks in the summer when the timothy goes to town. They take a couple of days to kick in, but then it's just like you didn't have any allergies at all. I use my spray once a day. When I quit using it, I have no problems at all as long as the plant I was having trouble with has quit blooming. I know this is not the natural method, but it works for me.

I think honey is supposed to work on the theory that the bees collect nectar and pollen from the offending plants, then you eat the honey, effectively desensitizing your system. Well, the plants that get me are wind-pollinated. No bees. I tried some honey for a while, my mom bought me several quart jars. I don't eat a lot of honey, and maybe that was the problem. In any case, it had no effect at all.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), June 29, 2001.

Here are some homeopathic remedies for allergies:

Ambrosia 30x: hay feveritching of the eyelids, watery nasal discharge and sneezing. Symptoms may also include a feeling of congestion in the sinuses or lungs, and wheezing.

Sabadilla 30x: hay fever symptoms including burning or red eyelids, spasmodic sneezing and runny nose, watery eyes on going out of doors, and itching or tickling sensation in the ears.

Bryonia: sinus headache

Euphrasia 6X: Itchy, watery eyes

Euphrasia: Allergic Runny Nose

Urtica Urens: symptomatic relief for hives

Euphorbium nasal spray is a safe and effective treatment for allergic rhinitis. This condition is one of the most common symptoms of allergy and is often treated with steroid inhalers. ,Euphorbium spray, the homeopathic alternative, can be as effective as steroids but lacks the harmful side effects. Check to see if your local health food store carries this product.

Pulsatilla: helps treat yellowish discharge with creamy texture (from sinuses, ears, the chest upon coughing) related to allergies and colds.

Wyethia: For respiratory allergy symptoms that include itching at the roof of the mouth or behind the nose,consider homeopathic Wyethia. A tickling cough can also indicate that this remedy is a good match.

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), June 29, 2001.