An in-depth look at the various methods for treating hay fever using only natural therapies, addressing other factors such as diet and the immune system, and answering questions such as “why is my hay fever getting worse as I get older?”
Oh my heart goes out to all you hay fever sufferers out there.
Just when we finally get a bit of decent weather in the UK, then it is like you are being punished for daring to enjoy it! The sore eyes, the constant sneezing, itchiness and streaming of noses and/or eyes.
And the annoyance that comes with it. I mean, how frustrating – you either go to the park anyway because you want to enjoy it, and then suffer the consequences, or you avoid it altogether and miss out because you don’t want the symptoms that you know will follow.
Medications like antihistamines don’t sit well with some people, and it is often a temporary solution at best. It feels like you have to continuously take them which puts a lot of people off, as that is a lot of medicine to continuously take.
If you have never heard of homeopathy before, then you are in for a treat. If you’re looking for chemical-free medicine with no side effects – to actually help symptoms with lasting results, then look no further!
Homeopathy has been helping people with hay fever symptoms for a long time now, centuries in fact. There are specific hay fever combination remedies easily available from homeopathic pharmacies such as Helios or Ainsworths. These are very effective and can reduce your suffering quickly and safely. However they aren’t guaranteed to help everyone.
The premise of homeopathy is that we are all individuals. So what works for one person, may not necessarily work for the next. The best way to address the problem is to have a consultation with a professional homeopath, that way you can get specific remedies based on exactly the symptoms that you are currently displaying.
But in the meantime, I have compiled a list of remedies and the symptoms they match, so you can have a go at doing-it-yourself. Find this at the bottom of this article.
I have also put together a list of other methods that might help you. Without using chemicals, these are completely natural methods that have been tried and tested over the years.
Some of these may seem fairly obvious, but you would be surprised at how often the simple things can get overlooked, yet they can really help.
If your body is healthy, this automatically reduces how severe your hay fever symptoms will be. Taking extra steps to watch what you eat during hay fever season can go a long way.
Keeping your nasal passages moist gives them an added layer of protection so they are not so exposed to allergens.
Supplements can be helpful in supporting your immune system which in turn makes your body more resilient to hay fever symptoms. Please seek professional guidance before using any supplements.
Herbs have been around forever, these are some of the best to tackle hay fever symptoms:
Many people notice symptoms worsen during periods of stress. It is a good idea to support your overall wellness at all times, especially when your body is giving you symptoms.
The following methods also support your body holistically and work on your nervous system, they can be very effective at reducing hay fever symptoms.
I want to tell you about a hay fever protocol that I give to my clients with very good results.
It involves taking remedies following a six-week pattern, four times a year for three years! I know that is a long time, but think of all of the years you may have suffered already, and if someone said that you won’t suffer ever again after three years, and all you have to do is remember to take a few remedies, then I think it’s worth it. Plus, over the three years, your symptoms will be less and less each hay fever season.
I have seen the results first-hand now with many clients who have either finished the whole three years, or are a year or two in. They have reported being less reactive to dust and cat hair and other allergens in general, not just hay fever. The remedies involved in the protocol are aimed at working on your susceptibility, so eventually – what used to bother you, you don’t react to any more!
To help you in the short-term though, I have compiled a list of the most useful remedies, and shown what symptoms they match to hopefully bring you some relief for now.
Take this remedy if you have streaming eyes but they are not burning. Your nose is streaming and also feels hot and burning. You may have a burning sensation on your upper lip, and possibly be very sensitive to light. You may show red capillaries on your skin.
This is a good remedy if your eyes feel hot or burning, with watery tears. The eyes may be swollen and red, and will feel better for bathing. Your nose may be running and watery but NOT burning. All symptoms will be worse in the sun.
Take this remedy if you have itching of the palate and nose. The nose may be tingling. It is a good remedy if you have much spasmodic sneezing made worse by flowers and grasses. Your eyes may be hot, red and burning, with a burning watery discharge from the nose.
This remedy helps the following symptoms:
You will need this remedy if your symptoms make you feel IRRITABLE! Other characteristics that show you will need this remedy are – your nose can be blocked up at night or outdoors, but may run by day or in a warm room. There may be violent sneezing. You will have an itching palate, it may feel like the itching is going down the back of the throat. Your nose could also itch, and there will be a sensation of itching inside your ears, in your eustachian tubes.
This remedy typically has thick discharges from the nose/eyes. It won’t feel hot, and will be yellow or green in colour. Your nose will run outdoors and will feel bunged up indoors. Your eyes could have no discharge but feel sandy or gritty. All your symptoms will feel better in the open air. Your eyes may feel better for cold applications. Emotionally, you may feel weepy or sorry for yourself.
This may be the remedy for you if your symptoms started with an emotional event, such as grief, loss, moving house etc. There will be watery discharges but they will not feel hot. There will be no itchiness, but lots of sneezing. You may or may not have gritty eyes, and symptoms will feel worse in the sun.
Take this remedy if your hay fever gives you flu-like symptoms, drowsiness and lethargy etc. It will be markedly worse in the Spring. You will have watery eyes, a heavy head, lots of sneezing, and a watery nose.
Some of these remedies are included in the remedy kits available from homoeopathic pharmacies such as Helios or Ainsworths, or you can buy them individually. I would suggest taking either the 30c or 200c potencies, multiple times a day.
If you are using 30c or 200c, take one remedy every 15 minutes for up to 2 hours (8 doses). This should be enough to see if it is helping or not. If it is helping, then continue to take it as often as you need to to help relieve your symptoms, if it’s not working, then stop taking it and try another remedy that you think matches your symptoms as closely as possible.
Using homeopathic remedies in this way takes a bit of getting used to, but I always tell people not to be afraid of them, taking regular repeated doses gives your body the stimulation it needs to address the current issues, and if it’s the wrong remedy, it won’t do anything at all, it just won’t help you either.
You might be interested to go a bit deeper in the understanding of what can affect hay fever. I know for me, once I understand something better, I am more likely to find the answer that will help, and stop being so irritated with whatever it is that’s bothering me.
I have put together the following information covering different topics all linked with hay fever.
While you are standing in the park, eyes streaming, suffering and crying, literally crying because your eyes are full of tears – do you ever look around and think how come no one else is affected? There are several possible reasons for this.
Stress and the immune system are closely connected, and chronic stress can influence inflammatory pathways.
Many people notice that symptoms worsen during periods of emotional strain. This goes for pretty much anything, not just hay fever. Stress may affect sleep, digestion, hormone balance, and immune regulation. The body often has fewer resources available for recovery when under prolonged stress.
If you can reduce stress in your life in any way, you will benefit from doing so. Relaxation practices, exercise, time in nature, and good sleep habits may help improve resilience, and are well worth incorporating into your daily life. They can’t not make you feel better, so if you think that you don’t have time for these, or that it’s low down the list of priorities, then please, make time for them.
Histamine is a natural chemical produced by the body, it plays an important role in immunity, digestion, and nervous system function.
During allergic reactions, histamine contributes to itching, sneezing, watery eyes, and congestion, which is why antihistamines are the normal go-to when people suffer with hay fever symptoms.
Looking at how we produce histamine can give us some more answers to why this causes an imbalance.
Hormones influence immune function and inflammatory responses. These change throughout our life and some people develop allergies later in life, while others find symptoms improve.
Pregnancy, puberty, perimenopause, and menopause are common times for symptom changes, as these mark significant changes in life anyway so it makes sense that that would be the case.
Our stress levels and diet and lifestyle may change throughout life too, so as discussed earlier, this can be a factor why we suddenly feel worse (or better!).
Histamine can actually stimulate oestrogen release, and oestrogen can influence histamine levels, creating a potential feedback loop. So if you’re a woman in midlife and suffering from hay fever for the first time, this could be the reason why.
Asks why the body has become reactive. Considers factors such as:
Symptom management is like turning down a fire alarm. A holistic approach asks why the alarm is being triggered so easily in the first place.
I like to use the analogy that each person has a bucket filled by various stressors – pollen, poor sleep, emotional stress, hormonal changes, dietary triggers, environmental toxins, infections, and inflammation.
When the bucket overflows, symptoms appear.
As a homeopath, I focus on looking at the individual as a whole person rather than focusing solely on the hay fever symptoms themselves.
Symptoms can vary so much between individuals, I use a whole-body approach which has had great results in helping to reduce overall sensitivity.
I hope this has been helpful, if you are interested in starting the three year protocol for yourself or a member of your family, then please get in touch.
Wishing you all a sneeze-free season so you can enjoy a bit of nature!
There is no quick answer to this I’m afraid – as everyone is different. Reducing your susceptibility would be the best thing you could do if you did nothing else. Eating a nutritious diet that avoids inflammatory and high histamine foods.
Hay fever is fundamentally an inflammatory response. Pollen itself is not causing the damage, instead it’s the body’s inflammatory response to the pollen that is causing issues. If you can support the body’s ability to regulate inflammation it may help reduce symptom severity.
When you approach treatment holistically, you do both. You might have to make a few changes to your diet and lifestyle, but when you listen and respond to your body when it is giving you symptoms – then long term changes can occur. The better you begin to feel, the easier it is to give your body what it needs.
I have treated many clients for hay fever – giving them homeopathic remedies, either specific individualised remedies when they have acute symptoms, or the three year protocol that I offer, and they have all reported that they work. Sometimes we may need to adjust the remedies until we get it just right, but I work closely with my clients to make sure that suffering is minimised.
Vitamins and supplements can be helpful in supporting your immune system which in turn makes your body more resilient to hay fever symptoms. Please seek professional guidance before using any supplements. The most effective and easily available are the following:
If your body is healthy, this automatically reduces how severe your hay fever symptoms will be. Taking extra steps to watch what you eat during hay fever season can go a long way. The following list of suggestions have all been shown to have positive results in reducing the severity of hay fever symptoms:
The short answer is yes. While hay fever symptoms appear in the eyes, nose and airways, much of the immune system that controls allergic responses is located in the gut.
Around 70% of the body’s immune cells are associated with the gastrointestinal tract. The gut constantly decides whether something is harmless (such as food or beneficial bacteria) or potentially harmful (such as disease-causing microbes). When this system becomes unbalanced, the immune system may become more likely to overreact to harmless substances like pollen.
Stress and the immune system are closely connected, and chronic stress can influence inflammatory pathways.
Many people notice that symptoms worsen during periods of emotional strain. This goes for pretty much anything, not just hay fever. Stress may affect sleep, digestion, hormone balance, and immune regulation. The body often has fewer resources available for recovery when under prolonged stress.
If you can reduce stress in your life in any way, you will benefit from doing so. Relaxation practices, exercise, time in nature, and good sleep habits may help improve resilience, and are well worth incorporating into your daily life. They can’t not make you feel better, so if you think that you don’t have time for these, or that it’s low down the list of priorities, then please, make time for them.
Foods that are rich in histamines could exacerbate hay fever symptoms. Some examples of these are:
If you make a lot of changes straight away using several of the above methods, you can expect to see results pretty quickly. It all depends on the individual, but I have seen instant results as soon as people take the correct homeopathic remedy for example.
They may have to repeat the process again and again, but eventually, over weeks or months, the overall resilience will be improved, and not just for hay fever either – after making changes to diet and lifestyle, as well as taking homeopathic remedies, I have seen improvements in other allergies, overall health improve, better sleep, and generally feeling better all around.
Yes – many natural approaches can complement conventional treatment, but people should seek advice from their health provider before combining supplements or herbs with medications.
I am a homeopath based in Ilfracombe, North Devon. I offer consultations online or face-to-face. Please email me zoe@zoebrowning.com for more details and to discuss your requirements.
The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The content shared through this website, consultations, programmes, articles, resources, or communications should not be considered medical advice and is not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical professional.
As a homeopath and holistic health practitioner, I work to support overall health and wellbeing through individualised homeopathic care and lifestyle guidance. Clients are encouraged to take an active role in their health and to consult their GP or other appropriate healthcare provider regarding any medical concerns, diagnoses, symptoms, medications, or treatment decisions.
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