Spring will never be my favorite season. Not because I don’t love everything blooming back into life, but because my eye, nose and throat don’t. Along with warmer temperatures always comes discomfort in the form of dreaded allergies.
Usually I pop a Claritin or Benedryl when I feel I need it, but this spring I’m stubbornly against taking any medicine. I admit it may just be a pride thing, but I don’t want to take any medicine while I’m acting as Baby D’s home. Luckily, this season hasn’t been too awful… until about a week or two ago.
Things got ugly. After only being outside for 5 minutes I’d be thrown into a sneezing fit. The membranes on my eyes would turn red, itch and swell and I’d lay on the couch with an ice pack on my eyes. I was miserable.
I actually broke down and went to the pharmacy. The pharmacist told me that his 7 month pregnant wife took Claritin everyday and there was no need for me to suffer. He explained that Claritin and Benedryl are both Type B drugs, meaning that no ill effects to the baby have been proven. I bought some Claritin and headed home- sick of my misery.
…but I still couldn’t bring myself to take a pill until I had exhausted all my natural options, so I put the bottle away. Since then, I’m pleased to say I still haven’t had to go dig out the Claritin. Instead, here’s what I’ve been doing:
Allergy Prevention Smoothies
LOCAL honey acts as a natural allergy shot, so I have started incorporating it into my daily eats. My favorite way thus far is this delicious smoothie I created!
1 c organic skim milk, 1 c organic baby spinach, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 Tbsp local honey and a pinch of xanthan gum (it’s a thickening agent full of fiber that bulks up the smoothie!). I also threw in a couple ice cubes.
It tastes like a peanut butter-honey dream!
Calories 300.85
Carbs 46.13
Fat 8.29
Protein 12.91
Sodium 187.71
Air Purifier
These babies aren’t cheap, but I don’t know if I could live without mine. David actually bought it for me as a birthday present a few years ago. Go ahead and giggle- it’s been awesome!
This Blueair purifier with 3 HEPA filters is powerful and during allergy season I let in run almost constantly in our bedroom. It helps make sure that the air in there is free of sneeze-inducing particles, which is so important for a good night’s sleep.
Nose Filters
Get ready to point and laugh… it’s OK. One of our favorite shows is Shark Tank. Have you seen it? It’s a show where entrepreneurs come to pitch their companies to the sharks (investors) in hopes that they will invest in their company. One product that appeared on the show were these FIRST DEFENSE NASAL SCREENS.
I’ll be honest, at first they sounded incredibly silly, but after hearing the research and learning how awesome these are, the sharks went nuts over them. David surprised me by ordering some for me to try out. Don’t laugh at my flared nostrils, I was trying to show them off to you…
Oh. My. Goodness.
I am a believer! I wore these little filters outside for an entire day and didn’t feel itchy, sneezy or uncomfortable once. They were actually pretty easy to breathe through, too. I took them off in a restaurant around 7pm that night. On the way back to the car I had an allergy attack. Just goes to show how effective these babies were throughout the day.
I’ll admit I may not where them to a party, but to be able to be outside and enjoy spring without feeling miserable was incredible. I’m a HUGE fan.
Keep the House Sparkling Clean
Ok, I try my best. Keeping things dusted and cleaned up certainly helps eliminate indoor allergies. But things aren’t always ‘sparkling’…
And I usually know who has been swimming in the lake and is to blame…
Still, I do my best to keep things cleaned the best I can. Here are my favorite green clean cleaning products.
Alfalfa
Another natural route to try are alfalfa pills. With deep roots extending 10 to 20 feet into the soil, this amazing plant is rich in trace minerals and protein plus contains 8 digestive enzymes. Recognized as a natural anti-histamine, allergy sufferers report good results from taking 3 or 4 of the little compressed sun-dried leaf tablets … containing no pesticides, fungicides, growth regulators, or synthetic hormones.
When I feel that allergy tickle or before I got outside, I pop 5 little alfalfa tabs and let them work their magic. David uses them before cutting the grass too.
Other Suggestions
Neti Pots – they sound gross, but rinsing saline water through your sinuses helps to clear out those allergens that like to camp out in there.
Showering – especially before bed. Pollen will weave itself into your hair, making a good night’s sleep harder to come by
Avoidance – If you know what you’re allergic to, obviously avoiding it is going to be your best defense. But I’m allergic to grasses, so unless I want to spend all of spring closed off inside, avoidance isn’t the best option for me.
Do you suffer from seasonal allergies?
What’s your best advice?
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
You’re almost making me want to try a green monster….you look cute in your nose plugs! Hahahaha 🙂
Melissa @ Be Not Simply Good says
I just recently heard about local honey as a way to help with allergies. I had never thought about it, but it makes sense.
I would second the suggestion to shower before bed. My daughter is very allergic to cats, and her doctor said: don’t touch cats (of course), take Benedryl if she’s going to be anywhere near one, shower and change clothes as soon as possible upon leaving somewhere there is a cat, and never sleep somewhere there is a cat. It’s not possible to “never sleep where there is dust or pollen”, but I bet the shower before bed would help.
Liz @ IHeartVegetables says
I’m glad the smoothie is working!!! Well done on finding a natural solution!
Roz says
Don’t look at the little nose screens as silly, think of them as jaunty fashion accessories! 🙂 They’re all the rage on the runways of Paris and Milan!! My husband suffers from seasonal allergies so I know the misery!!! And glad you are able to get some relief! Take care of yourself and Baby D!!! And have a great weekend! PS: Koda is so freakin’ adorable!!!!
Holly @ The Runny Egg says
Brittany I have a neti pot and I love it — it grossed me out at first but it feels really good!
Your smoothie sounds delicious, I didn’t know that about local honey!
And I’m totally going to get those nose screens for Jason. He needs them bad!
christina says
hahah those things are cracking me up!! i love the pic.
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
Both my boyfriend and I suffer from allergies. I’m so glad you’ve looked into natural remedies. : ) I did not know that about local honey. I need to look into that more! I also need to look into the nose screens!
It’s such a bummer to go out in the backyard and have an itchy throat and eyes. I hate it! 🙁
Thanks for sharing your tips!
Suzanne says
LOVE my Neti Pot. I tell everyone about it. Hubs makes fun of me when I use it, but guess whose allergies have been bothering him and wants to use it now. Men always crumble eventually. Glad you’re feeling better. Have a good weekend 🙂
Kelly says
What a great idea! I am all for not using medience if possible so that is great to know of some natural ways! Hubs is a suffer, so I might get those plugs, it would be great…and cute!
Erin @ The Grass Skirt says
I love these tips! My stepchildren suffer from allergies and are very dependent on Allegra (which I HATE giving to them). I’m going to try some natural methods. 🙂 Oh and your smoothie looks SO yummy! Hope you have a great weekend!
Melissa says
I don’t think I suffer from allergies, but maybe I do since I often suffer with a constant sinus drip. That reminds me, I need to pull out my neti pot.
I’ve read that babies under two cannot have honey. I can’t recall the reasoning behind that though. Is that something to also be concerned about when pregnant?
Alyssa @ Life of bLyss says
MAN, I am the queen of allergies (I take two pills a day and get bi-weekly shots), and I have an air purifier, but I’ve never tried those nose filters. Hahaha!
RhodeyGirl says
I’m the same as you. This allergy season I have used 1 eye drop 1 day (in only one eye) when I couldn’t take it anymore and with the permission of my doc. My biggest solution is to keep the windows closed and the fans on + to wear sunglasses all day outside. I don’t mind the sneezing, it’s the itchy eyes that are unbearable.
Kelly @ Cupcake Kelly's says
I love my neti pot! Everyone laughs at me but seriously it is the best thing ever!
Baking Serendipity says
My pup makes it seriously difficult to keep the house clean too! I love your natural allergy fighters. I always get just a twinge of allergies in the fall and feel guilty taking medicine when they’re not that bad. Bookmarking this post for the smoothie trick especially!
McKayla (green groats) says
I like the sound of your peanut butter honey dream!!
Sorry to hear your allergies are so bad 🙁 It sounds like you are doing lot’s of great things to fight them though. I only get minor allergies, so I usually don’t do anything about it.
ashley@piesandpushups says
ohhh allergies are the worst! I feel like I’m in a constant state of sneezing sometimes during these spring months! Can’t wait to try your smoothie!
And OB is just like Koda – she leaves paw prints ALL over my house. I can’t mop the floors quick enough! 🙂
blackhuff says
Nose filters – that’s the first time I heard about that but pretty cool actually.
I like that smoothie you made – going to give that a try.
Jessica @ Stylish Stealthy & Healthy says
I just started getting really bad allergies in the last few years and I take claritin as needed. What’s really weird is my poor dog has been getting them bad this year! I’m looking into some natural remedies for dogs now 🙂
I’m definitely going to make this smoothie for myself though. Thanks!
Brittney says
I swear by the neti pot! My husband thinks it’s weird and refuses to use it even though he has allergies, but I think it works great and use it a lot!
Therese says
Okay I think I’m going to give in and buy those nostril screens! I do have asthma and get understandably anxious when it’s difficult to breathe, though. Are they really easy to breathe through? To the extent that you forget they’re on? Or are you always having to work to pull air through them?
Brittany says
They really are easy to breathe through! I thought I’d have to focus on breathing a little more deeply through them, but I didn’t. They only time they got uncomfortable was when I would randomly sneeze, then snot was on the inside on them (I know, ew, TMI). The directions say to let it just drain through, but I never could, so I would take them off and put on a new pair.
I really liked ’em! Let me know if you try them out 🙂
Rachel Jenkins says
I’ve been using honey for my seasonal allergy too. I take at least two tablespoon a day all year round. I believe it did treat my allergy. My Allergy Easy