Seasonal Allergies

Step 1:  Stop the allergen.  
Although I normally don’t advise staying indoors, during peak times of allergy season, keeping locked up in a well ventilated building or house can lessen allergic symptoms.  This is obviously decreasing the amount of pollen, grass, and tree dander that we are exposed to.  This also increases our chances of contact with molds and viral/bacterial illnesses spread from person to person (colds/flus).  Here are some helpful tips to create a clean air environment.

• Buy an indoor air filter.  HEPA filters are preferred.  You can sometimes find these cheaper at Costco.
  
• Keep windows and doors closed in the home.
  
• Wash your linens in the hottest water setting once per week, and don’t climb into bed dirty.
  
• Do not allow animals on the bed, couches, tables, countertops, etc.
  
  

Step 2:  Beef up and protect your immune system before it attacks you and makes life miserable.  
Quercetin will be your best ally.  This supplement acts to stabilize our mast cells.  Mast cells are a component of our immune system.  They get activated when they detect an allergen.  Their job is to burst and release histamine, which in turn makes our eyes puffy, nose runny, sinuses swell up, and all the other typical allergic reactions.  The key is to start taking Quercetin BEFORE our mast cells start bursting. Quercetin is more potent in the presence of vitamin C.  Helpful tips

• Know your allergy cycle.  Document when you start to get your seasonal allergies so you’ll know when to start beefing up for next year.
  
• Feb-June: Birch and Alder trees
  
• May-June: Grasses
  
• Spring/Early Summer-Fall: Weeds
  
• Start your Quercetin dose before symptoms begin
• Vitamin C helps activate Quercetin
• Bromelain helps with Quercetin’s antiviral and anti inflammatory effects. 

Step 3:  Reduce the allergic symptoms.

• Keep on the quercetin/vitamin C/bromelain combo
  
• Intranasal glutathione spray can help alleviate symptoms as they appear, along with providing your brain with the most potent antioxidant we have available.  This will not only help to clear your mind, but will reduce the localized symptoms of inflammation throughout your sinuses.  This is a prescription.
• Irrigation!  Rinsing out our sinuses is something that we should all incorporate into our daily hygiene ritual. You can use any kind of solution from regular tap water with table salt, to a saline solution, to (cooled) herbal teas.  Tips: try to incorporate sinus rinses while in the shower.  Lavender tea with 1/4tsp salt can be helpful if your sinuses are inflamed.  Always use lukewarm water for rinsing and 1/4tsp salt if using a non saline solution.
• Neti Pot- you can pick this up at PCC, Whole Foods, Super Supplements, Amazon, etc.  Most neti pots come with packets of salt/saline to put into solution.
  
• Nasal squeeze bottle- I like SinuCleanse, available at most drug stores..
  
• Irrigation machines- SinuPulse