Natural Remedies for Allergies

What do you mean by "natural" remedies? I consider my weekly injections "natural" in that I get the nature-made allergens, not some antihistamine.

OTC medications are not necessarily "natural" either. Things like Benadryl and other antihistamines are sold without prescription, and they do work.

I don't consider herbs any more natural than my shots, and they are not controlled for safety or effectiveness. But I respect that many will disagree with my little opinion and may well have good results with them.

For my food allergies, the only thing that works is avoidance. I guess that's natural.

Your response was most interesting. I hadn't thought about the allergy shots that way. But allergies are considered a disorder of the immune system, and it's true that some people, like those with lupus, do have bad reactions. The shots are supposed to turn off the inappropriate response to allergens.

I'd like to read more about inflammatory responses to the shots. Nothing else has been very useful for me. I seem to have less inflammation with them than without. I certainly breathe better. Also, I have to be careful with herbs because I have sensitivities to some of them and the preservatives sometimes used. Garlic and anything in that family, bottled lemon juice, peppermint all give me tachycardia. Saline nasal sprays and rinses don't help me. I don't tolerate spicey foods.

I'll keep following the thread in case someone comes up with something better.

I don't use medicinal herbs, but pepper, wine and cider vinegar, grapes, garlic and onions, gelatin and the vitamin biotin all contain sulfites, which is in them naturally, but is also added to a lot of stuff as a preservative. I can't eat mixed spices, tortillas or potatoes (except fresh baked), most seafood including fish oil, dried fruits and dried coconut since they are all sulfited now. I react badly to dextrose, corn starch, corn syrup, molasses, colorings and sweeteners. It's generally the same problem. Since herbs aren't regulated and often don't list "inactive" ingredients, I am afraid to use them. My reaction is tachycardia and irregular heartbeat, and I had a heart attack (triggered by non-labeled preservatives) from eating a bowl of cereal with dried fruit.

I don't take most vaccines because they generally have gelatin (made from pig skin and therefore containing sulfite) and sulfites as preservatives, which is the cause of inflammation and allergic reaction for me. I've had bad reactions to flu shots and pneumonia vaccine, after which I investigated the ingredients and found out why - gelatin and sulfites. I did get rabies series, had no bad effects. I've had most of the childhood diseases, including polio. At least that one is worse than the vaccination because I now have post-polio syndrome, which is dying nerves, making swallowing more and more difficult in my case. My sister is wheelchair bound from this after-effect because she has only 17% of her nerves left. Whooping cough wasn't a lot of fun. I thought I would die. Having chicken pox has made me susceptible to the most horribly painful and long-lasting rash you could possibly imagine from shingles. Measles, mumps and rubella weren't too bad, but I'm female and didn't have to worry about sterility from mumps. So I'm in favor of some vaccines, although not the government schedule. They weren't available when I had the diseases.

I wouldn't dare take your mesalamine because it is preserved with potassium metabisulfite, at least in the non-branded version.

Do dorry you have autoimmune. My post-polio is like that without any hope for a cure, so I comprehend the frustration. Sulfite is often an acquired allergy. It came up, or worsened to being a problem, when I had been eating lots of pre-prepared meals. I used to be able to eat dried fruit in my hiking and backpacking days but no more.

I'm not against medicine, just the unnecessary additives, colors, sweeteners, flavors, preservatives, etc. I am also sceptical of claims for cures until I've read scientific papers, preferably large studies. Before going with the injections I asked what was added to the solutions. Since there were no preservatives or gelatin I'm ok. It's lots better than antihistamines for me. I'm a real pest, asking all the time what's in everything.

I've had reactions to several brands of tea, one that even mentions sulfite added. I tried chamomile and peppermint, reacted somewhat to both, although the peppermint reaction could have been from relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter, causing gastric reflux. I've eaten dandelion greens often in the past. Never noticed any improvement in my pollen allergies, but I wasn't looking for it. Garlic is often touted as good for allergies, maybe not an herb to you, but it comes up on lists. I don't really use herbs much, just a few individual ones as spices in cooking, and avoiding the mixes which usually have garlic, onion or pepper.

I hear Butterburr is great. I'm waiting on my bottle to arrive in the mail. I'll let you know how it works!

IBD sometimes causes anergy, which means the skin won't create a reaction to the allergens in the test serums used on the skin scratch/prick tests. So you have to get tested by blood test instead (RAST or CAP-RAST for food allergies).

Also, many herbs are preserved by making them into tinctures, which requires sulfited ingredients (alcohol and/or glycerin).