Natural Allergy Relief - 4 Ways to Control Allergies Without Medication

Allergy symptoms range from hugely irritating sneezing and a constant runny nose to watery eyes, nasal congestion, itchy skin and or flaky skin, sore throats and post nasal drip. For many people allergy season means shutting the doors and windows and not opening them again until the first frost. But wouldn't you still love to enjoy warmer weather and the good health you otherwise have in spite of your allergies?
You may eventually need to augment the following suggestions with either over the counter medicine, or have an allergist prescribe medications that will help. But these 4 ideas are worth trying first as the chances are high that one or more of them will provide substantial allergy relief.

1. Alternatives to Medicine-If you are exploring options for relief other than medication, you're in luck. From herbal remedies to fragrances, and even acupuncture, there are many alternatives which have been proven to have a tremendously positive effect. You may not consider acupuncture as likely to do a great deal for your sneezing and runny nose, but rethink this. Results have been so well documented and substantiated that many insurance companies will actually pay for you to have acupuncture treatment for allergies. If the insurance companies are willing to pay, it's got to be worth a try.

2.  Eat Healthy-Your body is a well crafted machine - the better the fuel you put in it, the more efficiently it will work. Allergies are indicative of an imbalance in the way the body is coping with allergens. Many times addressing the body's needs by making small changes to diet will work. The key word to look for when deciding what to eat in order to find relief from allergies is antioxidants.
Antioxidants can be found in a wide variety of food and drinks, and can make a big difference in helping the effectively cope with defending itself against real dangers, but not over reacting to allergens. Tea is fantastically rich in antioxidants, and green tea one of the best varieties. Try drinking green tea throughout the day - you may be pleasantly surprised at the difference it makes; and observing tea time daily is wonderful way to relax and relieve stress-another way to help your body cope. Rev up the number of fruits and vegetables you include in your daily diet, including spinach, blueberries and be sure to include nuts such as walnuts and pecans.

3. Make the Weather Work for You-We are so lucky in this world of modern technology to be able to know before we go outside the estimated pollen count for the day. Use this knowledge to your advantage by planning indoor activities on days when the pollen count is high, and saving outdoor activities for days when the count is low. If you must go out on days when the count is high, avoid being out in the early morning and plan, if possible, to be out after 10:00 a.m. Wearing a mask may look a little strange, but it can really help if you have to go out when you know pollen levels are high. Also, a good rain generally clears the air of pollen for a while and makes it safer to be out.

4. Remove Indoor Allergens with a HEPA Air Purifier--Many allergy sufferers are miserable indoors even when the doors and windows are shut. The symptoms just don't seem to go away even when away from the pollen. That's because the pollen has come inside with you in your hair, on your clothes and packages, and on your pets if they're allowed outside. You can filter pollen and household pollutants that work in concert to aggravate allergies with a high efficiency particle arresting air purifier.

Source: Debbie Davis, EzineArticles.com