I love this time of year; everything is turning green, leaves are budding, flowers are blooming, new life is in the air.  However, these are the same reasons that many (including myself) hate this time of year.  If you are one of the 50 million + people who suffer from seasonal allergies, then you know exactly what I’m talking about!

Seasonal allergies affect a large portion of the population, and the pharmaceutical companies take advantage of that little fact by marketing all kinds of medications that should  combat the allergens.  In reality, these chemicals relieve the symptoms of the allergy for a short time period.  Not only are we left with an unfavorable chemical in our bodies, but we have usually forked over a good amount of money for these products that only work for a short period of time.

When I was diagnosed with seasonal allergies (many years ago – in high school), I was given a prescription for one of these products, which I used religiously.  I DID NOT like the way it made me feel, I was constantly “cloudy” and felt like I was moving through a dream-world, I even made it to the top of a cheer leading stunt only to look down and wonder how I had gotten there before I became dizzy. Side-effects aside, I didn’t have itchy, watery eyes or a stuffy nose so it must not be a horrible product, right? WRONG!   This is just a partial list of many of the side-effects associated with OTC and prescription allergy medications: drowsiness, raised blood pressure, insomnia, light-headedness, or nervousness, and the list goes on.
Well, after the incident at cheer leading practice, I pretty much took myself off of the allergy medication and just dealt with the sneezing, itchy/watery eyes etc. for the time span of my allergy season (about 8-10 weeks).  I eventually outgrew whatever it was that caused my allergic reaction (or built up an immunity to it – this is the more likely answer) and forgot all about allergy season…until we moved to Virginia and lived there for one year.

One year after changing my address I began, once again, to experience allergic reactions to my environment. Apparently the Virginian flora and fauna had NOT been integrated into my system and was different enough from what was in my
Hoosier home state that I was doomed to the life of being a constant kleenex carrier again.  I remembered all to well how I felt when I had taken allergy meds before (even OTC ones), and I DID NOT want to deal with those side-effects again.  Not only did I not want those side-effects, but I was now nursing my second son and I absolutely did not want those meds crossing the breast milk barrier.  I started doing some research on natural allergy relief and was very surprised to learn that I could very easily combat my allergies (not the symptoms) with honey (maybe Mary Poppins was on to something with the whole “spoonful of sugar” idea)!  Now, this doesn’t mean that you can run to the grocery store and grab the squeezy bear of honey to use.  In order to help combat allergies, you need to use LOCAL RAW HONEY.  Here is the reasoning behind that: local honey is honey that is produced by bees in your area. This means that the pollen the bees are collecting are from vegetation in your area (the same vegetation that causes your runny/stuffy nose, and itchy/watery eyes). A teaspoon of local honey, taken several times a day, can build up your resistance to local allergens therefore relieving you of allergy symptoms over time.

Now, it doesn’t work immediately, but it DOES work (and at fractions of the $$$ that is spent on OTC and prescription meds!). I have been using this method of allergy relief  for a few years (with myself and my children) and I will never cease to be amazed at the way it works!

There are other great benefits of having local honey around your home, as well as the bee pollen that you can purchase from those local bee keepers, but I’ve got to “buzz”  (I know, horrible pun!), so that’s a post for another time.