7 Natural Allergy Relief Options for Families
Struggling with allergies can be a miserable experience for the entire family. The constant sneezing, itchy eyes, and congestion can leave everyone feeling drained and irritable. Thankfully, there are powerful natural remedies that can provide much-needed relief without the side effects of medications. In this article, we’ll explore a range of natural allergy relief options that are safe for you, baby… the whole family!
Drain the Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is a line of defense that helps us detoxify our bodies — it starts in the head and goes all the way down to the gut — making it important to drain the pathways with lymphatic massage. When the lymphatic system isn’t clearing properly it can lead to more allergies and more inflammation. I often check my craniosacral therapy clients’ lymphatic system because it’s SO important for natural allergy relief —it’s also connected to the vagus nerve which is a key factor in temperament (whether we feel dysregulated or regulated). I’m trying to keep this list to seven natural allergy relief options but if I could add one more it would be to go see a craniosacral therapist!
Heal Your Gut
The gut is connected to the lymphatic system and to the brain so when it sends information — like inflammation — this information can spread across the body to cause even more chronic issues. Research has found a link between gut bacteria — intestinal bacterial dysbiosis — and an increase in allergies in industrialized countries over the past few decades. A regular gut health check can be beneficial for both parents and littles to ensure everything is well balanced to prevent or diminish allergies like this. I use TinyHealth to test my gut because they offer personalized consults but also their results dashboard is super easy to navigate and understand, all while sharing comprehensive results. You can even find solutions to improve your gut health within your portal! Code NP20 also allows you $20 off testing (and you can stack it onto any of their sales).
Filter the Air
Poor indoor air quality has been shown to exacerbate allergy symptoms like runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, and shortness of breath. Our babies are more impacted by air pollution since their airways are small and still developing — putting them at higher risk for respiratory infections, asthma, and decreased lung function! According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be up to 5 times (and in some cases 100 times) more polluted than outdoor air due to things like mold spores, mites, bacteria, fragrances, off-gassing of products, and so on that we often have in our home with closed windows. This is why I always say to get one (or several) AirDoctor air purifiers.
I have one running on auto mode in my laundry room to help reduce anything that may try to grow in my washer and another in my bedroom since there is a lot of moisture in the air there from the kids’ bath time. AirDoctor’s UltraHEPA™ filter has been independently tested and shown to remove airborne particles as small as .003 microns in size — bacteria, viruses, mold spores, smoke, pet dander, pollen, and more— that’s 100 times smaller than the HEPA standard! Each unit uses an activated Carbon VOC Filter that captures toxic gasses like formaldehyde, ozone, and off-gassing from carpet, paint, furniture, new products, etc., and has a built-in air quality sensor to constantly monitor the air quality in the room, automatically adjusting filtration levels to ensure optimal air quality 24/7!
Open the Windows
It seems counter-intuitive to open the windows during allergy season, but because indoor air quality can be fairly poor, it’s important to bring in some fresh air. Open the windows for a bit in the morning — maybe while you get ready for the day_ then close them back up. This will also help with bringing cooler air in the home on hotter days. Have your AirDoctor HEPA air purifier running so that it can filter out any bad spores & allergens that come in and your indoor air will feel so much “clearer.”
Rinse Your Sinuses
Adding a saline rinse to your daily routine can help reduce allergies by clearing the nasal cavity of allergens. It’s also great for your oral health! Once blockages are clear you can breathe easier, too.
Close Your Mouth
Mouth breathing has been found to affect oral health, oxygen intake, behavior, and even facial structure but did you know that it also plays a part in allergies? Since humans are meant to breathe through our noses — a natural air filter — breathing through our mouths allows allergens and other pathogens in that would have otherwise been “stuck” in the nasal passages which can lead to an increase in allergies and asthma. Mouth breathing also puts our body in fight or flight mode — it thinks we’re in a situation running away from a predator — which can dysregulate our system more.
Avoid High Histamine Foods
Whether you normally have a histamine intolerance (about 1% of the U.S. population does) or your body is temporarily overloaded with histamines, switching to a low-histamine diet during peak allergy season may help reduce symptoms. Our body’s mast cells produce histamines as an immune response but many foods also have histamines in them that encourage our bodies to create more which can lead to the need for antihistamine medicine… or a low-histamine diet. So which foods should you avoid? According to Natural Nourishment, foods to limit or avoid include tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, mushrooms, avocados, white potatoes, chilies, capsicum-derived spices, legumes, spinach, strawberries, bananas, peanuts, coffee, alcohol, chocolate & chocolate products, dried fruit, and aged cheeses & fermented foods. Opt for fresh meat instead of packaged meat, cheese that isn’t aged, coconut milk, and fresh veggies.
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