Via Living Well Mom: 5 Natural Remedies for Seasonal Allergies

Seasonal allergies will make you feel miserable year after year and you might feel like you don’t have any choice but to reach for the allergy medication so you can function.

But there are actually quite a few natural remedies for seasonal allergies that can be very effective at relieving symptoms.

Both my husband and almost 8-year-old son (used to) suffer from seasonal allergies and we’ve been able to relieve their symptoms using all natural remedies without any medication.

To be honest, my husband is a little stubborn and more reluctant to follow my natural remedy protocol, so he hasn’t experienced quite as much relief as my son has.

But Joshua is like a whole new child this year. The sneezing, congestion, and red watery eyes that have plagued my poor boy every spring since he was 3 are gone.

In previous years, we turned to over-the-counter and even prescription medications to help him (Children’s Zyrtec, Flonase, etc.) But even that pharmaceutical regimen didn’t fully relieve his symptoms; it only masked the symptoms and on really bad pollen days, Josh was still miserable.

As I’ve gradually moved our family to more natural remedies, this year, we’ve added a few things to our natural home remedy toolkit to help with seasonal allergies and the results have truly been amazing.

I use these natural remedies safely with both kids and adults.

(Note: Please note that I am not a medical professional and this post is not meant to be medical advice. You should always do your own research and seek the advice of your own physician or medical professional. I am simply sharing my own family’s experience in the hopes that it might help you too. )

5 Natural Remedies for Seasonal Allergies:

#1 Aller-Free Herbal Tincture

Aller-Free is an herbal formula from Herbal Energetics containing organic and wildcrafted herbs, including nettle leaf, goldenrod, astragalus, Osha root, bayberry root, licorice root, and marshmallow root, along with raw honey and flower essences.


I’ve discovered that this natural remedy for seasonal allergies works well for fast allergy relief, though it works even better when taken at least once a day.

Here’s a list of the ingredients:

  • Nettle leaf is useful for combating many common ailments, including reducing inflammation, allergies, asthma, and hay fever.
  • Goldenrod can also help reduce inflammation and relieve sinus and lung congestion.
  • Astragalus is an incredible immune-boosting herb and can help protect against bacteria and viruses while reducing inflammation associated with allergies. It’s also known for increasing white and red blood cells and protecting as an antioxidant. Even more, it can be excellent at strengthening organs including the lungs, spleen, and heart.
  • Osha root is especially helpful with respiratory conditions and can act as a natural expectorant while reducing congestion, mucus, and inflammation.
  • Bayberry is also helpful in reducing inflammation and congestion.
  • Licorice root is another great anti-inflammatory by soothing irritated mucous membranes as an expectorant.
  • Marshmallow root reduces inflammation, especially related to respiratory issues.
  • Plus there are flower essences – Crab Apple, SOS Rescue, Self-Heal, and Yarrow.

You can see how this herbal blend has quite a few beneficial herbs.

Aller-free has worked wonders for relieving Joshua’s seasonal allergies. I give him 1/2 to 1 full dropper full in the morning and at night. In fact, now that we’ve used it regularly for the past month, I’ve noticed we can even skip a day (yes in peak pollen season here in New Hampshire) and Joshua is still symptom-free.

Even my often reluctant-to-take-natural-remedies husband has experienced relief using this herbal blend when he takes it. (So much so, that last week, he asked me for his own small bottle so he could bring it to work with him!)

If I had to pick just one all-natural remedy for seasonal allergies, it would be Aller-Free; it’s been THAT amazing.

You can buy Aller-Free here.

#2 Essential Oils

Essential oils are another great all natural way to tackle seasonal allergies.

There are a few ways to use essential oils. Simply add a couple essential oil drops to your hand and breathe them in, diffuse the oils, or apply them topically with a carrier oil or make an easy essential oil roller blend.

My favorite essential oils are:

peppermint – may help reduce sinus congestion (click here for information on using peppermint essential oils with children)
lemon essential oil – may help break up mucus
lavender essential oil – a natural antihistamine

 

I include these three essential oils in an easy-to-make DIY essential oil roller blend for seasonal allergies.

I rub this essential oil blend on Joshua’s back and soles of his feet daily.

#3 Saline Nasal Spray

A saline nasal spray can wash away germs and mucus, relieving discomfort from congestion and even preventing ear and sinus infections. It works well for relieving seasonal allergies, along with other nasal irritations, like dryness during the winter and congestion due to a cold virus, etc.

Joshua suffered from chronic congestion ever since he was a toddler and he had a prescription for Flonase nasal spray for when the congestion got really bad.

When we switched to a gluten-free and dairy-free diet a couple years ago, Joshua’s congestion all but disappeared. But it still came back during the spring months when his seasonal allergies acted up.

As I’ve gradually moved our family to more natural remedies, I found a saline nasal spray, called Xlear Nasal Spray, for Joshua to use instead of the Flonase. The ingredients are simply purified water, xylitol, saline, and grapefruit seed extract.

It’s worked really well for Joshua in relieving any seasonal allergy congestion. In fact, when he started using it, he was mildly congested and it helped almost immediately.

Now he uses the saline nasal spray only on an infrequent as-needed basis, but it’s great to have an all-natural alternative in my medicine cabinet.

#4 Raw Honey

Local raw honey contains enzymes that can help reduce histamine flare-ups (aka allergic reactions) due to pollen in the air. While studies seem to be uncommon and inconclusive, there are many people who will testify to how amazing raw honey can be at reducing seasonal allergies.

Raw honey is not the same as the honey bear at the grocery store; the honey bear is not raw and you will not see the same benefits.

This was the only raw honey in my cupboard and it’s NOT local to me; this was my que to putting this on my shopping list!

It’s also important to find raw honey from your area because this honey will be made by bees pollinating the same kinds of plants and trees that are bothering you. This will, in turn, expose your body to very small amounts of the allergen and help your body to almost desensitize.

Raw honey is also beneficial for gut health, which is a huge part of the immune system.

We buy raw local honey from the health food store in town and I give Joshua 1-3 tsp a day. It’s hard to measure the exact amount and we use a regular spoon and estimate. I’ve been giving Joshua the raw honey for about 3-4 months now and I definitely think it’s contributed to his reduced (almost disappeared) seasonal allergies this year.

One note: It’s helpful to begin taking raw local honey at least a couple months before pollen season begins where you live to help your body increase it’s tolerance gradually. Raw honey won’t relieve symptoms as quickly as some of the other natural remedies listed here.

#5 Reduce sugar intake

We all know eating sugar isn’t good for you, especially in excessive amounts. But did you know that sugar consumption may make seasonal allergies worse?

I haven’t been able to find any concrete studies on this topic, but I have read numerous articles about people’s testimonials describing this correlation.

For my own family, I’ve noticed that when my husband and son eat more sugar, they both experience more allergy symptoms. When they reduce their sugar intake, their allergy symptoms simultaneously decrease.

Those are the 5 most helpful natural remedies for seasonal allergies we’ve used in our family with great success.

There are more natural things you can do to reduce seasonal allergies, including taking additional vitamin D3, probiotics, quercetin, herbal tea, etc. however, for my family, we haven’t noticed those options to work as well as the 5 I listed above.

I hope you or your child will find relief using some of these natural options, just like we have. Feel better!