Alternative Allergy Treatment

Allergies, if poorly attended to, can truly cripple a person's day-to-day life. In strong cases they can lead to extreme physical reactions and poor health, and in minor cases they can cause sniffles and cold-like symptoms. A truly inconvenient condition, allergies luckily can be treated both with medicine and natural methods. If you are opposed to medicinal treatments, there are many vitamin, herbal and other types of treatments that may be able to help.

Vitamins and Minerals

• Vitamin C is best known for its ability to help with colds, but it is also an effective antihistamine that can give energy to the white blood cells that deal with infections. This will allow the vitamin to help even further if the allergies evolve into a secondary infection of the ear or sinus. The recommended dosage is 500 mg taken three times a day.

  Calcium and magnesium work together to help rid cells of histamine. A study at Brigham Young University showed that animals with low magnesium have much more histamine than those getting enough magnesium. Dr. Kay Franz, the author of the study, theorizes that a magnesium deficiency allows calcium to enter cells more easily. "When that happens," he writes, "histamine is released." Doctors recommend 400 mg of magnesium and 1,000 mg of calcium per day.

  It's well known that B vitamins are important for energy, and while they don't directly affect allergy symptoms, they are often depleted by allergies. It is recommended that you take a supplement with 100% of the daily value for each B vitamin, or that you supplement your diet with food rich in B vitamins.

Herbal Remedies

• Ginseng is often cited as immune-boosting herbs. Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) can also limit a part of the allergic response called platelet activating factor (PAF). Ginseng can be taken in 1,000 mg tablets three times a day for up to eight weeks.

  Glycyrrhiza glabra, which is the scientific name for licorice, has been shown to help with ulcers, asthma and allergies. The dosage is 3 g per day for a week at a time. Do not use licorice candy, because it is typically not real licorice.

  A 1990 Planta Medica study showed that Urtica dioica, or stinging nettle, could reduce seasonal allergies. Take for two to four weeks before seasonal allergies begin, in twice daily doses of 250 to 500 mg.

Other Treatments

• Bromelain is an enzyme that can be found in pineapples; it reduces inflammation and swelling, which can help with allergy symptoms. Drinking pineapple juice is a great way to take in the enzyme, but there are also supplements available. Take 250 to 500 mg three times a day for no more than a week.

  Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (or OPCs) have been touted as extreme antioxidants that actually improve the effectiveness of vitamins C and E. OPCs also decrease the production of histamines. The recommended dosage for allergy relief is 25 mg for every 25 lbs. of body weight.

  Bioflavonoids, which occur naturally in fruits and vegetables, increase the effectiveness of vitamin C and they lower the release of histamines by as much as 96 percent. It is recommended that you take 1,000 to 3,000 mg daily.

Disclaimer

• The results of a 2007 study of alternative allergy treatments found that there are many naturopathic remedies that may not be effective. Make sure to do as much research as you can and test out products to ensure that they work on your allergies before spending a lot of money on them.