Honey Allergy Remedies

When people talk about honey, allergies, and remedies, they are usually talking about either being allergic to honey or using honey as a remedy for seasonal allergies. Cases of being allergic to commercial honey are rare, though concerns about giving raw honey to babies are very real. Care should always be taken when using raw honey to immunize yourself against pollen allergies.

Honey Allergy

• Since honey you buy in the grocery store has been processed, pasteurized, and watered down by other sugar byproducts, the amount of pollen present is extremely miniscule. If you are allergic to pollen, commercial honey would have little to no chance of giving you allergy symptoms. Raw honey, either sold in jars or straight from the honeycomb, has a slightly higher chance of provoking an allergic reaction but it is extremely rare. What is not as rare is the chance of a child under a year old of becoming very ill or even dying from consuming raw honey. Unpasteurized honey can cause infantile botulism which infants are unable to battle due to their undeveloped immune systems. Never feed an infant raw honey and be careful about giving it to any small child.

Local Raw Honey

• Eating small amounts of local raw honey has been proposed as a "cure" for pollen allergies. Proponents claim that treating yourself with a minute quantity of honey made from local pollen-producing plants will immunize you against pollen allergies. However great the anecdotal evidence is to the effectiveness of a honey cure, the facts about honey argue against it. The pollen you react to with watery eyes and a runny nose is typically not the same pollen that the bees use to create honey. Allergy-causing pollen is light and disperses itself by floating through the air or blowing in the wind. The pollen that attracts bees is dense and sticky, designed to adhere to the bee's feet as the bee sips nectar from a flowering plant. In this way, bees pollinate plants with pollen that does not travel through the air affecting your eyes and nose. However, since so many people assert that local raw honey reduces their allergy symptoms, eating a teaspoonful of honey each day to test the hypothesis will probably do no harm.

Cautions

• Though there is no evidence that honey can cure pollen allergies, many people swear by it. Even these proponents follow simple safety guidelines. Never give a child one year of age or younger raw honey since unpasteurized honey can carry deadly spores the immune systems of most infants are not able to fight against. Also, if using honey as a remedy for pollen allergies, start off with a very tiny dose, less than a quarter of a teaspoon at first and only take the honey treatment when a friend or family member able to call 911 is with you. If you do not react negatively to this small dose, continue with it for a week and then increase the dosage slightly and continue for another week, and so on. Always watch your reactions carefully and seek medical care if any breathing difficulties occur. If you are diabetic, it is best to steer clear of honey altogether.