Spring Allergies Are Back: Five Natural Ways to Put Them in Check

There's nothing like waking up fresh-faced after sweet, restorative sleep -- the kind of rest you really only get in the spring. Windows open, cool wet breeze, the scent of blossoming trees.

Yet the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reports that 35 million Americans endure seasonal allergies, and spring mornings are quite different for these sufferers.

Think gooey, inflamed eyelids when the alarm goes. Wet smears on the pillowcase from night-sneezing. The surliness that comes with knowing you look exactly like that green, slimy Garbage Pail Kid (remember those?). So with the first sighting of the cherry blossom comes our first trip to the pharmacy to cash in our Allegra, Flonase or Singulair prescription.

And if we don't plan ahead, it's an emergency drugstore run for a family-size pack of antihistamines.

Although allergy medications make it possible for many of us to get through the day without spraying our coworkers with fluids best kept to ourselves, side effects to the active ingredients can include drowsiness, blurred vision, constipation and confusion (antihistamines), racing heart (pseudo ephedrine), and the proliferation of yeast colonies (steroids).

Dr. Woodson Merrell of New York's Beth Israel Medical Center says the answer lies in making "gentler, natural approaches combining conventional medicine and lifestyle changes" the standard of care in treating allergy symptoms.

Merrell, executive director of the Continuum Center for Health and Healing at Beth Israel, says that the medical literature is behind him. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that "gentler, nature-based products and techniques" can safely alleviate symptoms -- without the same side effects.

1. Wash your nose: Neti Pots, which resemble little tea pots, can be filled with a warm salt-water solution and poured up a nostril -- thereby flooding the nasal cavity. In parts of India and southeast Asia, nasal irrigation is part of one's daily routine -– like washing your face and brushing your teeth.

Many allergy sufferers look to Neti Pots for relief from their symptoms.

Dr. Allan Sosin, director of the Institute for Progressive Medicine in Irvine, Calif., says regular irrigation thins out mucus, which otherwise holds onto allergens and serves as a breeding ground for bacteria. Bacteria, he says, inflames the linings of the nasal passages, making them more susceptible to allergens.