USA Today reports that as the allergy epidemic grows, more allergy sufferers are seeking out alternative medicine treatments. Despite the growing popularity of alternative treatments, most members of the medical community are still skeptical.

"When a patient asks me whether they should try alternative or herbal medicine, I counsel that it generally won't be harmful, but it's not likely to be beneficial either," says Dr. Brian Smart, an allergist from Illinois, "And they should carefully watch for side effects."

A widely publicized study that appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine in July concluded that echinacea—the biggest-selling herbal supplement in the USA—is no better than a placebo at preventing or treating colds.

Dr. Smart suggests nasal irrigation for patients. "It moisturizes nasal surfaces and it will wash out bacteria and pollen," he says.

"Close the house up and put the air-conditioning on," says Thomas Platts-Mills, president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. "You can reduce the amount of pollen."

Platts-Mills adds: "There're lots of very sensible things people can do. It doesn't require taking medicine all the time."