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Natural Treatment Options for Allergies
This guest blog post comes from Danielle Grilli of rVita.com:
Throughout my childhood I watched my brother suffer miserably from allergies. Every year, as summer rolled around, he literally couldn’t be around "anything that grows outside" without his eyes swelling completely shut. It was so sad, and still, I felt pretty charmed. Lucky for me, I was untouched by this particular genetic predisposition; that is, I was untouched until I moved into the city three years ago, at which point I began to experience stretches of days when my eyes became watery and blurry, my brain fuzzy, and my breathing restricted to an alarming degree. I didn’t realize what it was until a naturopathic doctor very plainly told me that I was allergic to smog. Nice.
 Of course there are many pharmaceutical options available for individuals suffering from allergies, but I have never been a pharmaceutical kind of person. For some reason, the idea of taking a pill which has innumerable side effects is just not appealing to me. I’m sensitive to pharmaceuticals, and it seems every time I take one, I fall victim to one sort of rare and unpleasant side effect or another. The Naturopath I was seeing at the time suggested I try using a neti pot and taking butterbur. I did and it worked.
These, however, are not the only natural, clinically proven options available to the unfortunates suffer from allergies. Along with Butterbur and nasal irrigation, Bromelain, has also proven to be an effective treatment for allergies. In fact, multiple human trials have shown that Bromelain, which is a group of enzymes extracted from pineapple, effectively breaks down fibrin in the body, helping to reduce the body’s allergic response. In addition, Bromelain thins mucus, allowing it to drain more easily. Lastly, this supplement has been shown to reduce the duration of the inflammatory response following nasal procedures by over 70%.
For me, this is all good news. I’d hate to think that I only have 2 choices: suffer from allergies or take a pharmaceutical and wait to see what sort of side effects I get to deal with. So you see, my friends, there are other options, they are natural, and you know what? They work!!
References
1. rVita: Alternative Medicine
2. Seltzer AP. Adjunctive use of bromelains in sinusitis: a controlled study. EENT Monthly 1967;46:1281-8.
3. Taub SJ. The use of Ananase in sinusitis—a study of 60 patients. EENT Monthly 1966;45:96-8.
4. Ryan RE. A double-blind clinical evaluation of bromelains in the treatment of acute sinusitis. Headache 1967;7:13-7.
5. Taub SJ. The use of bromelains in sinusitis: a double-blind clinical evaluation. EENT Monthly 1967;46:361-5.
6. Seltzer AP. Minimizing post-operative edema and ecchymoses by the use of an oral enzyme preparation (bromelain). EENT Monthly 1962;41:813-7.Posted by Craig on Thursday, June 12, 2008
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