TromboneAndrew - 25 June 2011 06:10 AM

Conversely, you can move to a desert for a couple of years.

LINK

Well, yes, living in a polluted city kind of defeats the point of trying to get away from allergens.

TromboneAndrew - 25 June 2011 08:07 AM

Well, yes, living in a polluted city kind of defeats the point of trying to get away from allergens.

Yep, that’s all I was getting at. It’s really not possible to completely escape allergy issues.

I’m not sure it’s accurate to identify allergens with pollutants. Most allergens I’m familiar with aren’t standardly considered polluting: things like pollen and pet dander. OTOH most pollutants like smoke, ozone and car exhaust aren’t (usually?) allergenic.

dougsmith - 25 June 2011 08:47 AM

I’m not sure it’s accurate to identify allergens with pollutants. Most allergens I’m familiar with aren’t standardly considered polluting: things like pollen and pet dander. OTOH most pollutants like smoke, ozone and car exhaust aren’t (usually?) allergenic.

Quite true, but pollutants exacerbate allergies so that someone with a mild allergy will have more symptoms in the presence of pollution. So a smaller pollen count can be offset by increase pollution where symptoms are concerned. And symptoms are all the sufferer usually cares about. Exercise can also trigger asthma attacks in some people so they need to exercise at the right time of day.

LINK

CC, I seem to recall some research a while ago that indicated that vitamin C had antihistaminic properties, but pobably not as strongly as the OTC medications.  However, if you’re trying to avoid synthetics, you may want to kick up your vitamin C intake to about three or four grams a day to see if it has any benefit.  However, try not to overdo it because one can get kidney stones from too much C (personal experience).

Occam

traveler - 25 June 2011 06:18 AM

TromboneAndrew - 25 June 2011 06:10 AM

Conversely, you can move to a desert for a couple of years.

LINK

Well, that’s not fair, metro Phoenix can hardly be called a desert anymore, though when the water runs out it will revert mighty fast.
http://phoenix.about.com/od/health/a/allergy.htm

Come on up to the San Juan Basin and Canyonlands area for real desert  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well alrighty then, back to my original question…
Thanks for the comments and the tidbits of good advice… oops no asking for medical advice; right… thanks for the suggestions
The winners are: get more heart pumping exercise, start using some of that “Emergen-C” supplement I have on the shelf but keep ignoring.

And count my blessings that I don’t have the kind of allergy problems others struggle with.

citizenschallenge.pm - 25 June 2011 08:56 PM

The winners are: get more heart pumping exercise, start using some of that “Emergen-C” supplement I have on the shelf but keep ignoring.

And count my blessings that I don’t have the kind of allergy problems others struggle with.

That’s good, but you shouldn’t have to have allergy problems to have either of those in your daily life. 

Nearly anything can cause allergy problems, even heat and cold. If you have asthma, stick with your prescription meds. Asthma is a big killer in the US. People with ‘mild’ asthma die from asthma attacks too. As far as ‘natural’ remedies for allergies, outside of a placebo effect, I think one is as ineffective as the other, and you would waste a lot of money. For mild allergies, you can get a placebo effect, I know I do when I take my antihistamines. They start to ‘work as soon as I take them, before they could possibly hit my bloodstream. On the other hand, I know they are effective. Also, I would never use a ‘natural’ cure for my serious nut allergy. The micro-particles in smog are known asthma triggers, probably because of mechanical irritations, but they do not usually cause ‘allergic’ reactions. If you are exposed to several allergens at the same time, it can cause a more miserable reaction than if you are only exposed to one allergy, however, if you do not have anaphylaxis with any of them, you will not suddenly have an anaphylactic reaction just because you are exposed to several allergens at the same time, they are two different allergic pathways.

Erik Davis - 24 June 2011 05:44 AM

Why does it have to be natural?  Natural doesn’t make it safer or more effective…in fact, it usually means less on both counts, since there are no standards in place. 

After all, the pollen you’re allergic to is all natural…how’s that working for you?

LOL loved this response. I’ll have to remember it the next time a patient asks me for a natural cure for their allergies. I’ve been fond of telling patients who ask for natural treatments about many other natural substances like aflatoxin ( one of the most carcinogenic substances known that is produced naturally by a fungus), arsenic, gamma rays, earthquakes, small pox and many other lovely creations of mother nature, but it never hurts to add a humorous bent.