Seasonal allergies are miserable. They’re typically treated with antihistamines. There are some extra steps you can take to avoid pollen, which triggers the sniffling and sneezing. One is limiting your time outdoors when pollen counts are highest. So you may want to schedule your exercise sessions early in the morning, or in the evening.
Doctors typically recommend antihistamines to temporarily relieve the symptoms of seasonal allergies. These drugs, however, can cause high blood pressure and a rapid heart rate. If antihistamines don’t do the trick, your doctor may prescribe steroids.
However, these are very powerful drugs that can cause potentially serious side effects. They also depress your immune system. That’s why it appears as if a growing number of people are searching for more natural ways to control their allergies.
Best Essential Oils for Seasonal Allergies
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I use essential oils to help manage my own seasonal allergies. My symptoms are not severe, thankfully. They hit in midlife. So I haven’t had my allergies for decades. My hay fever is not disabling. Some days are worse than others. This year, I had one day where my eyes were so irritated that I didn’t want to leave the house. But most or the time it’s more of an annoyance. I wake up in the morning with runny eyes and a stuffed up nose. I’m not a huge fan of pharmaceutical drugs, especially for conditions that respond so well to natural remedies. So, instead of antihistamines, I reach for my essential oils.
Seasonal allergies are something I’ve covered in previous posts. You can read them below, if you’re interested.
How to Use Essential Oils for Allergies
Essential Oil Recipe for Allergies
But, since we’re in the middle of allergy season, it can’t hurt to bring this topic up again. I like to give my readers natural solutions and holistic lifestyle tips. Even though I’m not a doctor and can’t give medical advice, I do share my own personal experience of how I naturally relieve my hay fever.
Best Aromatherapy Oil for Allergies
A number of essential oils are most commonly used for allergy relief. These are the ones that tend to clear your head fast. Peppermint essential oil and eucalyptus essential oil are at the top of the list.
Just about nearly every major essential oil company also has a special respiratory blend. The one that’s currently in my house is Crystal Breath sold by Nature’s Fusions. The company sent this blend to me to review. I love it. For my own allergies, I rotate it with peppermint oil and eucalyptus essential oil. Combining these last two oils for a DIY allergy blend also works. (At least it does for me.) Anyway, you can see all of these oils below. I’ve tried essential oils from a number of companies. Nature’s Fusions are among the very best.
Natures Fusions EucalyptusPeppermint Essential Oil
Natures Fusions Crystal Breath
Essential Oils for Allergy and Sinus
I’ve mentioned this before, in an earlier post. But I want to stress again that essential oils are meant to be inhaled, rather than consumed. This is a much safer way to reap their potential health benefits. Inhaling them helps clear your nasal passages. I put a drop or two on a tissue and leave it by my computer, while I work. I wake up with hay fever symptoms. Inhaling essential oils gives me relief, for hours. Oftentimes, I have a clear head for the rest of the day, and even the next day. Natural medicine can be very healing, in addition to helping your symptoms.
Another way to use them is to put them in a cold air diffuser. This sends an aromatic mist into the air, which you inhale. One of the best ways to get essential oils into your system is through inhalation. The aromatic compounds hit your lungs. This gives them easy access to your blood stream.
Essential Oils for Allergy Congestion
Essential oils are just one of the methods I use for natural allergy relief. During allergy season, I also drink nettle leaf tea, an herbal remedy with a reputation for relieving hay fever. I eat a clean diet, filled with real food. Because I have chronic nerve inflammation, I take various herbs to keep my symptoms at bay. These also seem to help with my allergies, since they tame inflammation throughout my body.
Disclaimer
These statements have not been approved by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use essential oils or herbal remedies unless directed to do so by a healthcare professional.