How to make yourself feel better if your hay fever is bad
Fresh air and sunlight
If your hay fever is bad, you will obviously try to avoid being outdoors during high pollen times (such as in the morning and evening). It is important, however, that you don’t lock yourself away indoors all the time. Fresh air and sunlight are vital to good health for the following reasons:
• Fresh air helps to dispel toxic gases from our bodies, via the lungs.
• Clean, fresh oxygen helps to sustain the metabolic reactions within every cell in our bodies.
• Sunlight provides our bodies with important vitamins, such as vitamin D which helps to keep our bones strong – this is important if you are reducing your consumption of cow’s milk products.
Exercise
If at all possible, carrying out a daily exercise routine, or being involved in recreational activities such as football, swimming or tennis will help.
• Exercise reduces your levels of stress – and stress is one of the exacerbating factors in hay fever.
• It stimulates the lymph glands, which operate as a sewage system to rid the body of harmful toxins. The flow of lymph (a clear fluid containing white blood cells) from the lymph glands is entirely dependent upon muscular movement.
• Regular exercise can also increase the body’s tolerance of chemicals in the environment.
• Exercise floods your body with endorphins – the natural feel-good chemicals that give you a ‘lift’.
Get plenty of sleep
A good night’s sleep will help to reduce the feelings of fatigue and lassitude common during a hay fever attack. If you find that your symptoms are keeping you awake and that you are sleeping far less than the usual seven or eight hours, speak to your doctor. You may require stronger medication. There are also herbal remedies, such as Herbal Nytol, that may help you to get a better night’s sleep. If you are seeing a complementary health therapist, such as a homeopath, hypnotherapist or reflexologist, do mention if you are not sleeping very well and they will incorporate a treatment for this into their therapy programme.
Take hot baths and saunas
If possible, have a sauna at least once a week – the steam can help to alleviate your symptoms. There are saunas now at most swimming baths and recreation centres. It’s often particularly helpful to use a portable facial sauna, which can be purchased from certain specialist manufacturers.
Taking a hot bath at least once a day, rather than showering, can help you to feel better.
Use honey to immunize yourself against pollen
To help desensitize your body to pollen, try taking a daily tablespoon of raw honey – produced locally, if possible, so that it is likely to contain the pollens to which you are allergic. Add a little fresh bee pollen – available from most health food shops – starting with one or two granules and gradually increasing to half a tablespoon. It is important to monitor your reaction very carefully and be ready to reduce temporarily the amount if your symptoms worsen.