Photo Credit: david.nikonvscanon
When I was younger my Granny (that is southern for grandmother) wanted to help reduce my allergy symptoms. She heard from someone that local honey was a good way to do this. As far as medicines go, honey is definitely at the top of my list. She had no trouble getting me to take my medicine every day! Honey is just about the perfect medicine. It is all natural, no nasty chemicals, inexpensive, and supports local farmers. All good things. It even seemed to work a bit when I was younger.
As an adult I’ve looked into the science behind using honey as an all natural allergy remedy. Apparently, it works kind of like an allergy shot does, except allergy shots are a lot more specific. An allergy shot introduces small amounts of a specific allergen (or several) into your system so your body can learn to react properly to them. Honey does the same thing with local pollens. So if your allergies are caused by something like tree, weed, or grass pollen the honey may work for you. The bees take the pollen to make honey and when you eat the honey you get a small exposure to the pollen.
There has to be a down side, right? Right. Nothing is all rainbows and sunshine, unfortunately. Some people may have an allergic reaction to their local honey because of that pollen content. Of course, some people have a reaction to allergy shots for the same reason. Also, honey shouldn’t be given to infants (check with your pediatrician for an exact age). The last negative is that it doesn’t work for allergies to pets, or mold, or dust mites or any other non-pollen allergen.
Overall is it worth a shot? For me it was. It worked, sort of, for me when I was a child. Unfortunately my allergies became too severe and some of what I’m most allergic to isn’t pollen. Still….honey, mmmmmm.
Have you used honey as an allergy remedy? How did it work for you?
Fri, Apr 24, 2009
Allergy Remedies