Five Ways to Relieve Allergies and Improve Vitality

It’s that time of year again — sneezing, itching, sniffling, and coughing. Chances are, you’re one of the 24 million Americans who experience seasonal allergies, and you’re familiar with the toll it can take on your body.

Due to both the symptoms of seasonal allergies and the physiological process your body goes through when reacting to an allergen, your health can suffer more than usual during this time of year. And oftentimes, allergy medicines only provide temporary relief. It’s important to keep in mind your body’s overall well-being when dealing with allergies and not just treat the isolated symptoms.

The five therapies and lifestyle tips listed below are particularly beneficial for allergy relief because of their emphasis on immune support and detoxification, which are important factors in both the allergic response and general health improvement.

1. Supplements

One way to mitigate allergy symptoms is to take nutritional supplements. Supplements can help support your immune system and keep your body’s natural responses functioning efficiently to keep you healthy.

Two of our doctors’ most-recommended supplements for allergies are:

• D-Hist: This targeted blend of quercetin, bromelain, stinging nettles leaf, and N-acetyl cysteine is designed to provide comprehensive support for seasonal challenges caused by common environmental allergens. The powerful combination actively promotes healthy nasal and sinus passages for individuals with elevated histamine and respiratory irritation.
• Xlear Nasal Spray: This nasal spray is a great on-the-spot option that cleanses and soothes the nasal passages without drying or irritating them, like many other nasal sprays do. It uses an ingredient called xylitol to “moisturize” the sinuses and prevent bacteria and pollutants from sticking to the tissues.

2. IV Therapy

IV therapy can help you replenish important vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants through intravenous infusion. When your body processes nutrients from the food you eat, they must pass through your gastrointestinal tract and sometimes aren’t fully absorbed.

Intravenous infusion allows nutrients to bypass your gastrointestinal tract so your body can absorb them more fully and so your circulatory system can carry them to the right places. This can help correct nutritional deficiencies and encourage cellular repair.

During allergy season, it’s particularly important to keep your immune system strong in order to minimize symptoms. Allergies begin in the immune system: when you are exposed to a substance you are allergic to, such as pollen, mold, grass, or dust, your immune system produces antibodies to fight that substance. This reaction is what causes the runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat, and all of the other common allergy symptoms you may be familiar with.

A weak immune system can result in allergy symptoms persisting for longer periods of time. If your immune system is strong, it can be more efficient in responding to allergens.

3. Acupuncture or Acupressure

Another way to bolster your immunity to help fight off allergies is through acupuncture. Physical symptoms, including those of allergies, can often be made worse by or even result from an imbalance of energy in your body. Your body has a system of vital energy called “qi” that runs in its own circulatory system throughout your body. This vital energy is responsible for keeping you healthy.

Having a reliable, strong flow of qi through your body is the foundation for well-being, and conversely, disruption of this flow — when qi becomes blocked or imbalanced — can contribute to ill-being (read more here).

By stimulating the flow of your qi, acupuncture naturally improves your body’s immunity and defense mechanisms, which can help to minimize the onset of allergies.

It also helps with alleviating symptoms that are already occurring: According to Dr. Emily Guilfoy, chiropractor and acupuncturist at PALM, “Acupuncture can help rebalance the body’s energy to help open the nasal passages, sinuses, and respiratory system. This energy rebalance will assist the body in calming the inflammation that typically results in symptoms like itchy eyes and skin.”

4. Infrared Sauna

Detoxification is another key to allergy relief. Your body’s allergic response can be triggered by or worsened by toxins, such as mold or even certain chemicals in your household and beauty products. In addition to exacerbating allergy symptoms, a buildup of toxins can cause brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, and weight gain. It’s important for your overall health to expel these toxins, especially during allergy season.

Infrared saunas use infrared heat that penetrates deeper into your body than the heat in traditional saunas do, which provides a number of benefits. Not only does it relieve tension and relax muscles, but it also raises your core body temperature, which stimulates your immune system and promotes sweating, helping to expel toxins.

The combination of an accelerated immune response with the efficient elimination of toxins is extremely beneficial in relieving allergy symptoms and helping to mitigate future flare-ups.

5. Salt Room

In addition to strengthening your immune system preventively, one thing that can help with symptom alleviation when you do have an allergy flare-up is salt therapy, like a Himalayan salt room.

During a typical salt room session, the room fills up with purified ionized salt particles for you to breathe in. Not only does this promote deep relaxation, but it also works to help you detoxify, reduce inflammation, and decrease mucus in your respiratory system, which is a common symptom of allergies. Furthermore, salt therapy also purifies the skin, soothing conditions like eczema that can be allergy-related.

“I regularly recommend patients to use the salt room multiple times throughout the week while experiencing congestion, as it helps to thin the mucus and alleviate symptoms more quickly,” says Dr. Guilfoy.

“And, pairing an acupuncture treatment with a salt room session can amplify benefits of both treatments by opening the nasal passages and allowing the ionized salt particles to be inhaled more deeply.”

All of these are valuable tools that improve your vitality by boosting immunity, detoxifying, and addressing stress, tension, and deficiencies. These methods not only improve your well-being as a whole, but also offer specific benefits that can alleviate those pesky symptoms and prevent the onset of allergic reactions.

Stay healthy this allergy season!