So many of us suffer from allergies and may feel like our only resort is to down Claritin or Sudafed or other medications. These options can become expensive, and are likely to have negative side effects on our body, especially if they are taken long-term. For example, mild side effects from Sudafed can include insomnia, rash, and restlesness. Serious symptoms can include a pounding heartbeat, flu symptoms, severe dizziness and increased blood pressure. I don't know about you, but when I'm feeling terrible from my allergies, I don't want to end up feeling even worse from my medicine!
Luckily, medicine isn't our only option for allergy relief. Honey from local bees can help with your hay fever symptoms without the side effects and cost of medicine. How does this work? Your hay fever allergies are caused by pollen in your local area. The bees collect this pollen from the local plants, and small amounts of it are transferred to their honey. When you ingest this honey in small amounts, it works like a series of allergy shots, by slowly building up your tolerance to the allergen, and decreasing your allergy symptoms. The best way for this to work is to ingest 2-3 teaspoons of the honey daily for a few months before pollen season.
Honey can also help your allergies in the short term, as it is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Take a spoonful before outdoor activities and it might help with your allergies for the day.
Note: Raw honey should not be feed to children under the age of one. Honey normally cannot support bacteria, but one bacteria that can survive and is usually benign, C. botulinum, can be dangerous to infants. By the age of one, the immune system of most infants is developed enough to resist the bacteria.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Hey awesome i'm so glad you finally got it up!
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I am about to buy honey from a local health food store that stocks local honey for the very reasons that you state in your article.
May 4th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Love this article and the good news you shared. My neighbor who makes natural honey and sells it has been telling me of its wonders for years. One important thing to note is that some store bought honey isn't 100% pure and can even have some very bad additives. Especially watch honey that is not completely made or processed in the USA.
June 9th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Sorry, but isn't building up your immunity to the allergen what causes allergies in the first place? An allergic reaction is just a hyperactive immune response, so immunizing yourself with even MORE allergen would not be a good thing. This is why people who didn't previously have allergies develop them in the first place, and why they get worse over time in people who do have them. It's possible that continuous low exposure to an allergen would desensitize you over time as you develop immune tolerance, but that's the exact opposite of gaining immunity.
June 9th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Max, Why do people get allergy shots then?
June 9th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Max, as Loren mentioned allergy shots, the use of local honey is supposed to be a substitute for shots. Building up the allergen in your body slowly can allow for a tolerance to it, the same way the allergy shots work. Not to say that it will work for everyone, but it has been known to work for many.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Yeah, sorry, I only really had a problem with your wording. Immunity is a bad thing in allergies, tolerance is a good thing. Autoimmune diseases like arthritis are cause by immunity to yourself, thus the name auto(self)immune, while most people display tolerance to themselves and don't have arthritis). Conversely, immunity would be a good thing in a disease like flu, while tolerance would be a bad thing.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Max, you're right. I edited the word "immunity" to say "tolerance" instead. It does make more sense that way
June 12th, 2008 at 2:02 am
I really will have to try this, as I currently HAVE to use Claritin to really survive the day. Our local farmers market always has a lot of local honey, so i will have to buy some next time I go, and stock up for next allergy season! It may even save me some good money because Claritin is expensive.
June 16th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Aren't allergies caused by wind-born pollen (plants that reproduce by releasing their pollen to be picked up by winds) while bees collect pollen from plants that also use the bee to pollinate making that pollen non-airborn?
July 28th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I'm pretty sure that this is similar to a homeopathic approach where you are given tablets that have a tiny weeny amount of the thing you are allergic to in them and then your body builds up a resistance to them.
Honey is one of those things that is highly recommended for loads of different things - my parent's generation used to have a teaspoon of honeycomb every day (along with their cod-liver oil etc.).
A few years ago I made a conscious decision to improve my diet and I have to say my hayfever has really eased since. There are only a few days per year where I even notice it now.
Kind regards, Dan
August 27th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Such great article with useful information, I have suffered many allergies along my life and not only medicine that relief them.
Thanks for sharing.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
assertiveness, not only is honey good for health purposes, it tastes good, too.
Acid Reflux, you're welcome.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:48 am
As you said medicine is not our only allergy relief. I like these articles so much talking about natural remedies. Good post Stefanie and good luck
August 29th, 2008 at 6:10 am
I loves the test of honey and I will surely drink a glass of honey tea each morning, as I knew it can help to detoxify the toxic inside our body...
Beside that, everytime when I cut my finger, I immediately put some honey on the wound to stop the breeding...
By the way, thanks for the great article, Stefanie
September 1st, 2008 at 11:31 am
I have been looking for this everywhere!! Thanks for sharing, will let my friends know about this cool blog!
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:19 am
online pharmacy, some natural remedies are great
Wilson, I've never heard of honey to stop bleeding! It makes sense, though
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 am
I absolutely love honey! Now I have an excuse to chow waffles (cheapo eggo from walmart)around midnight during a power blogging session...it'll keep my allergies down!
NICE TIP!
Edgar
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:29 am
I must admit that I am glad to read about this remedy here! I have taken lots of medicine to cure my sickness, nothing worked until I tried honey. 48 hours and I am feeling great.
Thanks for this awesome post and I will be checking here often for more.
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 am
These natural remedies are wonderful, thanks for sharing them out.
Cheers
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:57 am
It did help in the wound healing, Stefanie. Do you know that the "Manuka Honey" has the very special "Unique Manuka Factor" or also known as 'UMF". It's to be found that have the antibacterial function, which it can heal the wound instantly!
Beside that, honey also a very good antioxidant as well!
September 4th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Bookmarking, remember, it only works with honey from bees local to you!
Soma, I'm glad it works for you!
Wilson, that's awesome. I'll have to try it, I'm a klutz and always cutting myself!
September 5th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Thanks for such great information about natural remedies. Keep up the good work
September 5th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
iphone, you're welcome!
October 7th, 2008 at 11:10 am
You cannot emphasize more on "LOCAL" in local honey.
The best way to get your local honey is to go to your nearest farmers market and get the honey directly from the farmers.
I can attest to it because I was in New Jersey in the beginning of the Summer and I started getting hay fever symptoms due to some flower/pollen in the NY/NJ area that is not familiar to my body I guess.
I went to the local farm, got the honey and took it for like 3 weeks and voila, no symptoms from then on, even on days with high pollen advisories.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Issac, glad that it worked for you! Yes, I think a lot of people assume that any honey will work, which is completely missing the point!
October 13th, 2008 at 4:52 am
Also, in addition to your post, honey especially organic honey provides the ff benefits:
-Boosts energy and endurance.
-Promotes growth of good bacteria
-Helps with sleeplessness
October 20th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Joseph, thank you for letting us know those benefits!
October 26th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I agree with this article and I'm glad to know the power of honey. Hopefully doing this can help with my allergies.
November 7th, 2008 at 4:43 am
So it's basically like when you get a flu shot right? You actually ingest just a little bit of the actual virus or in this case pollen but it has to be local because it's the local pollen you are allergic to. Is that true that you are only allergic to the pollen in your area? I find it interesting because I never suffered allergies until I moved to massachusetts from new hamphsire. But I do live in the pioneer valley which is one of the worst places to live if you suffer allergies.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:09 pm
External hard drive, yes, similar to the flu shot. The difference, though, is you are slowly building up a tolerance, where the flu shot is only a one time thing.
You can be allergic to the pollen from anywhere. Local honey can help because it's contains the allergens you spend the most time around. I never experienced bad allergies when I lived in Connecticut, but, since we moved, they've been terrible!
November 26th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Thanks so much for the tip about honey. I will definitely try it when I am in need of a remedy next time. I had the most severe sinus infection a few weeks ago and had to take antibiotics. The sinus medications I tried, which were prescription, made me nauseous and nervous. I could not stand taking them. I could not even sleep while taking them. The cure was almost not worth it.
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Water Damage, wow, that sucks. Do you know why you had such a severe reaction to the meds?
December 12th, 2008 at 6:38 am
I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles.As you said medicine is not our only allergy relief.I loves the test of honey and I will surely drink a glass of honey with water each night.I like these articles so much talking about natural remedies ...keep posting..cool!!!
December 16th, 2008 at 12:05 am
This a interesting idea but the bee collects different pollen. Pollen in the air is done by what they call broadcasting. Heavy pollen cant travel in the air well and needs the help of the bee
December 18th, 2008 at 11:06 am
skf, I'm not sure I understand how that is different.
December 19th, 2008 at 2:09 am
Wow it's good info. That honey is helping for allergies i think it is brilliant idea. Really informative article for new readers.
December 19th, 2008 at 2:20 am
Wow it's a great information that honey is good for our allergies it is a very useful tips for us and i will try it and foreword this helpful information to my friends.
December 27th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Raw honey is amazing and I don't doubt its effectiveness at building our resistant to pollen. Raw honey is also quite expensive... What do you think about non-raw honey like those sold in the supermarkets. Are they equally effective?
January 13th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
I did not know honey was so good for your allergies. One should be careful not to over-do it, with the sugar intake. I'll recommend this method to friends that are suffering. I'm allergic to cat dander, maybe this will help.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Air Purifiers, I'm not sure. I think I read somewhere that non-raw won't work the same.
Kevin, honey won't work for cat dander. It works for other allergies because the allergen ends up in the pollen, which is transferred to the honey. Cat dander wouldn't end up in the pollen.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:20 am
I suffer from severe hay fever,have tried all sorts of medicines.I guess I'll try this tip.It sure has been explained well.I hope it works out.Thanks for sharing.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I've been reading about the honey/allergy thing for a couple of years. A vet told me to give locally grown honey to my dog who has allergies. I don't have any allergy but I'm lucky enough to have a country boy I work with who has enough land to bee keep. He started this about 3 yrs and every year his yields more honey. I get mine from him.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:49 am
This is true, except I heard it has to be local honey so that you get all the local pollens in the honey. Also, a lot of pet owners give honey to them to stop their allergies. Not sure how well it works though.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
You have done a lot of people a big favor. I don’t know what motivates you but don’t stop now.
Thanks a million
February 27th, 2009 at 4:21 am
I am pretty sure that this remedy is not working for everyone. Introducing allergen (in this case: honey) even though in small portion will not work if our body has developped heavy immune protection in the first place.
I've read somewhere that this methods work by combining some small doses of medication that suppress our immune system, then gradually increasing known allergen in daily diet.
Nice article though
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 am
honey is off course a very good diet.its prove to be very useful for remedies of different kind of diseases.
kind regards.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 am
informative stuff on honey.i always use honey after my meal.it is helpful for digestion.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Healthcare marketing, yes, it does have to be local honey.
allergy immune, you're right, it won't necessarily work for everyone, but there is a good chance it will work if introduced properly. I even read peanuts are being used as a treatment for peanut allergies in this manner!
March 20th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Honey is not safe for infants under one year of age,but for everyone else it is perfectly safe and natural.Local honey is available at apiaries, produce stands and health food stores.The honey can be taken as one tablespoon or divided into two generous teaspoon servings.It can be eaten with food - on cereal or toast or yogurt - but should not be heated.
March 20th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Local honey can assist with hay fever and other pollen allergic reactions.It is important to start with small amounts.Approximately a teaspoon per day should help.You must first ensure the honey agrees with your body.If it doesn't, discontinue use immediately.
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:38 am
[...] by getting to know them and by buying their products. Local honey (within about 50 miles of home) may help tone down some types of plant [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Loved the article! I had no idea that honey would help with allergies like that. Thanks for sharing.
Mark
May 4th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Do you have any studies to support this claim? I've been doing some research and have not found any. In fact, I found one that showed no difference between three groups: one that had local raw honey daily, one that had a nationally distributed brand, and one that had corn syrup made to taste like honey.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Sounds great! I'm all about avoiding medications where possible. Honey's just plain good tasting too, so there's nothin' wrong with that. Thanks for the tip.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Awesome article! In theory I can see how this would work and I don't know why I've never tried it. I myself have bad allergies, which are definitely no fun at all.
July 25th, 2009 at 12:42 am
I take a spoonful of honey in my tea every day...it's just what I grew up doing and I have to say, my family is hardly ever sick.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I'm always shocked when people talk about how great local honey can be for allergies but never give a warning. I had heard this advice before and upon trying it with local honey, no more than 20 miles from my home my throat started to close up. The only reason I didn't end up in the hospital was because I had already taken a dose of Benadryl for the day. This is not the most sound advice and I suggest people should take precautions before trying something like that.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Crystal, you may have had a serious allergy to something that happened to be in the honey. I'm sorry you had to have that experience, and you're right - if someone has serious allergies, this might not be the best option, or ingesting smaller amounts at a time may be a better option.
September 20th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Agreed, if you have serious allergies like that, it's best for you too just stay away
October 16th, 2009 at 9:56 am
It's very informative for people with allergy but even amazing the care you take with the safety note about infants, something that can easily be overlooked.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
My son and myself both get allergies in the spring time and through the first part of summer.
We don't eat a lot of honey at our house but I like the idea of slowly building up an immunity to pollen by ingesting honey over a period of time.
Brilliant
We'll be trying it this spring for sure.
Thanks!!
October 25th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
When you have a minor flu - having a cup of tea with honey instead of the sugar smoothes the throat and helps you fight your flu.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Great post but remember, like everything else, use it in moderation to get the most benefit.
November 20th, 2009 at 4:52 am
Hey this is a great article! i am a patron of home remedies. well, why use modern medicines when the natural remedies works wonders!
December 4th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Makes sense really, immunisation shots are normally weak strain of what you are being immunised against so this will work the same.