Allergies & sinus

Hi all,

So the past 2 weeks have been very stressful for me. One of my nephews was in the hospital very sick. The hospital he was in sucked big time and a lot went wrong because of it. He is doing fine now that he is out of there but it wore me out. It is spring time which I am so happy about but this time of the year can be both great & suck for those of us with seasonal allergies. I have been allergy tested and am allergic to the grasses & most trees that grow here in the Midwest. Home sweet home! Some years it is a big problem & some years not so much. This year is a problem Spring so far. We have had lots of big windy days,temperature fluctuations,etc. so it has kicked the pollen up into high concentration. When you couple that with stress & exhaustion it is bad news. On Monday night I started to get the symptoms of not only my allergies appearing but also a mild sinus infection. I suffered with sinus infections for years in the past...all year long. I did the allergy shots took the steroid nose sprays and the zyrtecs & claritans before they became OTC meds and nothing worked. For the sinus infections I was always put on antibiotics which I hated and a decongestant of some kind. I downed Tylenol & ibuprofen like candy for the headaches which in turn caused rebound headaches. So I had headaches that lasted for days sometimes weeks. I saw specialists and nothing helped me. I was miserable and frustrated all of the time. When I made some dietary changes things changed. Dairy..see ya! Processed foods...au revoir. Welcome whole foods,fruits & veggies! I made these changes initially for my husband's cancer diet but they ended up helping my allergies. My primary care doc even commented on the fact that he was shocked that I wasn't having allergy or sinus issues like before. There must have been a trigger in those foods. Dairy is well known as an inflammation causing food & processed foods are full of food allergy causing items. Anyway my tree & grass allergy is still present although under much better control these days. I use a netti pot regularly. I have also discovered a few natural things that really seem to remedy these issues. The supplements Quercetin & Olive Leaf as well as drinking some Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar diluted in water, eating a clove of garlic (yeah that will wake you up in the morning) and a nasal spray that contains grapefruit seed extract that I found at Whole Foods. Grapefruit Seed extract is anti fungal,viral & microbial. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant. I clean with the white vinegar. and garlic is nicknamed the Italian antibiotic for its' healing properties. These things work for me. You might give them a try if you have allergies and resulting sinus issues. They are natural to the body, easy to find at your health food store and not addictive or causing side effects. The netti pot is a big deal in our house. We use it often & when we travel they accompany us. I slacked off the past two weeks because I had a lot going on and I learned my lesson. If you still haven't tried one out what are you waiting for? Go get the Nell Med at your drugstore if you don't want to buy the netti pot and give it a try. Same concept. I prefer the netti pot to the NellMed bottle myself. If you follow directions it is very pleasant. One of my sisters refuses to try it saying she is afraid she will feel like she is drowning. I promise it doesn't feel hat way at all. It takes a few tries to get used to it is all.

Happy Spring! I am wishing us all a clean & clear season.