The past few years is when I first started noticing my allergies. Now it seems like every year they get worse. I'll pretty much take whatever I have in the house and then try to sleep it off. When I first noticed how much the allergies were bothering me I went to the Dr and was prescribed Nasonex. Worked like a charm. But then my prescription ran out and I am too lazy and cheap to run back and forth to the Dr for allergy medication. less

So it's that time of year again. Pollen counts are high, mold is growing like crazy after all the rain and snow melt and those of us with allergies are feeling pretty miserable.

I am allergic to pretty much everything, from our animals to spring, summer and fall seasonal things. I take a Zyrtec every day and that mostly controls the major symptoms but...

Ugh! On really high pollen days or days I have to brush or bathe the dogs I really suffer a lot. Itchy eyes, clogged sinuses, stuffy nose, sneezing, watering eyes and feeling like I could sleep for days are the main problems.

I'm sure a ton of you are in the same boat. My question is this...

Besides OTC or prescription allergy meds, what do you do to get some relief? Any home remedies or tips and tricks?

This year is pretty bad for me and I'm thinking... unite and share with fellow sufferers and maybe we can ALL ease our suffering a bit! less

Local honey is helpful for allergy sufferers. I think it's a homeopathic type treatment. When pollen is really heavy out I put t shirts on my dogs for walks and take them off at the door when we come inside, and wipe their little feet to so as not to get pollen all over the place inside. I wear a cap outside that I take off when coming inside, and often have a set of clothes designated as clothes for inside,and clothes for outside. I vacuum A LOT, and dust with a damp cloth less

I was dealing with some minor crappy stuff from pollen last month, but it wasn't bad & didn't last long, thankfully. However, my partner, the kids & my dad have been coughing like crazy. Especially the kid. He's coughing all night right now & had rough sniffles over the weekend.

I've been taking seabuckthorn oil & Emergen-C like mad. Taking the oil and the extract/powder and even doubled up on it when they started hacking. Lol. Maybe that's why I'm one of two people who haven't had it in my family so far.

For relief, I've been giving the kids (and my partner has been taking it) the seabuckthorn oil since it's higher in Vitamin C than anything else & when you have enough Vitamin C, infection won't be able to thrive. So I gave the kid 2 dropper fulls of the oil -- nobody will take the extract, probably because it literally smells like sewage. LOL. I'm the only one who'll do it, but I just dump the sour powder in my mouth and chase it with a lot of Dr. Pepper (water isn't tasty enough to rid the sour!). That way, it doesn't smell like sewage! Lol.

The Emergen-C powder packs are actually very helpful. We keep them at the house year round. The thing is, only taking one packet a day doesn't give a lot of relief because it's only 1,000 mg. If we take at least double (for my partner and I, we even require far more than that sometimes) it actually does something.

The EmergenC tastes bad too, but I found a solution! I only get the citrus flavor because I can dump it in water, then add Mio black cherry flavor & it tastes like fruit punch, sorta! Very easy to get down that way. You can also use Kool-Aid flavor or something similar.

Also, me & the kid have been taking aloe vera today -- mostly for our stomachs though, not really for the allergies, although it might provide some relief since it's anti-bacterial & all.

Herbal teas are helpful too. No OTC drug works for me besides BC Powder for headaches and fever. Otherwise, it just makes me dizzy or loopy. I also take a spoon of raw honey when I have a cough or cold or just because it has so many benefits. Add lemon too, it's supposed to be helpful.

When I had the issues last month & a horrid cough along with it, I'd take spoon fulls of honey and when I woke up (when the cough was the worst) I'd boil water, add 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, let it cool, add a tablespoon of honey & drink it. It can be hard to get down if you add too much cinnamon, but it is very helpful! My cough was clearing up after two days of this.

I also have some herbal concoction called Kick Ass Immune Booster -- took a lot of when I first got it, but whew! That taste is almost unbearable. I just can't stand it anymore. Lol. It does help though!

I'd say honey, cinnamon & vinegar (a combo or separately) are the best things for this stuff. I don't think there's a whole lot that will do as much as it, and Seabuckthorn. less