hay fever !!??

[dennydrewcook]

So my girlfriend has hay fever in particular rape seed. I've heard that birch pollen allergy can be stopped by drinking the sap and I believe someone on here has proven this. I know most plant toxins has an anti toxin to stop the plant from harming itself. So I wondered if would this work for rape seed pollen and what I could do to stop this. very long winded I know
thanks


Denny 😊

 

[xylaria]

You could try eating brassica flowers in salad. Really nice, certainty rape charlock and mustards are good.

Or try local honey.

 

[cranmere]

The trouble is that allergy is not due to a toxin of any kind, it's due to your body over-reacting to a particular substance that is harmless to most other people. There are all sorts of folk tales about eating honey being a good treatment for hayfever but clinical trials don't bear those out unfortunately.

 

[dennydrewcook]

hmm I'll try that on my guinea pig, I just wondered if it works for birch pollen and it's sap curing then maybe it would with rape.


Denny 😊

 

[hog]

So far so good for me, get it bad every year so here's fingers crossed.

 

[didicoy]

I would try rape honey.

 

[dennydrewcook]

isn't there a law against that ? 😂 I kid I'll give it a go thanks


Denny 😊

 

[Tonyuk]

I've tried the honey idea but it never really done anything. Your best bet is to buy over the counter anti-histamines. They're normally either loratidine or citirizine. Some people can use either of them with equal effect, and some will only get benefit from one of them. My advice is to buy both packs (Should cost about £1 each) and take both for a few days to relieve symptoms, after that stop taking one of them and see if the symptoms come back. If they do then you know which one works for you. If you get it really bad go to the doctors and ask them to prescribe some. Up here i get them prescribed in the summer months now and the tablet you get works very well.

Tonyuk

 

[dennydrewcook]

hmm the problem Is she's already on huge tablets stupid strength and they don't do much.


Denny 😊

 

[didicoy]

If it is the pollen from rape seed pollen that is causing the allergy, there is no point eating honey say that has been made from the collection of say tree pollen. If you contact someone who can assure you the likelihood of their honeybees have fed from Rape pollen, this should give you positive results. I worked with a agricultural fencing contractor ( who also had a small flock of sheep) in the Midlands area. He would only buy local honey and eating local honey could mean the difference between wearing a full faced fan filtered helmet when hay making or not. Their may not be scientific evidence to support the benefits of eating honey. But many people do rely on it for relief. Do the research, buy local, see if it helps. Good luck. I suffered for many years as a kid with hayfever. Now it's one or two sneezes a year if I'm unlucky. But that is down to medical intervention some 40 years ago or just growing out of it.

 

[cranmere]

hmm the problem Is she's already on huge tablets stupid strength and they don't do much.

Different antihistamines work better for different people so it's worth trying the range of things on the market. Look up the generic names because there are an awful lot of brand name pills that contain exactly the same thing. The supermarkets sell ultra cheap generics of the two most common ones. If those don't work it's worth trying some of the older fashioned ones, Piriton works far better than anything else for me for example. The one trouble with them is that they tend to make you sleepy so start with the smallest dose. Break the pills in half if necessary and see if that's enough without getting too tired. If it's specifically eyes or nasal problems that cause the most discomfort it's worth trying eye drops or nasal sprays instead. Sometimes sodium cromoglycate drops or sprays work as well as antihistamines but you need to use them regularly even when you don't have symptoms throughout the season. Ask a pharmacist for advice on those.

 

[baggins]

Have you tried ground ivy, one of the mint family. It is a great anti-histamine and can help some people with hay fever. quite a pleasant tasting plant, just much on it raw.

 

[dennydrewcook]

thanks for the advice guys , drives me crazy because many a hike has been canceled due to her hay fever and I suffer from wood sickness if I don't get my weekly does of bushcraft!


Denny 😊

 

[baggins]

another natural one to try is Ribwort plantain. (thats to common one you find in the garden with he tall seed pods).
Also, have you tried using local rape seed products such as locally sourced cold pressed oil? that might help build immunity.

 

[Tonyuk]

If you cant get any relief through the prescribed anti-histamines then there is an injection you can get., i think its called kennalog and is suppose to suppress the symptoms for a number of months. Again speak to your doctor about it since there are loads of anti-histamines out there so it may just be the type you've been given as mentioned above