If the warmer days and more frequent sunshine weren’t enough to tell you spring is on its way, the tickle in your throat and itchy watery eyes probably are.  This spring, rather than running to your local pharmacy for over-the-counter or prescription allergy relief, consider naturopathic allergy relief options.  These treatments  balance bodies response to allergies naturally avoiding the negative side effects of medications.

Traditional allergy medications work to reduce your symptoms. This helps you feel a little better but they do nothing to treat the cause of the allergic reaction(s), i.e. balance. What is the cause?  The cause is an overactive or overstimulated immune system.  When you take these medications, you become dependent on them and the true cause of your allergies is never really addressed.

The goal of naturopathic doctors is to identify the cause of your allergies, and tap into your body’s inherent mechanisms to be in balance.

What is An Allergic Reaction?

An allergic reaction is your body’s attempt to combat a foreign invader. When something foreign comes in contact with your body, be it pollen or dust particles, foods you are sensitive to, or pet dander, your body will try to isolate and eliminate the offending entity.  The first step in the process is that the allergen is recognized as a foreign invader.  When this happens it triggers immune cells to isolate the substance.  These cells produce and release histamine, which triggers inflammation in the affected areas. Once tissues are inflamed, the capillaries allow more white blood cells to enter the affected area(s) in an effort to remove/deactivate the foreign objects. Unfortunately, your body can begin to go into overdrive, continuing the immune response longer than necessary. This is particularly pronounced in those that are very sensitive to specific molecules. The heightened sensitivity increases the immune response and therefore the symptoms too. 

Most traditional allergy medicines don't address the underlying over-active immune system underlying your allergies.  Rather they treat the result of the over-active immune system.  For instance, antihistamine medications, block the histamine from causing symptoms of allergies.  The histamine is still floating around in your body and so are other immune chemical messengers.  Decongestant medications, open the airways to help you breath better but do nothing to address the over-stimulated immune system.  

So what is the cause of the overactive immune system?

The underlying cause is increased sensitivity which has many causes.  However, when you reduce the immune system over-active state, the symptomatic treatments are not needed or are less necessary.  Let's look at some of these causes. 

Naturopathic Allergy Relief

Wouldn’t it be nice to work with your body’s natural healing mechanisms, allowing it to process allergens as it should, without needing to rely on a pill. 

Naturopathic doctors use  natural allergy relief treatments to keep your body healthy and balanced throughout allergy season which include:

• Histamine load: mainly your lifestyle and diet contribute to the overall amount of histamine your body makes.  This is referred to as histamine load. Sometimes we are just plain allergic to things. Other times your lifestyle and diet exposure us to more histamine or cause more susceptible. For instance some foods have more histamine in them based on how they are prepared or inherent in the food.  You can read more about this and histamine intolerance here.  Other times your immune system is primed to be more reactive based on a poor digestion.  These cumulative effects are your histamine load or burden. Addressing these factors can make a big difference to reduce your histamine load.  
• Nutraceuticals:  Sometime the problem is not as much with production of histamine but how efficiently your body gets rid of it.  Certain vitamins and can help your body eliminate histamine.  The more histamine you are exposed to though the harder your body has to work to get rid of it.   Understanding your genetics can give us insight into how to help your body process your histamine more efficiently.  
• IV Vitamin C Therapy: Vitamin C helps to stabilize the immune cells that release histamine.  You can think of this like a natural allergy antihistamine because it does decrease the overall histamine released.   Even if you have a healthy Vitamin C intake,  it doesn't always absorption efficiently into your body. IV Vitamin C treatments ensure a high dose of Vitamin C gets directly into your bloodstream and cells where it is needed most.
  

Acupuncture for Allergy Relief 

Acupuncture has been used to balance the immune system for thousands of years. Recent studies have concluded that acupuncture for allergies is a safe and incredibly effective treatment for those who suffer from rhinitis, which is the irritating, itchy, stuffy and/or runny nose that often accompanies allergic reactions. In addition to balancing the immune system response, acupuncture for allergies also releases endorphins, often called “feel good hormones”, that reduce pain and increase sensations of pleasure - definitely a positive benefit of acupuncture for those who suffer from seasonal allergies.

Contact a Phoenix Naturopathic Doctor and Live Again!

Instead of saying indoors, tissues in hand, dreading the onset of spring, take a look at some of the other factors that may be influencing your allergies.  For a customized naturopathic allergy relief plan contact Southwest Integrative Medicine.  We go beyond the superficial layer and help you find real solutions to your health problems.