Raw local honey for allergies? page

[jenn26point2]

So I have this horrible cough. It comes in waves. Early morning I wake up coughing and choking and gagging and nearly puking. About mid-day to late afternoon I have a coughing fit that is much the same. Then at night when I lay down for bed, it's like the morning only 2 fold.

I consulted with my doctor (who is paleo) after the cough lasted for 2 weeks. She said it's allergies after listening to my chest and telling me it's clear of any sounds. I thought for sure it had moved into the bronchitis stage with the ferocity of my cough. She suggested taking an allergy med for it.

I did. No relief. DH had DS at dr yesterday and questioned my cough. She said Zyrtec would be required for a week to clear up the cough (wth??).

I don't want to wait a week and thought about attacking this from both angles (pharmaceutically and naturally).

Someone mentioned raw local honey (local for the local pollen) and that it could help clear up my allergies. Great. I'm game. I have some local raw honey at home.

My question is, how much do I take and how often? How soon should I expect results?

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!!

[palebluedots]

My husband tried the raw local honey trick for two years straight. It did not work for him at all.

[OutdoorAmy]

I'm trying it now. I have still had to take my pill a couple times (the day when it was windy and had rained the day before was the worst), but it's much less than I took it last year, despite being a "worse" allergy season.

I take a tsp. every morning and if my symptoms get worse during the day then I'll take my pill as well. (I take Alavert though, Zyrtec doesn't work for me)

[Knifegill]

If the bees used the plants you are reacting to, it might work. From what I've read, you are supposed to eat a small spoonful once per day beginning in winter and through spring. By summer, the work is done and you might be sniffle-proof. It worked wonders for me, but it doesn't work for everybody.

Alternatively, rubbing stinging nettle all over yourself works in a pinch. If you're out fishing and something non-bee-visited hits your nose, just rub the bottoms of your arms all over with stinging nettle. Poof. Dry mucous membranes. Only stings the first few times, you adapt very quickly. By the fourth or fifth exposure, it barely tickles.

[Nady]

When was the last time you changed your pillows? Maybe the allergen is closer than you think~

[noodletoy]

when i gave up grains, my chronic, life-long bronchial issues went POOF!

honey may work, but it takes months to build up any immunity from it. they may also not have been collecting the pollen which is afflicting you now.

have you tried a neti pot to relieve the symptoms? it's a weird feeling at first, but works so very well.the warm water irrigation actually flushes out the irritants and restores moisture to your nasal membranes. those pills just dry you out and ultimately can make things much worse.

[BlueToad]

We've had great success with local honey. We will take it straight once or twice a day, or you can mix it with tea or hot water with lemon. For those coughing fits, I've seen some pretty instant results from putting a spoonful of Vicks vaporub in a bowl of boiling water, then breathing in the vapors. Put a towel over your head to keep the steam in one place. Kind of a mess to clean up because the Vicks is greasy, but it really works.

[BlueToad]

On a side note, when my son had a cough like that several years ago, we found out that he was allergic to the dish soap I was using. We had changed out all the other soaps in the house and gotten rid of his hives but he had this horrible cough. Our osteopath helped us figure that one out.

[jfreaksho]

Allergies... I've had them for years, but they've gotten way better since I quit grains. I just moved across the country this spring as well, and got myself some raw local wildflower honey, which I have a spoonful just about every day. I still get a few random sneezes occasionally, but fixing my diet and upping my vitamin D did more to help than I think the honey could.

You can sometimes buy the bee pollen and eat it directly- it gets in the honey and filtered out, or something, I don't really know- but it doesn't taste bad (not great, either) and is loaded with B vitamins and other such goodness. It's pretty expensive, though.

[JBailey]

I just saw a headline on a local news site saying as little as 1/4 tsp of local honey can do the trick.

We used to have beehives, and I have one last little jar of goldenrod honey left from them. I don't have much allergy problems, but honey still feels like powerful medicine to me.