5 Do's and Don'ts To Help You During Allergy Season

Here are five tips to help get you through allergy season this spring.

Do:

• Acupressure.  Place your middle finger below your cheekbone, directly below your pupil.  Place your index finger on either side of your nostril.  Gradually press inwards and upwards under the cheekbone for one minute.  Repeat as needed.
• Eat ginger.  Among its many benefits, ginger’s anti-histamine properties help to relieve allergy symptoms due to constriction and swelling in the bronchioles and sinuses.    

Don’t:

• Overindulge in refined sugar.  Refined sugar triggers the inflammatory state and weakens the immune system.  The more weakened your immune system, the harder it has to work to fight off attacks from foreign invaders (pollen, dust, etc), and the more severe symptoms you will experience. 
  
• Overindulge in dairy.  Dairy products contain arachidonic acid, which metabolizes leukotriene D4.  Leukotriene D4 triggers bronchiole contraction, increasing mucus secretion.  
• Stress.  When your stress response is high, the body increases levels of cytokine.  Cytokine is a protein responsible for cell-to-cell communication in immune responses and pushes the body toward a state of inflammation. 

If these tips don't do the trick, acupuncture and Chinese herbs are excellent at reducing or eliminating seasonal allergies, as well as boosting immunity to prevent a recurrence of symptoms.