Honey Book Author Shares Cautionary Spring Allergies Tale...

By Cal Orey

Years ago one Friday night I was suffering big-time from a bout of the "gookies in the throat" thanks to the seasonal changes, dog hair, dust in the air. I held a tablet in my hand and thought, "Should I take a fourth one? Or should I not?" No way was I going to get a doctor to look at me at midnight (and it wasn't an E.R. thing but it felt like it). So, I popped the pill. And I waited to feel normal like a princess without post nasal drip. 
Thirty minutes later: I paid the price and turned into a frog--or felt like it with the slimy stuff in my throat replaced by terrible stomach cramping...I thought my body was morphing into a reptilian monster. 
By midnight the paramedics arrived. I crawled to the front door. My jeans were unzipped, tummy was bloated and bathroom visits followed. A lot.  The team of First Responders commented on the wood paneling and high beam ceilings in my rustic cabin as I groaned and moaned in between visits to the toilet.
The team tried to convince me to get into the ambulance because it could have been a lot of terrible things--health woes, they said.  But I wouldn't budge because common sense told me I took more than less of the anti-allergy stuff. I refused to go to the hospital. I repeated, "It's the anti-allergy drug!" And the next day, I did my Internet research. Sure enough, you cannot overdo it with specific meds to fight allergies.  So, while I survived I've turned to honey and tea to battle the onset of seasonal changes in the air and my body.


ALLERGIES (Stop seasonal misery)  Dealing with annoying Spring Fever is like a roller coaster ride, and, of course, from personal experience I can tell you sneezing, a runny nose, and post nasal drip can ruin an indoor or outdoor event, thanks to seasonal pollen, dust, and pet dander. Every year when the yellow pollen arrives like an uninvited visitor at Lake Tahoe I hold a tissue in one hand and am on the phone to pharmacist with the other. I am always on a mission to find the natural remedy to stop my sniffles.  But honey may be the answer...

What Honey Rx to Use: Try eating a tablespoon of locally produced honey. Proponents of honey tell me that your immune system will get used to the local pollen in it (it should be within a 50 mile radius from where you live).

Why You'll Bee Happy:  By taking the honey cure, you may lose your allergy symptoms. Or not. It's worth the effort and is less pricey than a visit to the doctor or an allergist. Also, honey is a natural remedy and doesn't come with unknown side effects linked to allergy medications or pricey shots.  One summer day, I looked outside and the Tahoe yellow pollen was everywhere--cars, trees, and the ground. I started putting honey (not just the local alfalfa variety) in my tea, yogurt, and baking. Two days later, my sniffles were history. If it was coincidence or a honey cure it doesn't matter. It worked.

Tea, water, citrus can help lessen congestion

If you have mild respiratory problems, from allergies to asthma, honey may enhance the immune system to build up a better arsenal against airborne allergens--and help you breathe easier. Honey enthusiasts like D.C. Jarvis, M.D., believe honeycomb is excellent for treating certain breathing problems. The honey prescription,according to him, was chewing honeycomb which may line the entire breathing tract. 
Also, eating honey on a daily basis was recommended. "As far as I have been able to learn, Vermont folk medicine uses honeycomb as a desensitizing agent; from the results obtained by its use it appears to be anti-allergic in its action." He gives credit to the honeybees. 
Beekeepers tell me that honey may help allergies linked to trees and ragweed--the culprit of hay fever and its irritating symptoms during spring and autumn months and often right before.  If mold and food allergens are bothering you--honey is not going to be your allergy cure. As beekeepers are busy at work selling local honey to allergy sufferers, I am busy including all types of honeys in my diet because I want to be covered when both seasons. And if honey can help me cope with congestion and sneezing--I'm in. While further research is needed, I'm not going to wait for scientists to go to their lab rats for a go-ahead. More honey, please.