Ah-choo!! Sniffle, sniffle. Ah-CHOO!! AH-CHOOO!!!! I blow my nose. I can’t talk to anyone more than a sentence without stopping to sneeze. My eyes are red and watering, and sometimes unbearably itchy. Ugh!! I love Spring-time… but the pollen is terrible!! Can’t anybody tell me of a way to stop this reaction, OTHER than with regular allergy medication???
That was my story several years ago. Actually, that was me last year. Well, I have to admit, that was me just last week.
Don’t get me wrong; I love Spring – I really do! I love the smell of the cool, refreshing breezes that blow on otherwise warm days, watching the grass grow greener daily, seeing the flowers that are popping up everywhere, observing the birds that are “house shopping”, preparing their nests, hearing the pitter patter of the rejuvenating rains on the porch roof as I watch the storms blow across the mountains, anticipating just when the little knobs on the tree branches will burst into bloom……… I love the excitement, the thrill, the newness of it all! But along with all of the beauty comes… yep: pollen.
Some people are blessed to not be allergic to pollen. We have some of those people in our family. But we also have several who, like me, have strong reactions to it. And it can take away from a lot of the enjoyment of spring. For a LONG time, I have been wondering, What can I do about this? I don’t like to take all the expensive, chemical-laden, commercially produced, temporarily-symptom-fixing products that we can buy at the store. Granted, I think those things have their place, and I’m all for using them at the right time. There has been many a time, even this week, when they come in extremely handy for “emergencies” – those times when I would really rather not be blowing my nose and crying and sneezing all the time… like when I’m singing special music in church or teaching piano lessons. But to live on them all through the pollen season??? Well, that’s not my first preference.
So that’s why I’m writing this: to let you know about something that I’ve found just within the past several days. It’s an amazing substance. It’s sweet (although slightly sticky, as most sweets are), delicious, good for you, and 100% natural!!! How much better can it get?? Would you like to know the name of this wonderful stuff? Actually, you probably use it all the time; you certainly know what it is; it’s usually a “pantry item” in most homes. At our house, we jokingly call it “partially digested bee food.” But the more common (and certainly more appetizing!) name is: honey. That’s right! Just plain old, regular honey. I love it. So when I looked up a remedy for allergies in a home remedies book, I was delighted to find this listed first. Actually, the book says to take a 1-inch cube of honeycomb, swallow the honey, and chew on the waxy part for about ten minutes. (This HAS to be local honey – the stuff produced by the bees in YOUR area – so that the allergens it contains can build your immune system against the pollen that you deal with in your area.) Do this every day for a month or two before the pollen season, so that when it starts, you already have built an immunity to at least some of the problem.
Well, I didn’t discover this until a few days ago. And I was reading the page between sneezes and through watery eyes. But I decided that it was worth it to give it a try. We don’t currently have any honey in the comb, so I used the next best thing – a spoon. No, I didn’t chew the spoon. 😉 But I stuck it in the jar, pulled it out, spun it around several times until it quit dripping, and then enjoyed the wonderful sensation of eating something that I really enjoy, and hoping that it would help my problem! I did this four or five times the first day, three or four the next, once the next, and once or twice every day since. And guess what? My symptoms have pretty much all disappeared!!! It’s been several days now; I’ve been able to take walks, work in the yard, and flop on the grass, with everything blooming and a strong breeze blowing right in my face, and I usually only have a tiny bit of trouble (if any) when I come back inside later! It’s such a relief, and I’m just praising the Lord for every clear breath I take!!
Now I’m not going to dogmatically say that the honey is what did it. And even if it was, I’m not going to declare that it will do it for you, too. But I just wanted to let you know, because if you are at the point where I was (and usually am every spring), you’ll probably want to at least give it a try!!!
Proverbs 24:13 – “My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste…”
(P.S. And if it works, let me know. I’d be really interested in hearing if this helps anyone else!!) 🙂
Wow! I have heard people complaining all over the place about the pollen the past few days. Now I know what to suggest that might help them!
And by the way, I’m not surprised the answer was honey. It seems there is always some new problem popping up that can be helped/cured using honey! Thanks for sharing this, Amanda. I can’t wait to tell people about it!
Glad you found honey so helpful! Maybe more folks ought to give it a try. I don’t have allergies but honey has really helped me prevent getting a sore throat when I feel it coming. Research also indicates that honey helps the body take and use more calcium from the food we eat, making it very good for the bones (Proverbs 16:24). Honey with milk – that’s Biblical too! 🙂 Buying local honey also helps support your local beekeepers. By the way, did you know that Souwood honey from the northern mountains of Georgia was judged the best honey in the whole world TWICE?
Amanda
I have never had to worry about allergies, but have talked to bee keepers about honey for helping allergies. Apparently the honey can come from a shorter distance north and south and a longer distance east and west. He said it has more to do with the plants in your latitude region than the longitude region.
Glad you are feeling better!
I’ve never had to worry about allergies . . . until this spring; and boy, is it a headache! When I came across your article, through blurry eyes red with perpetual itching, I decided I’d give your suggestion a try.
Of course, I was skeptical, especially since the only stuff I could get quickly was from 150 miles away. But Michael told me that any honey from the entire state would work, so I began to dutifully take my five (or more) spoonfuls a day.
Well, I don’t know if it was the honey or not, but all the allergies began to vanish slowly over the next few days. I was amazed. Here I had been suffering for two weeks, and suddenly, poof! after this one sweet addition, they have significantly let up!
The ultimate test came Thursday: I went out to take pictures of all the pollen-saturated flowers . . . with no problem! Thanks for writing about this; I now have much more energy, can work harder, and can enjoy this beautiful time of year.
By the way, do I dare ask if that gorgeous picture at the end was taken by The Photography Student? 🙂
Well, THREE HUZZAHS, James! I’m glad it worked!! This is the first “success” story I’ve heard other than my own, so I’m glad I now have another one to share with people! Thanks for reporting! 🙂
About the photo…. uhhh, well, I WANTED The Photography Student to take one, but #1, we were pressed for time, and #2, we didn’t have the right tools right then (i.e. biscuits, honey dipper, etc.) to take a shot like that. 🙁 So I just copied one off the internet. :/ Maybe next time. 🙂
Glad the remedy worked for you guys. 🙂 Personally, I had had no trouble, but was expecting to (I normally do) so I started taking the honey. From then on the pollen bothered me… it probably wasn’t the honey… likely the pollen count was higher after I started taking it… Who knows. 🙂
Did y’all know that there are a couple herbs also that are supposed to be good for allergies. Like yarrow… if taken in tea. (Yarrow has been know to stop a cold in it’s tracks if you’re taking enough) A couple of them I wasn’t suspecting….like milkweed. I’ll have to try out that sweet honey approach to spring!
Thanks for posting that Amanda!