Page 45 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)
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the popular antihistamine cetiri zine (brand name Natural remedies may
Zyrtec) in controlling symp toms of hay fever, and
without the drowsiness that’s often associated with offer some relief from
this kind of allergy medicine. Another study found seasonal allergies. But
that butterbur worked as well as the antihistamine
fexofena dine (Allegra) at relieving sneezing, con- such allergies, like the
gestion and itchy eyes. common cold, can only
Like conventional antihistamines, butter- be managed; they are
bur seems to block the effects of histamine and
leukotrienes, those inflammatory chemicals that never really defeated.
are activated by allergens and trigger the runny
noses and watery eyes that every hay-fever sufferer
dreads. Another substance, a natural antioxidant
called quercetin, works in a similar way. Quercetin
appears in some foods, like red apples, but it is also treatment at all found evidence that echinacea out-
available in supplement form (a typical dose is 200 performed both when it came to reducing the dura-
to 400 milligrams three times a day). tion of the common cold—but these benefits were
Other natural remedies that have been found too small to be considered statistically significant. In
to offer some relief include stinging nettle, which a 2014 review, however, researchers credited echi-
you can eat like spinach or consume in capsules or nacea with “small preventative effects,” and a 2015
tea, and goldenseal, an herb with quite a memora- review gave echinacea a full-throated endorsement,
ble nickname: “king of the mu cous membranes.” concluding that it could reduce a person’s risk for
“King” may be a bit strong, but goldenseal does re- colds by 35%. Whew!
duce inflammation and mucus production in the Herbal medicines and dietary restrictions fall
eyes, sinuses, nose and throat. Avoid it, though, if woefully short when your head is a cement block
you have cardiovascular problems—berberine, one of congestion, though. Many clogged sufferers are
of the herb’s active ingredients, can disrupt heart inclined to head straight for a de congestant nasal
rhythms. Pregnant or breastfeeding women also spray or pill, but those can come with side effects
need to stay away from it, and infants given golden- like drowsiness, and they can even worsen symp-
seal have developed a rare but serious neurological toms if they’re used more than three days in a row.
condition known as kernicterus. An old-time alternative, the neti pot, may be a bet-
Girding against the seasonal onslaught of aller- ter solution. Resembling a small plastic teapot and
gens isn’t just a matter of what you ingest. Hay-fever usually selling for around $10, the neti pot makes
victims and other weed-pollen sufferers can benefit it easy to snort warm saline water, which irrigates
from what they don’t put into their bodies. Melons, the sinus cavities and shrinks the sinus walls, thus
cucumbers, bananas, chamomile and supplements relieving congestion. Rinsing nasal passages with
that contain echinacea—a popular herbal treatment a saline-water solution can also flush out the tiny
for colds and other respiratory infections—can often particles that trigger allergies, says Stephen Tilles,
trigger the same allergic reactions that ragweed pol- past president of the American College of Allergy,
len does. In fact, echinacea is a member of the same Asthma and Immunology. “This is dramatically ef-
botanical family as ragweed. What’s more, it is not fective for a lot of patients, and it’s a very reasonable,
even certain that echinacea does what it is supposed safe and well-tolerated option,” he says.
to do—prevent or alleviate colds. In fact, a study at the University of Michigan
It is a case study in the difficulty of establishing found that adults with chronic nasal and sinus prob-
effectiveness in herbal remedies. Studies in 2005 lems who were treated with irri gation had better re-
and 2006 found no evidence that echinacea could sults over a two-month pe riod than those on a con-
prevent colds, but the latter study did turn up find- ventional spray. It has reduced the need for steroid
ings (albeit inconsistent ones) that echinacea might sprays in kids with allergies too. The FDA recom-
lessen a cold’s length and symptoms. A 2010 study mends always using distilled, sterilized or boiled
that compared echinacea to a placebo and to no water in neti pots, as tap water can contain micro-
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