The Natural Approach to Seasonal Allergies

There are some specific reasons as to why the valley of the sun is ranked #1 in the country for seasonal allergies. Even if you don’t live in the southwest and you do suffer from seasonal allergies the section below on the liver is an important component for ALL allergy sufferers.

Challenge One

The first is the introduction of non-native plants. These plants require an enhanced watering schedule. With increased watering come weeds. It is reported that Arizona has over 17 different species of Ragweed.

Challenge Two

The second is our climate. The rapid change from winter to spring within 4-week’s time is a fast shift for the plants. It causes both trees and grasses to bloom at the same time. That almost never happens in other climates where spring is a much slower process.

When both trees and grasses bloom at the same time it throws an incredible amount of pollen into the air. You will see it flying around, landing on your cars, covering your patio furniture, and generally making people around you miserable. This is what is referred to as poor air quality due to higher than normal pollen counts.

Your Body’s Response and Histamine…

With all that pollen in the air your body has to filter it.

The pollen is inhaled into your lungs, through your nose, and lands on your face. Your mucous membranes respond to the irritation by starting to drain in an attempt to flush the irritating pollen away. This means that your eyes will run, your nose will itch, sneezing begins, and there may be post nasal drop and quite a lot of throat clearing.

This is called a histamine response.

There are both natural remedies and over the counter remedies to reduce a histamine response and thereby symptoms.

The Liver’s ability to filter…

At the same time that these irritants are being handled by the mucous membranes they are entering the blood stream. Once in the blood, they are filtered by the liver.

The ability of your liver to properly and thoroughly filter your blood depends on the health of your liver.

If your liver is challenged and overwhelmed with the jobs that it already has then there will be an overflow situation. In an overflow situation, the liver will not be able to handle the increased stress from incoming pollen and won’t be able to filter it. That causes more irritant to be in the blood, that is re-circulating. This causes an increase in overall inflammation and severity of symptoms.   

The natural approach to seasonal allergies focuses on both the health of the liver while at the same time managing the histamine response happening throughout the body.

Wishing You Well,

Dr. Purcell
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