When your immune system reacts, and others immune systems do not, you have an allergy. This can be called hay fever, seasonal allergies, or allergic rhinitis. Symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, itchy eyes, coughing, and sneezing. With the scare of coronavirus these symptoms can make you and others nervous.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has information of what studies show relief and others that do not. First off, the neti pot. This is an Ayurvedic tradition of flushing out the sinuses with a fluid akin to normal saline. The side effects and risks of this treatment could be infection if you use normal tap water. Over the counter sterile water, nasal cleaning rinsing powders that contain sterile saline are available. The NCCIH (2019) reports that improper use of neti posts may have caused 2 deaths in 2011 in Louisiana. They state that a rare amoeba in the tap water called Naegleria fowleri, may have caused a rare brain infection. The NCCIH (2019) did not report any formal studies done with this product. Even though I have used this technique and find it quite helpful in clearing my allergy symptom filled sinuses. And I did use tap water, I will not be doing that anymore!
In 2007 there were six studies of the herb butterbur for allergic rhinitis, involving 720 participants, found evidence that using this herb may be helpful (NCCIH, 2019). Find out more at nccih.nih.gov/health/butterbur. However the most studies done have been the use of acupuncture. NCCIH (2019) reported an evaluation of 13 studies in 2015 of acupuncture for allergic rhinitis, involving 2,365 participants, found evidence that acupuncture may be useful. There have been some studies that eating honey might help relieve pollen allergies, but the honey needs to be from the area you live in. NCCIH (2019) report a few studies in the use of honey for seasonal allergies but they have been inconsistent.
There is still a lot to learn with the use of integrative therapies and studies are hard to find or are not available. It all comes down to money, it takes money to run big studies and there is no money on the other side like a pharmaceutical. That is why nurses should be first in providing studies with integrative therapies. We have the connections and a pool of people we could draw from. I encourage anyone at the bedside or management to think about a symptom and a therapy that may help thousands more. It is what we do, we are the frontline.
AAchooo (do not worry I sneezed into my elbow). Kidding aside please take care of yourselves. I know those at the bedside are considerably more at risk so pay close attention to your facility regulations. Stay away from large groups of people, stay a 6-foot distance, don’t touch your face, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizing.
Peace, Kim
NCCIH. (2019). Seasonal allergies at a glance. Retrieved from nccih.nih.gov/health/allergies/seasonal?nav=govd.
The Integrative Nurse 