Hay fever is one of the most common allergies. And as anyone who suffers from the condition - especially in the spring and summer months – will know, it can be highly disruptive to daily activities.
But following the news that stocks of chlorphenamine maleate, the active ingredient in many products available in chemists, are in low supply in the UK, it is a good time to familiarise yourself with other natural alternatives.
Read on for a round-up of five options recommended by Dr Earim Chaudry, medical director of the men's health platform Manual.co.
Most of us have oranges or lemon sitting in our fruit bowl, so fruits packed with vitamin C are a good place to start.
"Vitamin C is an effective home remedy for hay fever," he said. "Known as a natural antihistamine, it can be found in lemons, grapefruits and oranges. Oranges are a particularly good source of vitamin C, and whilst the daily recommendation of vitamin C is 1,000mg a day, oranges have an impressive 69.7 mg."
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In addition to vitamin C, consider adding foods high in bioflavonoids to your diet.
"Some foods high in bioflavonoids include berries, onions and dark chocolate," noted Dr Chaudry. "Alongside vitamin c are bioflavonoids, which also have powerful anti-allergy effects. The combination of the two together will provide a natural decongestant for the body, helping alleviate symptoms."
While eating raw onion will give you terrible breath, there are ways to incorporate the vegetable into your meals and help with your hay fever.
"Onions alone are also a good source of quercetin, which is a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory proven to reduce symptoms in hay fever sufferers. Containing a significant amount of quercetin, they can be eaten in small amounts throughout the day in a variety of meals," the expert explained.
Not only good for helping you relax in the evening, chamomile tea can also help cool red or swollen eyes.
"Containing flavonoids, you can either ingest as a normal cup of tea or as an eye compress. Remember to use a fresh compress for each eye to avoid infection," said Dr Chaudry. "One remedy many people may not be aware of is carotenoids, which are naturally occurring pigments in plants which act as powerful antioxidants to help reduce inflammation in your airways and improve your immune system. Carotenoids can be found in foods such as carrots, apricots, pumpkin, sweet potato and spinach."
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To combat hay fever symptoms, consider adding a spoonful of honey to your breakfast or tea each morning.
"Honey is also a proven remedy because the bee pollen in honey can help desensitise your body to other pollens. Increasing honey in your daily intake should help reduce hay fever symptoms and ideally you should do this before hay fever season starts," he added.
(Cover Media/Reuters)
