What is allergic rhinitis and who does it affect?
Allergic rhinitis can be an allergy to anything - dust mites, mold, animals, but also varying types of pollen (hayfever).
This means – depending on your trigger, it could affect you worse in the summer (hayfever), or all year round if it’s something like dust or a pet.
What do the symptoms of hayfever look like?
Congestion, sneezing, itching, watery/red eyes, and struggling to get relief from these symptoms at the height of the pollen season.
Are convention medicationss not the one?
There are a wide range of over-the-counter (OTC) medications on the market for potential allergy management, anti-histamines the most common of these. However, many of these were accompanied with adverse side-effects like sedation, headache, dry mouth, drowsiness, impaired learning/memory, and even cardiac arrhythmias, wow.
The medical world admit the need for newer therapeutic strategies for hayfever – good outcomes, less side effects.
Promising study results
Promising research on nettles for their antihistamine effects produced the following results:
1 - Natural anti-histamine & Anti-inflammatory properties (1)
Research indicates that nettle can interfere (and dampen) histamine pathways that cause allergic rhinitis symptoms.
2 - Multiple symptom relief
Some studies have shown that nettle can reduce symptoms like sneezing and itching in people with hay fever.
Research suggests that certain compounds in stinging nettle, like alpha-tocotrienol, may act as multi-target inhibitors for allergic rhinitis symptoms.
3 - Nasal specific benefits (4)
Studies have shown a significant reduction in nasal smear eosinophil count after treatment with nettle, suggesting a positive impact on allergic inflammation.
More effective than placebo
In some studies, nettle has been rated as more effective than a placebo in relieving allergy symptoms. (2)(5)
Practical takeaways from the research for natural hayfever management
1. Use nettles for allergic rhinitis and hayfever – there is the ability to forage for fresh nettles, or use fresh herbal drops for convenience.
2. Use nettles for comparative, it not better results than conventional meds, without the unwanted side effects.
