Editor’s Note: Regular alternative medicine columnist Jonathan Evans was on a much-deserved vacation at the time that his usual monthly column was due to be submitted.
His request in light of this occurrence was for me to please bring a timely column out of the archives and run it in the place of a fresh column for the October issue
There’s nothing more troubling – nor timely in the month of October – than dealing with a bout of fall allergies, and if you are in the throes of a stuffy head and itchy or watery eyes while reading this month’s column, I hope you find the information helpful!
By Jonathan Evans
Herbal Information Specialist from The Herbarium
By now allergy sufferers are in their worst time of year, anxiously awaiting the first killing frost. Hopefully it will come sooner than later. In the meantime, there are several things one can do to help get through this period.
Treating fall allergies
Listed here are some alternative medicine treatments to help stop the sneezes and watery eyes.
Mormon tea is not to be confused with Ma huang (Ephedra) which is a banned substance, due to unscrupulous promoters of weight loss products and other exercise supplements. American ephedra does not contain ephedrine so it is allowed in herbal formulas.
There are also several homeopathic formulas that can be used safely if someone is on several medications and may be concerned about herb/drug interactions.
Local honey and bee pollen
If you are trying to use local honey to combat your allergies, you probably should have started some months ago to get really good results. Some people will also use bee pollen to help with allergies. This approach is tricky due to some really stupid information on the web. A person would only start with one or two grains of the pollen, to see how you respond. Then gradually increase intake, and I mean just a little increase. I have had people call me in full blown allergic reactions because their instructions said to take a half teaspoon or more at a time. That is wrong and potentially dangerous.
Using essential oils safely
It seems to be time once again to remind people that ingesting essential oils is something you should not do.
Before the multi-level marketing (MLM) people get on my back telling me I do not know what I am talking about, let me remind these people my wife is a certified clinical aromatherapy practitioner/instructor for R.J. Buckle London. She teaches doctors, nurses and other health professionals the safe use of essential oils in hospitals and other medical facilities. She has been doing this for over 20 years and has taught hundreds of medical people all over the world. One of the first things taught to students is that you do not ingest these oils (except in rare cases but we will not get into that today). Some MLM people will claim they have FDA approval for ingesting oils, or will talk about the “French method.”
It only takes a moment to google the FDA and essential oils to find a cease and desist order to the MLMs about taking the essential oils internally. The French method does include using the oils internally, but only prescribed by a doctor or pharmacist who has been through a rigorous three year course of study. I seriously doubt any of these salesmen have had that kind of training.
All I can say is anyone touting the internal use of oils is either misinformed, ignorant or lying. (Side note: in the 15 years I have been writing this column, I have only received one negative letter and that was on the subject of essential oils and that came from a platinum level salesperson in a multi-level marketing organization.)
—Jonathan
Send questions on botanical remedies to: Natures Rx: Jonathan Evans at herbarium258@gmail.com, or by regular mail to: The Herbarium, 264 Exchange Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. If requesting additional info, include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
