When you've finally suffered enough, maybe you will take the leap and try a neti pot.
They are a little weird, and a little uncomfortable, but this is one allergy remedy that actually works.
Neti pots have been used for hundreds, possibly thousands of years in India and nearby regions by Yogis and Ayurvedic practitioners.
They are a completely low-tech, natural way to gently clean your nasal passages, and it is this very, very gentle rinsing of the nasal passages that relieves allergy symptoms.
You are basically cleaning out your nose, getting rid of all the little pollen and dust particles that make you feel so terrible.
Using a neti pot is also great if you live in a dry environment, and actually just dry air alone can induce some of the symptoms of allergies.
Even after the first use you will start to feel better within minutes, but if you keep up using a neti pot once a day or every other day, you can reduce your allergy symptoms by 80% or more.
So, neti pots are not a total cure-all for allergies, but they can help an awful lot.
Net pots are sold at health food stores, and even some pharmacies.
They cost about $10 each.
You can also buy the neti salt that is used for the rinsing solution, or you can just use ordinary non-iodized table salt.
To "neti", you warm one cup of water (not hot, and not cold, just very slightly warm), add a 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized salt and stir it in.
Pour the warm water in the neti pot and go stand over a sink.
Lean over the sink and tilt your head sideways, then tilt your head just a bit forward so your nose and your ear are at about the same height.
Hold the tip of the neti pot up to the nostril on the high side and let the water flow into your nose.
In a moment water will start trickling out of your other nostril.
If it goes down your throat, you need to lean a bit more forward.
It takes a bit of practice, but it is not hard.
You can breathe through your mouth while you are rinsing.
When the pot is empty, blow your nose, then repeat the process with the other nostril.
Never neti with hot or cold water, and never neti when you are so congested that you can not breathe through your nose.
But any other time is fine.
It is a great way to recover from an airplane flight, a dusty day of work, or exposure to anything that tends to make you sneeze -- like pets, pollen or dust.
I live in an area where the allergy season is so bad for some people that they leave town.
But everyone who is willing to partake in this odd but effective practice stays put.
Quite a few people I know of have been able to go off their prescribed allergy medicine simply by using a neti pot once a day or every other day, or even once or twice a week.
It may not be a wonder cure for you, but if allergies are becoming a problem I suggest you try it.
They are a little weird, and a little uncomfortable, but this is one allergy remedy that actually works.
Neti pots have been used for hundreds, possibly thousands of years in India and nearby regions by Yogis and Ayurvedic practitioners.
They are a completely low-tech, natural way to gently clean your nasal passages, and it is this very, very gentle rinsing of the nasal passages that relieves allergy symptoms.
You are basically cleaning out your nose, getting rid of all the little pollen and dust particles that make you feel so terrible.
Using a neti pot is also great if you live in a dry environment, and actually just dry air alone can induce some of the symptoms of allergies.
Even after the first use you will start to feel better within minutes, but if you keep up using a neti pot once a day or every other day, you can reduce your allergy symptoms by 80% or more.
So, neti pots are not a total cure-all for allergies, but they can help an awful lot.
Net pots are sold at health food stores, and even some pharmacies.
They cost about $10 each.
You can also buy the neti salt that is used for the rinsing solution, or you can just use ordinary non-iodized table salt.
To "neti", you warm one cup of water (not hot, and not cold, just very slightly warm), add a 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized salt and stir it in.
Pour the warm water in the neti pot and go stand over a sink.
Lean over the sink and tilt your head sideways, then tilt your head just a bit forward so your nose and your ear are at about the same height.
Hold the tip of the neti pot up to the nostril on the high side and let the water flow into your nose.
In a moment water will start trickling out of your other nostril.
If it goes down your throat, you need to lean a bit more forward.
It takes a bit of practice, but it is not hard.
You can breathe through your mouth while you are rinsing.
When the pot is empty, blow your nose, then repeat the process with the other nostril.
Never neti with hot or cold water, and never neti when you are so congested that you can not breathe through your nose.
But any other time is fine.
It is a great way to recover from an airplane flight, a dusty day of work, or exposure to anything that tends to make you sneeze -- like pets, pollen or dust.
I live in an area where the allergy season is so bad for some people that they leave town.
But everyone who is willing to partake in this odd but effective practice stays put.
Quite a few people I know of have been able to go off their prescribed allergy medicine simply by using a neti pot once a day or every other day, or even once or twice a week.
It may not be a wonder cure for you, but if allergies are becoming a problem I suggest you try it.