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| The Heritage Store's product contains only ragweed and grain alcohol. Inspired when I read this at the peak of ragweed season as I was sneezing my head off, I gathered blossoms from the inconspicuous common ragweed (Artemesia artemisifolia) and the tree-tall great or giant ragweed (A. trifida), covered the pollen-rich flowers with vodka and made my own tincture. The following spring I began taking half a dropperful daily. All through ragweed season, which lasts to the end of October, I continued the ragweed experiment and seldom sneezed, even when pollen counts hit record highs. |
| Herbs That Can Help. |
| If you don't have high blood pressure, the Chinese herb Ma huang (ephedra vulgaris) may be helpful. The active ingredient in most commercial allergy preparations made from herbs, Ma huang or Chinese ephedra is a powerful decongestant. It clears bronchial passageways, dries sinuses, helps relieve sneezing and makes breathing easier. It also speeds the pulse, raises blood pressure, makes it difficult to relax and feels like caffeine. The more you take, the more dramatic these side effects, so start with a small amount, don't take Ma huang in the evening (it may keep you awake) and, if brewing a tea with this herb, make a weak infusion to start. |
| Nettle (Urtica dioica) may sting when you touch it, but nettle tea soothes the system. In "A Randomized Double-Blind Study of Freeze-Dried Urtica dioica in the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis," published in the journal Planta Medica (February 1990), P. Mittman reported significant hay fever relief from capsules containing freeze-dried nettle. The therapy had few side effects and improvement came within a week for those who found the treatment effective. Andrew Weil, M.D., author of Spontaneous Healing, controls his own hay fever with this therapy. Nettle tea and fresh nettle juice are used in Europe for a variety of conditions, including several respiratory problems. |
| Echinacea and goldenseal are a favorite combination for hay fever therapy. In fact, many herbalists consider goldenseal the |
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