Honey for Allergies? YES!!
What do you do if your breastfeeding and having really terrible seasonal allergies? The drugs you can take when you’re pregnant or breastfeeding are few and far between. I’ve always wondered why you would want to take something that’s not safe for a fetus, how does it make it any safer for you? Yes adults are bigger blah blah but still, all the side effects… Not to say that I’m against all pharmaceuticals because I really do believe that some are worth taking, like Zoloft for post partum depression (which I’m happy to report I stopped taking on June 10th, woohoo)!
The point is that I have really bad Texas allergies – maybe it’s a sign? I don’t have allergies anywhere but here, and there’s not really anything safe to take while breastfeeding. I heard something on the radio which was buried deep in the back of my brain about raw honey helping with allergies. Not just any raw honey but raw honey from the specific region that you’re in. The honey contains the pollen that can trigger allergies in small, manageable amounts so your body builds up an immunity. You’re supposed to start a few teaspoons of honey a few months before allergy season. Allergy season was in full swing when the lightbulb in my brain turned on and I found some raw, local, North Dallas honey. The radio show I had listened to said that if allergy season had started to do 1 tablespoon of honey 3 times a day for 3 days. By the second day my allergies had eased up and I could breath again! About 2 days after I stopped the honey my allergies slowly came back. So I’m back to doing 1 tablespoon of honey 2 times a day this time, and I’ll try decreasing the dose slowly so I can get just enough to keep myself immune to all the junk in the air that’s keeping me from breathing and probably making me snore through my stuffy nose.
So if you have allergies that are driving you crazy and you’re breastfeeding, or even if you just don’t want to take allergy meds, try the honey, it works! Next year I will definitely start building up my tolerance a few month before allergy season or now that I think about it I’ll probably have to do this year round. Apparently DFW has one of the highest pollen counts year round – which explains my DFW allergies. Spring ans summer tend to be the worst time of the year for allergies but listen to your body and a few teaspoons of honey every day is so much better for you than a few allergy meds a day. If you want more info go here.
