How to Get Rid of Allergies: 16 Home Remedies

The AAAAI recommends this treatment if you experience sinus problems as a result of your allergies. It can remove allergens and clear your airways, which provides relief ⁽¹¹⁾.

1. Mix three teaspoons of salt (iodine-free) with one teaspoon of baking soda.
2. Add mixture to a cup of warm water.
3. Dissolve the mixture.
4. Pour it into your choice of device. We recommend this one.
5. Lean forward over the sink at a 45-degree angle. One nostril should point down towards the sink. Don’t tilt your head back.
6. Pour the solution into your nose. Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. But keep your mouth open.
7. Let it drain. It will come out your other nostril, or your mouth. Just spit or blow it out.
8. Blow your nose and repeat with the other nostril.

Most people find that doing this three times a week helps ⁽¹²⁾.

Stress can be a trigger for allergies. Do you ever find yourself covered in hives before a big presentation or interview ⁽¹⁴⁾? If so, we recommend trying stress management tools and practices to control your allergic attacks and lessen symptoms.

Stress management can include:

• Getting active.
• Spending time with friends.
• Having me-time.
• Relaxation practices. Yoga, meditation and deep-breathing exercises can help you calm down and destress ⁽¹⁵⁾.

Spirulina is a blue-green algae. It usually comes as a powder or as a supplement ⁽¹⁶⁾. It has many health benefits, including treating allergies — specifically nasal allergies ⁽¹⁷⁾.

A study showed that people with allergic rhinitis benefited from consuming spirulina. It relieved symptoms including nasal discharge, sneezing, congestion and itching.

You can take spirulina in a tablet form or mix it into a smoothie. This helps with its sea vegetable flavor.

Bromelain is found in pineapples, but you can take it as a supplement. It’s been proven to treat hay fever ⁽¹⁹⁾. So, if you’re battling a constant runny nose, try this. It also acts as an antihistamine. It relieves breathing difficulties and inflammation.

If you have bad allergies, studies have shown that butterbur can help ⁽²¹⁾. This shrub, found in wet, marshy ground, has been used to treat medical conditions since the 17th century.

While it’s not proven to help allergic skin reactions, it might help with general hay fever symptoms. You can take it in the form of butterbur root or a leaf extract.

There’s not much evidence for the effects of taking this over time, so for now, stick to taking it occasionally.

If you take probiotics during allergy season, it can help with your symptoms. Scientists have found that a combination of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria help with hay fever symptoms ⁽²³⁾.

These probiotics increase your tolerance towards the triggers. Participants of the University of Florida study found that taking probiotics increased their quality of life. That’s good news to any allergy sufferers!

You know we love talking about essential oils! One more thing they can do? Relieve allergies. But which ones?

• Peppermint Oil: A 1998 study showed that this has anti-inflammatory effects on people with hay fever ⁽²⁵⁾. Diffusing peppermint oil in the air is a good way to use it. You can also mix with a carrier oil — like coconut oil — before applying it to your skin.
• Eucalyptus Oil: If you add this to your washing machine when doing laundry, it can act as an antimicrobial agent ⁽²⁶⁾. Do this for every load of laundry during the allergy season.
• Frankincense Oil: This can help if you’ve been suffering from hay fever for a long time ⁽²⁷⁾. Dilute it in a carrier oil before applying it behind your ears or diffuse it into the air.

“But how can I run if I can hardly breathe?” Well, we’re not saying to do high-intensity exercise if you aren’t able, but exercising in general, can help a lot.

If you get moving, the circulation encourages your body to clear up some of the inflammation and blockage from an allergic reaction ⁽²⁹⁾.

When exercising with allergies, make sure to do a warm up — this helps with allergy symptoms. Know your triggers. If you suffer from grass pollen, don’t play tennis in a big field. Avoid exercising on windy days, since the wind can blow pollen around a lot more.

Lastly, make sure to stay well hydrated and call 911 if you develop difficulty breathing.

There’s a type of pollen that might actually help your allergies: bee pollen. You can take bee pollen by the spoonful or mix it into a smoothie. Your choice!

Many people testify that bee pollen helped remove their allergy symptoms. This is most likely because it has anti-inflammatory properties ⁽³⁰⁾. If you’re interested in trying it, start with a small amount, just in case you react badly to it.

Aren’t we lucky to have so much water in the world? It can even help with allergies.

First, you can use water to your advantage by washing. When you come home from a walk or work, you will be carrying pollen and allergens on your clothes and skin. Take a shower, wash your clothes and leave your shoes at the door to keep these allergens out of your home ⁽³¹⁾.

Second, drinking water helps, too! Liquid can thin mucus that’s building in your sinuses and help relieve uncomfortable symptoms. Breathing in steam is also a good option.

Immunotherapy is a great way to build up resistance to allergens such as grass pollens, dust mites and bee stings. It helps your immune system become less sensitive to these elements by producing an antibody which can reduce your symptoms ⁽³²⁾.

To do this, you can get allergy shots, allergy tablets or allergy drops. Ask your doctor for more information.

Having a hepa filter at home can help with allergies. Outside air can easily get inside, triggering allergic reactions even when you’re at home. This can be really uncomfortable when relaxing or sleeping.

HEPA (high-efficiency particle air) filters traps and removes particles like pollen, pet dander, dust mites and tobacco smoke to give you better air quality at home ⁽³⁴⁾. HEPA filters help keep your air clean.

Turning on your air conditioner might help your hay fever! A HEPA filter on your AC unit can help clean the air in your home by trapping allergens, smoke and pollen. ⁽³⁵⁾.

Air conditioners also help with humidity, which can often lead to mold — another common allergy trigger.

Keep in mind, though, that air conditioning can dry out your skin. It can also transmit infectious respiratory diseases, and carry dust and fungi and make allergic reactions worse ⁽³⁶⁾. There are a few more health risks that stem from air conditioners.

Allergens love humid climates, so a dehumidifier can help. If you experience hay fever symptoms in the house, it might be because your home is too humid ⁽³⁷⁾.

Dehumidifiers can solve this problem so that allergens like mold and dust mites don’t want to live in your house anymore.

It’s a myth. You’ll know this if you live somewhere like LA or Las Vegas. Grass and ragweed pollen is found pretty much everywhere ⁽³⁸⁾. You might experience short-lived relief, but soon you could develop new triggers.

However, it has been proven that dry places like the Great Plains and Mountain West regions are hosts to fewer dust mites ⁽³⁹⁾. So if you’re planning a vacation, it might be worth checking out desert climate locations.

Myth. If your partner comes home with a bouquet of flowers, don’t run away. It’s usually pollen from trees, grasses and weeds that trigger allergies — not beautiful flowers. However, there are a few flowers known to cause allergies ⁽⁴⁰⁾:

• Aster.
• Baby’s breath.
• Dahlia.
• Daisy.
• Gerber daisies.
• Chamomile.
• Sunflowers.

Let your partner know your allergy triggers so they know which flowers to buy you!

Maybe. You might have heard advice to go to the beach if you have allergies. True, this might help because salt water can wash away pollen grains and relieve uncomfortable symptoms ⁽⁴¹⁾. But other allergens, like grass, are still in abundance.

Fact! Pollen counts measure how much pollen is in the air ⁽⁴²⁾. The higher it is, the more likely you will be exposed to pollen on that day. So if you’re sensitive, stay indoors on these days. Or wear a pollen mask.

Fact. Humidity and rain affects pollen count ⁽⁴³⁾. If you want to go for a long walk, time it for after a heavy rainfall. Not only does the air smell so good, your allergies are unlikely to flare up. Chilly, wet days are the best for going outside.

This is a myth. Mold can pop up anywhere ⁽⁴⁴⁾. Soil, leaves, wood, anything left out in wet weather, can host mold. You’re more likely to come across mold in the summertime, since outdoor mold tends to be inactive in winter. So if that’s your allergen, be careful during the warmer months.

Myth. Hay fever does not come from hay — despite what the name suggests. It doesn’t matter whether you grew up on a farm or have never visited a farm. You can still be subject to hay fever and allergic reactions ⁽⁴⁵⁾.

Myth. Oh, how we wish this were true! My allergies started when I was 19. You can imagine my surprise! A lot of people’s allergies begin when they’re children, but they can develop later in life, too ⁽⁴⁶⁾.

One reason this happens is because the older we get, the weaker our immune systems become. This is why you suddenly might experience allergic reactions as an adult. Adult on-set allergies can also be caused by moving to a new location, where these new allergens might be a shock to your system ⁽⁴⁷⁾.

Maybe. Talk to your doctor about a treatment plan. These allergy shots can help your body get used to allergens ⁽⁴⁸⁾. This should hopefully build up a better immunity to your triggers and ease the symptoms over time.

Yes, a lot of people outgrow their allergies ⁽⁴⁹⁾. Doctors aren’t yet sure why this happens, but it’s possible.

Even if your allergies don’t disappear altogether, the symptoms might lessen over time. The one theory is that you build a stronger resistance to certain things and therefore, your body doesn’t overreact to the triggers.

Bad news — no. It’s not possible ⁽⁵⁰⁾. But it is possible to treat and control your symptoms. You can also make it easier by avoiding exposure to your allergens.

Boosting your immune system is a good way to try and control allergy symptoms. Things to try include:

• Exercise often.
• Eat healthy foods.
• Avoid tobacco.
• Control your blood pressure.
• Limit alcohol consumption.
• Sleep eight hours per night.
• Wash your hands throughout the day.

The allergy itself could last your entire life. We know — not what you wanted to hear.

A skin allergic reaction itself can last up to four weeks, even with treatment ⁽⁵¹⁾.

As for sinus responses, unfortunately, hay fever symptoms last as long as you are exposed to the allergen ⁽⁵²⁾. They don’t just go away like normal colds. If your symptoms are bothering you after a week, you can visit your doctor for advice and treatment.

Some people have serious allergic reactions that result in anaphylactic shock. This is a full body reaction that can be life-threatening and even end in death ⁽⁵³⁾.

Anaphylactic shock is most often caused by food allergies, insect stings, medication and latex rather than hay fever ⁽⁵⁴⁾.

If you do go into anaphylactic shock, call 911 immediately. If you’re prone to shocks, your doctor should give you epinephrine (aka an epi pen) to keep on you at all times. This will control the symptoms and potentially save your life.

It can work. That’s why immunotherapy works for a lot of people. Their body is exposed to the allergen which gives them a chance to learn to fight it ⁽⁵⁵⁾.

Quite a few people note that their hay fever eases as they grow. Others, on the other hand, say it gets worse since their immune system is compromised.

In general, it’s advised that you avoid being exposed to your allergens so that you don’t have an allergic reaction.

For some people, they do. But for a lot of people, it comes and goes.

Allergy experts have found that the worst allergic reactions happen for people between the ages of 5 and 16 ⁽⁵⁶⁾. What happens next is about two decades of relief before the allergies worsen again in a person’s 30’s. But a lot of symptoms disappear for good around 65 years old, so you can enjoy a comfortable retirement!