If your troubles are definitely hay fever, one herb to investigate is butterbur.

Some studies have shown it to be effective, and in the short-term trial linked above, less sedating than a conventional antihistamine.

Hmmmm thanks for those suggestions daisyduck .... I did read info on thyme and dandelion and nettle. ..... ( I guess detoxyifying i.e. the dandelion nettle are good?) yes eric I just heard about the butterbur. I googled and usually I find nothing on natural remedies for allergies but this time I found a good one. I read that bromelian.... (available in supplements) but safer in food form.... (in pineapples) is supposed to be good. Also bioflavinoids.... it said good sources are apples and grapes.... it also noted grape seed extract ...... and a few others.... one that it did note as undergong extensive research was the butterbur..... studies in G.B. showed that it had some positive effects.... wonder if they'd have supplements/extract at a health food store? While "searching" "surfing" I found one note that said that if it is outdoor allergies chamomile (for soar throat etc.) can actually make it worse because it is an astery flower.... is that true? Also I read quercetin is supposed to be helpful.... but I'm always wary of supplements of substances that I don't know alot about.... I will have to research the quercetin further.... I'm going to look for that butterbur.... Just bought some more echinacea extract and am taking vitamin c. I cam make plenty of dandelion tea from the ones outside! And have lots of thyme I could add.... don't have alot of the other good weeds like stinging nettle though! :)

If echinacea is supposed to stimulate the immune system, it may make allergies worse. After all, an allergy is your immune system mistaking a normal substance like pollen for a infectious organism.

I've used freeze-dried fresh nettles for mild allergies. Lately I'd been sniffling and sneezing around dogs, old books, dust in general, and my garden (lavender!). A week or so of nettles seems to have made it mostly go away.

I find that my allergies are less when I don't eat food
with sugar in it. My allergies were diagnosed as tree
pollen allergies; no matter what your allergies are sugar
makes immune system problems worse. Also, you can cut the
pollen allergy problem down by washing your hair before
bedtime; you wouldn't believe how much of the stuff stays
in your hair! Echinacea is a double-edged sword. If you
try, say, 200 mg dried capsules and you don't get worse,
you can probably use it. About 2 grams 3 to 5 times a day
dried; 6 or 7 leaves 5 times a day fresh. It can be an allergen in its own right, however.

Quercetin works for me. It's a bioflavonoid with vitamin C. It also is being researched as a cancer preventive.

My allergies have gotten less severe over the years, so hang in there.

Hubby has horrible seasonal allergies...I give him nettle tincture and echinecea tincture when he first gets a hint of allergies/hayfever - that usually solves the problem...but, if we didn't catch it early enough, he gets goldenrod and mullein tincture along with the nettles. That always solves the problem. When we use the herbal method, he avoids a trip to the doctor --- but if he avoids the herbs (you should see the faces he makes when he takes a dose), he gets horribly ill and it's off to the doctor for shots and pills.

try bioallers.com

I looked up butterbur and found this article... very interesting... pro alternative therapy, but the side-affects scared me, I have Hep C.
http://www.drgreene.com/21_924.html

bump

Hi,
just turned this up as I was searching about stinging nettles and allergies. I'm 62 and for the very first time I have a seasonal allergy, at least I think that's what I have.
Sneezing, runny nose, dry cough, dry throat, tired, but don't feel like I have a cold or flu or anything serious.

so am off tomorrow to the health food store - nettles quercetin and elder flowers.

anybody else with allergies?

thot I would add- this is the info I came up with and also how to make a nettle infusion:
Dosages:
Stinging nettle - 250 mg. freeze-dried extract every 2-4 hours or until symptoms subside
Ephedra: 12.5 - 25 mg. 3x day
Quercetin - 400 mg. 2x day between meals
Echinacea - 350 mg 3x day
Garlic - tablet equivalent of 10 cloves of garlic
Honey- 2 tbs daily
==
Nettle infusion
A couple of months before your allergies usually begin, start drinking nettles infusions.
Nettles Infusion
1 quart room temperature water
4 tablespoons dried nettles
Let the nettles and water sit over night in a quart glass mason jar. In the morning strain
the herb out and drink the quart of nettles infusion over the next two days. Especially in
warm weather the infusion can go bad so it is important to keep it refrigerated. When
you are ready to drink it take it out of the fridge and warm it up. Normally a nettles
infusion is good for two days if not left out in the heat.
You can drink 1 to 3 cups of nettles infusion a day for several months. Over the years I
have watched many of my clients eliminate their spring allergies following the above
protocols along with drinking nettles for about two months prior to allergy season and
then continuing to drink it throughout the time they would normally have allergies.

Hi. Many people I know use environmental probiotics to purify the indoor environment and reduce the triggers that flare the symptoms. BetterAir (www.betterairus.com) has systems that repetitively release probiotics. It does not use any chemicals and is all natural.