Over time, I have started to adjust faster to allergy based issues because of climate change and blossoms from the cherry trees, and other plants and flowers just outside my house or in the park, and I’d like to share with you all some of the things that I do to alleviate my concerns rather quickly and effectively. It may be of some assistance to people struggling with taking over the counter drugs that help in the short term but not over time.

The first thing I do in allergy season is bulk up on Quercetin. It’s a natural product that comes from plants, and it’s known to mitigate the harms from the release of histamines into the nasal passages, bronchial passages, etc. Lots of foods contain quercetin, namely citrus fruits like star fruit, grapefruits, oranges, tangerines, and certain vegetables too like broccoli and other green foods. But the way to maximize the impact of quercetin in your body is to simply ingest it in pill form. Go to CVS, or Walgreens, or Boots, or wherever, and pick up the biggest sized bottle you can. Why the biggest, because as we all know, buying in bulk saves money. For that matter, you should just go to Walmart and get it there if it’s available. Anyway, just pick up quercetin and ingest 1000 mg. per day. (I’m not a doctor so you should consult him or her before you ingest it just in case) but my guess is that there aren’t many health concerns with a plant based anti-histimine. Quercetin doesn’t dry me out as is often the complaint with other singers of most anti-histamines and it doesn’t really have any other side affects that I’ve found. It’s just helped significantly.

Second, keep your humidifier on and make sure it’s a cold air humidifier. In dusty, pollen season, the humidifier will essentially trap the dust in the air and the excrements will fall to the floor rather than float above you. It’s been a saving grace for me and I keep it on religiously.

Third, eating foods that act as probiotics will help keep your immune system up and fight off the body from moving an allergy attack or allergic conditions to an all out cold. Foods like WHOLE milk yogurt and the like are really helpful. A great place in Philly that I love is Yogurino. It’s healthy, it’s reasonable, and it’s good. Of course good plain yogurts in grocery stores are more than fine too. Another probiotic is honey, but not just any honey. LOCAL honey. Since the honey itself is normalized to the area, it can act as a boost for your immune system.

Fourth, a nasal saline rinse is always a good help. I keep SIMPLY SALINE in the house…it contains even less than the ingredients in some other nasal sprays so it doesn’t actually dry your nasal passages and later the throat out but helps keep the nose and mask lubcricated and moist. I don’t think there is any singer that wouldn’t advocate saline rinses of some sort.

Fifth, excessive hydration is preferable to the lack of hydration. Drink 12 8-oz glasses of water a day at minimum. Stay as lubricated as possible. Don’t allow the throat to dry. Even if your nasal passages are feeling swollen and congested, having your body filled with water will help immensely.

Sixth, acupuncture. Some people will think I’m nuts but in four experiences in the last two years, I used acupuncture as a way to help my allergies. At first, I was apathetic to the idea but after taking over the counter drugs and anti-histamines that in my opinion just briefly alleviate the concerns, I figured it was worth the try. And it panned out. Every time I’ve gone to a specialist, I’ve noticed a significant improvement in my breathing and clarity in my nasal cavity, eyes, and overall sense of well being. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. It will help many people.

Inevitably, allergies will come. Some people get the blessing of not really dealing with them ever. I don’t have that blessing. I love animals and I’m one of the most allergic people to cats on the planet. Some allergies are more prevalent to each person than others and obviously, not all of these recommendations will work for everyone. BUT in my personal experience, these six suggestions have worked well and I couldn’t recommend them more strongly.

Here here to a short allergy season for all.