Eating honey to alleviate allergy

[PJ]

I heard that eating local honey can potentially reduce allergy. Since I'm a hopeless allergic, I plan to give honey a try.

For this purpose, does anyone know if I should eat the honey by itself or is it ok to eat it diluted in water/milk?

[Ren Ying Ying]

I heard that eating local honey can potentially reduce allergy. Since I'm a hopeless allergic, I plan to give honey a try.

For this purpose, does anyone know if I should eat the honey by itself or is it ok to eat it diluted in water/milk?

I doubt if there is any current scientific data for it, but you can always try it since it probably won't hurt you (unless you are allergic to honey). It probably also depends on what type of allergy you have.

[remember_Cedric]

PJ, you have too many parts and puzzles of you that signifies Xiao Long Nv.... and now this honey thing. You're almost Xiao Long Nv now.

[HuangYushi]

You might want to ask your doctor (especially one who is aware of your allergies) about the honey. No point taking the honey and getting another possibly life-threatening allergy attack.

[PJ]

A doctor will typically send you to an allergist. However, of all the Chinese people I talked to who have seen an allergist, their allergy has gotten WORSE. They became even more allergic to more things once they took the shots that the allergist gave them. This makes me think most doctors here don't know how to treat allergy, at least not for born-in-China-then-moved-to-the-US individuals like myself and my Chinese friends here (the cause of our allergy might be different than US-borns).

PJ, you have too many parts and puzzles of you that signifies Xiao Long Nv.... and now this honey thing. You're almost Xiao Long Nv now.

You're right!

[HuangYushi]

Then, have you tried visiting a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner (大夫)? There should be some good ones in the US, right?

Have you tried keeping an allergy journal? Use it to record an occurence of allergy and what you did/ate/was exposed to before the allergy happened.

That's how I found out that I was allergic to fragrances and other strong-smelling scents, including car refresheners and such. My head hurts and my nose gets stuffed up when I'm exposed to these things.

Then, there are inherent medical issues that cause people to be "allergic" to certain things. People with G6PD for example are fatally "allergic" to broadbeans and several types of Chinese medicinal herbs.

Have you checked if your allergies are caused by the environment (food/air/etc) or if they are caused by inherent medical issues?

[kidd]

What are you allergic to? You can't be allergic to everything.

I think different allergy will require different method of treatment.

I read that the EFT (Emotional Freedom Therapy) method is also quite effective for allergy. But, it deals with emotional stuff. So, be prepared if you want to try it. One woman cured her life-long allergy using this method.

[blueberry]

I heard that eating local honey can potentially reduce allergy. Since I'm a hopeless allergic, I plan to give honey a try.

For this purpose, does anyone know if I should eat the honey by itself or is it ok to eat it diluted in water/milk?

I heard/read about this too, but didn't pay much attention to it. Can't confirm if it really works or not.

I would think you can eat/drink it like normal (with tea, pancakes, biscuits, etc etc). Why would it make any difference if you eat it one way or another?

[PJ]

Thanks for all your advices. They have been helpful.

What are you allergic to? You can't be allergic to everything.

I might be allergic to something in the air, which is persistent all the time. This has the same effect as being allergic to everything.

[Banh Mi]

What kind of symptoms do you get.

[PJ]

Mostly uncontrollable sneezing and running/stuffy nose. If I don't take medicine, I probably spend 60-100 minutes every day sneezing and fixing up my nose, in addition to annoying my roommates/colleagues.

[HuangYushi]

Keep the allergy journal for a couple of weeks at least.

When you find out when you start sneezing (like when you enter the building or leave it), the frequency of sneezes, and other statistical (for the lack of a better word) data, you might be able to think of a way to deal with it.

I found out that I can't sneeze for no reason in the morning. If I do, I'll end up with a very runny nose, that when blown, sounds like I'm really ill with a bad cold. And my nose would go completely red.

If I sneeze later in the day (when it is warmer), all the runny nose etc doesn't happen. But I hardly sneeze later in the day.

So in my own un-medical management of this, I just try to avoid triggering the sneezing (which I think is allergy-related) in the morning, which means no strange fragrances/smells, cold/chilly air blowing directly at the nose, and sometimes, having to put on extra clothes to keep a bit warmer.

The allergy journal is an extra bit of work, but it might help you to understand the triggers and the sort of environments that your sneezing occurs, and thereafter to manage it better.

[Lucre]

in my case im 'allergic' to cold weathers (but most people would think im nuts for considering singapore weather as cold). usually if the weather is cold i would be coughing all night, there will be the wheezing sound going on...but it gets better when the sun comes up.

[Banh Mi]

Mostly uncontrollable sneezing and running/stuffy nose. If I don't take medicine, I probably spend 60-100 minutes every day sneezing and fixing up my nose, in addition to annoying my roommates/colleagues.

Sounds like hayfever. Have you tried antihistamines?

[GeminiWitt]

I heard that eating local honey can potentially reduce allergy. Since I'm a hopeless allergic, I plan to give honey a try.

For this purpose, does anyone know if I should eat the honey by itself or is it ok to eat it diluted in water/milk?

PJ, I was lucky enough to find a producer of raw honey locally for my mom as she has terrible allergy and I must say the raw honey helps tremendously! It is perfectly fine to mix the honey with whatever you wish as long as the honey doesn't get heated.

[PJ]

PJ, I was lucky enough to find a producer of raw honey locally for my mom as she has terrible allergy and I must say the raw honey helps tremendously! It is perfectly fine to mix the honey with whatever you wish as long as the honey doesn't get heated.

Hi there. I've been using local raw honey myself. It doesn't seem to have helped yet, but I just started.

I also heard not to use hot water. I've been diluting honey in warm (not hot) tea. Do you think that's still too much heat?

[PJ]

Keep the allergy journal for a couple of weeks at least.

When you find out when you start sneezing (like when you enter the building or leave it), the frequency of sneezes, and other statistical (for the lack of a better word) data, you might be able to think of a way to deal with it.

I found out that I can't sneeze for no reason in the morning. If I do, I'll end up with a very runny nose, that when blown, sounds like I'm really ill with a bad cold. And my nose would go completely red.

If I sneeze later in the day (when it is warmer), all the runny nose etc doesn't happen. But I hardly sneeze later in the day.

So in my own un-medical management of this, I just try to avoid triggering the sneezing (which I think is allergy-related) in the morning, which means no strange fragrances/smells, cold/chilly air blowing directly at the nose, and sometimes, having to put on extra clothes to keep a bit warmer.

The allergy journal is an extra bit of work, but it might help you to understand the triggers and the sort of environments that your sneezing occurs, and thereafter to manage it better.

Yushi: thank you VERY much for your great advice. However, I have severe allergy anywhere, any time. It doesn't matter where or when. I have traveled to over 10 different parts of the US and the world recently, and it's the same everywhere.

... with ONE exception: when I was in Vietnam, my allergy disappeared. This raised the possibility that I would be fine in Asia, where I'm originally from. Unfortunately, when I went to China this year, my allergy was still there, albeit about 30% reduced. So something distinctive about Vietnam, which is not present in China, is good for me.

I can think of 2 possibilities: 1) the tropical weather; 2) less industrialization. For #1, I will go to other tropical places to test. If that doesn't work, then for #2 I will go to another 3rd world country to test.