Support for Allergies & Upper Respiratory System

Are you dealing with Seasonal Allergies?

The weather begins to shift and suddenly, you find yourself with a runny nose, sneezing, itchy or watery or irritated eyes?

Do you experience respiratory symptoms when you change your environment?

Congestion or mucus? Itchy or scratchy throat? Feeling sluggish or your body is achy or heavy?

All of these symptoms are communication from your body that it's asking for a little more support while working hard to regain balance. Your body is working on overdrive because your bucket is overflowing. 

The most important things that are often missed when considering seasonal or environmental allergies involve: 

1. Your overall foundation ~ how much is your body currently "working on" before the additional invaders are introduced
2. Your channels of elimination ~ how well can your body get rid of the extra burdens?
3. Your immune efficiency ~ how powerful is your immune system to rid the invaders and build up a tolerance and how many areas are triggering the alarm?

In this series of posts, we're going to touch on a few different ways to help cope with the discomfort that comes with seasonal allergies, as well as ways to improve your overall function, reducing your body's need for extreme response in the future. 

There are many layers to your body's individual response to common allergens. Keep this in mind, as no one tool will be the "cure." A combination of caring for your system overall, while utilizing tools to support your system and improve daily comfort and coping is the best approach to get you through your flare ups, while working to decrease intensity over time.  

This post focuses on your upper respiratory system ~ because we know often this is the first noticeable response and the one that you find the most irritating. 

Conventionally, we turn decongestants, histamine blockers or corticosteroids ~ block the reaction, boost your body's response. 

These also are accompanied by side effects, many you might not realize are related, such as disregulating your sleep/wake cycle and central nervous system, increasing dryness (reducing your body's ability to clear out the allergen through bodily fluids), or even vision and neurological irregularities.

I picture this method as turning the heat up, but closing all the vents. Your house will get warmer, but your furnace will work a lot harder. Sometimes it's necessary, but over time, this will cause increased wear and tear on your system, without even realizing the system isn't working optimally.

Every situation is unique. It takes time to reduce or eliminate the need for mediation, to peel away the layers to find the root cause, and to heal your body and optimize function.

Regardless of if you choose to allergy medication, supporting your upper respiratory system to help clear the allergens and protect the passageways is an important first step. 

3 ways to clear the passageways
(best done daily, prior to symptoms, or even a few times a day depending on severity of symptoms)

1. Deep breathing in and out through the nose.
   1. Equal breath (even inhale & exhale)
   2. Kapalbhati breath (passive inhale, rhythmic forceful exhale)
   3. Bhramari breath (deep inhale, bumble bee hum during exhale)
2. Steam bowl to open up the passageways, reducing inflammation, and supporting drainage. Incorporate essential oils such as lavender, orange, and eucalyptus to enhance dilation, soothe, and calm.*
3. Utilizing a gentle neti pot rinse to clear the allergens present in the sinus cavity and reduce inflammation. 

*If you need access or info for essential oils, message me.

5 ways to support the lining of the upper respiratory tissues that protect the body form an overload of allergens

1. Stay properly hydrated ~ not only drinking water, but ensuring your water has a proper mineral balance so your body can absorb and maintain proper cellular hydration levels
2. Breathe through your nose. Develop awareness if you are frequently breathing through your mouth. This creates dryness that reduces protection and also reduces the first line of defense (the nose hairs) that work as a filtration system.
3. Reduce overall inflammation ~ be aware of all chemicals and toxins you are voluntarily putting into your body, especially during common times of flare up or during an acute response. This includes inflammatory foods, body care products, fragrances, and exposure to pesticides.
4. Utilize a nasal spray to keep the tissues hydrated, clear, and functioning properly. Add in herbal or oil based nasal support to really uplevel your first line of defense.
5. Add in honey and bee propolis as a way to support your immune system, to soothe any inflammation in throat, and to help offer an extra coating when the body dries out too quickly after allergen exposure. 

Check out our infographics below for quick reference and for products I use personally. 

You can access our FullScript dispensary and join as our client.

Here you can order high quality supplements from a temperature controlled facility, fast & efficient shipping direct to your door with proper quality control, and a Live Unprocessed discount and custom recommendations. Access the upper respiratory products from this blog in our client protocol. 

We also offer a limited retail selection in our West Michigan studio. If you prefer to join a group order & pick up in studio, message me at Shannon@liveunprocessed.com