Anyone ever try honey for allergies?

I am just miserable with allergies this year. The pollen is awful. I take medication, get allergy shots, etc. and I still can't breathe. I've had a lot of people tell me to try taking a tablespoon of raw, organic honey every day. I finally bit the bullet yesterday and bought some.

I haven't heard of it for allergies. But honey does have a lot of healing properties. One of my favorite remedies is mix 1/2 honey and 1/2 cider vinegar. Begin taking at first sign of cold. Knocks it out nine times out of ten for me. Good luck. One thing is for sure. It won't hurt you.

My husband is a beekeeper here in Missouri,and we have a lot of customers that buy our honey because of allergies.It's not so much that the organic part is important.What is important is that it is local from your area and it's raw.That means it's not been heated and usually just strained to get the flotsam and jetsom out from the extracting process.We have customers that swear by it,and buy a years worth at a time,and we also have some who swear by chewing the comb honey.When the bees make the wax,it contains the pollens and all,so it might be something you could try.I have a lot of people ask me what to do with the wax once you've chewed it...just spit it out.It won't hurt you either way.I have allergies as well,but I'm not that much of a honey fan.I guess I should be,but the last couple of years I have taken singulair,and it has helped me quite a bit,I think.I still have a bit of the itchy eyes,my nose does run some,but when I look back to the years without it,I'd much rather take it.

Yep I do if you get your local honey its best because its pollen from the plants around you, I've been doing this a couple of years now I get mine off my fil.  And yes none of the mass produced stuff.

I just put it on toast at breakfast times, it has helped me im a hell of a lot better than what I was 3 years ago

When my daughter was younger she had bad asthma.  A friend recommended the use of natural honey from our area as a way to help keep her symptoms more manageable.  It worked very well.  She didn't like the taste of the honey, but it did help with her asthma.  Now she's grown and she very rarely has any issues with it.  I've always wondered if the honey somehow helped her "out grow" it too.

lizzie said:

My husband is a beekeeper here in Missouri,and we have a lot of customers that buy our honey because of allergies.It's not so much that the organic part is important.What is important is that it is local from your area and it's raw.That means it's not been heated and usually just strained to get the flotsam and jetsom out from the extracting process.We have customers that swear by it,and buy a years worth at a time,and we also have some who swear by chewing the comb honey.When the bees make the wax,it contains the pollens and all,so it might be something you could try.I have a lot of people ask me what to do with the wax once you've chewed it...just spit it out.It won't hurt you either way.I have allergies as well,but I'm not that much of a honey fan.I guess I should be,but the last couple of years I have taken singulair,and it has helped me quite a bit,I think.I still have a bit of the itchy eyes,my nose does run some,but when I look back to the years without it,I'd much rather take it.

Click to expand...

Oh I did not know about the raw part.  DH found a local place to get honey and it's amazing how different it is.  We were using it with the thought of DD's allergies but now I don't know if it was raw or not. I'm going to ask him to get more and talk to the people again if he is out that way.  I just drizzled it on toast for myself.

DH found a bee pollen supplement he tried.  He found his allergies getting WORSE.  I told him it's probably because it's got pollen from who knows where in it; not what he is trying to fight off here.  So he was probably being exposed to even more things to build a resistance to. 

Use Royal Jelly. It's what the bees feed the Queen Bee. You can buy it in the pharmacy. It comes in gel caps.  It's great for respiratory illnesses.  Prior to taking it I used to have to take my steroid inhaler daily all year long.  Now I only take it seasonally during the fall and winter.

Good thing we here aren't allergic to cats. My brother has to take pills cause his girlfriend has 2 cats.

I love my cats and I don't know what I would do if I couldn't have them .

This isn't about allergies, but about another use for honey. It can cure pink eye! It burns like Hell for a few seconds, but it works.
I caught it from my dog once (I must have forgotten to wash my hands after cleaning her face), and looked up home remedies in one of my books. We had local honey from the farmers market and I hate antibiotics, so I gave it a go. If you put a drop directly in your eye about every 2-3 hours, the pink eye will clear up in about a day. I love natural remedies! I didn't use it on my dog, though, because of the burning sensation and because we had already been to the vet and had an Rx for her.

Honey is also great for healing cuts.  It's been used for centuries, and hospitals are even starting to use the honey or sugar method again as it's been proven to work.
 

If you really start getting into all the benefits of honey,it will blow your mind as to its value.One thing I'd like to bring to everyone's attention,and maybe it is something you know but for those who don't,if you're looking for a raw minimally processed product for the health benefits,please read the label.Beware of those that say packaged for or processed for.There are beekeepers out there...even in our area,that when their own honey is sold out,they buy it from a large producer in 5 gallon buckets or 55 gallon barrels,bottle it and stick their label on it,They usually make no changes to their labels at all.Some actually tell their customers it';s not their honey.There's nothing wrong with it in that it's not bad for you,but what's in those buckets and barrels are a mixture from all over the country...it is not local and doesn't contain all the pollens from your area that would be beneficial to you.The main honey extracting time for my area is in July,August and September (maybe then).Obviously different areas of the country it could be slightly earlier or later.I guess what I'm trying to say is to be honey wise.Know where it comes from,and if you find that it does help you with your allergies,buy from that producer a years supply or whatever you can.What you don't need right then put in the freezer.It requires no special treatment or packaging.Just put the jars in the freezer as you get them.It doesn't freeze it....kind of suspends it if you will.It may "candy" over time,but it hasn't gone bad when it candies.It's just mother natures way of preservation.Actually,honey never goes bad.I know a lot of our customers threw theirs out because that's what they thought.To reheat,low and slow is best.You don't want to boil it.Loosen the lid,set in a pot of barely simmering water and stir often.As soon as it's liquid,it's done.Let cool and reseal.If you want to try the bee pollen,talk to your local producer and see if he would put a pollen trap on a hive or 2 and sell the local pollen to you.Go slow with it as well.A few grains at a time til you find what is beneficial to you.Some people swear by taking bee pollen and others not so much.I hope this information is helpful.

That's really interesting. I'll have to go to the farmer's market and get some local raw honey. Good thing I like honey anyway. I tried the bee pollen too, but it didn't do much for me. However, I don't know if it was local or not, so that could've been why.

Yes, but as someone else said, the idea is it has to be local, this way it's specific to your local allergies.

Thanks for all the information! :bigthumb:

The label of the honey I bought says it is pure raw honey gathered by bees from a mixture of the nectar sources of Southeastern Massachusetts and regional flowers and fruit trees.

I have been trying some essential oils lately and they've worked just as well as my prescription antihistamine.  I apply 2 drops of lavender oil, 2 drops peppermint oil, and 2 drops lemon oil to my feet twice a day.  I put the drops in my hand, rub my hands together, then rub on my (clean) feet. I then put socks on for about 15 mins so that I can walk around and not get oils all over my carpets.  You can also inhale the oils left on your hands for relief as well.