Pollen

A few years ago I read Jeff Noon's cyberpunk novel, Pollen. There was lot going on in there that I won't get into--but one of the primary premises was that plants had gotten tired of taking human abuse and evolved dangerous pollens designed to take us out. And this spring feels a little like that. Life imitating art.

Although I have learned a great deal about managing my allergies in my life, still this morning I woke up with "rivers of yellow snot" (thanks, Anna). It's because I felt pretty good when I got home yesterday, and didn't neti. Allergies are like horses, they only hurt you if you're careless--no, no; sorry, I won't use that phrase again.
There's a lot of big grained, visible pollen around these days. That icky yellow scum on your car, and your roof, and lawn furniture, and in puddles--and you , if you stand still too long--that's from pines, and although it can cause some issues, most experts seem to think it's the tinier laurel oak and live oak pollen that our systems can't handle. Pollen is a plant's male generative element: yep, plant sperm. It's largely protein, which is why bees collect it. Every plant's pollen grain is a different shape, and color. Sometime, our bodies react to the presence of foreign proteins as if they are deadly: the allergy cascade. It's much the same reason viruses make our nose run, only pollen isn't actually dangerous. With unrelenting exposure, your mast cells make more and more antibodies for that specific pollen, and your symptoms get worse and worse. Over time, your immune system may commit so many resources to the pollen fight it has no time left to take care of that virus that is now embedded in your warm, mucousy, swollen sinuses.

Remove the allergen, and the allergy cascade subsides. Gradually, your body becomes less and less reactive--as well as less prone to infection--as your immune system stops wasting its time on oak pollen and can turn its attention to infectious microbes.
If you look at Gainesville from the air, you won't see many buildings. We live under one of the best tree canopies in the state. Living here, surrounded on every side by a fabulous jungle, there's no escaping pollen. Which is where the neti pot comes in.
Neti is an ayurvedic tradition of nasal irrigation. I'll get into some particulars later; basically, you use a small "teapot" to wash your nasal sinuses with warm salt water. and in seasons like this one, you do it twice a day.
I used the word "gradually" above, and I meant it. If you've been allergic for years, it's going to take time for your body to make some biochemical changes. For me, allergic apparently since birth, it was about two years before I got real sustained relief.
First of all, if you're suffering, take a claritin. It won't kill you. Just don't stop there: with easy natural therapies, you can help your body stop reacting so badly to the environment.
There are a number of herbs that can help you on your path to the land of no allergies. Primary among them are milk thistle and turmeric. Those two, you should take daily, faithfully, for a long time. Six months to a year, if not forever. They work to control inflammation and clear your liver so it can filter irritants and threats like it's supposed to.
Quercetin is a bioflavinoid found in onions that can interrupt the histamine cascade. Always take it with bromelain and vitamin C. Stinging Nettle, contrary to its name, calms allergic attacks.

Don't buy your herbs from CVS or Walmart. Those are the unregulated charlatans the FDA gets all worked up about: their herbs are inappropriately harvested and processed, of dubious origin, even more dubious potency, and may not even be the right species of plant. If you email me privately, I'll recommend some brands (or, visit the store, where I stock the best of what I've found in 16 years). Better yet, visit an herbalist who grows and harvests her own plants.

Take your herbs every day, even if you feel better. This isn't about symptom relief, that's what drugs are for. This is about healing your body, which drugs can't do. This is me on my high horse!

The other leg of this is the nasal irrigation. Personally, I didn't like the syringe style irrigator when I tried it--the water shot up into my forehead sinus, painfully. Neti pots are designed to be gentle and easy to use. You can get brands made in the USA of porcelain that look nice, stay sanitary, and will last you forever; I don't recommend the plastic ones except possibly for traveling. So--choose your neti pot. If you can't afford a neti pot, you can improvise with your cupped hand--just hold one nostril closed and snuffle up salt water with the other! This is low tech, people.

In challenging times, such as tree pollen or ragweed season, or when I encounter a lot of people with colds and flu, I will rinse my nose twice a day: once in the morning, and once when I take my after-work shower. I also use the salt water to wash my eyes and throat, especially after work. In recent years, I've stayed well in the throes of seasonal plagues while all my co-workers fall. This is a lot of progress for someone like me, who who used to end up in the emergency room two or three times a year with allergies that chain-reacted into bronchitis.
You can buy expensive preparations and special salt just for neti pots, but you don't have to. If you presently have an infection, you might get help from one of the herbal rinses with zinc, but salt water on its own is antibacterial, anti inflammatory, and will heal you almost as well. Salt for your neti pot should be JUST SALT. Not iodized, no excipients, no silica, etc. I use fine ground sea salt mixed in equal parts with baking soda (with a reluctant nod to Dr. Oz: using straight salt dried my nose out too much and resulted in occasional nosebleeds; adding baking soda to the mixture solved that problem). I use 1/2 teaspoon per pint of warm water. The rinse water should taste pleasantly salty, not harsh, and the water should be warm, not hot or cold.

Many of us have terrible memories of being forced to gargle very salty water as children, and choking horribly. That stops a lot of people from trying a neti pot. When you mix your solution, you are thinking, pleasant. Pleasantly warm, pleasantly salty, like the ocean on a particularly lovely day. If you can swim without breathing water, you can use a neti pot. If you doubt me, try holding some water in your mouth without swallowing. Easy, right? There ya go.
The intention is to allow water to flow gently into one nostril, through your sinuses, and out the other nostril, carrying with it all the dust, pollen, mold, mildew, yeasts, pollutants, and germs your poor nose has encountered that day. You turn your head forward and to the side, to let gravity gently do its job. If all goes well, the water will emerge in a nice full stream from your lower nostril. But, especially at first, things rarely go that well.

At first, you may only get salt water into your nostril, and no further. Be patient. Try again later. At least you have washed a little bit of your breathing equipment. As you begin to clear, you may get water to flow into your nostril and down the back of your throat. That can be startling, but just close your throat like a dolphin and spit out the water. Be patient. It can take a while to get the knack, and even longer for your inflamed and clogged nose to open. Stay consistent, keep trying, and little by little it will get easier and better. For me, it was more than a year. For the first six months I just kept going on faith: if this is a thousand year old tradition, it's going to have to work sometime!

Pour half the neti solution through one nostril, then blow gently (think dolphin), and go on to rinse the other side. Don't blow hard, or you may drive bad things higher into your sinus cavities. After you neti, stay upright for at least one hour to let the water fully drain so gravity doesn't pull it into your ears. Keep a hankie handy: when this process starts to work, the drainage can be impressive.

There you have it: my diatribe on neti pots. I hate to hear about friends and family suffering allergies, so this is my offering to you. You can get better.
Now that you have your awesomely clean nose, go outside and use it to filter the beautiful air. Breathe!