have a question on honey and hay fever, what are yr views?

[eragon]

do u think it would work?

would you try having a teaspoon of pure pollen every day to help cure hay fever.

I have to say that honey doenst sound to me that it would really make much of a difference, and that the teaspoon of pollen could be dangerous for some...

what do you think?

[Janelle205]

I'm not really sure about it.  I feel like I understand how it could work, but am not sure that it actually would in practice.

I wouldn't try it for myself, but I had serious issues with allergy shots, and never really managed to get up to the maintenance dosage that the allergist wanted, even after 7 years.

[nameless]

I have read about it - from allergists even - not sure if it works or not.

But I do know that if it WERE to work...then it has to be LOCAL honey and fairly unprocessed (i.e. raw).  Most honey here in the states, in grocery stores, is from elsewhere and super processed. Here, we can find raw low-processed honey from farm stands, farmers' markets, "people you know who raise bees".

Adrienne

[hedgehog]

Not only does it need to be local, but also from the time frame that is high in the pollen you have trouble with.  I doubt it works, but I would say that if you don't have any problems with local honey, it shouldn't hurt either.

[CMdeux]

Doesn't work.

The reason is that bees don't collect the pollens that are aeroallergens.

So the dose is something more like homeopathic for the actual allergens, since the ONLY pollen that would be accumulating in the honey is from foraging bees collecting it accidentally as they deliberately collect heavier pollens.  In other words, whatever builds up on them as they fly around and then gets mixed into honey/nectar deposits back in the colony.  Bees are pretty fastidious, as well, so they definitely wouldn't be depositing a LOT of extraneous pollens.  (Bees eat the pollen as a summer food source and use it to raise brood, so it isn't like they are storing the pollen in the honey in the first place.)

Sorry.  This one just isn't feasible.

~Spouse of master beekeeper in grass-seed capital of the world.

[krasota]

Yeah.  The pollen from insect-pollinated plants is not generally airborne.  Wind-pollinated plants are the culprits for pollen allergies.

Now, honey might contain some other substances that are healthy, but I treat it as what it is:  sugar, to be used sparingly.

[maeve]

And honey is certainly helpful for the scratchy throat caused by allergy-related post-nasal drip.

[eragon]

Thank you.

I thought the same thing as well,  am so fed up with people suggesting this as a cure.

a minor irritation, but still one thats annoying in the frequency that people recommend it.


I mean, I dont mind bee spit, but it aint magic.

[CMdeux]

Well, honey does have some amazing qualities-- for example, it contains a cocktail of (mostly unknown) fungicides and antimicrobial agents made by the bees themselves... to the point that it can be used pretty successfully as a wound dressing, etc.


But no, it won't cure hay-fever.  Then again, the placebo effect is pretty strong and for the majority of people, honey is pretty innocuous as these things go.  I wish that it worked.

[twinturbo]

Off the main subject but have you ever noticed people are disgusted by the idea of eating insects but ecstatic about eating insect secretion? It's probably not a secretion but it's more polite than calling it vomit.

[CMdeux]

Bee Barf Concentrate doesn't light your fire?   

[eragon]

if you think that our daily exposure is so high, esp if you have ezcema , so how does a teaspoon of honey a day help?

the amount to induce antibodies must be very indvidual , even if the right pollen was in the honey.

[eragon]

having honey convo on another allergy board, apparently someones family members are allergic to all cats except ginger ones.

and that she once had hay fever in october, and thats rare.

surely this is a clear demonstration of honey for brains?

[krasota]

I know of nothing which helps chapped lips heal faster, either.  It's kinda spooky how well honey works.  I've been on a year long skin moratorium for honey.  Girlie's old enough for me to risk it again, though. 

So yeah, I use honey, but not for allergies.