Spring is officially here, and so is allergy season!
If you suffer from allergies and need to use your voice professionally, you might be dragging yourself to a loophole of taking too many allergy drugs. We all know pills always have side effects and if you want to reduce the need to use them, check out these options:
1. Wash your sinuses with a Neti Pot
Neti Pots are the containers used to perform "jala neti", an old yogic technique of cleaning the sinuses with lukewarm distilled or sterile water mixed with salt (creating an isotonic saline solution, approximately 1/2 tsp of salt for 250ml of water).
Frequency: I usually do this every 1-2 weeks for maintenance, but you can increase frequency in moments of need. However, I don't recommend doing it daily, because than you might actually irritate your sinuses! We do need a little bit of mucus, so don't get rid of all of it.
Time: It is best to do it in the morning or early afternoon. If there's any water left to come out, you can expel during the rest of the day. If you do it at night and lie down to sleep, that remaining water could go to your ears, which could lead to infection in a long-term.
Cleaning: It is very important to sanitize your neti pot, and also to use sterile water. DO NOT USE TAP WATER! If you do so, you're risking a contraction of bacteria. Use good filters, then bring the water to boil and wait for it to cool. You can also buy distilled water.
2. Take DoTerra’s TriEase
The essential oil brand doTerra has a seasonal blend in softgels containing equal parts of Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint essential oils, which you can take 1-2 per day.
I have experimented those and here is what I found:
- I don't recommend taking them on an empty stomach. The peppermint can become aggressive. I personally don't like taking it during the day, even after eating, but this is something you'll need to try and watch how you feel.
- Perfect to take in the evening, after a meal and before sleeping! If you suffer from the post nasal drip that increases at night, TriEase will be your best friend!
I know this by experience: I was coughing non-stop one night; took one of these, and a few minutes later I slept like a baby. One container is $30.67 for retail - $23 if you have a wholesales number. You would also need to pay $3.99 for shipping plus taxes. Here's a wonderful doTerra wellness advocate to give you more info: Noelle Hoye.
3. Diffuse a blend of essential oils for allergy relief
If you're like "I don't want to spend this much, plus I'm not sure I want to take essential oils internally", here's your second option: buy lemon, lavender and peppermint essential oils and diffuse them.
You can find good quality and accessible brands that sell in Amazon. I personally like Aura Cacia and Now. You can also look for the organic options that they have. Beware: the oils of these brands can't be ingested. I believe doTerra is one of the few brands that specify nutrition facts of their oils and identify which ones are safe for ingestion.
4. Keep your home, especially your bedroom and beddings as clean as possible
Ok, I don't need to explain this one. You know it. Just checking.
5. Observe what you eat.
Maybe that annoying post nasal drip is a reaction to cow’s milk. Or something else. Whenever I eat too much cheese, I experience an increased production of mucus. Maybe there's something that you eat that might be aggravating whatever allergies you already have because of the weather/ season.
Do you have another tips for folks who suffer from seasonal allergies? Leave them in the comments!
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