Natural anti-allergy remedies are no quick fix. They need to be taken long-term to have an effect. First of all, it’s a good idea to incorporate local raw honey in your diet, made from the very pollen your body’s reacting to. By eating local honey every day, your body slowly gets used to the allergens, and over time, will react less violently to them. This is the basic principle of homeopathy – treating like with like.

Eating local pollen is also a good idea to build up tolerance to local plants. Firstly, make sure you are not severely allergic to bees, or so allergic to pollen that you experience anaphylaxis. You can buy pollen from local beekeeper. Start around five months before the allergy season, with a couple of granules a day (just let them dissolve under the tongue), and increase by one granule a day over two weeks. If you don’t see an adverse reaction, you can take a teaspoon a day throughout the allergy season.

One tried and tested herbal remedy is nettle tea. Nettle is natural anti-histamine, and reduces the symptoms of allergies.

For nettle tea to have an effect you will need to start drinking it at least three months before the allergy season. I would recommend drinking two cups of nettle tea every day throughout the year, to make it part of your daily diet. Nettle also provides vitamins and minerals, especially iron and calcium.

If you don’t like the taste of nettle, add some peppermint and honey.