Do natural allergy treatments work?

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By Herb Weisbaum

Story Published: Oct 15, 2007 at 10:28 AM PDT

When you have allergies, you want relief. If the symptoms are annoying but fairly mild you can try to treat yourself, before seeing a doctor.

What can you do? First, try to stay indoors as much as possible - especially in the early morning hours - on days when the pollen count is high.

The most popular over-the-counter allergy medication is Claritin. The cheaper generic version is called Loratadine. Unlike older antihistamines, Loratadine doesn't make you sleepy.

And what do we know about natural treatments?

Dr. Marvin Lipman, chief medical advisor for Consumers Union, says there's one herbal product that may help. It's called Butterbur.

"In some of the studies Butterbur has worked as well as some antihistamine medications,” Dr. Lipman told me. “But there's very little evidence that any other supplement and there are many purported to help allergy symptoms, there is very little evidence that anything even comes close.”

Sometimes, the only way to get real relief is with a prescription drug. Dr, Lipman says the most effective ones, are the steroid nasal sprays such as Nasonex and Flonase.

More Information:

Butterbur: An herbal allergy treatment?

Loratadine

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