Treatments Proven Not to Work for Nasal Allergy
Sometimes symptoms of nasal allergy can make you so miserable that you're willing to try just about anything to get relief. There are plenty of less-than-scientific and even dangerous treatments for nasal allergies. Allergy experts recommend staying away from the following alternative treatments.
- Autologous urine injections. Do you think injecting yourself with an extract of your own urine might cure your allergies? Some people claim it's true, but there's no evidence it works. Many health authorities fear that, when injected into your body, substances in urine could be dangerous to your health.
- Diet and vitamin therapy. So far, there isn't any diet or vitamin regimen that has proven successful in relieving or eliminating allergies. Radical changes in your diet or mega-doses of vitamins, amino acids, or other food supplements may be harmful.
- Neutralization therapy. Proponents of this treatment say that taking a small amount of an allergen by injection or a drop under the tongue can ward off symptoms. The idea is to take the allergen when you first feel allergy symptoms or right before exposure. While it sounds a little like immunotherapy, there's no proof that it works.
- Homeopathy. This treatment is popular in many parts of the country. Homeopathy involves taking in tiny amounts of extremely diluted food or plant extracts to prevent symptoms. However, there aren't studies to prove its effectiveness.