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4 Natural Cures for Allergy Symptoms That Also Protect Against Covid-19

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Wouldn’t it be great if there were cures for any bothersome spring allergy symptoms that also boosted your protection against covid? Turns out there are — and they’re easy!

Take Nature’s Allegra

Apples and onions brim with quercetin, a nutrient that curbs symptom-triggering histamine by 96 percent. Now, Turkish scientists are studying quercetin supplements to prevent COVID. That’s why Fred Pescatore, MD, recommends it to allergy patients and also takes it as part of his covid protection plan. “It acts as an antiviral and reduces inflammation,” he says. “That’s key since inflammation is one way covid does its damage.” He advises 500 mg. twice daily. One to try: Life Extension Optimized Quercetin (Buy on Amazon, $15.74). Note: Talk to a doctor before supplementing.

Try a Saline Spritz

Saline nasal sprays thin mucus so it’s easier to clear, whisking away trapped allergens with it. That’s why a UK study found the sprays ease allergy symptoms by 44 percent. Plus, they may help combat covid, notes immunologist Nancy Klimas, MD. “They work a lot like hand-washing, but for nasal tissues.” She advises using a saline spray four times daily and after being out and about.

Sip a Floral Tea

Fruity-floral oolong tea has compounds that boost the function of regulatory T cells, which tamp down the body’s allergic response, notes Leo Galland, MD, author of The Allergy Solution (Buy on Amazon, $16.99). He suggests enjoying up to five cups daily. And that strategy could also protect against covid by inactivating the virus in the mouth and GI tract, say Japanese scientists. Their laboratory study found exposing COVID samples to oolong tea reduced the virus’ infectivity by 65 percent.

Don a Pair of Glasses

Eyeglasses act like a physical shield to protect your peepers from allergens, reducing sneezing and itchy eyes by up to 68 percent, a study in the International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology found. And since eyes are an entryway for covid, glasses protect against infection too: In a Chinese study, hospitalization rates for covid were 82 percent lower in folks who wore glasses than in those who didn’t. Experts say prescription specs, OTC readers or sunglasses all provide the benefit.

A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.

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