Stinging Nettle

I have some friends that take several prescription medications.  When we get together, they discuss their various conditions and medications and attendant side effects.  I have started to notice a disturbing pattern:  the more meds they take, the more they require.  In fact, they are taking some meds solely to treat the side effects from other medications!  These are not ladies with chronic, diagnosed, or serious diseases or syndromes.  I take prescription medication when needed, so don't get the idea here that I am arguing against medicine.  But the important word is "needed."  I take medicine, prescription or OTC, only when it is really needed--which is rather rare.  If you have to take drugs to treat the effects of the drugs you're taking, it's time to step back and evaluate.

When I have an issue come up that I feel needs treatment, I pray and then start to do my homework.  While I can't trust everything I read on the internet, I do start to get ideas and some feel right to me, so I do a little more in-depth research.  I also consult the professional alternative therapists that I see when I have a problem to get their insight.

My most recent physical ailment:  allergies.  I am a fall allergic.  I hate fall.  It only means summer is over and winter is coming.  Oh, and it also means my throat is going to itch, my nose is going to run, my eyes are going to be red and irritated, and I won't sleep well.  I have had success with OTC and prescription allergy medicines, but eventually they start to lose their effectiveness and I have to move on.  I started to panic last year when I had gone through all the meds and was running out of options.  Luckily, my doctor pulled another Rx out of his medical hat.

This year, I went into fall prepared.  I have been eating a teaspoon of raw, local honey every day for several months.  I cut dairy out of my diet completely.  And I have been practicing qi gong and meditation.  But still, my allergies arrived.  They were milder, but they were there.  I happened to have an appointment with my alternative therapist and she gave me a stinging nettle tincture and told me to take 14 drops in the morning and more, as needed later in the day.  I was hopeful, but skeptical--I've had such bad luck it's made me cynical.  I took my drops the next morning and the itch in my throat immediately subsided.  Could this be possible?  Yes!!!  I have experienced a true miracle.  When my throat began to itch I took a few more drops and immediate relief.  When my nose wouldn't stop running, more drops, and less handkerchiefs.  After about a week or so, I only need to take the morning dose and the afternoon booster drops have gone by the wayside.  But I keep my stinging nettle close by, just in case.  I am completely allergy-medicine-sober for a week now and it feels great.  I feel good enough to exercise, garden, and even sleep at night.

I urge you (with your doctor's approval--there are some cautions for certain conditions) to try stinging nettle if you have allergies.  I'd like to know what has brought you good results for your allergies.