It’s time to toss your over-the-counter allergy medication and start using something that’s actually good for your body! Learn how with this home remedy for allergies.
What I love about home remedies is that I can grow many of the medicinal herbs needed for my family in the cottage garden (or forage around my property). Read this post if you’re looking to get started with medicinal herbs. Then check out my list of 15 must-grow herbs here.
Did you know you can even use medicinal herbs on animals and livestock? And finally, here’s another great post on multiple medicinal herbs and their uses.
Why I Love This Remedy
As allergy season is quickly approaching (or already here in many cases), we know there are a few people in our household who really struggle, especially with hay fever. After searching for many years, we’ve finally found an excellent, healthy remedy to eliminate allergies and hay fever.
This home remedy for allergies only uses highly nutritive tonic herbs that are safe for children and adults and gives the body a super-boost of nutrition.
You might find that while you’re getting rid of your allergies, you’re also solving health issues you didn’t know you had! Medicine that actually makes you healthier? That makes me happy, and that’s a complete win in my book!
It’s important to note that I am not a certified medical practitioner or an accredited veterinarian. This post is not intended to diagnose or treat but is for informational purposes only. Please contact your medical or animal care professional before introducing new herbal remedies into your wellness routine.
How to Use Herbs for Home Allergy Remedies
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make allergy capsules, but you can also use these herbs to create an herbal tea, a tincture, a glycerite, or even an herbal honey.
- Herbal Tea – Steep 1/2 teaspoon of each herb in a cup of not quite boiling water for 5-10 minutes, then sip. Make this tea multiple times daily.
- Tincture – Add two cups of each herb to a quart-sized Mason Jar. Cover the herbs with 80-proof vodka (or other alcohol, 80-proof or higher), add a lid and let steep in a cool, dark pantry for two weeks. Strain the herbs out and store the tincture in dark glass amber bottles, out of direct sunlight. Take one dropper-full in a glass of water three times daily.
- Glycerite – Scoop ½ cup of each herb below into a pint jar. Cover with almost boiling water just to the top of the herbs, and then fill the jar the rest of the way with vegetable glycerine. Place the jar in a dark location for 4 to 6 weeks, remembering to shake daily. Strain out herbs and store on the shelf for up to 1 year. Take one dropper-full (doesn’t need to be in water) three times daily, as needed.
- Herbal Honey – Scoop ½ cup of each dried herb into a pint jar, then add honey to fill the jar and saturate the herbs with the honey. Place the jar in a warm location, turning the jar over once daily, for 1 to 4 weeks. When you are ready to enjoy your honey, heat gently just until the honey becomes runny and strain the herbs out and put the honey in a new clean jar. Enjoy the honey in tea or straight off the spoon multiple times daily for the best relief from allergies. Store in a cool, dark location between uses to keep your honey fresh.
- Capsules – This post will explain exactly how to make herbal capsules. The process is simply putting powdered herbs into capsules and taking them multiple times daily.
Supplies Needed
We have a blog post all about how to make your own herb capsules, so if you’re looking for more information, check out that post!
To make homemade herbal capsules, you’ll need the following supplies:
- Herbs – see herbs used for this remedy below.
- Blender, Herb Grinder or Coffee Grinder – to powder the herbs.
- Encapsulator – we love this Capsule-It encapsulator which makes 100 capsules at a time!
- 00 Capsules – the Capsule-It machine takes 00 capsules, but choose whatever size capsules fit your particular machine. Homesteading Hack: You can fill capsules by hand, just know it will be quite time-consuming! But with a good audiobook or a favorite movie, it can be fun. Another tip is that you can buy 00 capsules already separated to save a little more time on this project.
Ingredients Needed
Both of the herbs in this home allergy remedy have excellent tonic nutrients. That means they’ll help your whole system feel better by infusing nutrients right into your body. You can use these to improve your overall health, but they are also a powerhouse against seasonal allergies and hay fever.
- Alfalfa – Alfalfa is known for reducing the symptoms of seasonal allergies (such as hay fever) because it acts like an antihistamine and stimulates the immune system. You can find organic alfalfa leaf here (USA Grown!).
- Nettle – Nettle leaf (Stinging Nettle) is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It can reduce hay fever symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, and itchy eyes. You can find organic nettle leaf here.
Most of the bulk herbs you buy will be in cut and sifted form. The dried herbs need to be processed a bit more in order to fill the capsules. It’s best to process only what will go into the capsules so the medicinal properties stay intact as long as possible.
Homesteading Hack: Store cut and sifted herbs in an airtight jar out of direct sunlight. We don’t recommend storing powdered herbs because the medicinal benefits will degrade much faster. The more surface area that’s exposed to air, the faster those benefits diminish.
Will Store-Bought Powdered Herbs Work?
Yes and no. The problem with store-bought powdered herbs is that they’ve already lost much of their potency. Buying cut and sifted herbs, then powdering them as you need them will give you a much more potent allergy remedy.
We like to make smaller batches more frequently because we find they work that much better. The longer the allergy capsules sit on the shelf, the less potent they’ll be.
How to Make Allergy Capsules
- Powder equal parts alfalfa and nettle in a mini blender, food processor, coffee grinder, or whatever you have on hand to powder your herbs.
- Assemble your capsule machine according to the directions.
- Separate the body and the caps of the capsules into two separate bowls.
- Fill up the main frame with the capsule body.
- Ensure all capsules are pressed down well and add powdered herbs.
- Using the scraper tool, distribute the herbs into the capsule body until all the capsules are filled.
- Using the tamper tool, gently press down so the herbs get packed into each capsule more tightly. Add more herbs, distribute evenly, and remove any excess herbs into a bowl.
- Add caps into the top portion of the capsule machine, and, following the instructions for your particular machine, add them to the capsule body.
- Remove all capsules and store them in an airtight jar, out of direct sunlight.
How to Take Herbs for Allergies
Both alfalfa and nettle are considered very safe herbs for both adults and children (unless, of course, you have a personal allergy). However, herbs are different than medicine, and you have to take more of them more frequently for them to work.
If you find the dosing below isn’t working for you after a couple of days, try increasing the dose. It’s not going to harm you, it’ll just improve your health!
Children
For children suffering from allergies or hay fever, give them two capsules three times a day (so long as they can swallow pills safely).
Adults
For adults suffering from allergies or hay fever, take four or five capsules (depending on your weight) three times a day.
Did you make this allergy remedy? If so, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. Then snap a photo of your herbs and tag us on social media @homesteadingfamily so we can see!
More Posts You May Enjoy
- Home Remedies for Cough (Baby and Toddlers & Adults)
- Homemade Antibiotic Ointment (Better Than Neosporin)
- Homemade Elderberry Syrup: Immune Boosting Remedy
- Instant Herbal Iced Tea (Instant Cold Brew)
- Dandelion Uses for the Homestead
- Hop Tea + Medicinal Benefits Of Hops
- What to do with Rose Petals (Medicinal Uses)
- DIY Rose and Honey Face Wash (For Dry & Aging Skin)
- Preservation Tools on a Budget
Home Remedy for Allergies (+ Hay Fever)
Equipment
- Capsule Machine
- Capsules
- Food Processor or high powered blender or coffee grinder
Ingredients
- 1 part dried alfalfa I used two cups
- 1 part dried nettles I used two cups
Instructions
- Powder equal parts alfalfa and nettle in a mini blender, food processor, coffee grinder, or whatever you have on hand to powder your herbs.
- Assemble your capsule machine according to the directions.
- Separate the body and the caps of the capsules into two separate bowls.
- Fill up the main frame with the capsule body.
- Ensure all capsules are pressed down well and add powdered herbs.
- Using the scraper tool, distribute the herbs into the capsule body until all the capsules are filled.
- Using the tamper tool, gently press down so the herbs get packed into each capsule more tightly. Add more herbs, distribute evenly, and remove any excess herbs into a bowl.
- Add caps to the top portion of the capsule machine, and, following the instructions for your particular machine, add them to the capsule body.
- Remove all capsules and store them in an airtight jar, out of direct sunlight.
Notes
- For children suffering from allergies or hay fever, give them two capsules three times a day.
- For adults suffering from allergies or hay fever, take four or five capsules (depending on your weight) three times a day.
