Cedar Fever !!!

[Hillman]

OK, since I started this thread I'll answer the "cedar fever" cure.

The female cedar tree makes a small purplish colored berry. Find one close to your house. Watch it close, daily (October-ish). Check the little berries for softness or ripeness. Just before they are ripe (They fall from the tree when they are ripe.) pick a few and wash them off and swallow them. The schedule is like this; first day swallow one, (don't chew), 2nd day swallow two, 3rd day swallow 3, 4th day swallow 4, and so on until you get to day eleven then you swallow 9, then day 12 you swallow 8, then day 13 you swallow 7 and so on until day 20 when swallow 1 and that will be it. You increase the number progressively up until day 11 then decrease the number each day until day 20.

It's process is similar to the recommendation of eating "local honey" for severe allergy sufferers. The concept that if the honey is local so is the bee that made it as is the pollen that the bees come in contact with during the honey making process.

Both applications are highly recommended by the ol' timers here in Kerrville.

Obviously, these approaches only work is applied before the season begins and before one is sick. AND it something you'll need to do each year. It's not a one time fix.

Good luck!

[Austin]

Interesting ideas.

I've heard about the local honey, I've been having allergy issues this year and nothing seems to be working.

[blucher]

It's process is similar to the recommendation of eating "local honey" for severe allergy sufferers. The concept that if the honey is local so is the bee that made it as is the pollen that the bees come in contact with during the honey making process.

I must look in to getting honey pollenized by bees that worked on the local hops crop. It appears dogs are also susceptible to cedar fever.

Let's see.....
fire ants
killer bees
kudzu?
and now we add exploding pollen trees?

[blucher]

Originally Posted by Austin

I've heard about the local honey, I've been having allergy issues this year and nothing seems to be working.

A small humidifier & a small air cleaner in a closed bedroom will help with sleep.

[blucher]

Cedar Fever

First up was the Cedar Fever. A bright and perky gin-based drink served ?up? with Hayman?s Old Time, St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur, a touch of Peychaud?s, and a peculiar liqueur called Zirbenz Stone Pine (as the name suggests, it has a strong pine fragrance and taste, but balances well with the St. Germaine.) Those afraid of gin should try this drink. It will change your opinion. It looks like a pink cosmopolitan but has a much more complex flavor. It?s clean, smooth, not too sweet, and tastes a bit like a fragrant spring rose with a kiss of citrus.

http://excelonhealth.com/wordpress/2011/01/surviving-cedar-fever/

Surviving Cedar Fever
Posted on January 6, 2011 by Dr. Amy
Cedar fever is sort of like the guerrilla warfare version of plain old allergies. Sure some people have runny nose and sneezing and watery eyes, but then there are the other symptoms like extreme fatigue and achy joints and utter inability to function because of all the mucus in your head. Fun! This is allergies Texas-style, so I want to talk a little bit about the natural options.

The Hair of the Dog

Because cedar is such a huge problem here in Texas a couple of companies actually make homeopathic drops out of cedar pollen. For some people these work well and they?re easy to find and easy to use. This is a great option if you know for sure it?s cedar you react to and don?t quite fit into any of the homeopathic pictures. You can take just a few drops as needed for allergy symptoms.

Homeopathy for Symptoms

My favorite way to address cedar fever is with a combination of anti-histamine and homeopathy to cover your specific symptoms. With homeopathy the more exact a match you can find between your symptoms and the symptoms covered by the remedy, the better results you will see. The best part about it is that it works quickly. Most people notice a change the first day and some people notice within 15 minutes. Here are some of the most common cedar fever remedies I?ve seen:

Natrum muriaticum: This remedy is best if you are sneezy, have a discharge like egg-whites that is just enough that you constantly need to wipe your nose, are sensitive to bright sunlight and crave salty foods during allergy season.

Nux vomica: This remedy is fabulous if allergies make you really irritable, you have terribly sneezing and runny nose that are worst when you first get up in the morning. Drippy nose in the daytime that turns into complete dry, painful obstructed nose at night.

Euphrasia: This will help you if you if the worst symptoms are in your eyes. Extremely irritated eyes that itch, burn and discharge. You may wake up with so much eye discharge that they are actually crusted shut. Drippy, watery nose that doesn?t have the burning or pain that your eyes do. You may get a cough that is better at night, but worse when you wake up.

Allium Cepa: This is the best remedy if you can?t stop everything from running. Runny nose that runs so much it seems like the discharge actually irritates your skin with watery eyes. Your nose may be completely obstructed from the swelling and still drips like a faucet.

This isn?t a complete list, but it?s a few options to get you started. Cedar is bad this year so it?s best to do everything you can to keep yourself comfortable and functional.

[blucher]

http://suburbanwildlifegarden.blogspot.com/2008/01/im-allergic-to-austin.html

[quote]Well, not all of it. So far, I only seem to be annoyingly allergic to the Mountain cedar (Juniperus ashei) which populates my area of the Balcones Canyonland Preserve by the millions (billions?) and is pollinating enthusiastically this month.

Being a Missouri farm girl I'd never heard of anything pollinating during January, but turns out mountain cedar is originally froma Northern Mexico. The Advocates at People Against Cedars kindly gave permission for me to use this scary photo of a cedar tree releasing pollen...[thank you!]

Now that's a lot of pollen!

People Against Cedars work hard to educate people about Mountain Cedars. Turns out Mountain cedars are bad neighbors. They are invasive water hogs, (one plant can drink 32 gallons of water a day!) and worst of all Mountain cedars cause a growing threat of fire as they spread. Mountain cedars are even illegal to buy, sell and plant in certain parts of the Southwest because of health and fire hazards. Sounds like it may be time to cull the little buggers. If I didn't think I'd expire participating, I'd get out there and start chopping.

I did not realize I had allergies until we moved to Austin. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America voted Austin, Texas the 2nd allergy capital of the US. Now that's a distinction I could have lived without.

When I asked my doctor when allergy season was over in Austin she laughed rather too gleefully for my taste and handed over a big allergy sheet very much like the data sheet below from the Central Texas Allergy & Asthma Center.

Hmm...As you can see there is no real 'down-time' for the afflicted in Austin. But if you're bothered by Mountain Cedar you might not want to winter here. I pop antihistamines like Chiclets and take so many Skin-so-Soft baths I think my Avon lady is going to propose.