Until you have identified the culprit(s) with certainty, your problems will continue. It's not a matter of guesswork, either. You'll have to have tests done by an immunologist to be quite certain of what to avoid etc. There might be one major culprit, and perhaps several minor ones, including the foods you are eating, perhaps the clothes you are wearing, the soaps and cosmetics you are using, a plant in your garden - anything.

Meantime, here are some remedies for allergic reactions. Use only one at a time until you find what helps - remember that individuals can be allergic to ANYthing, including remedies! And of course, check with your doctor before starting on any herbal medicine regime.

Drink 1/2 cup Celery juice for several days to alleviate allergic reactions.

To reduce susceptibility to allergies, eat plenty of foods containing Vitamins A, C,B12 and E, or take supplements of these vitamins. Taking supplements of pantothenic acid, L-histidine and Flaxseed (Linseed) oil can also help.

When afflicted with an allergic reaction, eat a handful of parsley every day, or drink the juice made from it.

Drink a tea made from the berries or flowers of Elder. This is also good for Hay Fever.

Drink a tea made from the leaves, flowers or stems of Eyebright.

Drink a tea made from the whole plant (including root) of Liquorice. Do not use Liquorice if suffering from high blood pressure.

Drink a decoction of the dried rhizome of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) daily to boost the immune system. Echinacea is available in commercial products.

Drink a tea made from Yarrow flowers as required to relieve catarrh associated with allergies.

Drink an infusion of Wild Thyme.

Chew peeled garlic cloves or take Garlic capsules.

Drink a cup of Nettle or Sage tea.

If the allergies are associated with plant pollens, take 2-3 teaspoons LOCAL honey daily.

"Hi, I am 14 and I have been battling with allergies for several years now."
Have you had formal allergy testing: until you know what you are allergic to, you can't avoid it.

"Every morning I wake up with a stuffy nose and I get headaches at least once a week."

Typical of those allergic to the crud in their pillow, or maybe just dry air from the heating system. Try using a hypo-allergenic pillow, and a humidifier.

"I'm tired all the time and I never feel 100%. I got tested for mono and lyme disease and had neither. My mom was convinced I was allergic to dust, so we took out the carpet and curtains in my room. This only helped a little."

OK - she found out you aren't allergic to dust: ask her to make an appointment with a REAL allergist, one who specializes in diagnosing and treating them.

"My family isn't big on western medicine so I've been trying homeopathic remedies for a while. Again, I haven't noticed much or an improvement."

It seems that the non-traditional approach isn't working very well.

Some other things you can do is start keeping a diary of when your headaches strike or what sets your allergies off. It's not always apparent until you see it in writing. Also, you might try avoiding MSG in foods. Look at labels carefully. Lots of chips, dips, packaged foods, salad dressings, soups, etc. have MSG as an ingredient. Also, cut back on your dairy to see if that helps. Do you have pets at home? Quite often, they are allergy culprits. If you have plants in your room, take them out as sometimes the soil carries a fungus. Dryer sheets are often another aggravator of allergies (especially if you are waking up with a stuffy nose). In the winter, humidify your house (ask your parents to put a pot of water on simmer on the stove) or get a humidifier for your room. I also like to put 2-3 drops of eucalyptus essential oil into a cup of hot water and inhale the vapors. Be VERY careful not to burn yourself, don't let the water be too hot. Good luck!

I find that oil of peppermint - just a few drops on a handkerchief to be sniffed - clears my nose and sinuses very well. I have no idea how effective this is for others or even if it is completely safe, although I have had no ill effects. Perhaps someone else with more knowledge would care to comment.

Inhaling the perfume of mint does help to 'clear the passages', but a far better herb for the purpose is eucalyptus. You can feel it clearing the way all the way down to your toes! If you don't like it, try to find the Japanese Menthol Mint. Best of the lot for inhaling. Great when you've got a cold and the snuffles.

But I emphasise, with allergies, you need to get at the root cause, not just treat the symptoms.

Half an eyedropper of eyebright tincture in a small amount of water has helped me immencely in the past.

You may also want to be checked for Asthma, some of your symptoms sound very much like that, and if you have allergys, that can defiantely trigger it.

Also you could try a humidifier in your bedroom at night, preferably one with a "well" that you can place oils in. I would place in pepermint and eucalyptis.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eyebright Tincture

What has worked best for me is a using various remedies, depending how severe.
Homeopathic remedies: (when it is at its worst)
golden seal
or any of the Nelson's allergy mixtures

Herbal: when I just need a little bit of help or as a strengthening tonic, overall barrier to allergies, especially seasonal changes (you'll have to find herbals that work with you: thyme, sage,hyssop, astragalus

AND the most important thing that helps is an air cleaner and DUST MITE proof pillow covers and mattress covers. This has helped me the most.

curlymom

I am a mullein addict... I live in an agricultural area with a government who plants these awful ornamental pear trees EVERYWHERE! I have huge containers of mullein for tea, makes a great decongestant...to go with all my allergy medicine...

Thank you all so much! Your advice has been extremely helpful. I made an appointment with an allergy specialist who is going to do all kinds of testing to find out whats really going on here so i can find the root cause.

I purchased a eucalyptus inhaler from a health food store and it seems to help me feel better for an hour or so but sadly the effects ware off eventually. I have also started taking Cod Liver Oil which is supposed to help and I can say it's not the tastiest stuff!

Thank you all again for your help and advice
Any other suggestions are appreciated!

Try this site: http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html

I have read a lot of information about apple cider vinegar helping allergies. Good luck

Where do you live? Since its winter I assume your allergies are to thins indoors..... you could have dust allergies or allergies to cleaning products etc. in the home.... ask your mom to use natural cleaning products and get a hepafilter.... also wash your sheets etc. often..... and put a plastic liner between your sheets and your mattress.... other than that take vitamin c and echinacea to boost your immune system.... could it be yourpets? Or a friend's pets? People going to school often come down with allergies due to things used in school (cleaning products etc.) and because students may have things on their clothes (i.e. cat dander) that other students are allergic too.... since you get out of breath in sports though you may not have allergies so much as ashthma... a common problem now and unfortunately growing.... especially among young people... Also people around you wearing perfume may harm it.... use natural hair spray and solid perfume if you wear perfume.... Work on breathing exercises and as per stuffy nose etc. ask your MOm to lower the heat in the house at night... the dry air may be drying out your nose and giving you a headache (dehydration) other than that (drink water!) I'm not sure what else could help..... As someone mentioned washing your nose out could help also wash your face with warm water regularly and change your clothes when you get home.... to give yourself a rest from toxins or allergins that may have accumilated on your clothing.... I had allergies and asthma (mostly asthma) in high school that all but went away after I was out of the building.... love high schooll.... hated the allergies and asthma most of all!!!!

I have also added nettle... I am allergic to house dust and with central air, I am doomed. I have found that a combo of nettle and mullein in a tea works well.

I have an entirely different idea - your symptoms sound exactly like those you get if you have sleep apnea. It is something more people get when they're older, but even young children can have it. It is associated with extra weight, but unless you are heavy, there are also anatomical reasons for it (like a slightly lower palate, tonsil problems, and others), and you need to be seen by an ear, nose and throat specialist (your family doctor could set that up), plus have a sleep study (where you have a couple of small wires taped to your chest and wear a small plastic clip on your finger (painless) for one night to test for the condition. It can be very serious IF it's not treated - the headaches are due to high blood pressure (if you have apnea) and the tiredness is because you are not sleeping well at all - you actually end up holding your breath (in your sleep) for a few-many seconds at a time, many times a night, and the gasps you take each time afterward can really tire you out. Please, please show this note to your mother and ask her to look into it - it really needs to be taken care of (also painless!) if you have it. I know - I do (and lots of other people too).

Hopefully the original poster did get allergy testing in order to eliminate or reduce the offending source, so as to minimize the need for any drugs/herbs/supplements.

As far as the recommendations on the website linked in the previous post, vitamin C supplementation may have some effect on moderating asthma symptoms (studies are conflicting on this) but is not "a natural antihistamine". I have not seen any good evidence that it is useful in fighting allergies.
Garlic similarly is of dubious value in controlling allergy symptoms. More info available here.

Stop eating anything with sugar in it. You will notice the difference in one week. Sugar causes immune system problems of which allergies are only a start. A Chinese herbal doctor would probably tell you that you are "damp" and also tell you to lay off dairy foods. If you notice a difference in one week doing this, contact me at pastine29@hotmail.com and I will tell you what else you can do about these things. If not, then you have a different problem. Many persons with long term bacterial infections are told they have allergies. I was told this before I got pneumonia after being sick for nearly 2 years.

The original poster was 14 yrs old - I don't think you should be encouraging them to contact you privately, or prescribing anything for them.

>> During sports, I get out of breath and end up gasping for air. When I first noticed the symptoms, I went to the doctor who said I had dust allergies and he suggested I try Claritin or Flonase.

Maybe time to see a different doctor - perhaps a specialist. That sounds more like asthma or some other condition, not simple sinus allergies. Breathlessness or gasping for air is not a typical symptom of hay fever or sinusitis.

Allergies often occur along with asthma and can aggravate asthma, but asthma is different than sinus allergies and needs to be treated differently. Asthma is also more serious.

Try getting a food allergy test! environmental things may be a culprit, but so could something you are eating everyday! Get a blood allergy test - not a skin prick test. Skin prick tests are not as accurate when it comes to food - they are mostly used to pick up on environmental allergies. You want to get an IgG Comprehensive Food Sensitivity Assay. A holistic doctor (or even some up to date Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors) will know what you're talking about & give you a prescription & send you to the right lab to get your blood drawn. Finding out what foods you are allergic to is crucial!! Once I found out I was allergic to wheat & dairy (2 of the biggest culprits) & eliminated them completely from my diet, I never get sick anymore!!

Getting an IgG food allergy test as suggested by the previous poster is expensive ($100-400 for a typical test panel), but more importantly the reliability and clinical significance of these tests is questionable.

"IgG antibodies to food are commonly detectable in healthy adult patients and children, independent of the presence of absence of food-related symptoms. There is no credible evidence that measuring IgG antibodies is useful for diagnosing food allergy or intolerance, nor that IgG antibodies cause symptoms. The exception is that gliadin IgG antibodies are sometimes useful in monitoring adherence to a gluten-free diet patients with histologically confirmed coeliac disease. Otherwise, inappropriate use of food allergy testing (or misinterpretation of results) in patients with inhalant allergy, for example, may lead to inappropriate and unnecessary dietary restrictions, with particular nutritional implications in children."

That last part is important - you don't want to unnecessarily go on a restrictive diet if you aren't actually allergic to the foods in question.

More on dubious allergy testing here.

Allergies are an immune system problem. The best way to get better is to improve your health overall. Stop eating crap. Foods with sugar, white flour, hydrogenated oils, dyes, all that needs to go. You will notice improvements in just a few weeks, and it won't cost you anything like what allergy testing will.

wonder if you have had multiple courses of antibiotics in your lifetime? this sounds exactly like leaky gut and food allergies.

agree that allergy testing results are dubious. expensive too. and then doctors tend to want to use suppressive therapies (drugs that address symptoms only) which drive the problem deeper into the body, setting you up for worse problems later.

an elimination-rechallenge is more effective and costs nothing. simply eliminate common allergens first...dairy, wheat, gluten, citrus...for a week or more. then one at a time add them back to your diet. if the reintroduction increases your symptoms that food is an allergen for you and should be avoided for the rest of your life. once allergic, always allergic, the immune system has a fantastic memory! hope this helps, k

For my allergies, I visit an accupuncturist who uses Bioset technology to clear my allergies. I generally see her once or twice a year. It works well for me, given that nothing else worked.
If your problem arises from allergies, you might check the plants growing in your yard. Some plants produce considerably more pollen than others. If you can avoid those plants, it will help. Thomas Ogren wrote a book called Allergy-Free Gardening which explains how plants affect allergies, tells which plants are the worst offenders, and offers strategies for avoidance.