That moment when you want to rip your face off and wring it out
Up until we moved here to Widder Island six years ago I never suffered from seasonal or pollen allergies.
Although we’re protected from the worst of the ‘eau de cow-poo’ fertilizer smells this time of the year, the same cannot be said of the airborne things that cause one to go ‘AaaaaaCHOOO’ in the middle of the night, morning, afternoon, evening, that is the by-product of swathes of farmland in the Fraser Valley.
This is another reason we’re planning on moving to the Interior as soon as we find our forever home.
Pseudoephedrine is a snuffler’s best friend at these times … unfortunately it’s also a toxic friend when it has overstayed its welcome.
And then, one day quite by accident I uncovered, not a cure, but a tasty remedy for the symptoms.
Licorish.
The good stuff, not the flavoured sugar kind … and therein lies the issue with eating even little nubs of the stuff all day – sugar, which is an ingredient, no matter what the quality. (as far as I know)
Never fear, Widders is here. (Lost In Space reference – the trailer for the re-boot looks … not terrible) I found a magnificent alternative in the spices isle of our local bulk health and organic food store – star anise!
I suppose it comes in a powdered form but in it’s un-smooshed state it looks like this …
Star anise – Naked and un-smooshed, baby!
First thing I did was make a big pot of star anise tea and added a bit to everything I drank.
Mrs Widds found the giant mouse tea-cosy in her favourite thrift store
It worked, but after a while everything tasted star anise-y.
Enter, my handy-dandy essential oil tea light diffuser.
Much better
I wouldn’t normally have used so many ‘stars’ but these were left over from the last pot I made and they still had some smell to them so I chucked them in the top added some water … three days later they’re still going strong.
The aroma isn’t too overwhelming, Mrs Widds hasn’t fainted dead away, and I …
I … Can … Breathe!
Of course, it’s not for everyone, but if you’re doing the sneezy two-step like I am, give it a try, see what happens.
Widdershins Worlds 
I could probably use some of this. I had allergies in Canada, when we had a thaw, and now that the snow’s back I’m in Texas and going through it again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Give it a try. I only need a little nub of licorish, (about a centimeter size) and I just keep it in my mouth until it dissolves. Good luck. 🙂
LikeLike
Thats a good one to know 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely a helping hand. 🙂
LikeLike
I may give it a try 😉
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
LikeLike
Will it help asthma and hayfever? If it will, you deserve sainthood status!
LikeLike
Heh, heh, heh …Saint Widds … I like that! 😀
As far as I can figure, it’ll help with anything that stuffs up the sinuses.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to give this a go!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good stuff for snuffles, which I hope will soon depart
LikeLike
The only times I can be fairly sure I’m not going to react to something is when it’s snowing or raining. Today, it’s raining. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry to hear you’re ‘under the weather,’ because that’s literally what it is: time of year and wind patterns are bringing your poor nose things which make it unhappy. I thought you were already in your forever home – didn’t realize you’re in the search, too.
Dejunk sooner than later. I thought I had. Ha! Boxes and boxes. Stuff to take, stuff to donate, stuff which my lovely assistant makes disappear (long may her tribe last), stuff which will stay only as long as the staging ladies need it. STUFF!
Enjoy your tea – I think I’d not be able to tolerate the smell of licorice or star anise. Not for long. Smells don’t saturate for me – they just never go away. So we live in a odor-free environment (except when the spouse cooks his many foreign dishes – he loves spices – and I can’t breathe for a few hours).
LikeLike
The Island’s been an interim step between living in Vancouver and the final move … We’ve been switching the ‘junk’ for items we’ll need when we get to wherever we’ll end up.
I can’t deal with smells that I consider overwhelming either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to know! And I hope you continue to be able to breathe. 🙂
LikeLike
There have been a couple of days when I’ve needed it and forgotten to light the tea light diffuser. I sure could tell the difference.
LikeLike
I wonder if the allergy cause is pollen from alder trees. Their blooms are quite subtle; sort of a pinkish blush when seen from a distance. I used to get wet, itchy snuffles after biking to work through patches of alders. Good to know about licorice/star anise being helpful.
LikeLike
The more people who know about the better, I reckon. 🙂
LikeLike
Cool! Glad to hear you found a natural solution. Star anise is a strong taste. The Mama added it to her beef stews, now and then. Made the stew tasty if used in the right amount. Hmmm, now I want stew.
LikeLike
Heh, heh, heh … it always comes back to that which nourishes us, eh? 😀
LikeLike
That’s interesting. The star anise tea must have a strong flavour though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yeah! 😀 … after the first mouthful, I abruptly decided to only put about a tablespoonfull in each pot of my regular tea, that was palatable, but didn’t really have the long-term all-day, effect I wanted, hence the tea-light diffuser.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for that info. It’s good to know. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] you’re wondering why, ‘star anise’, look no further than this post I did about it a while back. There’s something about the ‘star’ that mitigates […]
LikeLike
I never realised this benefit from a flavouring I have sometimes used
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found it good for clearing the sinuses when I’m feeling all head-cold-y and flu-y too. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! I’m going to pass this along to my son. Do you just steep a few dried anise in the pot?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, or a tea-light essential oil infuser. Start with just a few ‘points’ of the ‘star’ though. It can be a bit potent. I hope it helps. It clears the sinuses wonderfully. 🙂 Unfortunately the other symptoms persist, but breathing is good! 😀 … if he gets skull-crushing allergy headaches, (I do, if it’s a particularly nasty reaction) maybe add a few drops of lavender (essential oil) to the infuser.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀
LikeLike
The Offspring gets bad hayfever so may try the licorice first then progress to the star anise. Thanks for the tip!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Make sure it’s real licorish, not just flavoured sugars … which is why I switched to the star anise, it’s easier, and sometimes cheaper, to come by. Good luck to the offspring. 😀
LikeLike
We’ve got a very good health store just ten minutes away in Eltham so I’m sure they’ll have the real thing. Given how many antihistamines I buy during winter/spring, I’d rather spend that money on licorice! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too! 😀
LikeLike
😀
LikeLiked by 1 person