Alternative Allergy Treatment

Nearly 20 percent of the Western population suffer the effects of hay fever, but a new study shows that a natural alternative treatment to the allergy may be as effective as an antihistamine.

In findings published in the June 2005 issue of the Journal of Phytotherapy Research, Swiss and German researchers report that butterbur (Petasites hybridus) extract is as effective in treatment of intermittent allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, as fexofenadine, the common antihistamine used to treat the condition.

Because butterbur does not cause the sort of drowsiness that is so often associated with other antihistamines it could be particularly useful for patients.

Read the study abstract here.