Get medical help if arrange medical review if seasonal-allergy symptoms are worsening, disrupting sleep or daily life, not improving with appropriate pharmacy treatment, or your asthma is getting worse.
Self-care guide
Seasonal allergies
Seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever) caused by airborne pollen, commonly producing sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, runny nose, and nasal congestion.
Step 1 · First-line care
What to do first
Reduce exposure when pollen counts are high, keep windows closed when practical, shower and change clothes after heavy outdoor exposure, and use saline nasal formulations for comfort. Established medicines such as intranasal corticosteroids and antihistamines have substantially stronger evidence than herbal options. Butterbur is a secondary option only when a standardized PA-free product is used and safety has been reviewed.
Step 2 · Safety
When to get medical help
Get emergency medical help for sudden mouth, tongue or throat swelling, severe or very fast breathing difficulty, throat tightness, or inability to swallow with an allergic reaction.
Extra caution: Children, pregnancy, breastfeeding, liver disease, asthma, and people taking multiple medicines require product-specific review. Butterbur is inappropriate unless the product is processed to remove pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and clearly labeled or certified PA-free; even PA-free products have rare liver-injury concerns.
Step 3 · Optional ingredient support
For relief now
These options have been reviewed for evidence and key safety concerns.
Butterbur
Short-term relief of intermittent seasonal allergic-rhinitis symptoms using a standardized oral butterbur extract comparable to studied PA-free medicinal products.
How it is used: Do not use raw butterbur, homemade butterbur tea, or an unlabeled extract. If butterbur is considered, use only a standardized product clearly labeled or certified PA-free and discuss it with a clinician or pharmacist, especially when other medicines are used.
What does this evidence mean?
Several trials of standardized butterbur extracts reported improvement in seasonal allergic-rhinitis symptoms, but results are inconsistent and the evidence is product-specific. Safety concerns about pyrrolizidine alkaloids and rare liver injury substantially limit routine use.
Evidence may apply to one specific form of an ingredient — a capsule, extract, cream, or tea — and to a particular amount. Recipes and everyday foods may not match the form or amount that was studied.
For ongoing support
These options are better suited to regular or longer-term use than to quick symptom relief.
No reviewed options in this category yet.