Seasonal allergies keep many cooped up at home when pollen counts are high. Echinacea tea can provide lasting natural relief from allergies. This health-promoting tea can also be used topically to relieve insect bites, eczema, and hemorrhoids and internally to boost your immune system.
Allergy Relief with Echinacea Tea
If you dread spring because of all the pollen blowing in the air, you’ve got plenty of company. Millions just like you suffer from seasonal nasal allergies. Over-the-counter and prescription medications can make you feel sleepy and dry out your already-inflamed nasal passages.
Though echinacea tea has been known to cause allergic reaction in sensitive individuals, it can also help ward off symptoms. Using any flowering plant based tea such as chamomile, nettle or echinacea for allergies is considered homeopathic. Homeopathic remedies operate on the principle, “like treats like”. Meaning, taking a little bit of the allergen into your body can help boost your body’s ability to withstand it.
A cup of echinacea tea has also been shown to support the immune system and decrease the body’s inflammatory response.
Other Health Benefits of Echinacea Tea
Soothes Insect Bites
Another health benefit of echinacea tea is its ability to soothe insect bites. You can place a warm teabag directly onto the area of the bite to relieve stinging, itching and inflammation. Having a couple of echinacea teabags on hand during a camping or hiking trip can be very useful!
Relieves Hemorrhoids
Speaking of trips, who wants to sit down in a car, plane, bus or train for hours on end when they suffer from hemorrhoids? Digestive problems and pregnancy are the most common reasons for the development of hemorrhoids. Echinacea extract is the most effective way to relieve hemorrhoids but teabags can work just as well.
Be sure your tea is 100% organic and the teabag is bleach-free before using it on delicate tissues. Steep the tea as though you’re going to drink it. Let it cool until it’s just warm. Squeeze excess water out of the teabag and gently place on inflamed tissue. Leave on for 10-15 minutes then gently remove. Itch and inflammation should be lessened.
Boosts the Immune System
The health benefits of echinacea tea go on to boost your immune system. According to research on the immune-boosting effects of echinacea, this tea can help active your body’s T-cells, which helps prevent colds, flu and other types of infections. The secret ingredients behind this effect are certain polysaccharides, caffeic acid derivatives, cichoric acid, flavonoids and essential oils.
Treats Wounds
Echinacea tea can also be used topically to treat superficial wounds and help speed healing. For minor cuts and scrapes, wash thoroughly with soap and water and place warm, steeped teabag on wound. You may also break open a teabag and place the herbs directly onto the cut.
Relieves Eczema and Psoriasis
If you struggle with the pain and embarrassment of eczema or psoriasis, you’ll be relieved to know echinacea tea can help relieve it. Drinking a cup of echinacea tea can help relieve inflammation, boost your immune system and calm allergic reaction. Soaking in a hot bath filled with 5-10 echinacea teabags is another natural way to get relief from painful skin irritations.
Protects Against Sun Damage
Sun damage can affect anyone, but fair-skinned people are the most prone. Echinacea tea can help protect against this damage because of its high antioxidant content.
Bonus: Echinacea can also help prevent the destruction of collagen, keeping wrinkles at bay!
Fights Chronic Candida
Chronic candida infection can be hard to beat. Having echinacea tea on your side can help the battle. The immune-system boosting antioxidants in echinacea can help decrease the frequency of vaginal yeast infections. Echinacea also has been reported to have hormonal-balancing properties.
Eases Urinary Tract Infections
Frequent urinary tract infection sufferers may also find relieve with a soothing cup of hot echinacea tea. Its strong antiviral properties help kill infection-causing bacteria, boost the immune system, relieve pain and ease inflammation.
The Best Type of Echinacea Tea
No matter what type of tea you drink, take care to choose preservative-free natural teas for the best health benefit. Here is a short list of natural echinacea teas:
Alvita Echinacea Tea
Alvita offers a wide variety of healthy, preservative-free teas. Their echinacea tea is 100% natural and completely caffeine-free.
Traditional Medicinals Echinacea Plus
This purely organic tea contains only echinacea, lemongrass and spearmint leaf.
Yogi Green Tea Triple Echinacea
This natural tea contains no artificial additives or preservatives. It contains only green tea, echinacea, lemongrass, elderberry extract and natural flavoring.
Celebration Herbals Echinacea
This caffeine-free herbal tea contains only organic echinacea tea.
Echinacea Tea Contraindications
When it comes to echinacea, there are a few precautions to take into consideration. Echinacea is not to be consumed by people with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis or tuberculosis without first consulting their doctor. Use of this tea may accelerate these diseases. Echinacea tea should not be consumed by pregnant or nursing women or children under the age of 12. Echinacea may also aggravate allergies and asthma in sensitive individuals.
A hot cup of echinacea tea can help relieve allergies by boosting your immune system, relieving inflammation and reducing pain. It can also be used topically to relieve the discomfort of cuts, scrapes, insect bites and slow-healing wounds. This health tonic in a teabag is a great natural remedy to have on hand from the flowering days of spring to the dog days of summer.
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