Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements for Hay Fever

Although vitamin C has antihistamine activity, and supplementation, in preliminary research, has been reported to help people with hay fever, 2,000 mg of vitamin C per day did not reduce hay fever symptoms in a placebo controlled trial. Thus, while some doctors recommend that hay fever sufferers take 1,000–3,000 mg of vitamin C per day, supportive evidence remains weak.

In a double-blind study of people with hay fever, adding 800 IU of vitamin E per day to regular anti-allergy treatment during the pollen season significantly reduced the severity of hay fever symptoms by 23%, compared with placebo plus regular anti-allergy treatment.

In a double-blind trial, supplementation with a specific probiotic strain (Bifidobacterium longum strain BB536) during the pollen season significantly decreased symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, nasal blockage, compared with a placebo.

Quercetin is an increasingly popular treatment for hay fever even though only limited preliminary clinical research has suggested that it is beneficial to hay fever sufferers.

The oral administration of a thymus extract known as Thymomodulin® has been shown in preliminary studies and double-blind trials to improve the symptoms of hay fever and allergic rhinitis. Presumably this clinical improvement is the result of restoration of proper control over immune function.