A 30-year-old member asked:
Are the health food store bee pollen meds just a gimmick for treating allergies?
2 doctor answers • 11 doctors weighed in
Dr. Gary Stevenanswered
Pediatric Allergy and Asthma 32 years experience
Yes: The pollens that cause allergies are very small, and carried by the wind. Flowers need bees to cross-pollinate, because the pollen is too big and heavy to be carried by the wind. Since they're not airborne, people can't inhale them and react to them. Thus, the pollens found in bee pollen are not the pollens that cause your allergic symptoms.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Steven Machtinger commented
Allergy and Immunology 46 years experience
Perhaps if health food stores sold bottles of wind collected at different seasons...
Mar 20, 2012
Dr. Steven Cohenanswered
Allergy 24 years experience
Be careful: Bee's pollen, in a granular form, taken orally, has been associated with acute anaphylactic reactions in at least three people. I was the lead author of this paper in the journal of allergy and clinical immunology in 1979. Non sedating antihistamines are much safer.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Oct 4, 2016
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