Birch sap to cure allergies?

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ghostguy6

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Aug 30, 2006
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While carving up some birch my hands started to get itchy, swollen and red. After a quick test of some fresh cut birch on my arm I determined that I am developing an allergy to birch :( The good news is so far birch pollen has not triggered any reaction. I was outside near all day and had no effects until I came into direct contact with the birch trees. Anyways after a little research I came across an article that claims people have helped or even cured their allegries to birch by drinking the sap. Has anyone here tried it? If you have what were your results?

http://www.cybis.se/craft/birch/index.php
 
It's DIY desensitization. That's also done with other things like poison ivy etc and for some it works..I go for a more scientific way ,presently drops.
All immune system problems are on the increase ;cancer, allergies, auto immune things like MS .We live in a chemical soup, According to the American Chemical Society since 1965 there have been 8 million new chemicals invented , 70,000 are used regularly !!! Each chemical and other substance entering your body must be handled by the immune system. Our immune systems are being overwhelmed and no longer can handle things like foods or pollen.
Diet also plays a part .The article talks about milk.Whole milk from the cow is raw protein and raw protein is rare in our diets.Typical American diet is poor with refined foods ,high sugar etc.This is directly responsible for many of our diseases.
But to the original question - the birch sap may only help with birch allergy though if that is successful it reduces the total load on the system.
 
Technically it is possible to reduce allergies by increasing exposure to the antigen (thing causing the allergy), in small amounts over time. This practice is employed by doctors who will sometimes give injections of bee venom to allergic patients in an effort to induce something called class switching of immunoglobulins (technical stuff, I wouldnt bother learning about it). But I'm not sure what protocol/theories are behind desensitisation when you DEVELOP an allergy (I assume birch has never caused a problem before).

It MIGHT not hurt to try if you're careful, but unfortunately you can never really tell, and your body could completely over respond to something "normal" - which is essentially what an allergy is. If it worries you talk to your doctor. Or if it gets worse talk to your doctor, never hurts to be too careful (which is kind of why we come to this forum when you think about it).

Chris
 
Could it be an allergy to Birch pollen? Trees pollinate quite early in the season. A lot of people have an allergic reation to pollen to a greater or lesser extent.

Quite often more severe Birch pollen allergy is linked to reactions to raw fruit and veg, making the mouth and throat itch when raw fruit and veg is eaten.
 
ghostguy6 said:
While carving up some birch my hands started to get itchy, swollen and red. After a quick test of some fresh cut birch on my arm I determined that I am developing an allergy to birch :( The good news is so far birch pollen has not triggered any reaction. I was outside near all day and had no effects until I came into direct contact with the birch trees. Anyways after a little research I came across an article that claims people have helped or even cured their allegries to birch by drinking the sap. Has anyone here tried it? If you have what were your results?

http://www.cybis.se/craft/birch/index.php
Click to expand...

It's an old homeopathic mainstay: "Like cures like."

It's also very dangerous and can be quite deadly. I've seen articles that talked about people with severe allergy to Poison Ivy eating small bits of the leaves to develop a higher tolerance; but that don't mean I'm gonna sneak Poison Ivy croutons in my mother's chef salad (thank God I got my father's immunity).

I wouldn't take the chance.
 
i drink Birch tea on occassion (rare cause im in CO) and i really like it.... in low doses. if you drink too much (and too much isnt very much) you get some serious diahrrea (sp?).

i drink it when i have sour stomach or bad breath. it really gives you a fresh feeling.

not to mention, its my favorite tree.

------- Eric
 
The soft drink Birch beer used to be very popular when i was a child. somthing like root beer. it was made from the sap, and maybe the bark, from birch trees.i've never heard of anyone getting sick from drinking it. wiki claimes it was mostly an East coast beverdge.
 
We're not talking about getting "sick" drinking it. We're talking about him having a severe allergic reaction to it. If he has that kind of reaction from simply touching it, I would not advise ingesting it.
 
Im not going to try it before I talk to my doctor. I have an appointment on tuesday. I dont have an allergy to the pollen, I was outside all day yesterday and all day today without any effects what so ever. The only time I felt the effects was when I was handling the wood directly. The bark didnt trigger any effects either.
 
That's the right thing to do. About the pollen, keep in mind that pollen has to be "wetted" by rain (or similar) for it to swell and break down into respirable particles before it will cause an allergy. Normal pollen straight off the plant is too big to illicit a response from the immune system. Good luck!
 
I imagine your doctor will recommend either shots or oral drops for the allergy if it is severe enough. I've never met one that would recommend a homeopathic method, probably because you do not have as much control over the dosage as you would with lab mixed shots or drops.

They should do a test to see what all you are allergic to and then will give you the appropriate allergens in increasing doses to help your body start creating the necessary stuff to combat them in the future. There is a pin prick test which is supposedly not very accurate, and then another test where you receive 48 allergen injections in each arm that is more accurate. I have had the shot one twice not and it is not bad at all due to the tiny needles.

I have been on allergy shots for a while now and have noticed a difference. The shots are supposed to work for about 80% of people, which is not bad odds. When I did my test, I was allergic to literally every single thing on the list except one, some with fairly severe allergies. Needless to say, I am usually a congested mess in the spring unless I take Zyrtec D twice a day. The shots have helped lessen the severity and will hopefully eventually get rid of the symptoms.

I would love to do the oral drops, but they are not FDA approved, so no American health insurance companies will cover them. They are big in Europe, according to my ENT doctor. If you don't like needles, the drops might be worth the ~$60/month.
 
ghostguy6 said:
While carving up some birch my hands started to get itchy, swollen and red. After a quick test of some fresh cut birch on my arm I determined that I am developing an allergy to birch :( The good news is so far birch pollen has not triggered any reaction. I was outside near all day and had no effects until I came into direct contact with the birch trees. Anyways after a little research I came across an article that claims people have helped or even cured their allegries to birch by drinking the sap. Has anyone here tried it? If you have what were your results?

http://www.cybis.se/craft/birch/index.php
Click to expand...

Well...never heard this, but I've been told that eating locally produced honey helps lesson the effects of pollen on you. So far it seems to have helped me a good deal. I'm not saying drink the sap...I'm saying it is possible, just check into the toxicology of it first.
 
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