One dose of Claritin sent me into a terrifying spiral of depression and dark thoughts that changed my approach to seasonal allergies forever.

In this episode, I share my frightening experience with Claritin and why I now rely exclusively on natural remedies. After moving to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (the pollen capital of the United States), I developed severe seasonal allergies for the first time in my life and turned to Claritin for relief.

What happened next was shocking. Within days, I experienced severe depression and disturbing thoughts that disappeared completely when I stopped taking the medication. This little known but documented side effect of Claritin led me to research and develop a comprehensive natural approach to managing seasonal allergies.

In this episode, I break down my five part strategy for handling allergies naturally, including homeopathic remedies, nettle leaf tinctures, essential oils with antihistamine properties, and gut health support. Whether you're dealing with mild seasonal discomfort or debilitating allergy symptoms, you'll learn practical, natural alternatives that provide relief without dangerous side effects.

In today's episode, we're chatting about:

• The documented but rarely discussed neuropsychological side effects of Claritin

• How homeopathic remedies like Hylands and Rin Allergy provide fast relief

• The power of nettle leaf as a natural antihistamine

• Essential oil blends that reduce allergy symptoms

• The connection between gut health and seasonal allergies

Episode Resources

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📍 Oh, welcome back to another episode of the Talkin Freeish podcast. As always, I'm your host, Wendy. And we're on 📍 YouTube, y'all. We're on YouTube. If you are watching this on YouTube, you can see my sweet dog 📍 📍 Axel hanging out. And we're gonna start recording the show. If you didn't listen to 📍 last week's episode where we talked about all the fun things coming for toxin Freeish, one of them is you get to watch me on video.

Do not expect me to look cute. I am in my pajamas and drinking my coffee and my dog is hanging out, so that's how we are gonna roll today. I'm talking about something really important.

And

something that I don't think enough people talk about, and I talk about it every spring. Every single spring 📍 I talk about allergies, and it's because I have a really personal story and a very scary story, and it's something that I feel like every single person needs to hear, especially if you have kids.

So I, my whole life have never. Had seasonal allergies. I'm one of the lucky ones. I never, ever, ever, not so much as like a sniffle. Okay. I lived in 📍 California. I grew up 📍 in Arizona. 📍 I've lived, I lived 📍 in St. Petersburg, Russia for school, for college. 📍 I lived in 📍 Italy on the coast for five years.

Like I've lived all over the world 📍 and have never had so much as a sniffle. And then five years ago I moved to an area that is what they call the Shannon Doa 📍 Valley Area of Virginia, which I later learned is the pollen capital of the United States. And. One year in, I still didn't have an issue, but on year two, holy moly, I, I don't know if you can relate to this or not.

If you're somebody who moved and then got allergies, they always say it's like year two when it hits you.

I had the worst 📍 pressure sinus headache ever. I was more miserable than I have. I mean, I would compare it to, back in the time in my life when I used to get migraines all the time, I mean, it was so bad and I tried a bunch of natural stuff just like.

Off the fly. I like went to the store and like bought some things that were more natural and I started buying up honey at farmer's markets and nothing was working and I was absolutely miserable. So, my husband at the time, he also has terrible seasonal allergies, like hardcore and takes a bunch of medication for it.

And so I took a 📍 Claritin, a 24 hour Claritin, and it was like sweet, sweet relief. It was,

I

I was like, oh my God, this is so much better. Everything went away, the headache went away, and I just felt like a new person and so I took Claratin every day for like three straight days, and the directions are like, you can take it every 24 hours. I don't love taking medication, but I will take it if I have to. And let me tell you, I had to, and. All of a sudden 📍 I started feeling really depressed and I started having very dark, very scary thoughts, and it took me another couple days to realize that the only thing that had changed in my life was the claratin.

And when I say scary.

I

I mean scary, like when, when I started looking this up and getting online and checking on 📍 side effects of Claritin and 📍 📍 Neuropsychosis and deep depression started popping up, and the stories that I was seeing were exactly what I was experiencing. I mean, I have never been in the depths of darkness and had thoughts that nobody should have, not, you know, I had an amazing life.

There was no reason for me, I had never suffered from any kind of depression ever. And I was just absolutely lost in a hole of darkness, and so I immediately stopped taking it and within 24 hours, like immediately, those thoughts stopped. Came out of the depression within 48 hours. I was back to being my normal self again.

And I thought, 📍 what the hell? Nowhere did I see or find, or have I ever even heard

of

talk about deep depression and neuros psychosis as a side effect to Claritin. And while it's not common. It is well known. And if you get on the internet and look, go over to drugs.com. There are tons of comments from people who have suffered deep depression.

It's actually something well documented. So I'm saying all of this because if you. Yourself are struggling from seasonal allergies, or you have kids, please, please, please be on the lookout for these side effects. I wish somebody would've told me what to lookout for, and I'm so lucky that my story didn't I.

Continue. Like some of the stories that I saw on the internet, it's absolutely tragic that this isn't something that is more common knowledge. Now I won't touch, listen, will not touch an allergy medication.

because

I mean why would you After that, so then I needed a game plan.

I'm like, okay, well I can be miserable and I can't have sinus pressure and I can't like live my life this way. Right? I live where I live

So I did a ton of research and I found there's so many things that you can do for seasonal allergies that are natural, and this entire episode is gonna be 📍 what I've learned over the years what works for me.

We're rolling into spring and now I have, I know exactly. Exactly how I prep for spring coming, and then how I manage when pollen is really, really high and I'm miserable. So I'm gonna give you the 📍 📍 📍 four things that I do to manage my allergies. And then I'm also gonna give you some lifestyle things that I do that really help as well.

📍 📍 So let's dive right in.   📍 📍  

Hey,

friend. Real quick before we dive into this episode, there's something you need to know. This entire podcast is funded by you.

You will never hear paid ads or sponsorships on this podcast, like not ever.

Why? Because I believe in full transparency, and that means only sharing the things that I actually love myself. When you do hear me talking about something that I love and you use my affiliate links, you get a small discount and I earn a small commission

that

helps keep all of my content completely ad free. that means that anything I talk about or share is aligned with you and me and not sponsors. So to be clear, no weird promos, no brand deals, no paid ads. Just the real stuff that

I use,

use, brands I love, and literally what I probably use this morning. So if something that I mentioned feels like a fit for you.

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📍 📍 It's

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📍 📍 Okay, number 📍 one, the first thing I did, I swear by and love 📍 📍 homeopathy when it comes to seasonal allergies. Love, like it works so well. I've actually given, 📍 Hylands and 📍 Rin allergy are the two that I really, really love. And by the way, everything I talk about in this podcast, I will of course link in the show notes so you can find it quickly and easily.

And a lot of this you can get on Amazon. So homeopathy, I started taking these little white tablets that go right under my tongue and they dissolve in their homeopathic remedies. And I sneakily have given these things to people that have significant allergy issues and do take allergy meds. And I would say to them, Hey, try this for a couple days instead of, you know, the allergy medicine that you're taking.

And they would come back to me and be like.

What What

is that stuff? It worked really well, and so I'm a huge believer. I have Highlands allergy and Rin allergy for kids literally all over my house, right? As Spring is approaching, I buy like 12 bottles. They're not expensive. They, you can get 'em right on Amazon and buy like 20, you can take 'em twice a day, and they're just natural remedies, supplements, and I'm just a really big believer that homeopathy can really work.

So try them. Listen, don't. Don't doubt until you try them. Okay, I promise. Well, for me, I guess I won't promise. I don't promise you they'll work. They absolutely work for me. They work for both my kids who also have seasonal allergies, and it's just the most amazing thing on Earth. Now, those are really, really good for if you are already having allergy symptoms.

If I take two of them, usually within a couple hours, I'm feeling great again. But I also do a lot of things for prevention because nobody wants to have a headache and nobody wants to have all the sinus stuff going on. So 📍 one of the things that I started doing that I have learned really works is 📍 📍 📍 Net ale.

Net

Not a

ale has 📍 incredible antihistamine abilities, and you 📍 can do teas. Or you can do, I love 📍 tinctures just because I'm all about convenience 📍 and organic. Olivia, which is a brand that I love, she makes herbal tinctures that are super, super convenient. She has a little dropper bottle called Spring Defense and about a month before the season of allergies, so like.

When did I start? Like a few weeks ago, I guess 'cause we're just now heading into spring season here in Virginia. I start putting drops of it into water and drinking it. So I start the nut leaf like about a month before the season hits. And that over the last two years has been like the one thing that I absolutely swear by as far as like preventative.

If you do it ahead of time. So that's another thing. The other preventative thing that I do is I 📍 📍 start diffusing essential oils in my home a month before and then throughout spring. So I am like a really seasonal person when it comes to what I want my home to smell like and what kind of mood I wanna be in.

And 📍 📍 I diffuse essential oils all year round, but when the spring season is coming. I load up on all 📍 📍 the eucalyptus and 📍 the peppermint and the 📍 lavender and 📍 the lemon, and all of the things that have natural antihistamine ability. And so there is a blend. If you're watching this on YouTube, , I have it in my hand actually.

You can see my 📍 📍 📍 beautiful, I call 📍 her the queen, queen aria, my glass, beautiful glass diffuser that I love, so, so much. So there is a pre blend called 📍 Season Essentials that is full of every single one of those oils that I just listed. It's full of it, and it's already pre-blended, so you just put a bunch of drops into your diffuser and you just diffuse it.

So you have that 📍 natural antihistamine, natural remedy just like going in your house all day long. But it also makes your house smell absolutely amazing, like ridiculously amazing. You can tell Spring is coming and it's great. You can also put this directly, put a little coconut oil, and you can put it right on the bridge of your nose.

You can do that with a lavender too. That works really, really well. And then there's a pre-made roller that I love called 📍 Breathe Again. That is a bunch of different eucalyptus that you can use topically, and I find that if it's like really bad, that works really, really well. So I am all about pulling out the essential oils when my allergies kick in.

Now I do have a dog. Axle, my beloved sweet dog. If you saw the beginning of this video, we were cuddling earlier. Maybe I'll bring him on camera to do some fun things sometime, but, 📍 📍 if you have dogs, number one, make sure whatever essential oils you're buying are pure because the majority on the market are full of toxic fillers and all the garbage that are in synthetic fragrances that you really want to avoid,

that are harmful for your health and your pet health anyway. So make sure they're pure. And then if you do have a dog, two safety considerations. They have really strong noses and they might not like the strong scent. So I always cut the amount of drops that I diffuse in my house by half for my dog,

Um,

and then make sure you're in a well ventilated space and your dog can leave.

So there's some essential oils that my dog absolutely loves if I've got the lavender going. Or some peace and calming or TOA, which is an animal specific oil made for, separation anxiety.

📍 He

come and cuddle up next to it and loves it. But you know, the second that I put a citrus in there, he's like, peace out, and he like takes off.

So just make sure you're respectful of your pets. Eucalyptus is one of those things that you just wanna use less of and make sure what you're using is pure and make sure they can leave the room, but incredible. Antihistamine

histamine ability

and just works. And you know, I think the thing that I love about using essential oils so much for my allergies is that it works immediately.

It's like immediate relief and I love it. Okay. Number, I think. What number are we on? I think we are on, yeah, 📍 number 📍 four. We're on number four. Okay, 📍 probiotics. There is so much research linking histamine issues and seasonal allergies to gut health. And I did a gut health stool test 📍 through Tiny Health.

And when I got my microbiome maps, I, I had some imbalances in my bacteria. And so that can cause immune system issues

that can contribute to seasonal allergy issues. So I, two things. I started 📍 taking organic Olivia's probiotic 'cause it also has some enzymes in it and some postbiotics stuff. But Recently. So if you're somebody who, who does not take a high quality probiotic, go for it. But I will say this, you can also just eat more fermented foods.

So I have really gotten into 📍 kimchi and 📍 sauerkraut and eating fermented foods. The theory is, and I have not researched this deeply, but the theory is 📍 that 📍 fermented foods actually get into and survive your intestine more than probiotics So they're actually better if you're trying to improve the diversity of your bacteria, have a diverse, you know, diet, add in the fermented foods.

And that's like really, really good for you. So I've kind of stopped taking probiotics, , after I went through my tiny health test and I saw exactly kind of like what I needed. I did take a probiotic for a little while just to balance out that, that specific strain of bacteria and now I just, you know, consume good fermented foods every single day.

And. I, I don't know. I mean, I've done, I do so many things that it's kind of like, well, which one is working more than the others? But I think balancing out your gut bacteria and improving your gut health is really good just for your overall immune system health. But then the added benefit is that it can really help with seasonal allergies as well.

Okay,   📍 number   📍 📍 five, this is a supplement and y'all know I, I'm not somebody who takes a bunch of supplements I really struggle with and have a problem with the wellness industry,

I.

kind of selling pills for every ills because while yes, natural remedies can be way better than pharmaceuticals. You're still just kind of band-aiding something, and so I'm not somebody who thinks you need to go take a bunch of supplements.

I'm all about lifestyle and real food and sunshine and all of that, but when it comes to my seasonal allergies, I listen. 📍 I take Corin. I take it, it works. All the science is there to back it up. Quercetin is such a good antihistamine and I don't wanna be miserable. So I take it, I take it all spring season, season long, and then I don't take it the rest of the the year at all.

So those are the five things that I have like. Added to my life. I do the 📍 homeopathy, which is the highlands, allergy remedy that I love so much. I add 📍 nettle leaf and you can drink nettle leaf tea. But I, like I said, lazy girl over here. I do organic, Olivia and I do her spring defense tinctures,

and

put that into my water.

In the morning. I diffuse my 📍 essential oils and I carry them around with me. I really 📍 focus on my gut health, and I do take 📍 Corin now. I also have some 📍 📍 habits that make a really, really big difference. One of them get a hub, a vacuum 📍 📍 and vacuum your house every day. I have two teenagers. They take turns. It works out great for me.

Keeping your house clean, especially if you have carpets and rugs. And we have rugs all over this house and just vacuuming makes such a difference, especially if you have a hepa. 📍 📍 Wet dusting is also something that is really, really helpful for air quality in general but it really keeps the dust down.

So if you're dry dusting and you're just kind of like dusting, you're putting all the dust all over the place and it's getting in the air and it's falling on the ground and you're not really cleaning it, but if you wet dust, you are picking it up.

Number two, ditch the toxins. That sounds so silly coming from a toxin-free podcast and because if you're here, you probably have already done this, but synthetic fragrances and the toxins that are found in your cleaning supplies and the things that are found in your laundry detergent, those toxins that you're trying to avoid, don't just impact your health.

They like actually add to your seasonal allergies as well. So you, it like adds to your exposure of chemicals, which makes it harder for your body to be healthy and to fight off whatever your histamine issues are. So just stitching the toxins. If you're already doing that, you're already doing a great thing there.

All right. The next one is 📍 📍 invest in a good air purifier. I'm not somebody who's like, everyone needs an air purifier in their home, open your windows. The air is much cleaner outside. 📍 📍 Open your windows as much as possible. When we lived in Italy, they would even open all their windows first thing in the morning.

All the Nonas and all the Italians. And even when it was like freezing cold outside and I never understood it, but now I do it, it's such a habit. I open everything up, let air flow out of your house. And that's great. But if you're somebody who has really bad allergies, it can really help if you have a good quality air filter.

And I know in the wellness space, these crazy expensive air filtration systems like the IQ and Austin Air and Air Doctor. You don't need all that. If you have that, that's great. So happy. I love that for you. You don't need all that. Long as it has a HEPA filter and a carbon filter, you're fine.

Okay. You don't have to go spend. $5 million A 📍 Edify Air is a company I really, really like. I think they have a really reasonable prices and I even have a discount code so you can even get like more off of it. And the replacement of their air filters is just reasonable, right? You don't have to spend a ton of money.

So yeah, I think if you have 16 allergies and investing in a really good air filter, keep it. Even if you just get a small one to put in your room at night while you're sleeping, that can make. A really big difference. And then the last one is more of a long-term plan. I haven't, I don't know, maybe it is helping, I don't know.

But I have been buying ever since I moved here, 📍 📍 local raw honey and try to consume it every single day. I try to put it in my coffee or my tea every single day. The idea being that your body gets to used to the local pollen in the area. I have no idea if it's actually working, but I love honey and it's delicious and I really have nothing to lose by doing it.

And I have seen some studies that show that it actually can work and support you.

I am not saying it cured me for my seasonal allergies, but it's definitely a habit that I have picked up. And I will tell you, we just hit spring season, like last. I I started feeling the, like that little bit of a headache going on that like starts on the right side of my head and I'm like, oh, allergies are coming.

I've been great, right? I pulled out 📍 my Highlands Homeopathic. I 📍 have air purifiers in the house. My kids are vacuuming. You know, every day I started taking my 📍 corer itin. I had already been taking my 📍 spring defense, my net leaf for a good three weeks leading up to it. 'cause it's something you need to get into your system ahead of time.

It's not something that's gonna help immediately. It's something you need to continue to do and be consistent.

So,

then I've got my 📍 essential oils pumping, my season essentials, and I'm carrying around my little roller just in case I'm outside and it hits me and I've been great. They not bothering me.

Everyone's happy.

And

with my kids. So this is what really works for me right now. And yeah, every spring I'm gonna continue to talk about the side effects of Claritin and I just think it's really important for people to know. That while it doesn't happen to everyone, and it may not be common, it is something that is so serious that it should be talked about and it should, there should be a huge warning label on Claritin bottles, you know, 📍 may cause psychosis.

That's how I felt. I felt psychotic. So. All right. I hope,

I

this helps if you're somebody who has seasonal allergies. I hope I just gave you some great ideas and some things to look into to help improve your health throughout the spring season. I'm very happy. The weather is warmer and I can't wait to be spending more time outside, and I love that I don't have to worry about being miserable while I do it.

Thank you for listening, and I will see you next 📍 week. 📍