Got Allergies? Maybe You Need An Herbal Pal

Take two moms, four kids and tens of thousands of sneezes. Tally it all up and the net result is a squeezable collection of plush animals, stuffed with Chinese herbs, providing natural relief from allergy and cold symptoms. The Herbal Pals –Herb the Penguin, Snoozle the Elephant, Sherman the Snake and Meenee the Monster – are just one of several natural healing products developed and sold by Port Washington-start up Allergeze Inc., the brainchild of local entrepreneurs Nomi Barasch and Konnie Rutman.

Mother-of-Invention

Tired of sneezes and dispensing endless doses of allergy medicines to their children, Konnie Rutman, a management expert and long time researcher of Chinese herbal medicine, and Nomi Barasch, a doctor of public health and a licensed social worker, joined forces to find alternative remedies for alleviating the allergy and cold symptoms that plagued their children.  

"We were both very frustrated that for our own kids, we had to keep finding more medications for them to swallow and nasal sprays and things like that," Barasch said. "And the more we gave them, the more we had to give them," she added.

Fed up, Rutman turned to remedies popular in her native China to help her son. "He was miserable," Rutman said, referring to the lead-up before she sought help from herbalists in New York City's Chinatown.

According to Rutman, when her son began sleeping with an herbal packet, his symptoms cleared up, allowing him to give up allergy medication altogether. Rutman shared the herbs with Barasch, who also saw a vast improvement in her children's symptoms. "It was amazing," said Barasch, noting her son no longer uses conventional allergy medications either.

Nothing to Sneeze At

Allergeze Inc. now markets a small product line of natural remedies and accessories, built around an herbal pouch and oil, containing a blend of herbs and fragrant oils used in traditional Chinese medicine. The oils and herbs are not ingested; rather they interact with the body through acupressure points. The herbal pouch, a sachet-like affair, made up of a proprietary mix of herbs encased in a cinched organza bag, can be slipped into a pillow case or used with the specially designed lumbar pillows and Herbal Pals sold by Allergeze, Inc.

Herbal Pals are a home run with thirteen-year-old Ben Roberts. "I used to be up all night," said Roberts of life pre-Herbal Pals. "I keep them next to my bed. The smell fills the room." Ben started with Herb the Penguin; Meenee the Monster later joined the bed-side gang courtesy of a Bar Mitzvah gift. "He says they make things 100 percent better," chimed in mother Kim Roberts.

Barasch and Rutman are happy evangelists for the power of herbal remedies, launching their start-up while clocking time at day jobs. They recognize that herbal remedies, while commonly used in China and countries across the globe for millennia, are not as familiar in the United States.

"Part of our concept is to westernize it or Americanize it," explained Barasch as she displayed the colorful, nubby animals. "Chinese people use a pillow; so we tried to find a way that would be appealing, and that's how we thought of the container as a stuffed animal because kids sleep with them anyway."

In their quest for kid-friendly appeal, Barasch and Rutman turned to Port Washington-based graphic art shop Pig Pen Studios Inc., which works with national clients such as Rose Art, JC Penny, and Barton's Candy, to help design the Herbal Pals. The animals' box-of-Crayola-crayons appeal –so many tempting choices, so hard to just pick one – were designed by owner and self-proclaimed "Head Hog" Bill Heapps with a lot of kid-input.

"We had real kids' feedback and help throughout the design process, from beginning to end, including Konnie and Nomi's own children," Heapps said. "The process was to create a group of characters that were fun and adorable, yet not too girly or too young."

The Herbal Pals are machine washable, so children with dust allergies can use them.  Another commonsense design element is the small front pocket on each animal for storing tissues.

The company also sells Magicworks, a topical oil, said to relieve symptoms of nasal congestion, headache and mosquito bites. Sold in small lipstick-size capsules, the oil is rolled on like a mini-deodorant along the temples, side of nose or on bug bites.

Julie Shapiro, a lifelong allergy sufferer uses Magicworks along with prescription medicines. "It's helpful to avoid serious infections, it nips them in the bud," Shapiro said.  For Shapiro, a large part of Magicworks appeal is its homeopathic nature. "I think it's fantastic; the fewer chemicals I have to ingest the better," Shapiro added.

"People have to make a leap of faith," Barasch said. "If you're just used to swallowing pills all the time, you might not be ready to try something else. And I don't really understand why not.  You don't have to ingest this, it's not expensive; it's something that you try and hopefully it will help you."

The Herbal Pals and Magicworks, along with accessory So Handy, a terry cloth wrist band tissue holder that keeps all-important tissues within reach can be found online at Allergeze.com and IndieShop.com. Local retailers carrying Allergeze products include Dolphin Bookshop and North Shore Gymnastics.