The first few days without dairy my throat felt sore and I felt a bit foggy and like I was about to get a cold. My sinuses started feeling dryer and the mucus that had constantly drained down the back of my throat was thinning just a bit. Somewhere around day five, as I was working at my desk, I noticed I was actually breathing through my nose instead of my mouth. That happened several more times during day six. By day seven it was apparent that my allergy symptoms had diminished significantly outside of direct exposure to allergens. These are symptoms, mind you, that plagued me ferociously for YEARS. I could not keep my allergies at bay without daily medication. And even then, I could rarely take in sufficient breath through my nose.
I didn't expect the change to be so clear and noticeable. Now instead of allergy and sinus problems being constant and chronic, I am able to tell if some specific thing is an irritant. My sinuses have gotten stuffy after each time I've had a glass of wine or beer. Wrestling with or petting my dogs when they come in from outside all dusty is a major irritant that lasts for about an hour after exposure. What was once a terrible way of life has become limited and quantifiable in just a week. Weird. Unexpected. But cool and amazing.
I was a vegetarian for a few months before I went vegan. No symptom changes prior to eliminating dairy. Keep in mind I also cut out about 98% of processed foods, including processed flour, and nearly 100% of refined sugar. Eliminating those things from my diet may be contributing to allergy relief as well. The take home point, really, is that it was possible for me to control allergy symptoms via dietary adjustments. If you're feeling at the end of your rope like I was you may want to try something similar.
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