Allergies
BACKGROUND
Allergies occur when our body’s immune (defense) system reacts to something
harmless in our environment. Inhalation allergies like pollen can cause mild
symptoms, such as red eyes, itching, hives or runny nose. Food allergies are
more likely to cause a wide assortment of symptoms (fatigue, pain, nasal congestion,
migraines, spastic colon, autism, and many more), and should be considered when
your doctor does not know the cause of a problem. In rare cases they can be
life threatening (anaphylaxis where the throat swells shut or shock can occur)
as occurs in some peanut allergies. For those with the latter type, carrying
an “Epi-pen” (preloaded adrenaline syringe) can be life saving.
Testing
For sneezing/runny nose type inhalation allergies, standard skin testing works
well (i.e., putting a drop of the stuff you’re allergic to on the skin
and making a tiny prick with a needle to see if the area turns red). For food
allergies, skin testing and most blood tests are not reliable. The blood tests
seem to almost randomly pick 30-40 foods and say you’re allergic to them.
Repeat the test another day and it may pick totally different foods that it
says you’re allergic to. Avoid these tests — they are a good way
to make yourself nuts.
If you do not know what is causing your symptoms, an elimination diet for food
and chemical allergies is a good idea. In this, you avoid common allergy producing
foods and chemicals for 7-10 days and then retry them one at a time.
TREATMENT
For occasional, mild runny nose or sneezing from allergies, simple medications
such as Claritin or Zyrtec during the day (not sedating) and/or Benadryl at
night (sedating) can be easy and well-tolerated. If the allergies are ongoing
and problematic, more effective measures are warranted.
Recommended Supplements
MSM
MSM is a supplement found in health
food stores. Taking 3,000+ mg a day can decrease allergies after 4 weeks of
regular use.
Vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium
These and other nutrients decrease allergic reactions as well. These can be
found in good multi-vitamin supplements designed for overall nutritional support.
Other Therapies & Advice
Acupressure — NAET
An excellent treatment for determining and eliminating allergies is an acupressure
(no needles needed) technique called NAET. It uses muscle testing to see if
you go weak when holding an allergen and then can eliminate an allergy in just
20 minutes by stimulating certain acupuncture points. There are over 12,000
NAET practitioners worldwide. Most people have multiple allergies, so expect
to need a course of about 25 sessions. Most people will feel better in just
10 treatments.
NLP
Another interesting approach to allergy desensitization is NLP. This technique
can actually be done over the phone in a single treatment. Bren Jacobson, an
experienced NLP practitioner, does this and offers an “only pay if it
works” option. His phone number is 443-949-0409.
Related Information
Multiple
Food Elimination Diet
ELISA/ACT Biotechnologies (reliable
food allergy blood test lab)
NAET (acupressure technique for treating
food allergies)
NLP Allergy
Demo (YouTube video showing how NLP works)
