Allergies Do Not Necessarily Have To Be A Life Sentence!

A healthy immune system means high resistance to disease and infection, better ability to deal with stress, and greater health and well-being The incidence of allergies is rising all over the world. Yet the cause of this increase remains a mystery to most medical researchers. There is mounting evidence that the cause of this rise is the increasing number of childhood vaccinations. Also, due to poor intestinal health called “leaky gut” syndrome. Orthodox medicine has no cure for allergies, only treatment of symptoms. According to the late Robert Mendelsohn, MD, “You can depend on most doctors to largely ignore the cause…unfortunately, their treatment is often worse than the disease.” Antihistamines, the medications often prescribed to treat the symptoms of allergies, can cause serious heart problems.

Allergy Sufferers Have Praised Chiropractic Care For Over A Century.

However, chiropractic care is NOT a treatment of allergies. The goal of chiropractic care is to locate and correct a serious type of spine and nerve system stress called the vertebral subluxation. By releasing stress on the nerve system, chiropractic permits the immune system to function more effectively, something all allergy sufferers need. The emphasis on allergies MUST be on building a healthy body, not on trying to use evasive tactics by eliminating all the allergens. If you are suffering from allergies, have your nervous system checked out.

What Are Allergies And Who Suffers From Them?

Allergies involve an immune response in the body to things such as plant pollen, other grasses and weeds, certain foods, rubber latex, insect bites, or certain drugs. Estimates suggest that allergies affect more than 50 million people in the United States. Nearly 10% of American women have pollen allergies. Allergic drug reactions, commonly caused by antibiotics such as penicillin, occur in 2%-3% of hospitalized patients. Severe allergic reaction to insect stings occurs in up to 5% of the population. Although most people have experienced a reaction to something they have eaten, only 1% of the adult population suffers from true immune reactions to food.

What Is An Allergic Reaction?

Normally, the immune system is the body’s defense against invading agents such as bacteria and viruses. In most allergic reactions, however, the immune system is responding to a false alarm. When an allergic person first comes into contact with an allergen, the immune system treats the allergen as an invader and mobilizes to attack. The immune system does this by generating large amounts of one type of antibody. When the allergen and the antibody connect, it signals the release of powerful inflammatory chemicals. These chemicals, like histamines, cytokines, and leukotrienes, act on the tissues of various parts of the body, such as the respiratory system. The result is the symptoms commonly associated with allergies.

What Symptoms Are Associated With Allergies?

Common symptoms for allergies include:

• Sneezing, often accompanied by a runny or clogged nose
• Coughing and postnasal drip
• Itching eyes, nose, and throat • Watering eyes
• Allergic dermatitis: an itchy rash. (The most common skin condition in children ages 11- 14.)
• Allergic shiners: dark circles under the eyes caused by increased blood flow near the sinuses
• Allergic salute: persistent upward rubbing of the nose that causes a crease mark on the nose
• Conjunctivitis: an inflammation of the membrane that lines the eyelids, causing red-rimmed, swollen eyes, and crusting of the eyelids. Commonly known as pink eye.

Some people with allergies develop asthma. The symptoms of asthma include coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath due to a narrowing of the bronchial passages (airways) in the lungs, and to excess mucus production and inflammation. Asthma can be disabling and sometimes can be fatal. If wheezing and shortness of breath accompany allergy symptoms, it is a signal that the bronchial tubes also have become involved, indicating the need for medical attention. Some people may have severe food allergies, which left undiagnosed, can result in illness or in rare cases, may even be fatal.

Does Asthma Affect Women Differently Than Men?

From the ages of 20 to 50, women outnumber men 3 to 1 in asthma-related hospital admissions. There is some evidence that asthma may be related to hormonal changes in combination with an allergic setting. The severity of asthma may change for women during pregnancy. In general, symptoms in pregnant women with asthma seem to improve in one-third of cases, stay the same in one-third, and worsen in one-third of cases. Most women who have asthma are able to have safe and normal pregnancies as long as their asthma is effectively under control. It is extremely important for women to control their asthma while pregnant because asthma causes a decrease in the oxygen in the blood and can affect the amount of oxygen the fetus receives.

What Are The Most Common Allergies?

The most common allergies can be either food allergies or airborne allergies. Airborne allergies include reaction due to pollen, mold, dust mites, animals, and chemicals. The most common foods causing allergic reactions in adults are: shellfish (such as shrimp, crayfish, lobster, and crab); peanuts, which are one of the chief foods to cause severe anaphylactic reactions; tree nuts (such as walnuts); fish; and eggs. In children, the most common food allergies are associated with eggs, milk, and peanuts. Adults generally don’t lose food allergies, but children may outgrow them.

What Are Hives?

Each year about 15% of all Americans experience hives on the skin or angioedema (swelling of the throat tissues) due to allergic reactions. Hives are an allergic reaction often due to food or plants. A raised, itchy area of skin characterizes the reaction. It can be rounded or flat-topped, but it is always elevated above the surrounding skin. Treatment for hives usually involves identifying and avoiding the allergic catalyst. Anti-histamine over-the-counter medications can help temporarily relieve the itch. Hives can disappear as quickly as it appears.

References:

http://www.backtowellness.org/newsletters/2003-04_5.htm

http://www.4woman.gov/faq/allergies.htm

http://www.rcgp.org.uk/rcgp/journal/issues/feb00/letters/letters1.asp