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| ALLERGIES
– WHAT ARE THEY ALL ABOUT Almost anything that you eat, drink, breathe or touch can cause an allergy. Whether you have serious health problems or just feel under the weather, an allergy may be responsible. There are some well-known symptoms caused by allergies such as eczema (skin rashes), asthma and hayfever. Others are less well-known, such as catarrh, headaches (including migraines), sickness and vomiting. Over the last few years and with current research it seems a very wide range of problems may have an allergic element - for example, some forms of arthritis, sleeping problems, many upsets of the digestive system, circulation and respiration. Often people have only realised they were not 100% fit when they discovered the allergies and found a new lease of life. Sometimes the allergens (the things causing the allergy) are easy to spot and can be helped quickly and easily. At other times the relationship between the allergy and the symptom is not too obvious; this frequently leads to the patient being diagnosed as having a psychological cause, since no other obvious cause is seen. Why is the diagnosis so difficult in some cases? This is because the symptoms may take some time to start after exposure to the thing causing the allergy. At other times the symptoms can change even though the allergen is staying the same, e.g. a child allergic to milk with eczema may develop asthma and the eczema may seemingly improve. At other times the cause depends upon a number of allergies and isolating and curing one doesn’t cure them all. It is like having eight nails in the sole of your shoe; by removing one of them the problem is not completely resolved. The other possibility is that the body can adapt to the allergen especially if it is being continually exposed. This leads to a masking of the symptoms and only very general symptoms are complained of. How to find that allergy Finding the cause of your allergy problem is like being a detective - we have to look at every clue. Sometimes one thing sticks out a mile, for example, the person who begins sneezing after inhaling certain pollens. At other times, the clues are harder to find because there are many allergies or it has been present for many years. So what can you do about it? It is important to keep your eyes open. Look for any association between the symptoms that cause your problems and other foods that you eat or chemicals used around you, such as cleaning materials. The body is like a barrel floating on the sea; the allergens slowly fill the barrel up until it suddenly sinks. To keep the barrel afloat and maintain our health we have to reduce exposure to the allergens and increase the barrel’s capacity to throw out the toxic substances. If you think you have an allergy and you are not sure what it is you should see an allergy specialist, also called a clinical ecologist. They will advise you on one or more different approaches. You may have to alter your diet, excluding the foods causing your problem, or there may be precautions you can take in your home or office. Alternatively, you may build up your body’s ability to cope with the allergy either through de-sensitisation, which may be done in a variety of ways, or through nutritional supplementation using correct diets, vitamins and minerals. All this will be explained fully when you see an allergy specialist. An epidemic of allergic disease is upon us, causing a wide range of symptoms. We can blame many things such as bottle-feeding, pollution, chemicals in our environment, our food, or the over-use of drugs and medication. We must accept that the problem is all around us. We can do so much to eliminate the problem but at the same time we must do all we can to protect ourselves from it. No one can afford to remain ignorant of the subject when they too could fall victim to allergic conditions. Firstly, see the problem and then with our help you can do something about it. If you want more information about the treatment of allergies don’t hesitate to contact the practice and speak to one of the doctors qualified in allergies, or to our nutritionist. |