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Allergy is an abnormal, acquired sensitivity to a given substance, including pollen, drugs, or numerous environmental triggers. People who have allergies often are sensitive to more than one thing. Allergic rhinitis (nasal allergies) affects about 35 million Americans, 6 million of whom are children. The number of cases of asthma has doubled over the last 20 years. It is exaggerated because these foreign substances are usually seen by the body as harmless and no response occurs in non- allergic people. Allergic people’s bodies recognize the foreign substance and one part of the immune system is turned on. In the United States, an allergist-immunologist is a physician specially trained to manage and treat asthma and the other allergic diseases. Proteins found in the skin, saliva, and urine of furry pets such as cats and dogs are allergens. It can also be found in rotting logs, hay, mulches, commercial peat moss, compost piles and leaf litter. Allergies can cause a runny nose, sneezing, itching, rashes, swelling or asthma. Allergies that occur in the spring are often due to tree pollen. Allergies that occur in the summer are often due to grass and weed pollen.

Allergies that occur in the fall are often due to ragweed. Many allergens, including dust mites, are in dust. Dust mites are tiny living creatures found in bedding, mattresses, carpeting and upholstered furniture. Up to 30% of the population suffers from allergic rhinitis, and this number seems to be growing. The majority of these people are treated by their primary care physician for their allergies. There are two components involved in a true allergic reaction. The first is the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE), an antibody that circulates in the blood attacking things such as germs. The second is the mast cell, a type of cell that is found in the body at places where allergic reactions occur, including the nose, throat, lungs and skin. There have been enormous improvements in mainstream medical treatments developed by allergists. Antihistamines help reduce the sneezing, runny nose and itchiness of allergies. Cromolyn sodium is a nasal spray that helps prevent the body’s reaction to allergens. Environmental endotoxin showed a strong protection against hay fever and allergy.

Endotoxin exposure reduces peripheral blood leukocytes release of inflammatory cytokines after lipopolysaccharide, including cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, interferon-gamma, interleukin-10, and interleukin-12. Shower and wash your hair every day. Pollen from the air can collect on your clothes, skin, and hair. Many families are giving their children safe nutritional supplements, such as Vitamin B6 with magnesium and Di-methyl-glycine (DMG). Many medications used to treat various medical problems are derived from plants and herbs, including theophylline. Various herbal supplements have been used in the treatment of allergies and asthma, some showing benefit. Dry your sheets and clothing in a dryer rather than hanging them outdoors where they can collect pollen and spores. Wash your hands after having contact with your pet. Keep pets out of the bedroom or other rooms where you spend a great deal of time. Avoid using carpeting in your home since allergens will collect there.

Allergy Treatment Tips

1. Endotoxin exposure reduces peripheral blood leukocytes release of inflammatory cytokines after lipopolysaccharide.

2. Shower and wash your hair every day. Pollen from the air can collect on your clothes, skin, and hair.

3. Many families are giving their children safe nutritional supplements, such as Vitamin B6 with magnesium and Di-methyl-glycine (DMG).

4. Many medications used to treat various medical problems are derived from plants and herbs, including theophylline.

5. Various herbal supplements have been used in the treatment of allergies and asthma, some showing benefit.

6. Dry your sheets and clothing in a dryer rather than hanging them outdoors where they can collect pollen and spores.

7. Wash your hands after having contact with your pet.

8. Keep pets out of the bedroom or other rooms where you spend a great deal of time.

9. Avoid using carpeting in your home since allergens will collect there.

10. Some popular calming techniques include: vigorous exercise which would act as a release of their high excitement level, vestibular stimulation.

Over 60% of Americans suffer from some form of delayed food allergy and do not even realize it. Why? Until recently, food allergies were only thought of as immediate life threatening problems. For instance, one eats strawberries and shortly after breaks out in hives or eats shellfish and develops breathing difficulties.

In ‘typical food allergy’ pictures, a food sets off what is known as an IgE reaction in the body. Meaning some element in the food sets off a chemical reaction (creates an IgE antibody) within the cells of the body. These antibodies release chemicals like histamine, which in turn, causes the typical allergic reaction - hives, swelling, difficulty breathing etc. symptoms that can be life threatening. This is obviously important to know but has nothing to do with chronic disease. A non-life threatening food allergy can also occur when the body has difficulty in digesting a particular food. These undigested, larger food molecules create holes (creating a “leaky gut”) in the gastrointestinal tract and eventually end up in the blood stream. This abnormal response triggers an immune reaction.

The immune system is tricked into thinking that these foods are trying to attack the body and alerts the liver to detoxify and process them as foreign invaders. In medical terms, the body’s reaction to that food is to not create IgE but to create IgG, IgM, and complement antibodies. These markers do not exhibit typical ‘allergic’ reactions like IgE, which is why there may be no immediate physical reaction to the offending food. There is still a price to pay—we just don’t see it right away! This daily activation of the immune system and overburdening of the liver leads to many chronic conditions:

weight gain, headaches, hormonal imbalance, body aches, elevated cholesterol, hypertension, heartburn, gas/bloating, constipation, eczema, hives, rosacea, chronic sinus problems, arthritis, autism, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, attention deficit disorder (ADD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and autoimmune diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

No matter what disease process or medical condition it would be of great benefit to know which foods are unnecessarily preoccupying one’s immune system and liver. By eliminating these offending foods we are dedicating 100% of our immune system to fight disease, not cravings, as well as, significantly improving the detoxification capabilities of the liver. Learn how you can loose weight, have more energy, better skin, regular bowel habits and decreased pain just by eating the right foods.

Dr. Suneil Jain specializes in the integration of both general and aesthetic medicine using natural, non-invasive therapies. As an Arizona board certified naturopathic medical doctor, Dr. Jain brings his expertise to Scottsdale, Arizona where he currently maintains both general and aesthetic medical practices.

In his practice of general family medicine, Dr. Jain treats disorders of the stomach, skin, and immune system. Using treatments that include delayed food allergy testing and liver detoxification, he is able to reduce dependence on prescription medications by addressing the root causes of the symptoms. Further therapies include the use of acupuncture, intravenous vitamins and minerals, Regenerative Injection Therapy (Prolo Therapy), and bio-identical hormone therapy.

Dr. Jain has extensive clinical experience and interest in the evolving field of aesthetic medicine with focus on facial rejuvenation and cellulite reduction. He lectures frequently and trains physicians around the US on various aesthetic techniques using transdermal drug delivery systems and mesotherapy.

If you are troubled by both allergies and asthma you might thinking, “if it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all”. The fact is that it is estimated that as many as sixty percent of the asthma cases in the U.S. are allergy related. You are not alone. There are many people like yourself who are suffering from the same double barreled malady. The fact is that allergies can induce or agrivate asthma. Both the lining of the nose and throat are susceptible to allergic reactions to molds. pollen and whatever els it is you may be allergic to. You may be suffering from allergy induced asthma and not even know it.

There is hope however. Ongoing research has made en roads into the connection between allergies and asthma. Over the years people who were treating their asthma with strictly asthma medications might have been treating the symptom and not the cause all along. Allergen immunotherapy has been shown to work on people with allergy induced asthma in many cases. For these people desensidation shots have been a blessing and have been successful of relieving them of their suffering by enabling their body to have the allergic reactions that were causing their asthma.

There are a number of medicines available that can help to reduce the inflammation in the throat of the asthma sufferer. The come in all forms from inhalers to pill form to injections and if your type of asthma is allergy induced they can be helpful in bringing you relief from allergy induced asthma. It is possible to have allergies and have asthma be your only reaction. That is, you need not show any other allergic reactions other that your allergy induced asthma. So you may be one of the many people out there suffering from allergy induced asthma who don’t even know that this is the cause of their suffering.

Who is at risk of having allergy induced asthma? If you have a family history of allergies and also have asthma than you are at a higher risk than normal that your asthma is allergy induced asthma. Studies have shown that up to seventy-two percent of people who have asthma also have hay fever. This is not to say that all asthma cases are allergy induced asthma. There are in fact several other forms of asthma that are not allergy induced asthma. Other forms of asthma are exercise induced asthma, and non allergic asthma, triggered by cold air or asthma triggered by gastroesophogeal reflux disease. It is important that you determine what type of asthma you have.

The fact is that there is hope for all asthma sufferers. Ongoing research is developing new treatments for both allergy induced asthma and non allergic asthma. Many research scientists believe that a cure is on the horizon. In the absence of a complete cure though, great strides have been made in the treatment of the symptoms that make those who suffer from the malady miserable. Some have found a combination of treatment strategies to be the answer to their problem. Finding and removing the source of their allergy symptoms is of course the first step if at all possible. Many times this is the solution. The important thing is that you not give up your hunt for help.