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Archive for the 'Allergies' Category
Emotions influence bodily health because mind and body work together as one unit and not as two separate entities. Emphasis on the physical aspects in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma has come about because the emotional factors are difficult to define and are often misleading.
Asthma comes about through a predisposition caused by constitution, heredity, frequent respiratory infections, and exposure to allergens; once this predisposition has been established, an asthma attack may be caused by allergic factors, by emotional factors, or by a combination of both. If the emotions are strong, they may blur the allergic picture and become the main cause of asthma. As a consequence, asthma caused by allergy and complicated by emotions needs two approaches in its treatment: a physical one for the changes brought about by allergy and a psychiatric one to soothe the emotions (the purpose is to “cure” the whole child and not just his asthma).
Psychiatry uses a wide range of procedures from guidance to reassurance, to analysis, to group therapy. Regardless of the method used, an effort would have to be made to understand the personality structure of the child in order to discover the relationship between his thoughts and acts and how they are influenced by his illness. The purpose of psychiatry would then be to establish maturity, insight, a strengthened ego, and an increase in personal security.
Parentectomy is a long separation of an asthmatic child from his parents. Children who need parentectomy usually come from broken homes in which love and attention to the needs of a sick child are missing; they bring on illness in an unconscious attempt to soothe their emotional needs, while their parents compensate for their guilty feelings by overmedication.
In parentectomy, children are made to live outside their homes for two years with a normal family who will provide them with the love and support they are lacking. During these two years, the parents must obtain family counseling in order to have a more relaxed atmosphere in the house when the child returns.
Hypnosis was a useful tool in the treatment of chronic asthma before the discovery of corticosteroids and tranquilizers because it eased the anxieties that usually accompanied it. Today, it has lost its importance because it is a lengthy and costly procedure that cannot alter an immunological state.
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The alcohol in alcoholic drinks is itself an organic solvent, and it ‘competes’ with several other solvents for detoxification enzymes, slowing their breakdown. Not surprisingly, perhaps, most chemical-sensitive patients cannot tolerate alcohol – this is often one of the earliest symptoms. Many food-intolerant patients, with little or no sign of chemical sensitivity, are also unable to drink, which supports the idea that enzyme defects are important in food intolerance as well.
The multiple role of many detoxification enzymes would explain one of the curious features of chemical-sensitive patients – the fact that they are usually affected by a whole range of chemicals, not just one. This has nothing to do with the chemicals all being derived from oil and coal as is often suggested. But it could be due to defects in an enzyme that is responsible for detoxifying a variety of environmental chemicals.
In general, enzyme defects are inherited – passed on from parents to children in the form of an abnormal gene. So one might expect chemical sensitivity to run in families, if enzyme defects are a common cause of the problem. But what about patients who are apparently fit and healthy until they suffer a massive exposure to toxic man-made chemicals? Many patients with severe chemical sensitivity trace their problems back to an incident of this sort.
It is possible that such people had minor enzyme deficiencies before their damaging exposure, but that these were not causing any symptoms at that stage. Some parts of the liver could have sustained mild damage during their exposure – not enough to cause characterisitic symptoms such as jaundice, but enough to leave a legacy of inadequate detoxification systems. Liver damage is known to occur when the breakdown product of a chemical is highly toxic. Because the chemical is being dealt with in the liver, the toxic intermediates (the initial products of the biotransformation reaction) accumulate there. So damage is concentrated in the cells of the liver.
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Drugs do not cure allergy. At best, they sometimes relieve the more common symptoms: wheezing, runny nose, itching. And they’re often very valuable in breaking the spiralling escalation of more and more allergic irritation and discomfort, which can worsen allergies. One thing about drugs is certain, however: they all have the potential to produce unpleasant – and sometimes dangerous – side effects. It’s enough to say that no allergy drug is perfectly safe, and all should be used cautiously. And in many cases, non-drug alternatives work just as well (if not better), especially when combined with a programme to avoid allergy triggers.
The chief characteristic of asthma is wheezing. The lining of the air passages swells, the bronchial muscles around the airways shrink or go into spasm and the lungs produce more mucus. The chest feels tight and breathing is a chore.
The obvious solution is to avoid the allergic stimulus, be it pollen, dust, dog hair or something else. When that’s impossible, an asthmatic is likely to be prescribed one or more of the following drugs:
- an expectorant to thin mucus and promote coughing to eject it from the lungs (although use is increasingly less frequent);
a bronchodilator, such as theophylline, to relax tightened bronchial muscles;
– cromolyn sodium, if exertion triggers the asthma (in nine out of ten asthmatics, it does);
But there are non-drug approaches that relieve asthma, especially in non-emergency situations (which most are).
First of all, drinking plenty of liquids helps keep mucus in the lungs thin so that it can be coughed up, thereby eliminating the need for expectorants. (A dry or sticky tongue in an asthmatic is a sure sign that the body needs more fluids.) Drinking half to one cup of liquid, once an hour, is a good guideline. (Don’t drink cold liquids, though. Cold can stimulate sensitive airways and trigger bronchial spasms. Also, avoid any colas or beverages with food dyes to which you or your child may be allergic.)
Drinking warm liquids such as soup, herb tea or even plain warm water has another benefit: it relaxes bronchial muscles, says Dr Constantine J. Falliers, an allergist and asthma specialist in Denver. ‘We’ve used it, and it works. We’ve had kids in the hospital for treatment, and when they can’t breathe, we give them something warm to drink – water, or something with a little more flavor, like tea or hot cider or apple juice. They relax and don’t need anything else. We control the panic and they start breathing quietly.’
Notice that Dr Falliers mentions emotional calm as a necessary step in controlling an asthma attack. That’s because relaxation loosens up the bronchial muscles, in many instances replacing the need for bronchodilators.
‘Many children breathe better as soon as a physician enters the room, before any medication has been given,’ writes Dr Doris J. Rapp in her book, Allergies and Your Family (Sterling Publishing). They anticipate help and that alone relaxes the bronchial muscles.’ Similarly, if the parent keeps calm, the child will be less panicky.
To make relaxation a skill rather than a hoped-for response, children and adults alike are often taught relaxation techniques and calming breathing exercises to nip panic in the bud and prevent bronchospasms from mushrooming into full-fledged asthma attacks.
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Phlebitis
Phlebitis is an inflammation of a vein or veins, usually in the legs, and it hurts like the dickens. In some cases, a tender, cordlike lump forms under the skin. When deeper veins are affected, a clot can form, blocking circulation and causing swelling and fluid retention. (At that point, the condition is known as thrombophlebitis.)
The pain and swelling make phlebitis very disabling. And the tendency to form clots makes it potentially life threatening – a clot that travels to the heart can cause a heart attack. Bed rest, anticoagulant drugs and sometimes surgery are standard medical treatment. Once the tendency towards phlebitis exists, however, the problem is apt to return. But for some people, a new approach may provide permanent relief.
A cardiovascular surgeon in Texas discovered that a number of his patients experienced total freedom from phlebitis when suspected allergies to environmental chemicals were diagnosed and controlled. William J. Rea, an associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, says the pain and swelling were so bad in these people that they couldn’t even walk across a room. Anticoagulants and bed rest did no good. All were suspected of being allergic, and were divided into two groups of ten each. Those in the control group continued standard therapy, while those in the experimental group (all of whom were live-in patients in Dr Rea’s allergen-free ‘environmental unit’ at the hospital) were tested for reactions to specific foods and chemicals. Tests revealed sensitivity to formaldehyde, phenol, chlorine, petroleum products and pesticides – all common household pollutants.
People in the experimental group were then told how to cut down their exposure to those items by making certain changes in their homes and, once their phlebitis cleared up, were sent home.
The chemical cleanup worked. Among all the people treated for chemical sensitivity, there were only two episodes of phlebitis over the next five years. In fact, not only could they all walk painlessly, but some of them could bicycle up to six miles at a clip!
In contrast, the people not treated for allergy suffered a total of 101 episodes of phlebitis and clotting, forty of which landed them back in the hospital.
Dr Rea credits the home oasis for continued relief in the treated group.
‘In spite of being constantly exposed to higher pollution . . . on the job and … in society, it was clear that if the patients would have at least ten hours in their less-polluted oasis at home they could remain phlebitis free,’ he says. The patients in the control group continued to be miserable and did not function well. They developed a chronically ill attitude . . . looked on life as hopeless . . . and lay around their homes and did little constructive work.’
Dr Rea is convinced that phlebitis is environmentally induced (or aggravated) in some individuals, and he speculates that irritation of blood vessels and clot formation are just two more possible manifestations of chemical sensitivity.
When that same mechanism affects the small capillaries, people may bruise easily or spontaneously. When the coronary arteries are affected, heart spasms may result.
Post-nasal drip
Do you clear your throat constantly? Think carefully. You may not even be aware that you’re doing it. Throat clearing is an involuntary attempt to clear away mucus that’s dripping down into your throat from the inside of your nose. Nasal or sinus congestion is the usual problem; when mucus can’t flow freely out the front, it’s forced to detour.
Post-nasal drip is often caused by allergies. But it can also be provoked by related irritants – such as cold weather, spicy food, odours, fumes, cigarette smoke and even anxiety and other strong emotional reactions.
Aside from steering clear of those triggers when you can, you can also exercise to clear up post-nasal drip. By stimulating mucus flow in the nose, exercise unclogs the congestion that forces secretions to trickle down the throat.
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ALLERGIC REACTIONS: HYPERACTIVITY
Author: admin
Hyperactivity is the everyday term for what medical books refer to as ‘attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity’. While there are over 100 possible symptoms of hyperactivity, children with the problem are generally restless, impulsive and agitated. Their attention spans are often so short that they turn from one task to another without completing any. They frequently swing from quiet withdrawal to sudden rage with little or no provocation. They run wild, throw things, whine and pick on siblings.
In short, a hyperactive child is the ultimate ‘problem child’. Babysitters are scarce. Parents are at the end of their rope. At school, hyperactive children can’t sit through class, so they’re often labelled troublemakers. They do poorly at schoolwork -despite normal or even above-normal intelligence. Teachers give up.
Hyperactive kids themselves don’t feel very good about their behavior, either. They can’t control their actions, no matter how much they want to. And they do want to.
Not every hyperactive child is the reincarnation of Attila the Hun, of course. Hyperactive behavior varies from occasional outbursts to nonstop ‘parent abuse’. And to some degree, hyperactivity may be in the eye of the beholder. What’s hyperactive to Grandma may be simply normal spunkiness to a more patient adult.
How do you know, then, whether or not your child is active or hyperactive? If your child’s moodiness and tantrums interfere with schoolwork, alienate all of his or her playmates and disrupt the household, you may be living with a hyperactive. And it’s time to do something about it, for your sake as well as the child’s.
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ALLERGIC REACTIONS: CEREBRAL PALSY
Author: admin
Cerebral palsy can produce any one of a number of physical problems – poor co-ordination, muscle spasms, poor balance or an unsteady walk. Some defect or injury in the brain is to blame, perhaps caused by an infection or mishap shortly after birth. But allergy might make the problem worse.
A twenty-seven-year-old man with cerebral palsy went to a doctor because of constant colds, sore throats and other respiratory problems. He suspected he might be allergic to something Tests showed he was. But exposure to various allergens provoked both his respiratory symptoms and his palsy.
‘The study strongly suggests evaluation of unsuspected allergy [would be worthwhile! in the one million cerebral palsy victims in this country,’ says Dr Mandell. Their chronic symptoms can be reduced and the quality of their lives greatly improved’ {Annals of Allergy)
Dr Mandell is also investigating the influence of allergies in Tourette’s syndrome and multiple sclerosis, two other central nervous system disorders.
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Positive thinking
We spoke to a young man who has been highly allergic to many things from early childhood on. He has learned to suppress allergic reactions at the first inkling of symptoms by concentrating very, very hard and saying to himself, ‘I will not react’. He calls it ‘willing the allergy away’. And it works! There’s nothing magical about it, either. Robert W. Boxer, an allergist in Chicago, told us, ‘It’s well established that, just as the body can affect the mind, the mind can affect the body. You can actually lower your body’s levels of chemical mediators [histamine and other allergy-provoking substances] by your mental attitude – how you look at things and how you handle stress.’
‘It comes down to a matter of how much control you have,’ says Dr Bell. ‘Some people are extremely good at using their minds to control their bodies. For them these techniques are ideal. Most of us fall into a range – we can be at our best if we’re relaxing in some way, plus watching our diet and perhaps doing one or two other things.
‘For most people, I see stress control as an additional aid. If you slide off your diet, it will help you recover. Or you may not slip quite as much or quite as fast.’
Exercise can calm you down — and cheer you up
Regular exercise may be an additional way to defuse stress in your life – and reduce your allergy symptoms at the same time. A study by Shae Graham Kosch, of the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, University of Florida, and an associate at the Southern Academy of Clinical Nutrition, compared anxiety levels and overall health of two groups of people. Those in the first group either jogged fifteen minutes a day or walked briskly for thirty minutes a day. People in the second group did nothing more strenuous than play golf, garden or participate in other activities considered to be relatively low in exertion. The people who exercised regularly reported less anxiety and fewer medical symptoms than those who did not exercise. ‘These findings imply that exercise . . . [is] capable of exerting a powerful influence on adaptations to [stress],’ conclude the researchers.
There are definite reasons why exercise reduces anxiety: ‘A hallmark of anxiety is the excessive, prolonged and useless secretion of adrenaline [a powerful hormone],’ says Dr Jerome Marmorstein, from Santa Barbara, California. ‘Use of exercise to improve conditions – even just walking – is the only natural release for that. It even helps to reduce the adrenalin buildup in the first place,’ he says. ‘Exercise is a balance factor. It promotes conservation of energy and an overall reduction of chronic anxiety. You feel better mentally and experience a sense of emotional well-being.’
So if allergies have you feeling depressed, exercise can give you a psychological lift. ‘Just minor, non-vigorous exercise like walking can produce measurable, beneficial psychological changes,’ says Dr Ronald Lawrence, a California psychiatrist-neurologist.
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