Allergies Treatment by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Natural treatment for allergies

Allergies are abnormal immune system reactions to things that are typically harmless to most people. When a person has allergies to a substance, the immune system mistakenly believes that this substance is harmful.  In an attempt to protect the body, the immune system produces IgE antibodies to that allergen. Those antibodies then cause certain cells in the body to release chemicals into the bloodstream, one of which is histamine. The histamine then acts on a person's eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin, or gastrointestinal tract and causes the symptoms of the allergic reaction. Future exposure to that same allergen will trigger this antibody response again. This means that every time you come into contact with that allergen, you'll have an allergic reaction.

Allergies and diet
A traditional Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables and nuts during childhood appears to protect against symptoms of asthma and nasal allergies. See also rhinitis.

Common allergies
Substances that cause allergies include certain foods, dust, plant pollen, or medicines. People with allergies may have some constriction in their airways when they're around a cat, even if they're not specifically allergic to cats. People with a range of allergies -- to grass, mold or dust -- are more prone to airway constriction if their homes are heavy with cat dander. This is true even when blood tests show the allergy sufferers are not specifically sensitized to cats.
 

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Allergies treatment
Treatment of allergies depends on the cause and severity and patient preference. First, reduce exposure to allergies at home. These may include replacing carpets with hard floors, removing heavy draperies, and covering mattresses and pillows with dust-mite barriers. For more information on allergies treatment, see allergy.
   If your symptoms from allergies are due to mild hay fever each spring and fall, over-the-counter drugs may do the trick. If your allergies symptoms are more severe, temporary use of prescription antihistamines and corticosteroids may offer a better treatment. Medications called leukotriene modifiers can also be used to help prevent allergies.

Allergies increasing in the world
Childhood allergies are on the rise around the world, including in many developing countries where asthma, eczema and hay fever are emerging as important public health problems. Asthma, in particular, is responsible for millions of children missing school, ending up in hospital or even dying. More and more young children are suffering allergic disorders, with the prevalence of all allergies increasing notably in the past decade. Researchers who carried out the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood in 1991 repeated the survey in 2002 and 2003 and found widespread increases in prevalence in 56 countries, especially among young children. The study surveyed parents of 193,000 children aged 6-7 years and 305,000 children aged 13-14 years in countries as diverse as South Africa, Brazil, Iran, Canada and Sweden. The increases were greatest for eczema in the younger age group and for hay fever in both age groups. In the older age group, however, where prevalence of asthma had been high, there were some signs of decreases. Nonetheless, in Britain -- one of the developed countries with the worst allergies -- asthma prevalence went up to 20 from 18 percent, hay fever increased to 10.1 from 9.8 percent and eczema to 16 from 13 percent between 1991 and 2003. Professor Innes Asher of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, lead author of the study, said the rise in prevalence in many countries was "concerning", especially as allergies often occurred in large population centres. Experts say a host of factors including air pollution, diet, lifestyle and exposure to bacteria in early life are likely to be linked to the rise in asthma and other allergies, but the reasons are likely to vary from place to place. Given the diversity of the condition, the Lancet said in an editorial that asthma was in fact unlikely to be a single disease and the term should be abolished altogether. Lancet, August 26, 2006.

Allergies and fish

Children who start eating fish before their first birthday may have a lower risk of developing allergies. In a study that followed roughly 3,000 children from birth to age 4, Swedish researchers found that those who began eating fish before they were 12 months old had lower odds of developing asthma, nasal allergies or the allergic skin condition eczema. The findings only show an association between early fish consumption and lower allergy risk -- and not that fish directly protects against such conditions. The results are in line with evidence that the omega-3 fats in fish support healthy immune system development. One recent study, for example, found that children born to women who took fish oil pills during pregnancy had a reduced allergy risk. The theory is that because omega-3 fats have anti-inflammatory properties, they affect immune system development in a way that lowers the likelihood of allergies. Growing evidence suggests that introducing fish before age 1 reduces the risk of allergies in general. Children who regularly eat fish at some point in their first year are less likely than their peers to develop allergies by age 4. Allergy, August 2006.

Mother's diet and allergies
Children of women who eat a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables while pregnant are far less likely to develop asthma or allergies later in life. A mother's diet can help prevent allergy problems in a child.

Childhood Allergies related to diet
A Mediterranean-style diet rich in fruits, vegetables and olive oil, and low in trans fats and processed foods can help reduce childhood respiratory allergies and asthma. A study of children living on the Greek island of Crete showed that diet may explain why skin allergies are as common as anywhere else, but wheezing and sneezing are more rare. Dr. Paul Cullinan of Britain's Royal Brompton Hospital and National Heart and Lung Institute, studied 690 children aged 7 to 18. Children who ate the most fresh fruits and nuts were the least likely to suffer from breathing allergies, and those who ate the most margarine were the most likely to. Grapes, oranges, apples and fresh tomatoes, the main local products in Crete, had no effect on skin allergies but children who ate more of them were less likely to have wheezing or runny noses.
   Children who snore are more likely to have allergies than children without allergies.

Skin allergies
Some children with skin allergies may be allergic to oat proteins commonly found in skin products.

Birth control pill and allergies
Mothers who have previously used oral contraceptive pills seem more likely to have children with nasal allergies. Dr. Leea Keski-Nisula, of Kuopio University, Finland, and colleagues note in the medical journal Allergy that there has been a suggestion of an association between oral contraceptive use and allergic diseases. The researchers studied 618 asthmatic children aged 5 or 6 years and compared them with 564 similar but unaffected children. Compared to children whose mothers had not used oral contraceptives, those who had taken the pill within a year of becoming pregnant had a greater likelihood of having a child with allergic rhinitis, or nasal allergy. This was particularly the case in families where the parents had allergies, and this association was stronger in boys. There was no association between mothers' use of the pill and the occurrence of asthma or eczema in their offspring. Allergy, December 2006.

Allergies emails
Q. I would like to take 5htp for fibromyalgia and tension headaches. I have read that 5htp is contradicted in people with allergies. What does this mean? Are they talking about food allergies or hayfever? How does one know if they have severe allergies ? How does 5htp affect allergies?
   A. We have not come across any studies regarding the interaction of 5-htp and allergies.