ALLERGY THERAPY
Food Allergy Treatments
Most food allergy tests that are performed look at food reactions through a chemical called IgG. IgG is the most abundant immune chemical in the body and It can react with food quite adversely which can lead to low level inflammatory and immune reactions in the body. These reactions are called IgG delayed hypersensitivity reactions. They are not life threatening but in the digestive system they can cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea. In the body, that can lead to low level inflammation that might lead to joint pain, muscle pain, fatigue, brain fog, etc. With kids on the spectrum many times they have elevated food IgG reactions that can weaken their immune systems over time that makes them more susceptible to things like viruses and bacteria. So a food IgG reaction, even though sometimes it is called an allergic reaction, it is truly not an allergy but rather a hypersensitivity to those food proteins. When you do a food IgG panel you are looking at 90 or 96 different foods that your child is eating and measuring that immune chemical against it.
Conditions related to IgG allergies:
IgG allergic reactions occur over several hours or days. With an IgG allergic reaction, IgG antibodies attach themselves to the allergen and create an antibody-allergen complex. These complexes are normally removed by special cells in the liver and spleen called macrophages, but if they are present in large numbers and the allergen continues to be consumed, the body isn't able to remove them fast enough. These allergen-antibody complexes accumulate and are deposited in body tissues, causing the release of inflammation causing chemicals which contribute to a variety of health problems:
An IgE reaction is a true allergy. This is something an allergist can test through the blood for a food, pollen, dust, animal hair, etc. They can also do this through skin prick testing to look for an IgE reaction. An IgE reaction is usually pretty obvious. It can many times happen within minutes of eating something. We’ve heard these cases where someone reacts to peanuts or strawberries or pineapples or shell fish. In a real extreme case they can develop welts on their body, their lips may swell, they get runny eyes or an itchy throat and these are types of reactions that are immediate after having a food. In severe situations it can lead to anaphylactic reaction or anaphylactic shock.
Conditions related to IgE allergies:
IgE reactions occur within minutes or hours of exposure and release inflammation causing chemicals like histamine, which are responsible for most of the symptoms associated with IgE allergic reactions. These symptoms may include:
When you are looking at doing food sensitivity testing for your child, you are primarily looking at doing an IgG food sensitivity testing. Some labs can do the test with blood from a finger prick, while others require a traditional blood draw.
What to do with IGG Food Sensitivity Testing Results:
The allergy test report categorizes food reactions as no, low, moderate or high. Generally speaking, practitioners are most concerned with the moderate and highly reactive foods. They may suggest eliminating moderately reactive foods from your diet for a certain amount of time, and highly reactive foods for a longer period of time. It is often possible to reintroduce these foods after the elimination period has ended and without symptoms recurring.
Eliminating food allergens sometimes results in withdrawal symptoms like headaches, tiredness, irritability and hunger. Serious cravings for the eliminated foods are also common. Unfortunately, it is often the foods you are most allergic to that you crave the most! Knowing these cravings and symptoms are temporary, hopefully makes them easier to bear.
And lastly, there is a condition called leaky gut syndrome that can promote the development of food allergies, and can itself be caused by food allergies. An overload of antibody-allergen complexes causes inflammation in the lining of the gut, which causes the gut to leak. This leaky gut allows more antibody-allergen complexes to escape into tissues, which provokes more allergic reactions to food. Thus, anyone with leaky gut should be tested for food allergies and anyone with a lot of allergies may need to be treated for leaky gut. Therefore, your health care practitioner may suggest treatments for your digestive system in addition to any recommended dietary changes.
It is important to remember that a low IgG reaction to a particular food does not necessarily mean that food is safe to eat. For example, someone with a low IgG response to peanuts could still experience a life-threatening IgE reaction to peanuts. IgG reactions are very different from the immediate IgE hypersensitivity reactions.
Sources:
http://www.autismrecoverytreatment.com/autism-food-allergy-ige-and-sensitivity-igg-testing-%E2%80%93-what-you-need-to-know/
http://www.rmalab.com/index.php?id=13
Allergy Immunotherapy (Synonyms: Desensitization, Specific Immunotherapy (SIT), Hyposensitisation, Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), Allergy “shots” or Allergy vaccination)
Involves the stimulation of the immune system with gradually increasing doses of the substances to which a person is allergic. The aim is to modify or stop the allergy by reducing the strength of the immune system response. It can be done orally or by injection. This form of treatment is very effective for allergies to pollen, mites, animal dander, insects, seasonal allergens, and indoor allergens. Allergy immunotherapy usually takes six months to a year to become effective, and injections are usually required for three to five years.
Oral Allergy Immunotherapy & Autism
The immune system produces five different antibodies (also known as immunoglobulins) in response to substances that are recognized as being foreign (e.g., bacteria, viruses, allergens, etc.). Immunologists refer to them as IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD and IgE. Each immunoglobulin serves a primary role in our normal immune function, and IgE is the one most associated with allergies. Common symptoms of allergy, including runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, and asthma, are often precipitated by IgE, which triggers the cascade of events leading to allergic symptoms. However, there is good evidence that many allergic reactions do not involve IgE at all and can be mediated by different immune mechanisms.
Non-IgE reactions have been identified as causing neuropsychiatric symptoms such as irritability, hyperactivity, mood disorders, or cognitive deficits; gastrointestinal or motility problems; skin rashes; and sleep disturbances (common symptoms of autism). Conventional allergy testing specifically looks mostly at IgE reactions (whether by blood test, intradermal, or scratch testing), so it is not uncommon for a child with autism to get allergy testing and be told they do not have any allergies. However, IgE testing excludes most non-IgE reactions and, therefore, has limited value in diagnosing these types of allergies.
over 300 published studies show that sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is equally or more effective than allergy shots in reducing allergy and asthma symptoms. The allergy extracts used in SLIT are identical to those used in injection immunotherapy, but rather than receiving a shot on a weekly or monthly basis, oral drops are administered under the tongue, often on a daily basis.
Recent research shows that during SLIT, the allergen is absorbed into the oral mucosa. The underlying dendritic cells, which are part of the immune system, produce a series of chemicals that ultimately result in a decrease in IgE and other molecules that produce allergy symptoms as well as decreasing inflammation in target tissues. This mechanism of action is similar to that observed in conventional immunotherapy.
There are no reports of SLIT causing anaphylaxis, making it a safer alternative to injections. SLIT is more convenient than injection immunotherapy, since the drops are administered at home by the parent, meaning fewer office visits and no needles. There are no significant medical disadvantages of SLIT treatment; however, many insurance companies in the United States do not reimburse for SLIT, which may be financially limiting for some individuals.
Some children do get hyperactive or agitated during their initial course of treatment, but this usually resolves after a couple of weeks. Sometimes the dose has to be adjusted down for very sensitive children. Although injection immunotherapy can take a year or longer to begin controlling allergies or asthma, SLIT will often diminish symptoms within weeks.
More Information:
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100301/Oral-immunotherapy-promising-for-egg-allergies-SLIT-for-milk-allergies.aspx
http://www.scribd.com/doc/36937559/Dr-Darin-Ingels-7-28-10 (powerpoint presentation)
Sources: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11515
http://www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/more-about-allergy/desensitization-immunotherapy/
http://www.nefha.com/category/sublingual-immunotherapy/
NAET (Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques)
What is NAET?
A non-invasive, drug free, natural solution to eliminate allergies of all types and intensities using a blend of selective energy balancing, testing and treatment procedures from acupuncture/acupressure, allopathy, chiropractic, nutritional, and kinesiological disciplines of medicine. One allergen is treated at a time. If you are not severely immune deficient, you may need just one treatment to desensitize one allergen. A person with mild to moderate amount of allergies may take about 15-20 office visits to desensitize 15-20 food and environmental allergens. Basic essential nutrients are treated during the first few visits. Chemicals, environmental allergens, vaccinations, immunizations, etc. are treated after completing about ten basic essential nutrients. NAET® can successfully eliminate adverse reactions to egg, milk, peanuts, penicillin, aspirin, mushrooms, shellfish, latex, grass, ragweed, flowers, perfume, animal dander, animal epithelial, make-up, chemicals, cigarette smoke, pathogens, heat, cold, other environmental agents. It may take several office visits to desensitize a severe allergen.The theory behind this is that allergies cause most of the health issues that plague us today. The kinesiology part is basically muscle testing to determine what you are allergic to. The allergy is then removed using accupuncture/accupressure. After that there is a 20 minute period where the allergen is placed on your skin. When all this is completed, the allergen then has to be avoided for 24-30hrs. On retesting, you should not be allergic to the item anymore and any symptoms that you may have exhibited in the past, should disappear.
How does NAET work?
NAET is based on the recognition that all things, animate and inanimate, in our universe have their own specific electromagnetic fields due to their atomic and molecular makeup, and that these fields affect each other. This is true for our bodies, rocks, pollen, mold, peanut butter, a flower, water, in short, everything. This electromagnetic energy is associated with meridians (energy pathways) inacupuncture, chi in Chinese Medicine, and can be demonstrated with Kirlian photography. Nuclear physicists can determine the type of atom by its electromagnetic frequency.
According to Dr. Devi Nambudripad, this is what happens: Your energy system and brain interpret a particular substance (a diamond ring, a whole wheat bagel, a peanut, hot water, sun light) as potentially harmful to your body, and your body reacts. For other people this same item is totally harmless. Your energy pathways freeze up as a way of defending the body against this unsuitable substance. This in turn blocks your energy meridians and, if this condition continues, the overall functioning of your body suffers.
NAET Diagnostics
Our fingertips are very sensitive to the electromagnetic energy of substances with which we come into contact. By placing a sample of a suspected allergen into a person's hand, and using Applied Kinesiology muscle testing, the NAET practitioner can determine whether or not a person reacts "weak" or "strong" to the substance, i.e., whether this substance causes a energy blockage in the patient's body. Such blockages can cause a wide variety of symptoms, from sneezing and coughing to chronic diseases such as asthma.
NAET Desensitization
The NAET practitioner stimulates key points along the patient's spine while the patient is holding the allergen. In addition, Dr. Z stimulates certain meridian points with a Low Level Laser. A chemical change takes place in the autonomic nervous system, neutralizing any allergic reaction to the substance. NAET reprograms the brain and the nervous system, and eliminates your body's conditioned response to the "allergen".
Environmental medicine has been dealing with hidden allergies for several decades. You try to avoid the allergenic substance in your life, you go on a rotation diet, and maybe you can manage. But with NAET you can continue to have contact with the very substance that made you sick.
More Information:
http://www.autisable.com/737055949/bpa-autism-and-why-naet-works/
Sources:
http://www.naet.com/
http://donnaleemason.hubpages.com/hub/My-Autistic-Sons-NAET-Treatments
http://www.drz.org/asp/cp/naet.asp
Most food allergy tests that are performed look at food reactions through a chemical called IgG. IgG is the most abundant immune chemical in the body and It can react with food quite adversely which can lead to low level inflammatory and immune reactions in the body. These reactions are called IgG delayed hypersensitivity reactions. They are not life threatening but in the digestive system they can cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea. In the body, that can lead to low level inflammation that might lead to joint pain, muscle pain, fatigue, brain fog, etc. With kids on the spectrum many times they have elevated food IgG reactions that can weaken their immune systems over time that makes them more susceptible to things like viruses and bacteria. So a food IgG reaction, even though sometimes it is called an allergic reaction, it is truly not an allergy but rather a hypersensitivity to those food proteins. When you do a food IgG panel you are looking at 90 or 96 different foods that your child is eating and measuring that immune chemical against it.
Conditions related to IgG allergies:
IgG allergic reactions occur over several hours or days. With an IgG allergic reaction, IgG antibodies attach themselves to the allergen and create an antibody-allergen complex. These complexes are normally removed by special cells in the liver and spleen called macrophages, but if they are present in large numbers and the allergen continues to be consumed, the body isn't able to remove them fast enough. These allergen-antibody complexes accumulate and are deposited in body tissues, causing the release of inflammation causing chemicals which contribute to a variety of health problems:
- Headaches and high blood pressure: may result from deposition of antibody-allergen complexes in blood vessels.
- Mood disorders: Deposition of antibody-allergen complexes in nervous system tissues may contribute to hyperactivity, depression, anxiety, inability to concentrate and other mood disorders.
- Asthma and recurring respiratory infections: Deposition of antibody-allergen complexes in lung tissue can cause a variety of respiratory problems.
- Eczema and other skin conditions: may result from deposition of antibody-allergen complexes in the skin.
- Joint pain: may result from deposition of allergen-antibody complexes in joints.
- Runny noses and puffiness around the eyes: can result from allergic reactions.
An IgE reaction is a true allergy. This is something an allergist can test through the blood for a food, pollen, dust, animal hair, etc. They can also do this through skin prick testing to look for an IgE reaction. An IgE reaction is usually pretty obvious. It can many times happen within minutes of eating something. We’ve heard these cases where someone reacts to peanuts or strawberries or pineapples or shell fish. In a real extreme case they can develop welts on their body, their lips may swell, they get runny eyes or an itchy throat and these are types of reactions that are immediate after having a food. In severe situations it can lead to anaphylactic reaction or anaphylactic shock.
Conditions related to IgE allergies:
IgE reactions occur within minutes or hours of exposure and release inflammation causing chemicals like histamine, which are responsible for most of the symptoms associated with IgE allergic reactions. These symptoms may include:
- Redness and swelling: are due to the release of inflammation-causing chemicals like histamine which cause the blood vessels to dilate, producing redness and swelling.
- Tightening of airways: The release of inflammation-causing chemicals like histamine can cause airway congestion and constriction.
- Itching: The release of inflammation-causing chemicals can cause stimulation of nerve endings, which produce pain and itching on the skin surface.
When you are looking at doing food sensitivity testing for your child, you are primarily looking at doing an IgG food sensitivity testing. Some labs can do the test with blood from a finger prick, while others require a traditional blood draw.
What to do with IGG Food Sensitivity Testing Results:
The allergy test report categorizes food reactions as no, low, moderate or high. Generally speaking, practitioners are most concerned with the moderate and highly reactive foods. They may suggest eliminating moderately reactive foods from your diet for a certain amount of time, and highly reactive foods for a longer period of time. It is often possible to reintroduce these foods after the elimination period has ended and without symptoms recurring.
Eliminating food allergens sometimes results in withdrawal symptoms like headaches, tiredness, irritability and hunger. Serious cravings for the eliminated foods are also common. Unfortunately, it is often the foods you are most allergic to that you crave the most! Knowing these cravings and symptoms are temporary, hopefully makes them easier to bear.
And lastly, there is a condition called leaky gut syndrome that can promote the development of food allergies, and can itself be caused by food allergies. An overload of antibody-allergen complexes causes inflammation in the lining of the gut, which causes the gut to leak. This leaky gut allows more antibody-allergen complexes to escape into tissues, which provokes more allergic reactions to food. Thus, anyone with leaky gut should be tested for food allergies and anyone with a lot of allergies may need to be treated for leaky gut. Therefore, your health care practitioner may suggest treatments for your digestive system in addition to any recommended dietary changes.
It is important to remember that a low IgG reaction to a particular food does not necessarily mean that food is safe to eat. For example, someone with a low IgG response to peanuts could still experience a life-threatening IgE reaction to peanuts. IgG reactions are very different from the immediate IgE hypersensitivity reactions.
Sources:
http://www.autismrecoverytreatment.com/autism-food-allergy-ige-and-sensitivity-igg-testing-%E2%80%93-what-you-need-to-know/
http://www.rmalab.com/index.php?id=13
Allergy Immunotherapy (Synonyms: Desensitization, Specific Immunotherapy (SIT), Hyposensitisation, Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), Allergy “shots” or Allergy vaccination)
Involves the stimulation of the immune system with gradually increasing doses of the substances to which a person is allergic. The aim is to modify or stop the allergy by reducing the strength of the immune system response. It can be done orally or by injection. This form of treatment is very effective for allergies to pollen, mites, animal dander, insects, seasonal allergens, and indoor allergens. Allergy immunotherapy usually takes six months to a year to become effective, and injections are usually required for three to five years.
Oral Allergy Immunotherapy & Autism
The immune system produces five different antibodies (also known as immunoglobulins) in response to substances that are recognized as being foreign (e.g., bacteria, viruses, allergens, etc.). Immunologists refer to them as IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD and IgE. Each immunoglobulin serves a primary role in our normal immune function, and IgE is the one most associated with allergies. Common symptoms of allergy, including runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, and asthma, are often precipitated by IgE, which triggers the cascade of events leading to allergic symptoms. However, there is good evidence that many allergic reactions do not involve IgE at all and can be mediated by different immune mechanisms.
Non-IgE reactions have been identified as causing neuropsychiatric symptoms such as irritability, hyperactivity, mood disorders, or cognitive deficits; gastrointestinal or motility problems; skin rashes; and sleep disturbances (common symptoms of autism). Conventional allergy testing specifically looks mostly at IgE reactions (whether by blood test, intradermal, or scratch testing), so it is not uncommon for a child with autism to get allergy testing and be told they do not have any allergies. However, IgE testing excludes most non-IgE reactions and, therefore, has limited value in diagnosing these types of allergies.
over 300 published studies show that sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is equally or more effective than allergy shots in reducing allergy and asthma symptoms. The allergy extracts used in SLIT are identical to those used in injection immunotherapy, but rather than receiving a shot on a weekly or monthly basis, oral drops are administered under the tongue, often on a daily basis.
Recent research shows that during SLIT, the allergen is absorbed into the oral mucosa. The underlying dendritic cells, which are part of the immune system, produce a series of chemicals that ultimately result in a decrease in IgE and other molecules that produce allergy symptoms as well as decreasing inflammation in target tissues. This mechanism of action is similar to that observed in conventional immunotherapy.
There are no reports of SLIT causing anaphylaxis, making it a safer alternative to injections. SLIT is more convenient than injection immunotherapy, since the drops are administered at home by the parent, meaning fewer office visits and no needles. There are no significant medical disadvantages of SLIT treatment; however, many insurance companies in the United States do not reimburse for SLIT, which may be financially limiting for some individuals.
Some children do get hyperactive or agitated during their initial course of treatment, but this usually resolves after a couple of weeks. Sometimes the dose has to be adjusted down for very sensitive children. Although injection immunotherapy can take a year or longer to begin controlling allergies or asthma, SLIT will often diminish symptoms within weeks.
More Information:
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100301/Oral-immunotherapy-promising-for-egg-allergies-SLIT-for-milk-allergies.aspx
http://www.scribd.com/doc/36937559/Dr-Darin-Ingels-7-28-10 (powerpoint presentation)
Sources: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11515
http://www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/more-about-allergy/desensitization-immunotherapy/
http://www.nefha.com/category/sublingual-immunotherapy/
NAET (Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques)
What is NAET?
A non-invasive, drug free, natural solution to eliminate allergies of all types and intensities using a blend of selective energy balancing, testing and treatment procedures from acupuncture/acupressure, allopathy, chiropractic, nutritional, and kinesiological disciplines of medicine. One allergen is treated at a time. If you are not severely immune deficient, you may need just one treatment to desensitize one allergen. A person with mild to moderate amount of allergies may take about 15-20 office visits to desensitize 15-20 food and environmental allergens. Basic essential nutrients are treated during the first few visits. Chemicals, environmental allergens, vaccinations, immunizations, etc. are treated after completing about ten basic essential nutrients. NAET® can successfully eliminate adverse reactions to egg, milk, peanuts, penicillin, aspirin, mushrooms, shellfish, latex, grass, ragweed, flowers, perfume, animal dander, animal epithelial, make-up, chemicals, cigarette smoke, pathogens, heat, cold, other environmental agents. It may take several office visits to desensitize a severe allergen.The theory behind this is that allergies cause most of the health issues that plague us today. The kinesiology part is basically muscle testing to determine what you are allergic to. The allergy is then removed using accupuncture/accupressure. After that there is a 20 minute period where the allergen is placed on your skin. When all this is completed, the allergen then has to be avoided for 24-30hrs. On retesting, you should not be allergic to the item anymore and any symptoms that you may have exhibited in the past, should disappear.
How does NAET work?
NAET is based on the recognition that all things, animate and inanimate, in our universe have their own specific electromagnetic fields due to their atomic and molecular makeup, and that these fields affect each other. This is true for our bodies, rocks, pollen, mold, peanut butter, a flower, water, in short, everything. This electromagnetic energy is associated with meridians (energy pathways) inacupuncture, chi in Chinese Medicine, and can be demonstrated with Kirlian photography. Nuclear physicists can determine the type of atom by its electromagnetic frequency.
According to Dr. Devi Nambudripad, this is what happens: Your energy system and brain interpret a particular substance (a diamond ring, a whole wheat bagel, a peanut, hot water, sun light) as potentially harmful to your body, and your body reacts. For other people this same item is totally harmless. Your energy pathways freeze up as a way of defending the body against this unsuitable substance. This in turn blocks your energy meridians and, if this condition continues, the overall functioning of your body suffers.
NAET Diagnostics
Our fingertips are very sensitive to the electromagnetic energy of substances with which we come into contact. By placing a sample of a suspected allergen into a person's hand, and using Applied Kinesiology muscle testing, the NAET practitioner can determine whether or not a person reacts "weak" or "strong" to the substance, i.e., whether this substance causes a energy blockage in the patient's body. Such blockages can cause a wide variety of symptoms, from sneezing and coughing to chronic diseases such as asthma.
NAET Desensitization
The NAET practitioner stimulates key points along the patient's spine while the patient is holding the allergen. In addition, Dr. Z stimulates certain meridian points with a Low Level Laser. A chemical change takes place in the autonomic nervous system, neutralizing any allergic reaction to the substance. NAET reprograms the brain and the nervous system, and eliminates your body's conditioned response to the "allergen".
Environmental medicine has been dealing with hidden allergies for several decades. You try to avoid the allergenic substance in your life, you go on a rotation diet, and maybe you can manage. But with NAET you can continue to have contact with the very substance that made you sick.
More Information:
http://www.autisable.com/737055949/bpa-autism-and-why-naet-works/
Sources:
http://www.naet.com/
http://donnaleemason.hubpages.com/hub/My-Autistic-Sons-NAET-Treatments
http://www.drz.org/asp/cp/naet.asp
