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Allergies?
- Thread starter Razor
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2007
- Messages
- 1,607
Haha, I guess I should have been a little clearer...
Most people start seeing results in 3-6 months as your body starts building up antibodies for the allergens. The regular shots (once every week or two) will last for several years, and you will see the full effects then. The booster shots will be for the rest of your life (evey 3-6 months maybe? I have a while to go before then). The shots work best for people that have severe allergies or severe reactions to allergens.
For the needles, they are really not bad. You do it in your upper thigh where there is a lot of fatty tissue and very little pain from the tiny needle. It just itches for a little while after the injection.
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2005
- Messages
- 55
I had horrible allergies all my life and dreaded spring and summer. I started taking one gram of vitamin C every day and worked up to 4 grams per day over a period of several months. Do not increase the dose too fast or you will get "the runs" Result? No allergy problems for years now. You cannot OD on vitamin C since the body dumps any excess in the urine. For more info visit doctoryourself.com
Good Luck
Good Luck
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
- Messages
- 6,105
Very correct! I made the mistake of posting when in a rush and misspoke, thanks for catching the error! [It is in fact the sprays containing decongestants, not solely saline, that cause this.]
Take care-
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,246
I have done that myself several times
I have had great results with nasal irrigation and it's been two years since I have had a cold or flu. You just have to wash them buggers out before they decide to start partying.
I have had great results with nasal irrigation and it's been two years since I have had a cold or flu. You just have to wash them buggers out before they decide to start partying.
A lot of advice already given. Shots worked for many
people (including me), but you still need to know the
other info. Your allergist can provide info: do not ignore
this, study it. Also talk to other patients in the waiting
room.
Many plant chemicals can kick off allergies, so be careful
of them. Pollens are the most common source, yet, mow a
lawn and you will get grass sap/pieces all over you.
Develop the skill of seeing pollen and knowing where it
it is. It is usually yellow and can be seen if you are looking.
Most people never notice it, even when it is obvious.
Avoid places with lots of pollen.
In the late winter and spring, on windy days, pollen can
be seen blowing off of trees. Windy days can be bad.
Pollen can look like yellow clouds of snow blown from conifers.
In the summer, grasses and weeds are loaded with pollen.
You can walk through an open field and it can be all over
you, and you can see yellow pollen on your shoes and pants.
In summer and fall, mostly weeds. Weeds are common in
disturbed soil, on the margins of tilled farm fields, and some
fields are mostly weeds (=wild flowers).
In summer through fall, seek out Deep forest, with mature
trees, away from fields and man: few weeds and grasses.
Antihistamines (generally) make people sleepy, so be careful
driving; hiking is OK. Avoid alcohol on the same day.
I sometimes take antihistamines in advance, when it is very obvious
and almost a sure thing that I will need them.
I take the minimum amount, by cutting tablets, for smaller doses.
Before cleaning yourself and your gear, get away from original
pollen source, if you can.
Clean it off.
Minimum cleaning is soap and water for hands and face,
including eyes. Cleaning front of hair and scalp is good.
(Learning how to wash your eye-lids and eye-lashes,
without pushing soap into your eyes, is an acquired skill.)
Wash eye-glasses also.
A full shower with clean clothes is great. In the bush, maybe
you can improvise. Clean or remove the old clothes and
uncleaned shoes; they can be a source of pollens and bad
plant chemicals, so keep them away from you.
Try to sleep in a clean area.
people (including me), but you still need to know the
other info. Your allergist can provide info: do not ignore
this, study it. Also talk to other patients in the waiting
room.
Many plant chemicals can kick off allergies, so be careful
of them. Pollens are the most common source, yet, mow a
lawn and you will get grass sap/pieces all over you.
Develop the skill of seeing pollen and knowing where it
it is. It is usually yellow and can be seen if you are looking.
Most people never notice it, even when it is obvious.
Avoid places with lots of pollen.
In the late winter and spring, on windy days, pollen can
be seen blowing off of trees. Windy days can be bad.
Pollen can look like yellow clouds of snow blown from conifers.
In the summer, grasses and weeds are loaded with pollen.
You can walk through an open field and it can be all over
you, and you can see yellow pollen on your shoes and pants.
In summer and fall, mostly weeds. Weeds are common in
disturbed soil, on the margins of tilled farm fields, and some
fields are mostly weeds (=wild flowers).
In summer through fall, seek out Deep forest, with mature
trees, away from fields and man: few weeds and grasses.
Antihistamines (generally) make people sleepy, so be careful
driving; hiking is OK. Avoid alcohol on the same day.
I sometimes take antihistamines in advance, when it is very obvious
and almost a sure thing that I will need them.
I take the minimum amount, by cutting tablets, for smaller doses.
Before cleaning yourself and your gear, get away from original
pollen source, if you can.
Clean it off.
Minimum cleaning is soap and water for hands and face,
including eyes. Cleaning front of hair and scalp is good.
(Learning how to wash your eye-lids and eye-lashes,
without pushing soap into your eyes, is an acquired skill.)
Wash eye-glasses also.
A full shower with clean clothes is great. In the bush, maybe
you can improvise. Clean or remove the old clothes and
uncleaned shoes; they can be a source of pollens and bad
plant chemicals, so keep them away from you.
Try to sleep in a clean area.
- Joined
- May 4, 2007
- Messages
- 413
I hope a real doctor or veterinarian comments on this thread. But until then, I will have to do what I can to make sure people don't walk away with misconceptions, especially dangerous ones.
(Note: This is not medical advice of a certified physician. I am a biomedical researcher and have no qualifications whatsoever in immunology. Please don't sue.
)
For most people, Temporary solutions should solve most of your problems.
Removing allergen: If your reaction is minor, washing out your allergen after a trip can relieve your symptoms. However, for frequent exposure it is still recommended to seek longer-term solutions, because allergies can develop or increase in severity spontaneously after repeated exposure to allergen.
Temporary solutions:
Permanent solution:
Addressing some things from the thread:
Even if you give ALL the benefit of the doubt to this "alternative medicine", just the concept of "full-spectrum enzymes" taken orally - is fundamentally flawed. This is because the overwhelming majority of enzymes will be denatured and rendered useless once it hits stomach. Enzymes are proteins too, you know!
Imagine if orally taken enzymes can influence the human body. Humanity would be dead long ago due to foreign enzymes in uncooked meat!
God, I hate medical quacks.
(Note: This is not medical advice of a certified physician. I am a biomedical researcher and have no qualifications whatsoever in immunology. Please don't sue.
)For most people, Temporary solutions should solve most of your problems.
Removing allergen: If your reaction is minor, washing out your allergen after a trip can relieve your symptoms. However, for frequent exposure it is still recommended to seek longer-term solutions, because allergies can develop or increase in severity spontaneously after repeated exposure to allergen.
Temporary solutions:
- OTC non-sedating antihistamines (recommended): A non-sedating over-the-counter antihistamine works well for a large percentage of people. Look for Alavert/Claritin or its generic equivalent (Loratadine). This will not make you drowsy because it minimally interacts with the central nervous system.
- OTC sedating antihistamines: If exposure is occasional, sedating antihistamines can also be used. These make you drowsy; in fact, they are sometimes outright sleep aids. The advantage is that for occasional use, for many people, they work over DAYS, and you can go to sleep with one, and be free of allergies for half of the week. Useful for short trips. Look for Benadryl or its generic equivalent (Diphenhydramine), or NyQuil and its generic equivalent (Doxylamine)
- Prescription antihistamines: your physician will prescribe you appropriate solutions if the above are not strong enough for you, or you experience side effects. Nasal antihistamines (Astelin) is an example. Allegra too.
Permanent solution:
- Medical treatment: For long-term, more permanent treatment, especially for very strong allergies, desensitization immunotherapy can permanently get rid of your allergies. You have to undergo allergen testing: this is usually done via skin tests (the patch test, the scratch test, or the prick test). After determining exactly what allergen you respond to, you are vaccinated with controlled amounts of the allergen to desensitize you to it, over a period of time (months to years). This is the best solution to allergies.
Addressing some things from the thread:
When washing out your nasal cavities (or any mucus membrane), you want to use an isotonic solution. Human body fluids are not just water; it contains small amounts of minerals with a certain osmotic pressure. Fresh water will just irritate your nose, just like fresh water irritates your eyes. To avoid this irritation, you need to mimic the osmotic pressure of human body fluids. The easiest is 0.9% salt, which can be prepared with about 1/3 oz of salt in a quart of water. Canning salt is just non-iodized salt, so it can be used without problems.
This is a waste of money. External sources of enzymes do little to nothing in the human body. "Enzyme supplements" are not new and have been churning out money for quacks for decades. "Leaky gut syndrome" is a well-known bulls*** diagnosis first seen in the early ninties.
Even if you give ALL the benefit of the doubt to this "alternative medicine", just the concept of "full-spectrum enzymes" taken orally - is fundamentally flawed. This is because the overwhelming majority of enzymes will be denatured and rendered useless once it hits stomach. Enzymes are proteins too, you know!
Imagine if orally taken enzymes can influence the human body. Humanity would be dead long ago due to foreign enzymes in uncooked meat!
Uh... might this clue you in to the fact that your relief of allergies were extremely unlikely to be related to your enzyme intake? As immunological glitches, allergies can develop spontaneously and stop spontaneously. Enzymes are chemical catalysts. They do not take years to work. You were conned, seriously. It's great that you are healthy, but $250 over the course of years is... more than a grand?
God, I hate medical quacks.
This is dangerous advice. Vaseline will only paralyze your nose hairs and cilia, leading to even more allergens being inhaled into the nasal cavities and lungs, possibly causing asthma. Inhaling petrolatum cannot be good for you either.
I hope a real doctor or veterinarian comments on this thread. But until then, I will have to do what I can to make sure people don't walk away with misconceptions, especially dangerous ones.
(Note: This is not medical advice of a certified physician. I am a biomedical researcher and have no qualifications whatsoever in immunology. Please don't sue.
For most people, Temporary solutions should solve most of your problems.
Removing allergen: If your reaction is minor, washing out your allergen after a trip can relieve your symptoms. However, for frequent exposure it is still recommended to seek longer-term solutions, because allergies can develop or increase in severity spontaneously after repeated exposure to allergen.
Temporary solutions:
- OTC non-sedating antihistamines (recommended): A non-sedating over-the-counter antihistamine works well for a large percentage of people. Look for Alavert/Claritin or its generic equivalent (Loratadine). This will not make you drowsy because it minimally interacts with the central nervous system.
- OTC sedating antihistamines: If exposure is occasional, sedating antihistamines can also be used. These make you drowsy; in fact, they are sometimes outright sleep aids. The advantage is that for occasional use, for many people, they work over DAYS, and you can go to sleep with one, and be free of allergies for half of the week. Useful for short trips. Look for Benadryl or its generic equivalent (Diphenhydramine), or NyQuil and its generic equivalent (Doxylamine)
- Prescription antihistamines: your physician will prescribe you appropriate solutions if the above are not strong enough for you, or you experience side effects. Nasal antihistamines (Astelin) is an example. Allegra too.
Permanent solution:
- Medical treatment: For long-term, more permanent treatment, especially for very strong allergies, desensitization immunotherapy can permanently get rid of your allergies. You have to undergo allergen testing: this is usually done via skin tests (the patch test, the scratch test, or the prick test). After determining exactly what allergen you respond to, you are vaccinated with controlled amounts of the allergen to desensitize you to it, over a period of time (months to years). This is the best solution to allergies.
Addressing some things from the thread:
When washing out your nasal cavities (or any mucus membrane), you want to use an isotonic solution. Human body fluids are not just water; it contains small amounts of minerals with a certain osmotic pressure. Fresh water will just irritate your nose, just like fresh water irritates your eyes. To avoid this irritation, you need to mimic the osmotic pressure of human body fluids. The easiest is 0.9% salt, which can be prepared with about 1/3 oz of salt in a quart of water. Canning salt is just non-iodized salt, so it can be used without problems.
This is a waste of money. External sources of enzymes do little to nothing in the human body. "Enzyme supplements" are not new and have been churning out money for quacks for decades. "Leaky gut syndrome" is a well-known bulls*** diagnosis first seen in the early ninties.
Even if you give ALL the benefit of the doubt to this "alternative medicine", just the concept of "full-spectrum enzymes" taken orally - is fundamentally flawed. This is because the overwhelming majority of enzymes will be denatured and rendered useless once it hits stomach. Enzymes are proteins too, you know!
Imagine if orally taken enzymes can influence the human body. Humanity would be dead long ago due to foreign enzymes in uncooked meat!
Uh... might this clue you in to the fact that your relief of allergies were extremely unlikely to be related to your enzyme intake? As immunological glitches, allergies can develop spontaneously and stop spontaneously. Enzymes are chemical catalysts. They do not take years to work. You were conned, seriously. It's great that you are healthy, but $250 over the course of years is... more than a grand?
God, I hate medical quacks.
This is dangerous advice. Vaseline will only paralyze your nose hairs and cilia, leading to even more allergens being inhaled into the nasal cavities and lungs, possibly causing asthma. Inhaling petrolatum cannot be good for you either.
:thumbup::thumbup:
There is really nothing else I could I say. Especially about the medical quackery.
What many people fail to realize is that some people will get better no matter what you do to them. That doesn't imply that you found a "cure".
That is why double blind studies and statistical analysis are all the rage in real medicine.
KR
Well that explains alot for me anyway.. i would have a stuffed nose and cant breath sometimes... Also did wonder what would a bear think when he might hear me snore out in the mountains at night................ Or even worse what if there is Big Foot in the area????????? that just cant be good no matter how you slice or dice it ...........
Sasha
Sasha
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,246
Kr1 There is a huge amount of research on enzyme threrapy and I have had great results by adding in enzymes that my liver was not making. How did my pollen and stinging insect allergies just go away and at the same time? This was verfied by allergy tests and the suggestion was from an MD not an alternate med pratitioner.
There is plenty of research that has been done if anyone cares to read up on it. Prescriptions were not helping so I gave it a shot and it worked. Desperation has a way of making people try new things especially when there are no side affects.
I suppose not getting gas after eating chili and taking enzymes is just a placebo effect? $250 a year is not much for a treatment that yields long and short term benefits. Most people I know spend ten times that much just on coffee.
No offense but I have no intention of stopping something that is working great. I use a mix of western and alternative therapies, my only requirement is it has to work and be affordable. I have spent far more on prescriptions that did not work. How intelligent would it be to spend vast amounts of money on a useless RX?
I think most of us are old enough to make these decisions and if this is really a free country we would have total access to any safe treatment, drug or natural remedy.
Quakewatch is not a very good source for medical info. He is not a doctor and has had his pants sued off for his completely false info posted on his site which is run out of his basemement.
http://www.canlyme.com/quackwatch.html
http://www.humanticsfoundation.com/order.pdf
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/282560/court_victory_for_chiropractors_against.html
There is plenty of research that has been done if anyone cares to read up on it. Prescriptions were not helping so I gave it a shot and it worked. Desperation has a way of making people try new things especially when there are no side affects.
I suppose not getting gas after eating chili and taking enzymes is just a placebo effect? $250 a year is not much for a treatment that yields long and short term benefits. Most people I know spend ten times that much just on coffee.
No offense but I have no intention of stopping something that is working great. I use a mix of western and alternative therapies, my only requirement is it has to work and be affordable. I have spent far more on prescriptions that did not work. How intelligent would it be to spend vast amounts of money on a useless RX?
I think most of us are old enough to make these decisions and if this is really a free country we would have total access to any safe treatment, drug or natural remedy.
Quakewatch is not a very good source for medical info. He is not a doctor and has had his pants sued off for his completely false info posted on his site which is run out of his basemement.
http://www.canlyme.com/quackwatch.html
http://www.humanticsfoundation.com/order.pdf
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/282560/court_victory_for_chiropractors_against.html
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2006
- Messages
- 244
Sorry Sasha, been gone for a while.
Znode answer the question perfectly (and I will save the answer to review more closely later - good stuff in there
). The boiled water assures that it is clean and sterile, my father-in law uses bottle water but boiling is cheaper. Even regular tap water can have nasties living it, you don't want to squirt those nasties up into your nose where it's a perfect place to grow.
The salt and baking soda are to mimic the isotonic fluids of the body. I add extra salt at times because the higher concentration of salt will actually pull more fluid from the tissues of the sinus and decrease the swelling.
The canning salt is used because it does not have the additives (iodine) of table salt. My understanding was that baking soda is a buffer to bring the pH closer to the body's pH. Not sure if that is true or not.
Using petroleum jelly in the nose is a BAD idea. Thankfully I never got pneumonia when using it. A water based lubricant (K-Y) is a much better choice. Not sure if people would believe you are shoving it up your nose tho....
- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 10,117
Antihistamines help a lot. Get the generic 'Clariton' -- latoradine, I think -- at WalMart for about a quarter the price of Clariton.
I would not want you to stop your treatment for one second. My problem with this is what you are reporting is considered anecdotal not scientific. Without a real study (several unbiased studies actually) there is no way to know if what happened to you was because of the treatment or not. I know nothing about it. What I do know is that I would not start treatment without knowing that there is some justification for doing it. If anecdotal evidence from other people using themselves as a medicine beaker is good enough and you feel it is helping you then I agree. I mean if the treatment is a spoonful of honey a day then I would say what the heck, use it. If it was a spoonful of Mercury I'd have to reconsider it strongly. The thing that always worries me about some of the alternative medicines (I’m an EMT and deal with this often) is that many of these chemicals actually do have an effect on the body. They are sometimes used in conjunction with RX or OTC medications and that causes serious interactions sometimes. Then there are the other alternative “medicines” that have questionable effects or are downright dangerous. Also if you are taking one of the alternatives for some defect or disease then that probably means you are not getting a drug that has been through rounds of testing that prove that they are safe and effective. If you are an adult I have no problem with that other than I hope you are right but it certainly is your decision.
This obviously can get very complicated but are you saying you had tests that verified your liver was not making some enzymes? Or someone divined this based upon symptoms? Did they check after the treatment to verify that your liver enzyme study said that you were now making this enzyme? Even this is not proof. Several groups of people and a statistical change that would be considered to be relevant would make me a believer. And like I said one study is not enough. Several studies done by several unbiased groups would be the best. As far as the prescription not working, it happens. Usually there are alternatives.
Anyway, I’m first and foremost glad you have found something that works for you. Being miserable is no way to live.
Sorry for the OT. Not trying to start any fights.
KR
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,246
No worries! It seemed very wierd and unconventional when I first heard about to but desperation can really change a person's perspective.
The thread is about what works for some and what doesn't so I thought I would share what has worked for me. Having two bad allergies go away simultaneousely is not likely to be a placebo effect. My doc told me that the enzyme inbalance is not always the culprit but it is a very safe treatment to try and see what happens.
I did have labs done for my liver function and allergy tests (skin patch) done that confirmed a drastic reduction in allergen levels. After twelve years of allergy shots and numerous prescriptions that just did not work or had some nasty side affects I am just glad that I found something, anything that works and has continued to do so for six years.
At the time I had no medical insurance so I was paying some big bucks to go to docs and allergy specialists not to mention the prescription costs. So $250 seemed pretty reasonable and since then I have found a much less expensive full spectrum enzyme that works just as well. Within a few weeks of starting the program my peptic ulcers have also healed so I am just going to keep on trucking on with it.
It seemed very wierd and unconventional when I first heard about to but desperation can really change a person's perspective. The thread is about what works for some and what doesn't so I thought I would share what has worked for me. Having two bad allergies go away simultaneousely is not likely to be a placebo effect. My doc told me that the enzyme inbalance is not always the culprit but it is a very safe treatment to try and see what happens.
I did have labs done for my liver function and allergy tests (skin patch) done that confirmed a drastic reduction in allergen levels. After twelve years of allergy shots and numerous prescriptions that just did not work or had some nasty side affects I am just glad that I found something, anything that works and has continued to do so for six years.
At the time I had no medical insurance so I was paying some big bucks to go to docs and allergy specialists not to mention the prescription costs
. So $250 seemed pretty reasonable and since then I have found a much less expensive full spectrum enzyme that works just as well. Within a few weeks of starting the program my peptic ulcers have also healed so I am just going to keep on trucking on with it.