Archive for the ‘Allergies’ Category

• (Русский) ОСЛОЖНЕНИЯ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА

  Date: 2010.10.28 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

• ALLERGIES: CHEMICAL SUSCEPTIBILITY

  Date: 2009.04.28 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  Nora Barnes came to me as a patient in 1947. Mrs. Barnes had been repeatedly diagnosed as a hypochondriac. No physician had been able to find the cause of her multiple symptoms and complaints.
  

  In childhood she had been the victim of widespread allergies and had frequent problems with runny nose, cold sores, and outbreaks of hives. These went away as she grew to adulthood but were soon replaced by fierce headaches— blinding pain which sent her running to her bed. She suffered from persistent fatigue, irritability, nervousness, and tension. She also had a cough, which eventually turned into bronchial asthma.
  

  At one time she had been employed as a cosmetics saleswoman. She noticed after a while that when she applied nail polish, her eyes would itch furiously. She soon had bags under her eyes, and the skin around them became red and inflamed. She applied make-up to hide this problem.
  

  By the time she came to see me, she was in a wretched condition. She had had to drive through the industrial belt of northern Indiana to reach my office, and as she approached the city limits of Chicago, she felt sicker than ever. In the city, she practically caused an accident when she swung out of traffic to escape from the exhaust fumes of a bus.
  

  Arriving at a hotel in Chicago’s downtown Loop district, she was practically incoherent when she called me on the telephone. By chance, the desk clerk gave her a room on the twenty-third floor. Soon she felt somewhat better and attempted to go downstairs and do some shopping. But she found that when she went into the lobby or onto any floor below the twentieth, her nausea, dizziness, and feelings of suffocation returned.
  

  She had had three experiences in which she had collapsed in a “drunken” stupor while driving her car. Only the fact that someone was in the passenger seat beside her prevented a serious accident. She often became ill while riding in the back seats of cars, but rarely in the front. Some cars, especially those with noisy mufflers, seemed worse than others.
  

  All of this was confusing, but the single most intriguing fact in her case was that her symptoms became progressively worse after July Fourth and did not get any better until after Christmas. Between New Year’s and Independence Day, she remained tolerably well, only to get miserably sick and “neurotic” again after the Fourth of July.
  

  One possible explanation of this could be hay fever, but there were no pollens in her state which were troublesome during that particular period. In the course of our conversation, however, Nora mentioned that she always went to a cabin in the woods for the summer—on July Fourth. Something in that cabin, I felt, might be responsible for these various symptoms. By testing samples from her home, it turned out the main culprit was the pine paneling of the cabin. Pine was also burned in the fireplace, and various pine scented materials were used in the house, including disinfectants. When all pine products were removed from the cabin her symptoms improved.
  

  Some time later, however, she and her husband went to a hunting lodge which had been heated by a fuel-oil stove. She began to cough and wheeze within a few minutes after entering the building, and became unconscious.
  

  She reported that the odor of her gas kitchen range made her feel sick, as did those of her gas-burning home utilities, sponge rubber padding, plastic upholstered furniture, rubber mattress and pillow, and beds whose mattresses were encased in plastic coverings. She was able to effect real improvement by simply removing all these items from her home and replacing them with less offensive substitutes. Her Christmas-time malaise was traced to the pine Christmas tree.
  

  The overall picture of Nora Barnes’ illness did not strike home until one blustery day, when a fierce storm threatened the Chicago area. All other patients had cancelled their appointments, but Mrs. Barnes came in, and together we reviewed over fifty typewritten pages of her record. Finally, a pattern emerged. Almost all her problems could be traced back to petrochemicals, combustion products, or man-made chemicals manufactured from petroleum. Nora Barnes was allergic or susceptible to a wide range of supposedly safe environmental agents. Her susceptibility to pine and pine products fit into this picture, too, since our current supply of hydrocarbon fuels is believed to be derived, ultimately, from a huge prehistoric pine forest, crushed beneath the earth.
  

  This theory led to new revelations in Mrs. Barnes’ case. By eliminating all plastics and chemicals from her life, she discovered that she could dramatically improve her health. Food stored in glass, for instance, could be eaten, but the same food stored in plastic containers made her sick.
  

  A drink of creme de menthe invariably made her sick—in fact, she passed out on several occasions when trying to drink it. She now found out why: she was incredibly sensitive to all artificial food colorings and so she avoided not only this green liqueur, but also maraschino cherries, mint sauce, frankfurters, and similar products (see list, Chapter 4).
  

  She noticed that canned tomatoes made her sick, but that she was able to eat tomatoes from her own garden. The problem was traced to the lining of the tin cans in which the commercial food was packed. Also, foods sprayed with insecticide would bring on headaches, whereas unsprayed food would not. She found that she could eat beef raised on a neighbor’s farm but not commercially raised beef, which had been fed pesticide-treated feeds and sprayed for fly control.
  

  The case of Nora Barnes provided a new perspective on medical practice. It soon became apparent that she was not alone, that many of the patients seen by physicians with similarly peculiar and multiple symptoms were actually suffering from allergies to synthetic chemicals. These people were not born this way. They acquired a high susceptibility because of constant, day-in and day-out exposure to chemicals, especially in the period since World War Two.
  

  Almost inevitably, their susceptibility to chemicals intermingled with food allergies, to form an overall picture of environmental illness. These patients were reacting to foreign substances which are known to be toxic (poisonous). But it had always been assumed that reactions of toxicity occurred at much higher levels of exposure. These “chemical patients” reacted to minute amounts of contamination, which doctors until then had not considered problematic.
  

  The full clinical implications of the chemical susceptibility problem developed over a number of years. As this environmentally oriented medical problem emerged, each new patient revealed some aspect or feature of this condition not previously appreciated. Full realization of the two most important sources of chemical pollution of the environment, namely, the contribution of gas utilities to indoor air pollution and the crucial roles of pesticide exposures in both indoor and outdoor (ambient) air pollution, did not become clear until Ellen Sanders came to me as a patient in early 1953.
  

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• APPENDIX VIII\BRONCHODILATORS: ? 2-ADRENOCEPTOR AGONISTS

  Date: 2009.04.20 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  These are drugs which make the bronchial muscles relax, and are therefore useful in asthma. There are three types of bronchodilators: |32-adrenoceptor agonists, xanthines and anticholinergics.
  

  ? 2-adrenoceptor agonists
  

  Antagonists are drugs such as antihistamines which bind to receptors and block the effect of the natural messenger (eg histamine) that normally binds to the receptor. Agonists have the opposite effect. They bind to receptors and stimulate the cell, in the same way that the natural messenger would – in other words, they mimic the effects of that natural messenger.
  

  The (32-adrenoceptor agonists mimic the effects of adrenaline on the bronchial muscles, by binding to receptors for adrenaline. These are called (52 adrenoceptors, hence the name of the drugs. They include salbutamol (Ventolin,
  

  Ventodisks, Volmax, Cobutolin, Salbulin, Salbuvent, Asmaven, Aerolin-Auto), terbutaline (Bricanyl, Monovent), fenoterol (Berotec), pirbuterol (Exirel), reproterol (Bronchodil), rimiterol (Pulmadil). Sometimes such drugs are combined with corticosteroids (see below), as in Ventide, which contains salbutamol.
  

  Of all the bronchodilators, these drugs have the most specific effects on the bronchi. They are now preferred to isoprenaline (Iso-Autohaler and Medihaler-Iso) which has a less specific effect, and tends to combine with adrenaline receptors in the heart muscles as well as those in the bronchi, sometimes causing irregular heartbeat, flushing and headaches. Isoprenaline is combined with a sympathomimetic, phenylephrine in Duo-Autohaler and Medihaler-Duo. ,
  

  Isdetharine (Numotac) is another nonspecific 6-agonist. It is combined with phenylephrine in Bronchilator.Orciprenaline (Alupent) is a drug of the same type that is partially selective for bronchial muscles, and has similar side-effects.
  

  Side-effects can also occur with the specific p2-adrenoceptor agonists, such as salbutamol, although they are generally less of a problem. They include tremor, nervous tension, headache, flushing and dry mouth. Taking the drugs from an inhaler reduces the side-effects by targeting the drug on the bronchi – this allows a much lower dose to be used than if the drugs were taken by mouth.
  

  The effects of these drugs lasts for up to six hours, and the timing of doses should be geared to the patient’s needs. Learning how to operate the inhaler properly is very important, as the drug can be ineffective if the inhaler is misused.
  

  Even if they are used at quite high doses over long periods of time there seem to be no serious ill-effects with these drugs. On the other hand, they do not reduce the sensitivity of the bronchi, as sodium cromoglycate does, so once they are discontinued their beneficial effects cease. A combination of the two drugs is sometimes used.
  

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• THE ELIMINATION DIET: JANET’S STORY

  Date: 2009.04.20 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  Janet was 40 years old and had been ill in various ways since she was twelve, with rhinitis, severe migraine, urinary problems and pain in the region of her kidneys. During her thirties she had also developed depression which had led to two suicide attempts and resulted in electroconvulsive therapy. Over the past six years she had made over 100 visits to her family doctor, spent 63 days in hospital, visited outpatients 49 times and taken 34 courses of drugs.
  

  Janet was then tried on an elimination diet which excluded all commonly eaten foods. This provoked the
  

  worst migraine she had ever experienced at first, but then left her feeling a great deal better. On testing, a glass of milk produced sneezing, rhinitis and headache, whereas wheat left her depressed with a severe migraine. Eggs produced a headache, nausea and pain around the kidneys. Eating maize resulted in nausea and fatigue. By avoiding these four foods, Janet has remained very well. In the six years since her treatment she has visited her doctor five times, spent only two days in hospital and not required any drugs – a striking contrast to her previous six years.
  

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• THE FINAL STEP OF ELIMINATION DIET

  Date: 2009.04.20 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  The final step takes us to the least rigorous form of elimination diet, in which most fruits, vegetables, fish and meats are allowed, but wheat and other cereals, milk, eggs and other common offenders are excluded. This diet is quite good enough for many people, but those with multiple sensitivities tend to slip through the net because they are still eating some foods which cause symptoms.
  

  One other form of elimination diet should be mentioned here. This uses elemental diets during the exclusion phase, rather than any foods. Elemental diets are made from various ordinary foods, but these are treated to break down the food molecules into smaller pieces. They are similar to the hydrolysate formulas used for babies who are sensitive to cow’s milk but they are designed to be eaten – or rather drunk – by adults. In theory, the molecules that remain in the elemental diet are too small to cause any allergic reactions or other problems. In practice, some people with established food sensitivity do react to them, because the fragments of molecules they contain are too reminiscent of the original molecules. For many people, however, they are very effective.
  

  Various drawbacks are associated with elemental diets. Firstly they taste dreadful. Secondly they are very expensive – the cost of living on them and nothing else is about £20 per day. Although they are available on the National Health, they are classified as ‘borderline substances’ which means that they can only be prescribed for certain named illnesses – suspected food sensitivity is not one of these. The elemental diet that most doctors prefer to use is Vivo-nex, and this is only available on prescription. Another form of elemental diet, Elemental 028, is available without prescription, but this contains sugar (sucrose) to which some people are sensitive. Nevertheless, it might be useful as a last resort for someone who is intolerant of a great many foods and has therefore not succeeded with an elimination diet. You should not try out an elemental diet without the help and advice of your doctor.
  

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• HOW TO TREAT HYPERKINETIC SYNDROME: THE TIMING OF RESPONSES IN THE DIET VARIES

  Date: 2009.04.20 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  The timing of responses in the diet varies. Most children recover within a week or two on the initial stages of the diet, but others take up to three weeks. Foods should only be tested once there is a noticeable and sustained improvement. If this does not occur, then revert to the normal diet and consider other options. It may be that your child has chemical sensitivities – reading Chapter Nine should help you to assess this possibility. Be prepared to reconsider the likelihood of emotional stresses and strains.
  

  The procedure for testing foods is slightly different for hyperkinetic syndrome. Although a few may take up to a week of daily feeding with the culprit food before they respond, this is probably fairly unusual. The response time for most is between 15 minutes and four hours. Reintroduced foods should be fed in the morning, and again in the afternoon, if there was no reaction, or only a slight reaction, to the first feeding. A normal-sized portion should be eaten, except in children who have asthma or urticaria, where a very small amount should be tried first, in case there is a severe reaction. If, by the morning after, there is no reaction to the food, then it can be incorporated into the diet, and testing begun on a new food. As always, in an elimination diet, it is important not to eat too much of any one food.
  

  Assuming the diet is effective, and you discover what foods or additives cause the problems, then you have to decide on a plan of action. Again, you should discuss this with your doctor. Avoiding the foods in question may be quite difficult, especially at school or with friends, and you may wish to reconsider other options, especially if your child is not affected all that severely or if he reacts to a great many foods. Drugs are one option, and you should discuss the pros and cons of these with your doctor. Another, more controversial form of treatment, is neutralization therapy. Although this is not accepted widely among the medical profession, there are many reports of it being used successfully for the treatment of hyperactive children. If you decide on avoidance of the food, bear in mind that the child’s sensitivity may disappear in time. The culprit foods should be retested at one- or two-yearly intervals, to see if they still produce the same symptoms.
  

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• IGE AND MAST CELLS

  Date: 2009.04.20 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  IgE molecules are just as specific for their antigen as other antibody isotypes but they operate in a rather different way. Their main function is to defend the body against parasites such as ringworms and flukes – these are much larger than bacteria and viruses so the body has different strategies for killing them. In the tropics, where parasites are common, quite high levels of IgE may be found even in non-allergic people. Cooler conditions are not as favourable to parasites and they are far less of a health problem – in non-allergic people living in temperate climates, the level of IgE is usually very low.
  

  Like other antibodies, IgE molecules are produced by B cells. But once they have been produced, the IgE molecules behave difference from most other antibodies in that they attach themselves to mast cells and basophils. These two types of cell look slightly different under the microscope, and whereas basophils are found floating in the blood, mast cells are embedded in the solid tissues of the body. Mast cells are better known and understood, so we will conveniently ignore the basophils from here onwards: the two types of cell probably work in much the same way.
  

  Although the stem of the IgE molecule is attached to the mast cell, the antigen-binding sites are still free. So when the right, antigen comes along, it will bind to the IgE molecules. This is the signal the mast cell has been waiting for. Packets of chemicals inside the cell are suddenly released to the outside, where they act as messengers, causing major changes in the cells and tissues around them.
  

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• CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY; BASIC AVOIDANCE MEASURES

  Date: 2009.03.30 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  If you have just been diagnosed as chemically sensitive, or have just come through one of the elimination programmes just described, you are probably feeling very unnerved by what you have discovered, wondering how you will cope.
  

  Take heart, it is not as bad as it seems. It is perfectly possible to live with even very severe sensitivity and to function quite happily in everyday life, if you take precautions and follow some basic guidelines. You are not sentenced to a prison cut off from ordinary life. There will inevitably be things in your life that have to change, and you may well have to give up some things that you cherish, but you will not have to become a hermit, remote from the world.
  

  There are no really effective treatments for chemical sensitivity and allergy. Neutralisation therapy can work for some people , and some people find that complementary therapies help. Taking high doses of vitamins and minerals can also help. The only thing that is consistently of any benefit is avoiding chemicals and eliminating them from your environment as far as you can.
  

  Your basic precautions for coping with chemicals are to:
  

  • Manage your load
  

  • Air things when new
  

  • Take care when things get warm
  

  • Avoid fumes
  

  • Think twice before using chemicals
  

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• ALLERGY TO BUILDING AND DECORATING MATERIALS: ROT TREATMENTS

  Date: 2009.03.30 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  Treatments for dry and wet rot are usually composed of a fungicide, dissolved in an organic solvent. Timber treatments often contain an insecticide as well. Treatments for dry rot on brick and stonework contain a fungicide, or sometimes bleach. The fungicides used are unpleasant toxic chemicals, including phenols and tributyltin, and they, plus the solvents used, can cause persistent sensitivity. Avoid them if you possibly can.
  

  Treatments of this kind are usually sprayed or applied on site. If you absolutely have to use them, make sure you are not around while they are being used, and air the building well, if necessary staying somewhere else for some time before returning.
  

  Use alternatives wherever possible. Timbers affected by rot can often be cut out and replaced with timber treated in advance. Ask for timber which has been vacuum-impregnated with salts of copper, chromium and arsenic, and ask for it to be aired for some time before use. These are toxic salts which are forced into the timber through vacuum treatment. These salts do not cause sensitivity over the life of the building. This treatment is available from all major rot treatment firms and is accepted by building societies to meet conditions of mortgage. Timber of this type can also be used for fencing, doors, window frames and other external timber applications.
  

  Some hardwood timbers are more resistant to rot than softwoods such as pine. Use a resistant hardwood if you can, although they are more expensive and now less available because of concerns over rainforest depletion. The choices include greenheart, iroko, cedar, padauk, white oak, teak and hickory.
  

  If you cannot cut out timber and replace it, and need to apply something on site, use Boric Salt powder which again is solvent-free and fume-free, although it is toxic and needs handling carefully. It will not cause sensitivity, but can irritate on use. This is available from Livos and from The Healthy House.
  

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• WHAT CAN I DO FOR MY ALLERGY? OTHER FILTER SYSTEMS

  Date: 2009.03.30 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  For an office building or work environment, you can build in air filters, either in air conditioning systems, or into individual rooms. Consult an architect or air conditioning engineer. Air Improvement Centre and Beta-Plus can also advise on systems for workplaces.
  

  Icleen produce filters that fit or stand over heaters or radiators. They work by filtering out particles or fumes in the air rising up from the heaters. The filters are constructed of a fabric web in a metal frame. They only function when a heater is working, but they use no electricity, make no noise and are particularly effective against particles circulating in convection currents. The filter frames can be adapted to use for storage heaters, convectors, and desktop use, such as computers. They can be wall-mounted or free-standing, and are not conspicuous.
  

  These niters are less effective than an air filter that recirculates room atmosphere constantly, and they may have limited effectiveness against chemicals. But their other advantages may outweigh these drawbacks, and reports have said that they do make some difference. Current prices quoted are £35 per metre fitted. Replacement fabric filters cost £10 per metre – renewable once or twice a year, dependent on use.
  

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• ALLERGY: WHAT ARE HOUSE DUST MITES?

  Date: 2009.03.30 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  House dust mites live on the debris of human environments, and on other small living organisms. They do not cause harm directly to humans, apart from being a potential allergen. The species of mite particularly associated with allergy in the UK is called Dermatophagoides pteronyssimus. Dermatophagoides means ‘skin-eating’ and, in common with other mites, house dust mites feed especially on human skin scales. Humans shed on average up to one gram of skin scales a day -enough to feed many mites for months and these fall and collect around where humans live. House dust mites also feed on animal skin scales, and on micro-organisms such as moulds, bacteria and viruses.
  

  Having house dust mites in your environment is not a sign of dirty or insanitary conditions, nor of slovenly or poor housekeeping. They need a particular ecology to survive and human environments provide the best conditions for them. House dust mites thrive where food supply is plentiful, and where the environment is moist, warm and dark. They like ideally a moisture level of 80 per cent relative humidity and a temperature of about 25°C (77°F). For humidity year round, the UK is ideal for them; and for temperature, many warm, dark places indoors such as unaired beds, duvets, chairs and carpets, are also well suited.
  

  They are present all year round and hence are responsible for many cases of perennial rhinitis or other year-round symptoms. Their presence can increase when the weather is very damp and, like mould allergy (>MOULDS), allergy to house dust mites often gets worse in damp weather.
  

  They can be found in very high densities where the environment is favourable to them. Up to thousands have been measured in one gram of surface dust. It is their droppings – their faecal pellets – that cause most problems with allergic reactions, although some people are allergic to debris of the mites themselves. The faecal pellets remain even when the mites themselves move on or die, so dust, bedding or pieces of furniture can continue to cause problems even if you kill the mites.
  

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• THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF ALLERGY

  Date: 2009.03.30 | Category: Allergies | Response: 0

  Inhalants
  

  Allergy to inhalants, particles you can inhale, is usually clearly identified by skin and blood tests. The IgE mechanism appears to be principally responsible for such reactions.
  

  Foods
  

  Food allergy is perhaps less common than most people believe, since many cases of reaction to foods are food intolerance, rather than true allergy. Allergy to foods, rather than intolerance, will show positive results to skin and blood tests. You are likely to react whenever you eat a food to which you are allergic, even if you have not eaten it for a very long time; and you are more likely to have an immediate reaction, even to a small or tiny amount of the food. You may also be able to remember a precise date or occasion when you first reacted to a food. Food intolerance has a different pattern of reaction, and different symptoms (see page 20).
  

  Table 1: The Most Common Causes of Allergy
  

  INHALANTS
  House dust mites

  Animal and pet hair

  Mould spores

  Pollens

  Feathers

  Wools

  Dusts at work
  FOODS
  Cow’s milk, butter, cheese, yogurt

  Eggs

  Wheat

  Yeast

  Oranges, lemons, grapefruit, satsumas

  Nuts

  Beans, pulses, soya products
  CHEMICALS
  Formaldehyde

  Perfumes and fragrances

  Paraphenylenediamine (PPDA)

  Rubber

  Phenols and cresols
  METALS
  Nickel

  Chromates
  Chemicals and metals
  

  Allergy to chemicals and metals is sometimes very hard to distinguish from chemical sensitivity. In allergic contact dermatitis, where reactions are often delayed, positive results from patch tests on skin can often establish that an allergic reaction is involved. However, in many cases of asthma, eczema and dermatitis, tests are inconclusive and the dividing line between allergy and sensitivity is unclear.
  

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