Showing posts with label pets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pets. Show all posts

Monday, 17 October 2011

Relapses of Allergy

Recently, the wife of a very good friend of mine came to see me again after she had a relapse of her abdominal bloatedness. She had the problem after her uterus was removed. It was obvious to me that after her operation, she was given a powerful dose of antibiotics and although that killed the bad bacteria that could cause problems, that also killed most of her good gut bacteria and promoted the growth of candida.

She was also found to have soya allergy and was asked to avoid yeast and sugar as they promote the growth of candida. Along with probiotics and her strict adherence to my instructions, her results were amazing.

She remained well for a number of years but unfortunately she had a very bad chest infection and she was given antibiotic and the whole problem started again. She is doing well again and hopefully will remain so.

Another similar case I saw a few weeks ago is a former military attache to the Singapore government. He had severe abdominal symptoms and went to see many gastroenterologists but he was not getting better. I tested him and found him to have yeast allergy as well as candidiasis. 
This guy has a really a very sweet tooth, so I duly advised him to refrain from sugars and yeast and guess what, I met him last night at a common good friends dinner and he is doing very well. 

This begs the question, "How long must one be on the drops or probiotics?" The answer is, it is difficult to know but if one is exposed to the allergen too quickly after 'getting better', the allergy returns.

Another case will illustrate my point:
A lady lawyer whom I saw many years ago with rather severe multiple allergies, loves cats and she has a number of them in her home. Her allergy has improved with treatment but she continues seeing me for her drops, antidotes for her cat allergy and though she has an occasional rash, it is never severe. 
                                                                                        
Allergy can relapse if the causes are activated.

And my learning continues..... 

Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Running Noses

Many people have been suffering from a running or stuffy nose for a very, very long time and have been on antihistamine or nasal sprays. A lot of sufferers have resigned themselves to the fact that they have to suffer such symptoms forever. 

They do not have to.

There are two main categories of causes:
  1. Temperature changes 
  2. Allergens in the atmosphere.


The culprits are usually due to house dust mites, moulds (airborne spores), pet dander, dust particles, smoke/smog, grass and plant pollen (the grass pollen in the east differ from those which cause seasonal rhinitis/runny nose in the west) and in my part of the world (Malaysia) I have found that joss sticks, mosquito repellents (coils or electric) can also cause this problem.          

Unlike food, airborne allergens are difficult to avoid totally. It is possible to desensitise the sufferer ageist the allergen by producing holistic drops which neutralise the effect of the allergen, thereby decreasing the sensitvity to the allergen.

There are also patients who get running nose by consuming coffee or tea, exposure to perfumes and even seafood but these causes are less common.

Most nasal allergy are caused by airborne allergens

My learning continues.......

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

Allergies in Infants

Allergy in infants is fascinating to me especially neonates (babies who are a few weeks old) as most of them are on breast milk and therefore the number of allergens they are exposed to in their diet are limited. 

I had a neonate who had a rash on his face. His father is a good friend of mine and his mother is a pharmacist (who has since introduced a lot of patients to me).
I thought the obvious culprit would be cows milk but on testing it was not. I then thought maybe it was the cream or soap they were using on him but the test also proved negative. The mysterious agent was soon confirmed when the father stated that they have just installed a drinking water filter of a particular brand when the child was born thinking the water would be better for him. I did my muscle testing and confirmed that it was indeed the water was the cause of the boys rash and by simply eliminating the filtered water, the rash would not come back. I was proven right; it didn't.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Another interesting case was the child was having a rash just below both his eyes one week after birth and muscle testing did not reveal a cause for the rash. I was puzzled as I had gone through every conceivable substance and food with no results, UNTIL I saw the pacifier the child had in his mouth. I tested that and it proved to be positive. That was when I discovered that silicon material nowadays used in milk bottle teats and pacifiers can be the cause of allergy of the face or around the mouth in infants. They do very well by switching to rubber teats and not using pacifier (which is not easy to do sometimes!).
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Other common allergy in infants is cow's milk or even soya milk allergy. Goat's milk allergy is rare but possible. House dust mite or mould (spores in the air) allergy causing infants to have a lot of phlegm resulting in disturbed sleep is not uncommon.

Diaper allergy causing rashes around the groin region is common and infants can have rashes as a result of paraben (a chemical) found in a lot of baby creams and lotions. Inhalants that cause nasal congestion or even wheezing also includes pets such as dogs, cats and even birds and hamsters. I had a child who was allergic to the white jasmine flowers which the indians use as prayer offerings. The list goes on and on.  

The Lesson: Allergy in infants can be caused by a myriad of agents

… and my learning continues.