Allergies
What are Allergies?
Allergens are anything foreign to the body that the body does not recognize, and in turn, your immune system attacks it. They present themselves in many different forms such as foods, medications, certain strains of bacteria, pollen, and even different animals. Especially here in Minnesota, with our four seasons, allergies are a major harassment for many.
Common symptoms:
- Nasal congestion
- Itchy and watery eyes
- Sneezing
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Scratchy or sore throat
- Throat clearing
- Cough from postnasal drip
- Headache
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Coughing
- Conjunctivitis
What Causes Allergies?
The single most powerful cause of allergies is the presence of toxins. Unfortunately, we live in a very toxic world. Pollution, household cleaners, heavy metals, and antibiotics – all of these things are toxic to our body. They promote a hyperactive immune system.
Another well documented reason for allergies is, The Hygiene Hypothesis
In our culture, we are very afraid of dirt and germs, but it turns out that we shouldn’t be so afraid of that. In 1989, David Strachan published an article in the BMJ that proposed something called, The Hygiene Hypothesis. He noticed that kids in large families or those who grow up in rural environments such as farms don’t have asthma and allergies as much as kids who are growing up in the city and without older siblings.
The Hygiene Hypothesis proposed that because of our modern ultra clean environments, we aren’t coming in contact with enough of the beneficial bacteria, fungi and good viruses in our gut especially in our childhood.
That is why in addition to toxins, another major cause of allergies is something called dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is the misbalance of the good and bad bacteria in our microbiome in the gut.
Common Allergy Treatment
The most popular treatment for allergies is medication or shots. These two approaches work very well in relieving some of the symptoms that people with allergies experience. However, they are not a long term solution, which means that pills and shots are an effective for those people who deal with only the occasional allergies. For those who deal with frequent allergies, other solutions may be beneficial. In addition to this, medications and shots have serious side effects. According to Dr. White, “Since runny eyes, irritation, redness, fullness in the sinuses and other allergy symptoms are caused by histamines, antihistamines are often prescribed to dry mucus membranes. However, antihistamines can cause serious heart problems and should not be used with alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers. More recently Canadian researcher Lorne Brandes, in an article published in the May 1994 journal of the National Cancer institute, has produced research showing that certain antihistamines (Claritin’”, Hismanal” and AtaraXT”) make cancerous tumors grow faster in lab rodents.”
How Vertical Chiropractic Health Center Helps with Your Allergies
Allergy relief through chiropractic care has been called “healthcare’s best kept secret.” The majority of people are surprised to hear that chiropractic is effective for millions of people who are struggling with allergies. The highly specific neurological based care that we provide at Vertical Chiropractic Health Center, takes stress off of the nervous system, which is turn permits the immune system to function more effectively. With a better functioning immune system your body is better able to recognize and deal with the allergens that cause your allergy symptoms.
Explore what drug-free, holistic chiropractic treatment can do to help you on your way to allergy relief 651-300-0205.
Call today to schedule your Initial Consultation 651.300.0205