Allergy Relief Expert

Juice Fasting Helps Allergies

Juice fasting is extremely helpful if you have allergies or asthma. Your lungs, as well as your entire respiratory tract are vitally important elimination organs for removing toxins. Fasting often removes many of the irritants and toxins that trigger airway activity.

Allergies from airborne and food usually improve during a fast. This is because of the close connections between allergies and intestinal permeability and liver toxicity.

Fasting gives the digestive tract time to rest and repair. It also helps the liver detoxify. Allergic symptoms are improved and sometimes completely disappear. However, it’s important to be sure that you are not allergic to any of the juices you’ll be consuming. Keep a food dairy while you’re on the fast. Use it to help you avoid any juices that may trigger allergic symptoms or symptoms of asthma. You may have food allergy testing or simply follow the blood-type diet as discussed in the book Eat Right 4 Your Type.

The fasting method I recommend for complete detoxification is juice fasting. For this type of fast, you will need lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and a juicer or heavy duty blender.  Juice fasting verses other forms of fasting can provide the nutrients, amino acids and fuel that your liver requires to detoxify. Juice fasting keeps your colon in the game as compared to water fasting which shuts down your colon.

Medical Source: Don Colbert, M.D. Excerpted from his book; Toxic Relief

The benfits of juicing – lose weight, gain more energy, get healthier

How to avoid nickel dermatitis

We used to find it in our five-centpieces, but now it seems to pop up everywhere else. And for many people it leaves pain and irritation in its path. “It” is the metal nickel. And although it is no longer used to make a five-cent money piece, nickel is present in many household articles, such as jewelry, cooking utensils, glass dyes, ceramics, batteries and magnets.
Nickel is even found in some food products because of the nickel found in fungicides and in the equipment used in food processing and packaging. The problem with nickel is that it can cause an allergic skin reaction known as “nickel dermatitis.” Now, just like not everyone is allergic to bees, not everyone is allergic to nickel.

But for those who are, simple skin contact with nickel can cause a skin lesion that is red, swollen and blistered. The skin lesion may go on to become discolored and leathery. The skin cells involved in the lesion become dry, itchy and bark-like.
In some people, the skin reaction then progresses to become a hives-like reaction, with red bumps that have crusty tops on them. The bumps are ugly, itchy and irritating.
Women suffer from nickel dermatitis more often than men. Women seem to get the aggravating skin problem because of their contact with household articles, whereas men seem to come in contact with nickel at work in industrial settings. The best way to avoid getting nickel dermatitis is to avoid coming in contact with nickel.

How do I avoid nickel products?

Since, a lot of my jewelry and cooking utensils contain the metal nickel!

Simple tips on how to avoid skin contact with nickel:

• Try coating any nickel-containing jewelry with clear nail polish.
• Replace buttons that contain nickel with brass, wooden or plastic buttons.
• Consider replacing your nickel-containing kitchen utensils with stainless steel utensils.
• If you are getting your ears pierced, avoid anything except stainless steel needles and posts.
• After your ears are first pierced, leave the stainless steel posts in your ears for about three weeks to make sure your ears have healed completely. Then try different earring posts to see which ones you might react to.
• Even gold earring posts occasionally contain nickel, so be sure to test all your jewelry around the house before wearing it out to a fancy occasion.
• If you work m an industrial setting where you might be exposed to nickel, wear protective clothing like long pants and sleeves and heavy-duty vinyl gloves.
Although you probably can’t avoid nickel 100 percent of the time, following these simple tips will help decrease your exposure to nickel and cut down on your problems with nickel dermatitis.

Related Post: Jewelry Allergy.

MEDICAL SOURCE: Cutis (45,2:87)

Nickel Allergies

Formaldehyde is the chemical that has received much press in recent years and is referred to as being responsible for the term ‘mobile home syndrome’.  It is widely used in a multitude of consumer products such as household cleaners, laundry detergents, glues, adhesives, shampoos and soaps.  It is also a good preservative and makes an excellent adhesive and is widely used in the carpet and furnishings industries. It is even commonly used in the auto industry and is believed to be in certain foam and adhesive products.

Formaldehyde Sensitivities

Most people are sensitive to formaldehyde and many of those can have an allergic reaction when they are exposed to it.  Formaldehyde is like many chemicals, symptoms from exposure will get progressively worse the longer these people are in its presence.

Particle board is the most common product which is known to contain formaldehyde and is in the adhesive which holds the board together. Over time many of these products will break down and dry out, thusly releasing the formaldehyde. Many particleboard and carpeting manufacturers are marketed as ‘reduced formaldehyde’ products and may still have other aldehydes in the product which may still cause adverse reactions.

Dangers of Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is considered to be a suspected carcinogen and has also been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals and. Health effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing,  fatigue, skin rashes and severe allergic reactions.

Here are a few tips to help you minimize your exposure to formaldehyde:

• Limit the use of particlewood products, such as pressboard and plywood.  Choose 100% wood products instead.
• Insist on formaldehyde-free carpets, not reduced-formaldehyde since new carpets may outgas formaldehyde vapors for years to come.  Note: Carpet outgassing does not work, only time will allow the chemical to fully vaporize from the carpet according to humidity levels.
• Don’t smoke indoors. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) contains formaldehyde thousands of other chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic (cancer causing)
• Wash all permanent press clothes before waering or storing. Remove plastic bags from all dry-cleaned clothes and air them out outdoors, when possible.
• Ventilate; The solution to pollution is dilution!

About the author:

John A. Daniels is a certified home inspector in Cleveland OH.

ALS Linked to Formaldehyde Exposure

Skin rashes are a common skin discomfort which causes small red spots, redness and itching. It can happen anywhere on your skin – your face, hands or legs.

Using personal care products such as skin cleanser, toner, scrub, mask, moisturizer or skin may cause an allergic reaction.  No matter if you’re using chemical based or natural herbal product, if your skin cannot cope or accept a particular ingredient, your skin may break out. Some people may be allergic to essential oils, including the most expensive and brand-care products.

Switching products for skin care (different brands) too often in a short period of time say within a month or two, can also cause irritation and sometimes rash on the face. Case in point; Roberta tries many different skin care products and had severe skin eruptions as a result. Just before her skin could adjust to the current brand, she decided to try new ones. Finally, the skin could not take it and started showing signs of eruptions.

When trying new products, try to do a skin test and wait a day or so. Switch to a brand new one only when necessary because of changes in the skin, most importantly after 6-8 months of using the same skin care brand. Do not be tempted to try new products for care skin after viewing TV ads. If you want to, get some samples and try it in the neck or hands.

Old makeup products, as foundation, concealer, lipstick, rouge, eyeliner, mascara or eye shadow can cause skin rashes. Beware of make up tools like brushes dirty dirty comb. Try not to keep your brand more than 6 months in hot and humid area, and the area of dry cold weather, keep it up to about a year after the expiration deadline, but no more.

To allow your make up to last longer, keep the product clean and fresh at all times. Clean the sides and corners bottles, tubes or containers after use each time to avoid any contamination.

Do not allow certain products chemicals such as laundry detergent, dish washing liquid or other cleaning chemicals to smear on the facial skin. Some of these substances can be too strong for facial skin resulting in skin eruptions. Hair shampoo can also cause skin problems. When washing your hair, please make sure that shampoo for hair does not flow through the area of the face. Chemicals for construction can be detrimental to your facial skin too – cement, paint, shellac thinner. Avoid placing your face close to these chemicals.

Always keep your hands clean before touching your face. The bacteria on the hands can cause acne and even skin irritation. Keep your pillows, mattress and bed clean, otherwise the mites may end up disturbing the upper layer of the skin and cause rashes on the face and entire body. Face and bath towel should be kept clean at all times to prevent skin problems too.

Related Posts: Makeup Allergy Test, Perfume Allergies, Antiperspirant Allergies and Fragrance Allergies.

About the Author: Juliet Cohen writes articles for the Beauty Makeup Blog.

Makeup Tips for Skin Allergies

For some people, a glass of red wine is an invitation to a roaring headache. After a few episodes of headache and queasiness, those who suffer them may banish wine from their tables for life. The symptoms are part of a syndrome known as Red Wine Headache, or RWH.

Red Wine Headache

“The red wine headache is a real if poorly understood phenomenon,” says an article in the June issue of the Harvard Health Letter. That is a masterpiece of understatement. There are many theories about what causes the syndrome, but few facts. Dr. Fred Freitag, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, said no one really knows what leads a patient to develop this type of headache.

It may be caused by “compounds found in grape skins. They are either naturally occurring or produced through fermentation,” Dr. Freitag said. He would postulate no further. “It’s not as if there are hundreds of thousands of dollars for funding” studies to determine the cause, Dr. Freitag said. There is actually a stigma to studying the subject. “I’ve entertained the idea of looking for grants to study this and I’ve been told, ‘Don’t go there, it’s bad P.R.,’” Dr. Freitag said. Bad publicity comes to those who would study drinking? Carry Nation is with us yet.

A sulfite allergy used to take the blame for RWH. About 20 years ago the Food and Drug Administration determined that about 1 percent of the population is allergic to sulfites and required that wines containing certain levels of the compound be labeled “contains sulfites.” Many people have assumed, incorrectly, that the labeling is designed to warn people who get a red wine headache. [In fact, sulfite sensitivity is a true allergy. Sufferers experience an allergic reaction, but not a headache. RWH is something else.]

Scientists have pointed out, however, that many sweet white wines contain more sulfites than red wines — yet do not cause headaches in those who suffer from RWH Additionally, dried fruits usually contain sulfites but you never hear of dried fruit headaches. Sulfites can cause an allergic reaction [breathing problems], Dr. Freitag said, but they give headaches only to asthmatics.

Other experts think tannins are at the root of the headaches. Tannins are the flavonoids in wine that set one’s mouth to puckering. The Harvard Health Letter notes several well-controlled experiments showing that tannins cause the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. High levels of serotonin can cause headaches and that may happen in people who also suffer from migraine headaches. But that does not explain why people who do not get migraines get RWH. Dr. Marion Nestle, chairwoman of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU, added that no one complains about tea, soy, or chocolate headaches — though all contain tannins.

A third school of thought blames histamines. Histamines are 20 – 200% higher in red wine than in white, and those who are allergic to them are deficient in a certain enzyme. Some experts believe that the combination of alcohol and that deficiency can cause the headaches. But a study of 16 people with an intolerance to wine, reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Feb 2001) found no difference in reactions to low- and high-histamine wines.

A fourth suggestion is that prostaglandins — substances that contribute to pain and swelling — may cause RWH. [More on this next month!] Yet for most people who suffer from RWH, the hypotheses are irrelevant. They want to know what to do about the problem. Some Web sites suggest prevention: for histamine sensitivity, pop a non-sedating antihistamine like Claritin or take an aspirin to stop production of prostaglandins.

In 1981 Herbert Kaufman, M.D., reported that the prophylactic ingestion of aspirin prevented the red wine headache syndrome, RWH, (Lancet 1981; 1: 1263). He also noted that once RWH begins, aspirin has little or no effect in altering the headache.

Related Posts: Sulphur Allergy and Beer Allergies

By Marian Burros of Beekmans Wines & Liquors of Glen Rock, NJ. Their web site is: www.beekmanwine.com

Allergies to Wine

Perfumes are used everyday by millions of people in thousands of countries around the world and is one of the broadest selling products. However, there are many people who can have serious allergic reactions to the fragrances used in them. More time than not, people who are sensitive to fragrances have been diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

Symptoms of a perfume allergy include difficultly breathing, skin rashes and has been known to cause asthma in people who are not necessarily an chronic asthma sufferer. Toddlers and young children are even more vulnerable to chemicals, as are people who are recovering from cancer and other illnesses.

Fragrances are actually chemicals and can be found in perfume and cologne which like other chemicals, may cause allergic reactions to those who have a sensitivity to them. A alcohol-based chemical is normally used as a base of the perfume. There are over 2500 fragrances used in perfume with about 105 are believed to cause an allergic reaction in humans. About 25 of these fragrances are used frequently and 12-15 are used very frequently in the more common and cheaper brands of perfume. In addition to perfume, chemical fragrances are also present in most laundry detergents, fabric softeners, anti-cling products, dish-washing liquids, disinfectants, soaps, shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, aftershaves, incense and analgesic creams. Even products which are marked as “unscented”  may actually contain toxic fragrances.

Related Posts: Fragrance Allergies, Perfume Allergies, Makeup Allergy Test and Makeup Allergy.

About the author:

Angelica Alexander is a sales representative for a national perfume and cologne distributor in New York.

Picking Perfume : Testing Perfume Skin Allergies

DIY Makeup Allergy Test

There are many skin symptoms attributed to other causes which are actually allergic responses to chemicals found in everyday products. If you often have rashes or other skin problems, they may be an allergic response to cosmetics, soaps or even laundry detergents.

Here’s how to identify the source of the problem without the expense of seeing a doctor. Use an unexposed area of your skin like your back (you will need assistance) or your arm (cover with a soft, long sleeved shirt). Make sure your skin is clean and dry.

Apply a small amount of the suspected allergy-causing substance to your skin and cover with a square of surgical gauze, followed by a bandage or surgical adhesive.

If the test substance is dry such as face powder or solid makeup, put a tiny amount of it in some mineral oil and apply that to your skin. Keep the test patch on your skin for 24 to 48 hours and watch for an allergic reaction to develop.

Once you find out what substance or substances are setting off your allergic response, you’ll know what to avoid.

Related Post: Makeup Allergy

Source: Allergy Secrets and You Newsletter

Makeup Tips for Skin Allergies

Controlling allergies is a huge subject that is always under scrutiny by the millions of allergy sufferers who wake up daily with this chronic condition.

Here are some important allergy control tips:

1. Try to figure out what you are allergic to: pollen, grass, hay, dust, house mites, etc. Then try to stay away from the things that trigger your symptoms. You’ll probably never be able to completely get away from them, but you can try and minimize your exposure.
2. If your allergens (the things you are allergic to) are located outside (pollen, grass, etc.), then stay inside as much as you can during the seasons that disturb you the most (early spring, etc.). Keep your doors and windows closed and run the air conditioner. If possible, put an air filter system on your air conditioner so that it filters dust and pollen from the air as it cools it. Also try using a dehumidifying machine if your climate is very humid. A cool, low-humidity environment also helps prevent dust mites (a common allergen) from growing. The cool air also helps prevent household molds from growing (many people are allergic to molds).
3. Always use your air conditioner in your car, and avoid riding with the windows down or in a convertible.
4. Keep your pets outdoors as much as possible. If you allow them inside, keep them from getting on the furniture and going into your bedroom.

Medical Source: U.S. Pharmacist (17,7:38)

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Nose Woes – Tips for Allergy Sufferers

Sometimes a feeling of uneasiness and discomfort occurs immediately after a meal. It is often thought that the result of a food allergy. In most cases, however, this feeling of discomfort is the result of the intolerance of some foods rather than food allergy. The difference in food intolerance and allergy is mainly realized through the difference in time scale and severity of symptoms.

To understand and diagnose the difference between the two is important Knowing the symptoms of food allergy that affects far more serious patients. Symptoms of food intolerance can manifest within hours or even a day later. In the case of allergies, the onset is immediate and generally within an hour. Food allergy occurs when the immune system achieves a protein food incorrectly, leading to an overreaction by the body and the production of certain chemicals.

Some of the key symptoms that occur for food allergy are:

1. Skin rashes and itching
2. Severe diarrhea and vomiting
3. Stomach cramps
4. Swelling skin especially in areas of procurement, such as the eyelids, lips and inside the mouth
5. A runny nose and blocked nasal passages
6. Inflammation throat, trachea and larynx
7. Headaches
8. Fatigue and dizziness
9. Joint pain
10. Hives

These are foods most common allergy symptoms that affect most adults, and it is important to visit a medical professional as soon as you experience any of these signs. In cases of food intolerance smaller degrees of similar symptoms may occur but usually disappear after a short time. In the cases of food allergies these symptoms even more pronounced and severe, and may also lead to severe breathing problems or diarrhea. Food intolerance regular like lactose intolerance is manifest even when a person has consumed dairy products and the results of bloating, gas, vomiting or diarrhea.

It is important to identify the allergen in question is causing the food allergy so that it can be avoided in future. These symptoms should be identified immediately as delayed treatment can lead to malfunctioning of the internal systems. Some things must be considered as check food labels when buying food or checking with the waiter at the restaurant about ingredients used to prepare a plate. Some patients are so vulnerable that doctors even advise them to carry self-injectable epinephrine, which helps during sudden allergic.

Related Posts: Candida Allergies, Shellfish Allergies and Yeast Allergies.

Source: For over 20 years, the ALCAT Test has provided both patients as well as healthcare professionals with a tool to successfully overcome a wide variety of conditions which result from chemical sensitivity and food intolerance. Their site is: www.alcat.com.

Food Allergies:A Personal Story

Millions of people are familiar with the stuffiness and painful pressure of sinusitis, one of the most common chronic ailments.

Your sinuses are air-filled pockets located above your eyebrows, under your eyes, between your eyes, and behind your nose. Normally, mucus from your sinuses drains into your nose and down your throat, where stomach acids destroy it. When your sinuses clog up, the tissues swell, and mucus does not drain prop­erly. This results in a buildup of mucus, which can quickly become infected.

The symptoms of sinusitis include a stuffy or runny nose, painful pressure around your eyes, earaches, and coughing which becomes worse when lying down. It is usually caused by bacterial infection. People with asthma or allergies are more likely to have sinusitis. It may also be brought on by environmental factors such as pollution, cigarette smoke, and weather conditions. Many people find that their sinusitis is worse right before a storm. Some people may have a deviated septum, which means the wall of bone and cartilage between the right and left nostrils is crooked. This can interfere with mucus drainage.

Steps to Stop Sinusitis

• Wash your sinuses out with a neti-pot or sinus rinse product using a balanced saline solution.
• Get the right amount of sleep. Too much or too little sleep may make you more likely to suffer from sinusitis. Sleeping with your head elevated may also help. If you only have sinusitis on one side, try sleeping on the other side. This may help open your nasal passageway.
• Change your diet. You may have food allergies which could trigger your sinusitis. Try eliminating foods like wheat, milk, or red wine. Spicy foods like garlic, horseradish, and cayenne pepper may help clear sinuses.
• Use a nasal spray. Saline nasal sprays help moisten and soothe nasal pas­sages. Over-the-counter nasal decongestant sprays should not be used for more than three days in a row. A rebound effect may occur if you use them too much, which means your symptoms will get much worse when you stop using them.
• Exercise. Most people with sinusitis find that exercise opens nasal passages by increasing the flow of mucus. However, some people may find that exercise makes their symptoms worse.
• Make sure your glasses fit. Improperly fitting glasses can pinch the bridge of your nose and cause congestion.
• Inhale steam. Breathing in steam may help. You can add pine oil, eucalyptus, or menthol for a little extra nasal-opening power. A warm facial pack (hot tow­els) can have the same effect.
• Use a humidifier. A humidifier may prevent your sinuses from becoming dry and irritated, which could lead to swelling and infection. A humidifier is partic­ularly helpful during the colder months.

Medical Sources:American Family Physician (53,3:877)
The Asthma and Allergy Advance (January/February 1994)

My Neti Pot Experience