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Ways to Treat Allergies

By the time Arik Hendrickson was 40 years old, he had suffered from asthma and moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis — a fancy term for seasonal allergies like hay fever — for more than 35 years. That’s 35 sneeze-filled springs, 35 sniffly summers and 35 congested autumns.

It was only in winter, when the grasses and ragweed shrubs had receded, that Hendrickson, a funeral director in La Crescent, Minn., felt somewhat normal. The rest of the year was a long parade of irritating, energy-sucking symptoms: watery eyes, an itchy throat, a constantly runny nose and near-daily asthma episodes during which, he says, “I felt like I was trying to breathe through a straw.”

On top of all that, he had to endure the side effects of his allergy medications. Even though the pills and inhalers made it easier for him to get through the day, they carried their own downsides. “At one point I was using Advair, which is an inhaler with a black-box warning because it has some really serious side effects,” says Hendrickson. “But I really didn’t care about the risk. I was willing to do anything.”

What finally broke the cycle for him was a novel treatment called Specific Immunotherapy, or SIT. The treatment involves applying liquid drops of allergens under the tongue multiple times a day for at least three years, and up to a decade. Hendrickson, who’s been on the therapy for more than four years now, remains symptom-free.

“I don’t want to jinx myself and use the word ‘cured,’ but that’s what it’s like,” says Hendrickson, who is now thinking about phasing off of the drops. In fact, his symptoms have improved so much that he recently adopted a cat named Boots. He’s also an avid deer hunter and likes to take his tractor out onto his property to harvest firewood. “I’m doing things I never, ever dreamed I would be able to do,” he says.

Unfortunately, a happy ending remains out of reach for the millions of Americans — their numbers rising — who suffer from allergies. According to a report from Harvard Medical School, 40 to 50 million Americans suffer from some type of allergies, including food sensitivities. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) puts the figure even higher, around 60 million. That means more Americans are suffering from allergies than from diabetes and high cholesterol — combined. And, most of these people rely not on alternative treatments but on prescription and over-the-counter drugs that not only do not treat the root causes of allergies, but also have a slate of negative side effects.

“Even the lowest figures indicate to us that allergies are at epidemic proportions,” says Diego Saporta, MD, an otolaryngologist in New Jersey who specializes in allergies.

One Syndrome Leads to Another

What doctors like Saporta mean by “allergies” is a family of related conditions that include food allergies, eczema, allergic conjunctivitis, asthma, rhinitis and a host of other maladies.

The official umbrella term is “allergic disease” or “atopic syndrome.” Sufferers of allergic disease tend to have more than one condition, or a progression of conditions, throughout their lives.

In particular, allergic infants and toddlers tend to first be diagnosed with a scaly, itchy skin rash called eczema. As these children grow older, the eczema transitions into allergic rhinitis. Then, the condition moves into asthma during school-age years.

“We call this the ‘allergic march,’ and it is very, very common,” says Linda Cox, MD, an allergist and immunologist in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The allergic diseases are so interconnected, in fact, that immunologist Estelle Simons, MD, a past president of the AAAAI, proposed in a recent paper that the terms “allergic rhinitis” and “asthma” are confusing and should be done away with altogether. Her proposed name change for both conditions is rhinobronchitis.

“Each person expresses allergic disease differently, with an individual array of symptoms, but the underlying condition (a dysfunction of the immunological system) is the same,” Saporta says.

Corporate Miscommunication

So how do allergies develop? They happen inside the body of a person with allergic disease when the immune system gets confused and identifies something very normal, or even good, as a threat.

It’s helpful to imagine your immune system — housed in your gut, your lymphatic system and many other tissues — as a vigilant administrative assistant tasked with manning the front desk in an office. The assistant’s job is to make sure that important clients (for example, nutritious food proteins) get right in to see the boss. When other innocuous but annoying particles, such as pet dander or pollen spores, come in and ask to use the bathroom or the phone, the assistant makes sure they get what they need and then move along. The assistant is supposed to call security only if some violent virus or bacteria charges into the lobby, vowing to do serious harm to the boss.

In an allergic person, the immune system gets confused and misidentifies an important client — like food — as a terrorist, or gets inexplicably frightened by some scruffy-but-harmless piece of pet dander.

Heeding the call of the immune system, the corporate rent-a-cops — a class of antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE) — race in and set a new, draconian corporate policy: All future pet danders or pollen spores or a certain food must be extracted from the building immediately. Then the tough-minded IgEs set up stakeout points on specialized histamine-filled cells called mast cells.

The next time that harmless pet dander comes sauntering in, the rent-a-cops are ready. The IgEs blow the whistle, which causes the mast cells to release a host of storm-trooper chemicals, including histamine, leukotriene C4 and interleukin-2. These chemicals trigger a physiological response that food- and nonfood-allergy sufferers know well: watery eyes, runny nose, wheezing and skin conditions.

Most of the time, this just makes people feel miserable. If this chemical response is, however, too powerful, it can send the body into a very scary whole-body state called anaphylaxis — a condition that may include hives, a swollen throat, vomiting, coronary spasms and even loss of consciousness. About 1,500 Americans die from anaphylaxis each year.

Malady of the Wealthy

Although researchers are still developing theories on why the immune system makes such a security error, they do know that allergic disease — even food-related allergic disease — is confined almost entirely to developed, wealthy nations. Beyond that, there seems to be little reason why it may be prevalent in one part of the world and not another.

The United States has high rates, but not nearly as high as Scotland, where one in three residents is affected by allergies at some point in their lives. In New Zealand and Australia, nearly 30 percent of the population suffers from at least one allergic condition.

Researchers have noted across-the-board increases in developed nations in recent years. According to a 2007 report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. food allergies increased by 18 percent from 1997 to 2006. Also, according to the CDC, about 20 million Americans suffer from asthma today, compared with 10 million 20 years ago.

A separate study by researchers at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York found that the rate of peanut allergy in children tripled from 1997 to 2008.

Varied hypotheses about why this might be include diets low in immune-boosting vitamins and antioxidants, climate change, increasing pollution, modern landscaping practices that use predominately pollen-producing male trees and shrubs, the waning popularity of breastfeeding, building codes that emphasize air-tight structures, even genetic shifts.

The most prominent and accepted theory, according to allergist Linda Cox, is the hygiene hypothesis, which posits that we’re interfering with the natural development of the immune system with overly disinfected spaces, too much antibiotic use, and not enough exposure to farm animals and microbe-laden dirt. (For more on this, watch for our upcoming article in defense of dirt in our September issue.) “But on the whole,” Cox says, “my best guess is that it’s probably a little bit of everything.”

Accordingly, most alternative treatments focus on reducing exposure to allergens, or retraining the immune system to cope with them more successfully.

Most alternative therapies, including the immunotherapy approach Hendrickson embraced, also allow for simultaneous treatment with conventional drugs, including antihistamines, to manage symptoms.

But it’s important for allergy sufferers to remember that as long as their bodies are attempting to launch an all-out defense, ongoing exposure to allergens will place significant demands on their bodies’ resources — even if their outward symptoms like itching and sneezing are suppressed. And medications can impose additional toxic burdens of their own.

So if you suffer from allergies that aren’t being properly addressed at the source, it’s probably worth getting a consultation from an alternative-treatment provider. Whether you manage to ditch allergy meds altogether or just lessen your dependency on them, you’ll be taking good, proactive care of your body. And that’s nothing to sneeze at.


Going Beyond a Box of Pills

Allergy sufferers drive a lot of revenue for pharmaceutical companies. The antihistamine category alone includes some 40 different brands and rakes in $5 billion in U.S. sales each year. People with allergies can also partake of intranasal corticosteroids, leukotrine inhibitors, intranasal decongestants, oral decongestants, intranasal anticholergics and mast-cell stabilizers. Although some of these medications might do a good job of controlling symptoms, they often provoke moderate to serious side effects. And they don’t actually attend to the root causes of allergies. Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives worth exploring:

Immunotherapy

Motto: When you’re sick of treating symptoms, go for the cure.

How it works: Put drops of allergen extracts under your tongue three times a day, for three to five years. You may experience initial results within months, and, over time, your body becomes tolerant of the allergen. The treatment is also available as a doctor-administered injection.

Good for: Allergic rhinitis and asthma. Some doctors are using the under-the-tongue method to treat food allergies, as well.

Does it work? Numerous studies have shown injection-based immunotherapy — around for more than 100 years — to be an effective treatment for allergies. Physicians began using the drops method about 30 years ago. Various studies have confirmed its effectiveness, but not to the same indisputable degree as injection-based immunotherapy. A couple of important notes: Many people never finish immunotherapy because the treatment takes so many years to complete. Insurance usually covers office visits and testing; the drops, while not expensive, are generally not covered by insurance. (For more on immunotherapy, see the Web Extra section below.)

Environmental Adjustments

Motto:  When you’re sneezing and wheezing, give your house a good cleaning.

How it works: Make adjustments to your home environment that attend to your particular sensitivities. For instance, if you’re allergic to dust mites, replace the carpet in your home with hard-surface flooring. If you’re sensitive to mold, get rid of likely lurking spots like musty shower curtains. If you’re sensitive to pollen, plant only female trees in your yard, and grow cacti in your house.

Good for: People who know which allergens are giving them trouble and are aware of likely sources.

Does it work? Depends on what you’re allergic to, but most allergy experts have seen positive outcomes from patients who have made simple changes to their environments. If you’re lucky, the changes will be minor. But it’s possible that you’ll need to take significant steps and make significant investments, potentially including replacing your bedding, getting a new vacuum-cleaning system, saying goodbye to a pet, remodeling, or perhaps (in the event your house has a moldy basement or other intractable problems) even changing homes.Food Sleuthing

Food Sleuthing

Motto: When your body is sputtering, take a look in the gas tank.

How it works: For two weeks, eat a completely allergen-free “elimination” diet, one without any eggs, milk, gluten, corn, soy, tree nuts, peanuts (legumes), shellfish or fish. Then, after the two-week period has elapsed, eat one (but only one) of the allergen-prone foods in as pure a form as you can manage: a tall glass of milk, a packet of peanuts, a pile of crab legs or a plate of pasta. Observe and record your physiological reaction for 48 hours. Then, after two days, try another allergen-prone food. Work your way through the list, and by the end of five weeks, you’ll know if there’s a food that is locking horns with your immune system.

Good for: People who suspect that a food sensitivity might be at the root of things.

Does it work?  Most integrative docs agree that food-elimination diets are the gold standard when it comes to detecting a food allergy (even more so than the most sophisticated blood or skin-prick tests). But because common allergens are so widely used in so many food products, it can be somewhat challenging to complete an elimination diet without some professional consultation and oversight.

(See “Could It Be Something You Ate?“.)

Immuno-Boosters

Motto: When your immune system is hurting, give it some TLC.

How it works: Take quercetin, vitamins E and C, and probiotic supplements (available at your favorite health-food store or co-op).

Good for: People who don’t eat as many fruits and vegetables as they should. Does it work? Many doctors have written extensively about the value of vitamins E and C, as well as the plant-based flavonoid quercetin, for boosting immunity. Quercetin helps to stabilize the membranes of mast cells, the cells that release histamine, which, as Andrew Weil, MD, puts it, is “the mediator of allergic reactions.” Yet, real, whole foods are going to be even more effective. So if you pick up supplements, be sure to load up on dark leafy greens; cruciferous veggies like broccoli; plus berries, legumes, and other fiber- and phytonutrient-rich goodies, too.

Traditional Chinese Herbs

Motto: When Western medicine wears you out, look East.

How it works: Alternative medicine companies and practitioners dispense traditional Chinese herbs to allergy sufferers. These include GanCao, KuShen and LingZhi.

Good for: People who suffer from allergic rhinitis, or hay-fever-like symptoms.

Does it work?   Three teams of researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine are actually trying to figure that out. And preliminary research is encouraging. Patients who took a three-herb blend called ASHMI saw a significant drop in IgE levels — as much as 95 percent in some cases. Those who tried a nine-herb blend dubbed FAHF-2 experienced a significant drop in interleukin-5 levels. For best results, work with a qualified Chinese medicine professional or another health pro well versed in Chinese herb treatments.

(To learn more about TCM and how to integrate its concepts into your wellness regimen, see “How Does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Support Your Health and Well-Being?“)

Neti Pot

Motto: When your nose is clogged, flush it out.

How it works: Fill this little teapot-shaped device (available at most natural markets and health-food stores) with a solution made of lukewarm water and salt. Pour the saline mixture up one nostril and let it flow in such a way that it comes out the other nostril.

Good for: People who feel discomfort or fullness in their sinus passages and who can handle the counterintuitive challenge of pouring water up their stuffy nose.

Does it work?   The Mayo Clinic and other major medical institutions roundly endorse the simple neti pot for its ease and efficacy. The mechanism is basic: When you flush your sinuses, you reduce the presence of allergens, such as pet dander, dust mites and pollen. One 2009 study of children with allergies found that nasal irrigation with saline decreased the need for steroidal sprays.

(Learn how to use a neti pot with these simple tips.)


Testing, Testing

Testing for allergies is a complicated ordeal. Here’s a look at what you can expect at the doctor’s office.

Blood Tests

Basics: There are several blood allergen tests, including the ImmunoCap, the ELISA and the EIA antibody test. One of the most popular is the RAST test, created by Pharmacia Diagnostics in Uppsala, Sweden.

How it works: Your physician takes a blood sample. Various allergens are placed in the wells of a special tray. A small amount of blood is added to each well where the allergen extracts are located. If the blood has an antibody against the each of the allergens contained in each well, antibody molecules will attach to the antigen molecules, and this can be then measured in a quantitative way. In other words it will be determined if there are antibodies against a certain antigen and how many.

Good for: People who are so sensitive that doctors are concerned about performing other tests. Also good for measuring the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments over time.

Upside: Only as painful as having your blood drawn, and up to 100 allergens can be tested at one time.

Downside: Sometimes it is not very accurate. “In my career, I have seen many false negatives results from blood tests,” says New Jersey otolaryngologist Diego Saporta, MD (“like for example a case of a patient that develops asthma if exposed to cat dander or dust but the blood test results come negative”). Also, blood testing is expensive, about $200 to $400 per screening, and some insurance companies will not cover blood tests if skin testing is possible.

Skin-Prick Tests

Basics: The oldest and most conventional allergen test, the skin prick was traditionally done with needles or lancets; now most allergists use a multi-prick device with plastic prongs that don’t actually puncture the skin.

How it works: Allergen extract is added to the tip of a device with eight to 12 prongs. The tips are usually placed on the inside of the forearm or the middle of the back. The allergist rocks the device back and forth gently so the top layers of skin get exposed to the allergens. When itchy, red patches, called wheals, appear around the application spots, it means that the patient is reactive (allergic) to that allergen. The allergist then measures the size and scope of the wheals and sometimes the surrounding redness (erythema).

Good for: Most everyone who can tolerate the itchiness and aggravation of the procedure. The test of choice for most allergists.

Upside: There’s no need to wait for test results from a laboratory; the procedure is covered by most insurance plans.

Downside: It will be painful and rather itchy, and only a limited number of allergens can be tested at one time because of skin space.

Intradermal Test

Basics: Considered to be the most sensitive of all the allergen tests, the intradermal tests uses actual injections to test for a reaction.

How it works: Your allergist injects a small amount of diluted allergen extract just barely into the skin. After a few moments, a red puffy bump and potentially other allergic symptoms will appear around the site of injection, allowing the allergist to quantify the response.

Good for: People who suspect they are allergic to a certain allergen, but come up negative on the skin-prick or blood tests.

Upside: Relatively quick and cheap. No need to wait for laboratory results. Also, the test is very sensitive. If you come up negative on an intradermal test you can be pretty sure you are not allergic to that allergen.

Downside: It will be painful and itchy. Only a limited number of allergens can be tested at one time. This test carries a small risk of eliciting a severe allergic reaction.


An Allergy Cure?

If you’re interested in ditching your Claritin or Zyrtec for good, there is a treatment called Specific Immunotherapy (also called SIT) that goes to the heart of allergic disease. The therapy uses allergen extracts to coax the immune system into accepting the allergen without pitching a fit. Despite the fact that SIT is roundly approved by the scientific community and is the only treatment that actually addresses the root cause of allergies, only 2 to 6 percent of all allergy sufferers attempt the treatment. “It’s time consuming, and people are very overscheduled,” says Linda Cox, MD, an allergist and immunologist in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “It’s hard to get people into the office to do the therapy, and the treatment may last for several years.” Here’s a look at the two major types of SIT: subcutaneous IT and sublingual IT:

Subcutaneous IT

The basics: Subcutaneous IT is the oldest and most well-established treatment for allergic disease, with a history going back more than 100 years.

How it works: Allergy sufferers are extensively tested to get a full profile of the allergens they react to. Your allergist injects a custom-blended mix of allergen extracts into the body, usually around the shoulder. Over the first few months, most people receive shots each week; then the shots are reduced to once a month. Over the course of four or five years, allergy sufferers will see their symptoms decrease or disappear.

Upside: Once the treatment is over, there is a high likelihood that you may never have to battle your allergies again.

Downside: The treatment is time-consuming and involves needles. Studies show that many people who start subcutaneous IT never complete the treatment.

Common side effects: Pain and inflammation at the site of injection.

Risk: Almost nil. Since 2008, there have been more than 16 million injections administered and no fatalities from subcutaneous IT.

Cost: The treatment is expensive, though the vast majority of insurance plans will cover it. According to a 2010 study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the parents of allergic kids spent $3,247 on immunotherapy, doctors’ visits and other drugs during an 18-month period. The parents who were treating their kids with prescription and over-the-counter meds actually spent more — $4,872 — during the same period.

Sublingual IT

The basics: First developed in the 1970s, the treatment is very popular in Europe. It has yet to catch on in the United States, owing perhaps to the fact that it is not covered by most insurance companies. [Source’s note: 1986 was the first SLIT study-there is no FDA approved sLIT product and that is why it has not ‘caught on’]

How it works: Allergy sufferers are extensively tested to get a full profile of the allergens they react to. A custom-blended mix of allergen extracts is mixed with glycerine. Allergy sufferers apply the drops under their tongues daily. Over the course of four to five years patients should see their symptoms decrease or disappear.

Upside: Same benefit as subcutaneous IT, only without the shots.

Downside: You have to remember to actually apply the drops three times a day for years. And you have to find an allergist who is trained in the method. Currently, the treatment is available in 43 states. See www.allergychoices.com for a searchable physician finder.

Common side effects: Itchy feeling in the mouth.

Risk: Much lower than subcutaneous. So low-risk, in fact, that some doctors have begun using this approach to treat food-allergic people.

Cost: The doctor visits typically will be covered by your insurance plan. But, the allergen drops, which cost about $1 per day, will not.

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