LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

allergies

Sometimes, Going to Work Just Doesn’t Pay – (08-30-02)

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Sometimes, Going to Work Just Doesn’t Pay

Some people like to “tough it out” and come to work every day, regardless of how under the weather they feel; however, this might not be the best idea: Employees who work while sick are often less productive than healthy employees. Research is showing that in some instances, this slowdown in production – known as “presenteeism” – may cost a company more than if an employee stays home for the day.

Researchers tried to estimate the losses in productivity caused by common health conditions such as allergies and headaches, and compared that estimate with other costs associated with the condition. The estimates were based on about 375,000 employees, including claims for medical care and disability over a three-year period.

The analysis showed that for many conditions, the costs of presenteeism were greater than other health care costs, such as absenteeism or health benefits. When other costs were added to losses from presenteeism, absenteeism, health benefits and disability benefits, the most expensive condition for employers was high blood pressure ($392 per employee per year), followed by heart disease ($368), mental health problems ($348), arthritis ($327) and allergies ($271).

If you’re an employer, consider examining your company’s sick-time policy and adjust it if necessary so employees don’t feel burdened to come to work when they are sick. As an employee, take the day off the next time you are sick. Toughing it out will likely prolong your illness, and you’ll be less productive and end up costing your company money in the long run.

To learn more about how to stay healthy – on the job and off – talk to your chiropractor and click here.

 

Pfizer’s Zyrtec Gains Approval for Use in Children as Young as 6 Months – (11-07-02)

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Pfizer’s Zyrtec Gains Approval for Use in Children as Young as 6 Months

Am I the only one that sees a major problem with this? First of all, any drugs given to infants (geez…that’s practically still a newborn!) that are designed for potential lifetime use scare the heck out of me. Next, are none of these doctors that intend to prescribe medication to these tiny guinea pigs interested in finding out why allergies are present at all? How about addressing the mother’s diet (if the infant is still nursing) or the infant’s diet? My gosh!! This concept just scares me. If you want to have the best odds against beating allergies, you need to start ASAP, not after years of drug suppression that never address the problem. By then it might be too late.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Oct 22 – Pfizer’s blockbuster antihistamine Zyrtec has gained a supplemental US approval for use in children as young as six months, the US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.Zyrtec (cetirizine hydrochloride), which is currently indicated to relieve symptoms of allergic rhinitis and to treat itching and hives in adults and in children age two and older, has now been cleared for those two indications in children six months and older, Pfizer confirmed.

 

Clostridium difficile, atopy and wheeze during the first year of life – (11-21-02)

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Clostridium difficile, atopy and wheeze during the first year of life

More and more evidence is supporting the idea that a healthy bacterial population is essential for normal development of an infant’s immune system. Here we see that C. difficile may increase risk of allergies. Well, it is well known that C. difficile can be a result of antibiotic use. Not only this, but antibiotics will kill off the bacteria that is supposed to be there in the first place. When it comes to antibiotic use, physicians need to view each case with the potential long term consequences. I think the idea that antibiotics are benign is still highly prevalent, and a change in the current thinking is needed.

Synergy Abstract

Read entire article here

Start Early to Protect Your New Baby From Allergies

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Ask any allergy-suffering adult how much allergies suck and you’ll likely get an earful.  Sneezing, watery eyes, sinus headaches, itchy eyes…it’s enough to make life miserable.  When you combine this with asthma, curling up in the back of a dark cave seems greatly appealing.

Certainly anything you can do to protect this same scenario from playing out in your children would be welcome.  Luckily, this is not purely up to chance and genetics.

It may be largely up to probiotics.

This is not going to be the first time I have touted the extreme benefits of a healthy bacterial flora on many aspects of health.  Conversely, destruction of normal bacterial flora in a newborn, infant or toddler can wreak havoc to their immune system for decades to come, if not for the rest of his or her life.  It is that critical.

This particular study looks at the use of Lactobacillus reuteri from pregnancy (in the moms) through one year (in the infants) on the development of IgE mediated allergy against ovalbumin (egg whites), birch tree and cat.  Basically, the supplementation calmed down the immune response to all of these allergens for at least 2 years.

Don’t wait for your pediatrician to keep up with the medical literature and make these types of recommendations.  In general, pediatricians are far more likely to vaccinate (contributes to allergies and asthma via a Th2 cytokine shift, in case you were wondering…) and give antibiotics for viral infections than they are to recommend probiotics.  The closest I have heard is the recommendation to use a product like Florastor, which will absolutely NOT restore the normal bacterial flora in the gut after taking antibiotics.

If you have (or are expecting) a little one, the time to be proactive at protecting the delicate balance of his or her immune system is NOW.  The use of medications later may never allow that balance to be regained.  The only thing that may come close is the use of sublingual immunotherapy, but more on this in a future post.

Based on the mounting evidence, if your child’s pediatrician does not recommend or at least discuss probiotics with you, should you find a new one?

 

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A up-regulates immune responses – (07-16-04)

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Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A up-regulates immune responses, including T helper 1 and T helper 2 responses, in mice

In English, this article basically re-affirms how important the prenatal and natal periods are in determining the long term health of the child. Sources of BPA are all around us (see http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/bisphenola/bpauses.htm) and our risk of exposure are high.

According to this study (which was done on mice), BPA really messes with the immune system–up – regulating BOTH TH1 and TH2 immune response (TH1 upregulation = autoimmune diseases, TH2 = allergies/asthma) although the TH1 response was greater. With chronic diseases (like asthma, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MS, etc…) being such as issue in the health of our nation today, anything we can do to lower the risk is important, and it needs to start in pregnancy.

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A up-regulates immune responses, including T helper 1 and T helper 2 responses, in mice – Immunology –

Read entire article here

EFFECTS OF VACCINATION AFTER 14 YEARS OF AGE – (09-01-03)

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Effect of neonatal BCG vaccination on atopy and asthma at 7 to 14 years

This study builds on the previous, but there is a very important point not to miss here.

This study showed effect AS FAR AS 14 YEARS AFTER THE VACCINATION!! I cannot begin to express how frustrated I get when researchers and clinicians look for immediate reactions (within a few days) and say the vaccine does not cause problems. We are missing the most potentially harmful cause of vaccinations–increased atopic diseases such as allergies and asthma. We have traded childhood diseases for lifelong chronic disease.

Geez–the drug companies have got to love this one–mandated vaccinations that they make money on only to have the children develop chronic conditions that will require a lifetime of medications!! That would be the equivalent of performing adjustments in my office that would permanently damage the patient so they would need to come in again and again for the rest of their lives!! And the initial treatments were mandated by the government!!! What a racket, huh?

Entrez-PubMed

Read entire article here

DO NOT OVERUSE ANTIBIOTICS – (10-31-05)

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Intestinal microbiota and immunoglobulin E responses in 5-year-old Estonian children

While we’re on the subject of the gut, why not a reminder as to how much the gut influences the immune system? This study in 5 yr olds found that higher levels of Bifidobacterium led to less allergies. Interestingly enough, higher levels of bacteria such as clostridia led to more allergies. Antibiotic treatment is well known to lead to clostridia infection because all of its’ competition gets wiped out. While we have be loath to admit it, the evidence is strong that the overuse of antibiotics is a key factor in the increase in allergies and asthma.

Read entire article here

HIGH DOSE THERAPY EFFECTS THE QUALITY OF PATIENT’S LIFE – (08-28-06)

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Effects of high-dose sublingual immunotherapy on quality of life in patients with seasonal asthma: a pilot study

It’s funny that with the increasing amount of studies being done on this very safe and effective approach to allergies, that it’s still relatively unheard of. I’ve got a few docs in my area that I refer patients out to and the response is usually quite positive.

One thing I do love is that this therapy is actually looking at FIXING the problem, not just suppressing the immune response. About 2/3 of our immune system is centered around the GI tract and this immune group has the ability to turn up or turn down the immune response in the rest of the body.

So, give these immune cells a small amount of antigen, and there is a chance that they will send a signal out to the rest of the immune system that this molecule is “ok” and will tone down our response to that molecule.

Read entire article here