Allergy Testing

While more people than ever before are aware of gluten intolerance and celiac disease, a troubling misunderstanding of the condition persists and even seems to be spreading throughout the Internet. A single term embodies this misunderstanding: gluten allergy. Read on to learn why this term is misleading and relying on it could even be dangerous.

What Happens In A Food Allergy?

When someone experiences an allergic reaction, this reaction involves specific types of antibodies and chemicals in a specific type of reaction. The main antibodies in an allergic reaction are immunoglobulin E (IgE). These antibodies circulate your body with your blood and when triggered by the presence of an antigen create an immediate response.

During this response, chemicals called histamines are released. These histamines create the tangible symptoms we associate with allergic reactions. This entire response to an antigen is immediate and represents a Type 1 Hypersensitivity. A food allergy is a Type 1 Hypersensitivity.

Celiac Disease Is An Autoimmune Disease

Celiac disease is not a Type 1 Hypersensitivity. It does not involve IgE or histamines. It is an autoimmune disease with a delayed autoimmune response. When you have celiac disease, your body modifies the proteins in gluten (gliadin and glutenin) in a way that makes them trigger an over-reaction from your immune system. In this reaction, your body produces the excessive antibodies immunoglobulin A (IgA), anti-transglutaminase antibodies (ATA), and anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA).

These antibodies attack the lining of your small intestine, causing damage and inflammation, in particular resulting in the flattening of the intestinal villi. The villi are tiny finger-like protrusions along the wall of the small intestine that reach out and grab nutrients from the food you're digesting.

By causing an inflammatory response in your body, drawing toxins and undigested proteins into your bloodstream and creating worsening malabsorption, celiac disease wreaks havoc on your entire body over time.

But this entire process can take between hours and months to trigger tangible, identifiable celiac disease symptoms.

How Is the Phrase Gluten Allergy Dangerous?

Think of it this way: left untreated and undiagnosed for long, celiac disease can cause other autoimmune diseases, a litany of troubling symptoms and conditions and even cancer. Yet celiac disease often does not trigger an immediate or obvious reaction.

If you have celiac sprue disease, you may be able to eat a large piece of gluten-dense whole wheat bread and not experience an immediate reaction... or even a reaction within several days. This is counter to how many people (perhaps even most people) understand the disease.

If you use the term gluten allergy, you imply an immediate response to consuming gluten. An allergy is a type 1 hypersensitivity, and most laymen think of an allergy as an immediate reaction to an antigen.

So if you rely on this inaccurate term to encapsulate this concept, you might miss a serious and even deadly case of gluten intolerance simply because you're looking for an immediate and tangible reaction to consuming gluten.

I admit I still use the term gluten allergy because it often conveys the seriousness of the situation to many laymen in casual environments. A waiter might fear an allergic reaction more than "just" an intolerance, and thus he may be more vigilant in addressing your need while taking your order.

The topic of gluten intolerance is complex and evolving. A wheat allergy is a food allergy and you can experience several forms of gluten intolerance without testing positive for celiac disease (like a non-celiac gluten sensitivity). But try to stay clear on the difference between celiac disease and a food allergy and be deliberate and sparing in your use of the term gluten allergy.

Millions of people suffer with allergies and there isn't much they can do about them short of avoiding the allergen altogether. Allergies to things like cats and dust can turn a person's life upside down. In the past, people have tried allergy shots with varied success.

Many people with allergies, desperate for a solution, turn to alternative remedies. One particular alternative allergy treatment, called NAET. (short for Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique) has garnered a lot of attention in recent years. Celebrities like Dylan McDermott and Alana Stewart have endorsed it.

So what is it? According to the official website: "NAET is a safe and effective technique in detecting and eliminating or desensitizing all types of allergies. NAET combines Kinesiology (Muscle Responsive Testing), Chiropractic and Oriental Medicine to clear allergic reactions through a reprogramming of the brain ... This technique can successfully desensitize the body in order to achieve an allergy-free state."

What types of allergies do NAET practitioners claim they can treat? The more common allergies such as food allergies, dust, pollen, pet hair, and flowers are often diagnosed and treated first. Then, items in one's environment that one may not have thought of as an allergen are tested: air conditioning, fluoride, plastic, chlorine. NAET practitioners claim that one can be "allergic" to just about anything.

Besides treating allergies, many practitioners practice what they call "emotional clearing." Events from one's past may cause health imbalances that cause allergies and other problems. By clearing the emotional issues, they claim, the health problems will go away.

NAET has also become a popular treatment for autism. Many parents claim their children have improved after treatment. Others claim the treatments brought no results for their children. NAET practitioners claim that some children need more treatment than others.

Given all the things one can be allergic to, NAET treatment can go on for months if the person has a lot of allergies. Treatment often takes place once or twice per week. It can be costly, but for those who have achieved results and rid themsevles of allergies, it may be worth it.

If you suffer from allergies, NAET may be an option. As with all alternative therapies, it is important to read as much as you can before trying them and spending the money. There is a lot of information about NAET available online to help you decide. While some people haven't had much success with the treatment, for others with severe allergies it has been life-changing.

If you have Gluten Allergy then you suffer from Allergies Type 1, also called Contact Allergies. The Greeks first described this disease in the 2nd Century AD and they called it Koiliakos Disease which means suffering in the bowls. Today the disease is called Coeliac Disease, which is derived from the Greek word Koiliakos.

Coeliac Disease and being allergic to Gluten are similar allergies but not exactly the same. Coeliac disease is a hereditary allergy to gluten that caused damage to the intestinal lining of the small intestine. Gluten allergy does not damage the small intestines but cause many of the same symptoms as Coeliac disease.

Gluten contains a protein that is found in most grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and to a lesser extent oats. When the grains are ground into flower the gluten is what gives the final baked products its strength and elasticity. Without gluten bread is heavy and dense. Depending on the type of grain being tested, different quantities of the gluten protein are found in different grains.

Allergic to gluten symptoms include abdominal cramps, vomiting, irritable bowel, weight loss, diarrhea, constipation. Blood tests can be used to determine if you have an allergy to gluten or if it is possible that you have Coeliac disease. A biopsy of the small intestine is the only way to successfully diagnose Coeliac disease.

Once a confirmed diagnosis is made for a gluten allergy or for celiac disease then the patient must change to a glutted free diet. For the Celica disease suffers, this gluten free diet is for life. There is no cure for celiac disease. Why the immune system attacks the gluten proteins is not known and more testing is required.

Avoidance of gluten-containing foods is the only effective treatment for people who are allergic. Avoidance can be very difficult because gluten protein is often hidden in other foods. Read the label of every food products that comes into your home.

Avoid any food products that have Wheat, Bran, Bread Crumbs, Cereal Extract, Natural Flavoring, Starch, Vegetable Gum, Soy Sauce, Gluten, or Enriched Flower on the label until you know if that particular item will give you an allergy reaction.

For those who are allergic to gluten, following a gluten free diet allows them to take control of their bodies and their life again. The quality of life will be greatly improved with the removal of the allergy symptoms and the health benefits of having the small intestines operating properly.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.

It is estimated that 1 in every 6 person is sensitive or allergic to some foods, and that many health, psychological and behavioural problems are due to food allergies. Yet conventional allergy testing methods often fail to identify allergies in patients.

I see many patients who have spent frustrating years trying to understand their health problems, only to discover that they do, in fact, have food allergies. Not surprisingly, a great many of these patients or parents of allergic children tell me that they first suspected allergies, but their suspicions were dismissed by their doctors after their tests results showed negative. It is thanks to sheer persistence that these patients eventually find the answers they have been seeking.

Kinds of Food Allergies

A food allergy can trigger either an immediate or a delayed reaction to food. This and whether or not the reaction involves the high levels of antibodies determine what type of food allergy it is.

Type l. Immediately or soon after eating the food, you show clear and often dramatic symptoms. If you are allergic to fungus, you might develop abdominal cramps within an hour of eating a ragout containing mushrooms. A child with a type 1 reaction to kiwi fruit might experience severe itching in the mouth or vomiting within 15 minutes of eating a kiwi fruit.

Type 1 food allergies they result in high levels of IgE antibodies in the blood so they are easily diagnosed by tests for these antibodies. Many doctors consider IgE mediated allergies to be the only real allergies, yet most food allergies are not Ige mediated. Only 3- 5 % of children and 1-2 % of adults are estimated to be affected by Type l food allergies.

Anaphylaxis - a severe reaction that can be fatal within minutes - is a Type 1 reaction. Warning signs are dizziness, light-headedness, swollen tongue or throat, difficulty breathing, fainting or facial swelling immediately after eating food. Get immediate emergency care.

Type ll. Though not considered a true allergy by more conservative doctors, a Type ll reaction still results in high levels of antibodies, usually IgA, IgG and IgM, as well as the typical inflammatory reactions.

Type lll. Delayed reactions often go unrecognized because the symptoms are not usually obvious, and may occur days after the food is eaten. Also, since they do not involve IgE antibodies, delayed allergy reactions to not show up on standard skin tests or some blood tests. Instead, they manifest as clusters of physical, behavioral and learning symptoms that affect several body systems at once. Type lll allergies are for this reason often called 'hidden' allergies.

A person with Type lll food allergies can suffer from recurring breathlessness, mucousy throat, sporadic hyperactivity and emotional swings, chronic stuffy nose, and flu-like symptoms. For another person, symptoms can include headaches, itchy eyes, stomach pains, depression, fatigue, sleep problems, and swollen lymph nodes.

These delayed reaction patterns of food allergy are difficult to diagnose. Yet health practitioners believe that they account for most food allergies, especially in children. In my opinion, any undefined pattern of illness that involves different symptoms and different body symptoms should be taken as a likely sign of food allergy until proven otherwise.

Effective tests for Food Allergies

Given the prevalence of type lll food allergies, other testing methods are called for. The most common non-standard test is the Rotation Diet. Common allergenic foods and suspected food allergens are eliminated from the diet for 4-7 days, then reintroduced. When the body is given a chance to clear of food allergens, symptoms will usually subside or disappear. By reintroducing the food again, you cause symptoms to reappear, allowing you to identify just what foods affect you.

Kinesthetic and Energy Testing

Many natural therapists test for allergies by identifying energy disturbances caused by different foods. Some methods work on the principle that these disturbances will temporarily weaken the long muscles of the body, while others use energy technology to identify which foods cause disturbances in the body's energy fields. Though still not accepted as valid tests by conventional medicine, these testing methods are providing breakthroughs for thousands of patients whose allergies previously went undiagnosed.

Idiopathic Angioedema is a medical condition that causes severe swelling of the skin tissue under the surface layer or the 'Derma'. Angioedema often manifests very suddenly which can cause some distress. The cause of the condition is unknown as far as modern medicine goes, but many believe the condition to be linked to underlying autoimmune disease.

Generally the term idiopathic is used to describe a condition which is triggered by no obvious reason. Treatments for the condition are basically aimed at symptom relief which is good enough for acute attacks however it's of little help to chronic sufferer's

Angioedema or the deep swelling happens because of an allergic reaction which the body responds to by producing excess histamine, which in turn manifests as large areas of swelling.

The problem is that the allergen that triggered it is often hard to discover. Also, in many cases the standard antihistamine treatment cannot provide effective relief especially for the prevention of the condition becoming chronic.

Testing For Allergies

The standard skin tests can sometimes pinpoint the allergen, but this method is seldom successful as the reason for the condition are often deep rooted.

An elimination diet may prove to be more successful in discovering hidden allergens This generally involves the exclusion of one type of food or a specific product from the menu of the tested person, this is however a time consuming process.

Allergens, antagonists or triggers can be a certain type of food such as dairy, wheat or simply an additive or colouring used in any number of commercially produced products. There are many different kinds of food intolerances and they can vary substantially from a person to person. Thus, an elimination diet is a very useful tool for the determination of the cause of Idiopathic Angioedema (If you have the time).

Unfortunately the reasons for Angioedema like chronic urticaria are notoriously hard to pinpoint, allergens are all around us, in the air even the water we drink. Climate could also be a factor in as much as the number of cases drop significantly in warmer climates, this is most likely the result of the body absorbing higher levels of natural vitamin D3.

Allergy is the most common illness in the world. It is characterized by the immune system's reaction to substances that are viewed by the body as potentially harmful. The body launches an attack on these substances which is manifested by the symptoms experienced in an allergy attack. There are many substances that can cause an allergic reaction. Among them are peanuts, shellfish, eggs, milk, dust, insect bites and pollen.

Also known as allergic rhinitis, hay fever is usually characterized by an allergic reaction to pollen. The illness is named after the "haying season" when pollen grains in the air are in abundance. Since pollen carried by the wind is the more popular culprit, you should be aware of the most common plants releasing these pollen grains in the air. Trees including birch, alder, hazel, hornbeam, horse chestnut, willow, poplar, plane, lime and olive cause hay fever. Among these, birch and olive pollen are the most dominant. On the other hand, grass pollen from rye and timothy are responsible for about 90% of the total hay fever cases.

Effects of hay fever vary form person to person. Some experience mild reactions while others suffer severe reactions. Symptoms of the illness include coughing, headache, itching nose, runny nose and sneezing. You might also experience impaired smelling functions and sensitivity to flavors. Your eyes will water from the irritation in your nose. Sore throat, wheezing and conjunctivitis are also common reactions.

Hay fever is usually diagnosed by determining the patient's history of symptoms. Your doctor will ask you the frequency of your symptoms, severity and onset. Changes in your diet, exposure to pets and allergens as well as weather conditions will all be considered in the evaluation for hay fever. Skin testing is also performed to determine specific sensitivity to particular allergens. Since cross-reactivity is normal, your doctor will naturally check you for reactions to cross-reacting substances.

To prevent hay fever, you should avoid being exposed to pollen. If you must go outdoors, try to wear a protective face mask for filtering pollen. You should also avoid going out during the early mornings and evenings when pollen levels are high. When drying your clothes, never put them outside where they can be exposed to pollen. The pollen will attach to the clothes you placed outside for longer than a moment and if you wear these clothes it's possible that you could have an allergic reaction. Another activity you should avoid is mowing your lawn. This activity will disperse pollen in the air, increasing your chances for a hay fever attack. Some doctors recommend putting little cream on the nostrils and around the eyes to prevent pollen from entering these areas.

There are currently several available medications for treating symptoms of hay fever. These include fast-acting antihistamines, short-acting antihistamines, longer-acting antihistamines, leukotriene receptor antagonists, corticosteroid nasal sprays, topical decongestants, cromolyn sodium, allergy shots and herbal remedies. Any of these medications can relieve symptoms of hay fever effectively. You should make sure that when taking these medications, you will not be driving or operating heavy machineries since drowsiness can be experienced when taking medication like antihistamines.

An allergic reaction to a specific food is caused by an adverse response of the body's immune system to a certain component in that food. This component is usually a protein, an essential building block for nutrition and health.

Many people will not even realize they have a particular food allergy until it manifests itself into a rash, sores or swollen areas of the body. If you notice your mouth begins to itch or a swollen lip after trying a new food product, it may be due to an adverse reaction to something in the product.

Hypersensitivity to foods can happen to almost anyone and they may not even realize the cause could be attributed to a particular food or ingredient in the item they are eating. If you believe the reason behind the swollen lip and itching sensation cold be the result of a food reaction, it is best to relieve the area by using cold compresses until the swelling has subsided. Call a doctor immediately for further instruction.

While the sensation is understandably frightening, it is important to stay calm and take inventory of the meals you had up until that moment. The food that caused the issue may not be the one you just ate, so be focused and detailed on everything that was ingested that day. If you had not eaten anything out of the ordinary, it may have been an ingredient in the "special recipe" from the provider or transfer from another food into yours.

Swollen lips can be just one type of response your body signals to having a particular issue. Other common reactions include; bloating, rash or hives, intestinal distress and breathing issues (Anaphylaxis) in extreme cases.

If you do not have a sensitivity to a particular food, you may never even notice or care what ingredients are in your food bar or drink that has just hit the shelves. But, for those who know all too well the dangers of food allergies, they are well aware of the foods they cannot have and are very diligent in reading food labels and asking questions from food server in restaurants. This practice is not foolproof but it goes a long way in keeping them safe.

In summary, most food sensitive people have only minor reactions to foods and can pretty quickly identify them so they can be avoided in the future. It is important to understand that food allergies should be taken seriously, and only a doctor and allergy testing is the proper way to identify the offending food or ingredient.

Having difficulty sleeping? Sleeping pills are not the answer. Although many people turn to sleeping pills when they are suffering from insomnia they can actually have negative side effects and can be addictive and less effective over time.

An article in the New York Times, October 23, 2007 revealed some disturbing research results. Viewed as a group, sleeping pills improve the time you take to get to sleep by 12.8 minutes compared with fake pills, and the total time you actually sleep by 11.4 minutes a night.

So why are they so popular? Two observations made in exactly this article give us some clues. Firstly, most sleeping pills work on the same brain receptors as drugs to treat anxiety - so you might just feel better about not sleeping. And secondly, there's the effect of anterograde amnesia (trouble forming memories while under the influence of sleep medications) which means by morning you might have forgotten you had trouble sleeping! Does this sound like a wake-up call?

Sleeping Pills Tend to Be Addictive

Most sleeping pills tend to be addictive. Many people want to get off sleeping tablets to lead a more normal life but when they try they may suffer terrible withdrawal symptoms such as a repeat of poor sleeping patterns, anxiety, shaking, or panic and generally feeling awful. If you are already addicted to sleeping pills then it is important to speak to your doctor and come off them carefully and with help.

Being addictive means that they become less effective over time, meaning that continually higher doses are required just to get the same effect.

For more information online please refer to the work and website of Professor C.H. Ashton on benzodiazepines. For Joan E Gadsby, the author of Addiction by Prescription, her 18 year struggle to withdraw from medication prompted a letter recently to President Obama.

Sleeping Tablets Can Cause Drowsiness

Drowsiness when you want to sleep may seem like a good thing but when you need to lead a normal life and get on with the activities of the day this can actually be a problem. People who take sleeping tablets often find that they are also very drowsy the next morning and this may make it difficult or even dangerous for them to do their usual activities such as driving, operating machinery, etc.

Sleeping Tablets May Impair Night Activities

If you are on sleeping tablets and need to get up at night to use the bathroom or do anything else you may have problems. The sleeping pills tend to make you clumsy and confused and this can be dangerous and cause you to injure yourself through falls. This is especially dangerous for older people who may be more likely to fall and break a bone.

Sleeping Tablets are Blamed for Weird Actions

An article published in The Sun-Herald May 10, 2009 highlighted that one controversial sleeping pill was the number one drug reported to a national hotline in Australia for adverse side effects from drugs. Of 1669 calls made to the Adverse Medicine Events Line between September 2007 and February 2009, 12 percent (196) related to a particular sleeping pill - making it by far the most reported medication to this hotline, run by the Australian National Prescribing Service and Brisbane's Mater Hospital. Other studies confirming reports of abnormal behaviours include a report published in April 2009 by the Australia and New Zeland Journal of Psychiatry citing sleep walking and eating during sleep. And sleep walking has been associated with a higher likelihood of being overweight or obese.

What are the Alternatives?

As we have said, sleeping pills are not the answer but what else can you use if you are having difficulty sleeping? The first thing is to consider what could be the cause of your sleeplessness. There are many reasons why people can't sleep which include anxiety, stress, not being able to switch off at the end of the day, food intolerance, toxic relationships and environments, unfulfilling jobs, use of prescription and non-prescription drugs, worrying (including financial, health, family issues) - and many more.

Insomnia is a symptom of something else. Getting to the bottom of the 'something else' is the challenge. Sometimes this is easy, for example if it's just a matter of relaxing at the end of the day. Sometimes it's more difficult - if it related to a childhood trauma, etc.

The good news is that there are many technologies for solving the problem naturally.

They include Cognitive Behavoir Therapy (C.B.T.), Emotional Freedom Technique (E.F.T), Neuro-training, relaxation (yoga, meditation, etc.), brain entrainment (certain types of music, theta metronomes etc.), kinesiology, nutrition, exercise, herbal and other supplementation, food intolerance and/or allergy testing, aromatherapy, sleeping cooler in bed, making life changing decisions to fulfil your life, other lifestyle changes and brilliant books on particular topics (e.g. The Wisdom of Menopause, by Dr Christiane Northrup).

Sleeping pills are not the answer. They may be a popular way to try and remedy insomnia but they aren't that effective and they can be addictive and sometimes dangerous. Most of all they don't address the underlying problem that caused your insomnia in the first place - and that's where your real solution lies.

EOS or eosinophil is a type of white blood cell that helps your immune system. These white blood cells increase when you have allergies, parasite infections, asthma, and reactions to drugs such as inflammation. Eosinophils represent only a small percentage of the total cell population in your body but they are important indicators in determining if you are battling any of the diseases mentioned above or to diagnose other medical conditions like early stage Cushing's disease or acute hypereosinophilic syndrome.

Normally, blood test like CBC or complete blood count will include information about the amount of eosinophils in your blood. In particular, a complete blood count includes a WBC (white blood cell) differential. The WBC differential checks the different types of white blood cells including eosonophil, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and basophils. The functions of the other wbc's differ from each other but their common function is to protect the body from infections. The results of a WBC differential will indicate the presence (in percentage) of the five different types of white blood cells, whether each type has increased or not.

Another blood test that involves identifying eosinophils is the Absolute Eosinophil Count. Similar to the CBC, a blood sample will be taken from you and tested. The presence of eosinophil is determined using a stain called eosin. Under a microscope, a blood smear is stained with eosin (a red dye) and the technician counts the number of eosinophils for every 100 cells.

The absolute eosinophil count is computed by multiplying the eosinophil count and the total white blood cell count. This specific test is not normally done or requested by your health provider primarily because it is very specific to eosinophil. However, if a previous blood test result showed certain abnormalities and your health provider suspects the possibility of a certain diseases, he may ask you to undergo an absolute eosinophil count. The Absolute eosinophil count, for example, helps diagnose the early stages of Cushing's disease and acute hypereosinophilic syndrome.

It is a form of eczema often seen on the hands and feet where tiny blisters of serum form just below the skin's surface. I refer to these as "tapioca seed vesicles". The presence of these blisters signals an acute flare that is accompanied by tremendous itching. Deep, painful cracks in the skin and superficial scaling tend to accompany this condition. Dyshidrotic Eczema must be distinguished from an allergic contact dermatitis, and I often patch test patients to see whether they have a contact dermatitis as the primary, or even a secondary etiology of their disease. Dyshidrotic Eczema tends to be a chronic condition that appears periodically throughout adulthood.

Dyshidrotic Eczema is a recurrent disease of the palmar and/ or plantar skin characterised by sudden eruptions of clear, mostly pruritic vesicles. Sweat gland dysfunction or sweat retention do not play the pathogenetic role that has been assigned to them in the past, although some degree of hyperhidrosis exists in many of the affected patients. Etiologic factors for Dyshidrotic Eczema include atopy, contact allergy, constant irritation, primary fungal infections and fungal id-reactions. An idiopathic form is also recognised. Smoking and excessive coffee consumption are believed to play an aggravating role.

The cause of Dyshidrotic Eczema is not known, but it occasionally appears to be seasonal. Small fluid filled blisters called vesicles appear on the hands and feet. They are most common along the edges of the fingers, toes, palms and soles. The vesicles produce intense itching. Scratching leads to skin changes with thickening. Scratching may also lead to secondary infections. Some individuals with Dyshidrotic Eczema are atopic (have an allergic predisposition). Some cases may be triggered by contact with substances causing allergic skin reactions. Dyshidrotic Eczema may occur in both men and women. Its onset occurs usually before the age of 40. Individuals experiencing emotional stress may be more likely to develop flare-ups of this disease.

The diagnosis is based on the patient history, the clinical picture and on the exclusion of other skin diseases. Patch testing is used to exclude underlying contact allergies. Possible etiologic factors such as atopy, contact allergy, irritation and fungal infections have to be ruled out before settling on the diagnosis idiopathic Dyshidrotic Eczema. Pustular psoriasis of the palms and soles, epidermolysis bullosa hereditaria, hand-foot-mouth-disease, acrodermatitis enteropathica and scabies in children are possible differential diagnoses for vesicles on the palms and soles.

Corticosteroid creams and ointments play an important role in the treatment of this disorder. Application of corticosteroid under plastic occlusion may increase their effectiveness. Severe attacks may require the use of oral or intramuscular corticosteroid. Oral antihistamines may help to reduce itching. Antibiotics may be necessary if infection is present.