Sunday, June 15, 2008

The Top 5 Natural Allergy Cures

Medicine Saved My Life, But Herbs and Environmental Changes Cured Me Of Allergies

I love modern medicine. It saved my life many times when I had asthma. So I?m not here to knock medicine. I just believe (from my own experience) that despite incredible breakthroughs and heroics in medicine sometimes they simply fail to look for the cause. Such was my experience on my path of curing allergies and asthma from my body.

I was amazed that my doctors had no interest in finding out, or even hearing about what I had done to get rid of asthma. And I don't believe their disinterest was because it would threaten their occupation. I just think their training and conditioning was not about looking for a cure, but only in treatment.

Searching

At age 18 I gave up on the drugs and shots. I still took the drugs as needed, and used an inhaler when needed, but I quit seeing my allergist. I decided to see what Chirporactors and Nutritionists could possibly offer. This led to reading books on nutrition, and I tried all the following:

Herbs, cell salts, vitamins, minerals, apple cider vinegar, raw goats milk, protomorphogens (from animal parts), and a host of other things I took. That was in the day when Health Food stores were for wierdos.

After many failed herb, vitamin, and natural experiments While I felt healthier the allergies and asthma were still a part of my life. I decided to accelerate my search.

The following approach worked for me:

5 Steps To Getting Rid of Allergies

The way I rid myself of asthma and allergies involved 5 things:

#1 A clean Liver - The liver, when toxic, can overproduce histamines, causing a hyper-sensitive and over-reactive immune response. There are Liver herbs, and some juices, which can detox the liver of the toxins and additional histamines

#2 A clean diet - Keeping inflammation down by reducing sugars, starches and refined foods keeps the body from over-reacting to allergens and immune system threats.

#3 Avoidance - Avoiding Cats, Dogs, and Allergens while I took the oethr 4 steps also allowed my immunity to rebuild itself.

#4 A clean bedroom - allergy resistant sheets, pillowcases, and keeping my room free of dust mites, mold, and bacteria. This way my immune system would rest at night instead of working all night against the environment. By the way it's the dust mites excrement, not the dust mites themselves, that cause the allergic reactions when inhaled. Change your pillow to a synthetic (mites don't like it) and buy a new one every 9-12 months.

#5 A clean environment -By far the easiest step this meant finding an air purifier, one that kills viruses and bacteria (with UV), absorbs pollen (HEPA), picks up pollution (ion) and can kill mold and mildew (timed ozone is best) to allow the immune system to recover each night, reducing allergic responses.

Not really that tough when you take the steps above. Once your body and immunity is rebalanced you might find as I did that I was able to eat as I wish, withouitb any allergic response.

Mark Richardson is an author, and former Health Practitioner who researches cutting edge health products. His Video Website http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=markedwr2003 features FREE Video demonstrations on the newest in air purifier technology.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Asthma And Allergy Sufferer's - How To Instantly

So, You Might Ask, Why the Absurd Title?

Well, wouldn?t you agree that the typical household has their carpets professionally cleaned once or twice a year? And if they entertain very much, their carpets may be professionally cleaned three or four times per year. Again, wouldn?t you agree that our carpets are also vacuumed once every week, or two? This is great, because carpets, especially those in a bedroom, collect allergens and can be home to as many as 50,000 allergen producing dust mites.

How often do we have our mattresses and pillows, items that we have intimate contact with eight hours a day, professionally cleaned? Never, nor do we even clean them ourselves, weekly, or every other week! Bed linens yes,?but not the mattresses nor the pillows.

But do we sleep on our cleaned and vacuumed carpets? No, at least not normally. We are sane people, who sleep in our beds?our beds, that have NEVER been professionally cleaned, nor have the pillows, that we lay our heads upon, ever been professionally cleaned. So obviously, it would be more logical and even healthier, to sleep on our cleaned and vacuumed carpets!

Our unhygienic mattresses and unhygienic pillows harbor, on average, 2,000,000 dust mites and sometimes as many as 10,000,000 dust mites! Dust mites produce a digestive enzyme so powerful that it breaks down and kills living tissue. This digestive enzyme, called guanine, is excreted as a potent and very harmful allergen. Dust mites excrete 20 to 30 fecal pellets each day. Doing the math, that?s the equivalent of 40 to 60 million fecal pellets accumulating in our mattress EACH DAY! The fecal pellets are approximately 15 microns in size but as they dry out they become powdery and decompose into even finer particulates. These particulates are then easily inhaled by YOU when fluffing a pillow or tossing and turning at night which, on average, happens 50 to 60 times per night.

Dust mites are responsible for 80% to 90% of allergenic compounds found in house dust. Although dust mites and dust mite allergens (DMA?s) can be found throughout a home the vast majority of dust mites live, thrive, and breed, in the micro-habitat of a mattress and pillow. It?s time to incorporate regularly scheduled mattress and pillow cleaning in routine housekeeping practices.

In any average home, Indoor Air Quality is now the worst that it has ever been and dust mites are the #1 cause of poor indoor air quality. Visit the EPA?s newest website at: http://www.noattacks.org More Facts Concerning Indoor Air Pollution Asthma, "hidden" asthma, perennial rhinitis, bronchitis, sinusitis, eczema, and many more respiratory illnesses and skin disorders have INCREASED every year since 1980.

The ACAAI (American College of Allergies, Asthma, and Immunology) has stated that 50% of ALL ILLNESSES, are either caused by, or further aggravated by, poor indoor air quality.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed that, on average, the air quality with in our homes, schools, workplaces is 2 to 5 times worse than the outdoor air quality and in MANY places much, much, worse...as in 100 to 500 times worse! For real!!!

The EPA has also stated that since the '80's, children typically spend 90-95% of their time indoors. This is a MUCH higher percentage than when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's when our parents couldn't keep us inside (irregardless of the weather or time of day!).

So how could this have happened all across the U.S.? Here are just 3 of the major plausible reasons...

1). Energy conservation practices beginning in the late 1970's resulted in newer building construction methods, improved insulation and more "air-tight" structures to maintain indoor temperatures and indoor environments.

The negative impact that the less "draftier" structures have presented are the increased accumulations of indoor pollutants, both organic (dust mite allergens, molds, mildews, spores, bacteria, viruses, pet dander, and outdoor pollutants (pollen being #1) transported indoors and inorganic pollutants such as man-made chemicals and VOC's (volatile organic compounds).

VOC's emit gases from thousands of products found in a home such as: paints, lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, carpet backing, building materials and furnishings, and also found in schools and workplaces such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.

Toxic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products. All of these products release chemical compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.

2). Technology has played a negative role. The negative impact that technology has produced is the increase of indoor entertainment. Cable television, computers, interactive games (Play Station, X-Box, etc.) are often the entertainment of choice amongst school kids and young adults. This type of entertainment keeps people indoors instead of outdoors playing games like whiffle ball, jacks, hop scotch, 2-square (or 4-square), tag, Red Rover, or even hide-and-seek...

3). Globalization (the latest "El Nino" like, excuse). While G-zation is pretty cool (the world shrinking leads to sharing of new ideas, better access for traveler's to far away places, and furthering cultural exchanges). G-zation is also responsible for some negative impacts, some already known like the bird flu or the re-infestation, in the U.S., of the once nearly extinct bed bug and additional negative impacts, not yet realized.

Lastly, (and I can't quite decide if these are major or minor reasons) I suspect housekeeping practices and how "family-life" has changed since the '70's and 80's. Divorce among marriages actually became the norm (even becoming a status symbol) unlike in the '60's, family's (or what remained of families) became more mobile and thusly left behind assistance (and knowledge) from extended family members (grandma and grandpa), divorced mom's joined the work force leaving the home unattended (housekeeping became less of a priority), or the household needed BOTH parents to become wage earners, again allowing housekeeping to suffer, even if minimally.

Source Control, Attack the #1 Cause of Indoor Allergens

Grandma and Grandpa and the generations before knew the importance of mattress cleaning. This was a common spring cleaning ritual back in the days when everyone hung their laundry out to dry. Even though dust mites weren?t discovered until 1694 (by the inventor of the microscope) they have lived on earth about 300 million years. When man began sleeping on mattresses the dust mites learned of the new food source provided by humans. This happened about 10,000 years ago and it?s no coincidence that mattress cleaning became a normal ?housekeeping? function about 8,000 years ago.

Health and Wellness begins at home and to experience the best health, it?s time to once again, begin sleeping on hygienic mattresses and pillows?or sleep on the clean carpets. If you appreciated this article you may be interested in other articles authored by Tom Hefter.

Visit: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tom_Hefter Scroll down and RATE this article!

Tom Hefter, Founder/Owner, SterilMattress
http://www.sterilmattress.com

Due to past personal family experiences, the business enterprise "SterilMattress" was formed to assist the millions of American's (1 in 5) who suffer adverse health effects due to poor indoor air quality. Working in partnerships with health organizations, SterilMattress is compelled to help educate the U.S. public concerning this increasingly problematic issue. Additionally, SterilMattress offers the necessary specialized equipment available, at the lowest possible cost, and the technical advice needed to assist entrepreneurs with establishing their own successful and environmentally "green" Home Indoor Allergen Control business.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Get The Facts On Allergy Medication

Allergy medications are everywhere ? oral antihistamines, nasal antihistamines, decongestants ? Maybe it?s time to get the facts on your allergy medication.

Allergy medication is available over the counter and it is prescribed widely by doctors all around the world. Pick up a magazine there?s ads, the television is full of ads ? these products are heavily marketed and choosing the one that?s going to work is an entirely different game.

There are four allergy medication categories ? nasal sprays, decongestants, nasal antihistamines, and oral antihistamines. Let?s have a look at all four categories.

Oral antihistamines are by far the most common allergy medication prescribed by doctors. The block the histamines which is the chemical that is responsible for most of your symptoms. They do not offer permanent relief but as an allergy medication they do provide relief for itching, sneezing, hives, and nasal drip. Antihistamines can cause drowsiness and make it difficult to concentrate. You can actually be given a DUI if you are driving and taking this medication. Some of the OTC antihistamines are Benadryl, Atarax, Dimetapp, Tavist, Chlor-Trimeton, and Claritin. In fact Benadryl should be in every medicine cabinet.

Nasal antihistamines are newer and available through prescription and are a good allergy medication for the right situations. They work for12 hours and are steroid free. It is believed because of inhalation the dosage absorbed is better. It cause drowsiness, headache, and post nasal drip.

Oral and nasal decongestants are another allergy medication choice that is commonly used for those that have runny noses, sinus issues, post nasal drip, fever, pollen, sneezing, and itching. They are available in both prescription and OTC and in pills, drops, sprays, and liquids. However the ingredient phenylpropanolamine which was found in older decongestants has been banned. Current decongestants include Sudafed, Triaminic, Entex, and Ornade. Decongestants can make you jittery, elevate your blood pressure, and make sleeping difficult. Sudafed should be in every medicine cabinet.

The last allergy medication we?ll look at is nasal sprays. The non-steroid formulas are considered very safe and work best if you started a few weeks before the allergy season. Steroid formulas are available through prescription and are more effective and include Flonase, Nasonex, and Beclovent. Side effects include cataracts, hypertension, headache, weight gain, and nasal ulcers.

But wait we?ve had a look at a variety of allergy medications but there are also several natural remedies and an allergy medication that contains no harsh chemicals is likely to make your body much happier.

Besides considering a natural allergy medication you might also consider giving your body?s immune system a boost with the right supplement. After all the cause of allergies is an immune system that is misfiring.

And that means that an allergy medication isn?t always the solution to the problem. Sure it will reduce the symptoms but it is doing nothing to actually get to the bottom of the problem.

Once you get the facts on allergy medication you are in a much better position to make educated choices that work for you, your type of allergy, and your person situation. Choose what?s right for you.

Get all the latest information about Allergies from the only true source at http://www.1allergyinformation.com Be sure to check out our Allergy Medication pages

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Sunday, December 2, 2007

A Natural Approach to Allergy Therapy

Allergies are essentially a situation in which your immune system responds too strongly to a stimulus. While this sounds like a good situation, it is a toxic and potentially deadly situation for your body. Your immune system is powerful enough to destroy any invader if co-ordinated properly. Co-ordinated improperly, your immune system will destroy your own vital components; it will cause you sinusitis, skin conditions, asthmatic reactions, stomach and intestinal diseases, and more.

Medicine has no cure for allergies, only drugs for their symptoms. These drugs are, ironically, designed to weaken your immune response. The 'anti-histamines' often prescribed to combat asthma daily can be deadly. They are associated with heart problems, and in a Canadian Study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute anti-histamines can increase the rate of growth of cancerous tumours in lab rodents.

What you need to learn are the approaches to allergy therapy that will make good health sense, working in a productive manner to keep you healthy for the long term.

The primary control system of your allergic response is your nervous system. Your nervous system is likely to be irritated physically on several levels if you do have allergies, and it is important to reduce these sources. The systems that you can use to reduce these factors vary, and it is important to understand the method you choose thoroughly. Secondary to controlling your immune system, you must discover the types of foods that will empower your body to function properly through a healthy diet.

It is equally important that emotional stress in your life be reduced. Many people are walking emotional wrecks and are ignoring the damage this is doing to their health. The secrets to overcoming emotional problems are simple and straightforward honesty and courage in dealing with each situation that provides you with emotional instability or stress. Focusing on the health of the mind and body are essential steps for reducing the emotional barriers that your personal history has burdened you with. These steps can be empowering, and they are healing.

With allergies, as with any chronic condition, proper styles of living will reduce your symptoms and may even eliminate them. The important aspect to this process of self-learning and self-healing is to take on new ideas and new concepts while reducing the blurring effects of old concepts slowly. Examine issues over and over again with a new perspective and you will slowly learn the underlying steps to a stronger level of health, both mentally and physically.

Dr. Bryan Brodeur is the owner of VitalityHouse, and the author of Vitalism. Download a free introduction for this health and fitness e-book

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