Due to the mild winter this year, the lower mainland will be subjected to a longer and more intense tree pollen season, according to UBC immunology department. The impact of this can range from annoying to life threatening, depending on the severity of a person’s allergies.
Have you been reaching for anti-histamines this the spring to reduce your symptoms of itchy eyes, stuffed nose, sneezing or post-nasal drip?
Did you know that the inflammation caused in your body by these annoying allergies could have long term negative impact on multiple body systems – like your joints and brain?
There are easy steps that can be taken to reduce and potentially eliminate your reaction to environmental allergies. And no – I don’t mean moving somewhere where there are no trees.
The first step is to clean up the reactivity that starts in your digestive tract, because 70% of your immune system resides there. And when foods are causing immune activation, that signal is sent everywhere in your body via the blood and lymph. Clean that up, and you get rid of the high alert signal in the rest of your body including your respiratory tract – affecting the mucous membranes around your eyes, sinuses and in your lungs.
The second step is to retrain your immune system. At this point, your immune system mistakes benign pollens, such as alder or birch, as pathogens. One methodology for accomplishing the retraining is called sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). A series of diluted antigens are created that when sequentially dropped under the tongue, the memory cells of your immune system are able to relearn and stop producing antibodies to benign pollens.
SLIT therapy is performed in office, takes about an hour a session and usually requires 3 to 5 sessions to achieve substantial improvement in symptoms.
If you are suffering from seasonal allergies and would like to get to the root cause and eliminate it permanently, call our clinic for more information or to book an appointment with Dr Cathy to get started.
About the author
Cathy’s own health journey ultimately led her to becoming an ND. She suffered most of her life with terrible digestive pain. She was tested for a variety of conditions and eventually diagnosed with IBS. Conventional medical treatment was an assortment of drugs which did not help. Cathy found a Naturopathic Doctor who helped turn her life around. And from this, her pursuit from being a chartered accountant to a career in naturopathic medicine began.
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