Understanding Allergies

Definition of an Allergy

 

Al • ler • gy (al • er • jee)

n. Inappropriate immune response

 

Allergies are a physiological error. The body reacts negatively to harmless

substances, foods or stimuli. The word allergy comes from the Greek

allos, meaning “other”. It was first used in 1906 to refer to an "altered

reaction" in the body’s immune system.

 

The human body is in a constant state of interpreting whether substances outside or inside the body are acceptable or a threat.

  • All substances and stimuli carry information
  • The body interprets all incoming information

A poison is registered as dangerous information to the system.

Vitamin C is registered as beneficial.

  • Allergies occur when the mechanism of interpretation becomes impaired
  • The cause is the same for all allergies: an error in perception
  • If the error in perception can be corrected, any related symptoms can be resolved. The body can accept the allergen as harmless and no longer react

“Exposure to allergens at certain times when the body’s defenses are lowered or weakened, such as a viral infection or pregnancy, seems to contribute to the development of allergies.”

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Conditioning Effect

The ability to affect physiology with an external stimulus was first demonstrated by Dr. Ivan Pavlov in 1903.

Dr. Pavlov showed that a dog’s physiology could be conditioned by associating food with an external stimulus in the form of a sound– produced by ringing a bell.

The dog’s salivary glands would be activated by the stimulus even though there was no food present, simply by creating an association with the food.

Positive Conditioning

By exposing the patient to safe levels of the allergen while strengthening all of the major organ systems simultaneously, the body associates the positive stimulus with the allergen and no longer perceives it as harmful.

The symptoms of an allergy depend on which organ system is affected in the body.

Stomach

Nausea, acid reflux, heartburn

Large Intestine

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, bloating, abdominal and intestinal pain, constipation

Lungs

Hayfever, wheezing, asthma, skin conditions, rashes and itchy, watery eyes

Skin

Eczema, skin rashes, hives, blisters and atopic dermatitis