Talent Mash

All cases of earache should be seen by a doctor, who has the proper equipment to examine the ears to see what the problem is, and to provide the correct treatment.

Frequent middle ear infections, or recurrent otitis media, affect 30% or more children under the age of six. This is the most frequent diagnosis in clinical medical practice. A variety of different bacteria and viruses can cause middle ear infections. One of the leading causes of ear infection in children is a bacterium called branhamella catarrahalis (B-cat). Another cause of frequent ear infections in children is food allergies.

Avoiding mucous forming foods is important, as this could contribute to the problem. Using natural decongestants, such as is found in the herbal combination HAS or Allergy Check can help dry this up, which can help incredibly. The avoidance of common allergenic foods such as wheat, dairy products, oranges, peanut butter, citrus fruits and bananas may be helpful.

Garlic oil has been used as an ear drop for children with an ear infection. This can be purchased ready made. A Naturopath prescribed a garlic oil extract as an ear drop for a child. Within 2 days of use, the child’s ear infection had gone and the child required no further medical attention. However, if ear aches are a problem in your family, I would strongly recommend you seek advice, before putting anything into the ear.

Ear and Nerve Formula is a herbal formula that has been used specifically for ear problems (do not use if the ear drum is perforated) and combats inner ear infections that may cause hearing loss. It relieves symptoms of hysteria and nervous disability. It is helpful in cases of epilepsy.

Dizziness, earache and vertigo can all be related to low iron levels in the body, so an iron supplement may be essential. Make sure it is a carefully balanced combination containing not only iron but vitamin B12, folic acid and vitamin C, as these are all needed for the proper absorption and utilisation of iron in the body.

Vitamin A is specifically required to support the immune system and protect mucous membranes. Whilst, Echinacea, Golden Seal, Garlic Oil and Mullein are all helpful as antibiotic and anti-mucous herbs.

Nutritional and Herbal support for Ear Infections includes:

Zinc and Vitamin C – Enhances immune response and aids in reducing infections in the body.

Bio Attack – A herbal formula in a capsule containing Olive leaf and anti-fungal herbs.

Sambucol Immune – A liquid immune system booster, which combats both viral and bacterial infections.

Earmed Relief – A Homeopathic remedy specifically for earache.

Eutherol – Great tasting menthol liquid herbal formula that is a powerful antiseptic/antibiotic. May be used orally and droppered in the ear.

Some interesting points on Ear Infections:

Avoid wheat, dairy products, corn, oranges, peanut butter, simple carbohydrates including sugar, fruit juice and bananas.

Take internally an alcohol-free Echinacea/Golden Seal liquid to fight infections.

To alleviate pain, warm garlic oil and mullein has been used to help treat the infection.

Rotate your foods to reduce possibility of allergies.

Take a vitamin supplement to help build up the body, so it can fight infections.

Do not blow your nose if you have an ear infection. Keep the ear canal dry. Retained soap and water in the canal can be dangerous. Put cotton in the ear canal when showering or bathing.

Do not go swimming until healing is complete.

Chewing on chewing gum or blowing up a balloon can help to unblock a blocked ear.

If there are symptoms of dizziness, ringing in the ears, bleeding or a discharge, sudden pain (or a sudden lessening of pain) and hearing loss in one or both ears, contact your health care provider immediately. These symptoms could indicate a ruptured eardrum.

Foods that trigger allergy: avoid them

Ninety percent of all food allergies are accounted for by just eight foods. They are eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, soya, gluten, peanuts, and tree nuts (for example, walnuts or almonds). Typically it is the protein component of a food that triggers the allergic responses. However, there are foods and beverages that we do not typically think of as containing protein, such as citrus fruits or potatoes, can actually contain enough protein to cause an allergic reaction within us.

Be careful when eating out

It is very important to watch out for allergy-trigger foods when dining out. Some types of cuisines frequently contain foods that trigger allergic reactions easily, such as peanut protein or oil or gluten or soya products. Be sure to ask your waiter to check the ingredients in the food and beverages you are ordering. You must make it clear that if you eat a particular food that you are allergic to, it could have serious implications; it is not just that you do not like something.

When traveling to other countries, you should learn how to say the name of any trigger foods, or have the name written down in the language of the country you are visiting. At the same time, take advantage by asking and finding out what the locals do for natural allergy cures when they encounter allergies.

Caution: hidden ingredients

It is critical that you familiarize yourself with the different names of the substances that contain the food that affect you and look for them on labels if you have food allergy or food intolerance. Dairy products and eggs are often hidden in a wide range of foods; and it is true with as well with gluten, which can be hidden in processed meats, yogurt, cheeses, sauces, gravies, and even frozen vegetables. Be careful that many processed foods contain corn syrup and many products that are labeled with dextrose or fructose. There are food coloring that are also made from corn.

Skin-prick test

In this test, a drop of a common allergen (a substance that can cause an allergic reaction) is placed on the skin, which is then punctured with a small needle. It is a positive test result if the skin reacts to the allergen by producing a weal or a hive. A positive result should be followed with a 2-step procedure. One: following a diet that eliminates the suspected food and two: conducting a food challenge, in which the allergic food is ingested again to see if the symptoms return. Food challenge tests must be medically supervised as they may trigger anaphylaxis.

Allergy is a condition in which the body tends to react due to hypersensitivity to some substance such as food, drugs, drinks, pollution, flowers, and others. An allergen could be anything under the sun that might cause a reaction in one’s body if the body disagrees with that substance. Even a common thing such as sunlight and air might cause sever reactions in some if the skin is susceptible to allergies due to the same.

People suffering from food allergies are many. Although most of these individuals do not have very severe reactions, some might find instant severe reaction to some foods. Most common foods that cause allergies in some people are the nuts, peanuts in general. Milk, soy, corn, and even rice etc., are a few other that might cause allergic reaction with no apparent reason. Some people are allergic to processed foods and other processed products. Although in a small percentage, even chocolate causes reaction in a few people. Food allergies mostly affect the immune system, respiratory and digestive systems, depending on the type of food that has been consumed. Seafood such as fish, prawns, shellfish, jellyfish etc., is another common kind that causes allergies in individuals. The best method to encounter the food allergies is to avoid intake of the kind of food that causes reaction in the individual.

Citrus fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, oranges, and others cause allergic reactions in most people. Itchiness, redness or blotchy face, irritation are common symptoms. Peanut allergy can also be very severe as it might even result in death by just a common contact with a peanut. An allergy test would prove to be very helpful in case of peanuts and even other nuts for that matter as they are most deadly of all allergies.

Flowers are one of the most beautiful parts of nature. However, even these can prove to be dangerous for people who are allergic to pollen formed in certain flowers. Pollen and even certain kinds of weeds and grass often affect respiratory system and cause severe damage. Individuals suffering from sinusitis must get the same under check to avoid further damage to the sinus. Periodic allergic checks can bring forward the exact kind of allergy the individual has and proper treatment can help a lot in the long run. Getting rid of plants with flowers around that individual might also help to a great extent. Of course this is only if the flowers have been detected as the actual cause of the allergy.

Certain drugs might cause adverse reaction to the patient resulting in complications. Irritation, swelling of face and body, breaking out into hives etc., are some of the well noticed symptoms but some drugs might cause internal allergies that take some time to detect and cure. Sulfur is used in most of the drugs that causes adverse reactions in people. The physician must get to know initially if the patient is allergic to any of the drugs before administering the same. Getting an allergy test done at regular intervals is a good choice if suspecting any allergies in the body.

Another common allergic reaction is caused due to metal. Most individuals are allergic to nickel. Even gold and silver cause reactions in some individuals although in a very small percentage. Metals lead to skin allergies. Individuals reacting to metals are liable to break into hives or the skin starts itching along with swelling in that area. Turning red or purple in the area coming in contact with the metal is another common reaction. Avoidance of such metals that cause reactions would be the best choice for individuals suffering from such skin allergies.

The link between food and arthritis has been difficult to prove because of the difficulty inherent in study design. However, observations made over the last several decades point to trends that may be important. Multiple studies have suggested that rheumatoid arthritis symptoms could be reproduced by the reintroduction of certain foods and ameliorated by excluding these foods from the diet.

More recently, rheumatoid arthritis has been shown to worsen when there is an excessive amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. Excessive ingestion of feedlot beef, refined cooking oils and margarines result in an increase of inflammatory symptoms. Some evidence has linked the consumption of saturated fats found in whole milk, cheese, as well as other animal products such as red meat and poultry to worsening RA symptoms. (O’Banion DR. J Holistic Med 1982; 4: 49-57)

An interesting connection has been proposed by some researchers that a food allergy to high saturated fat foods, meat, dairy, omega-6 fatty acids, and refined vegetable oils may be responsible for some rheumatoid arthritis flares (Hicklin JA, et al. Clin Allergy 1980; 10: 463-470.)

For centuries, nightshade foods such as potatoes, eggplant, and pepper have been claimed to aggravate arthritis. Firm data here, though, is not compelling. Study design has been a drawback. Doing a randomized double-blind study using foods is exceedingly difficult.

Small studies evaluating the effects of foods in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers have continued to make a case for food being a significant inciting factor in disease. Studies performed by researchers have demonstrated that partial fasting with avoidance of animal fat, refined sugar, citrus fruits, preservatives, coffee, tea, alcohol, salt, and strong spices which were associated with symptoms led to a reduction of symptoms.

Another study published by Beri et al showed that an elimination and rechallenge diet provided significant improvement in 71% of patients tested. (Beri, D, et al Ann Rheum Dis 1988; 47: 69-72)

In another study, Darlington evaluated 70 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. By eliminating foods deemed to provoke symptoms, he was able to eliminate symptoms as well as need for medications in 19% of patients. Darlington also identified foods such as grapefruit, cheese, malt, coffee, beef, eggs, rye, oats, milk, oranges, bacon, tomato, peanuts, cane sugar, butter, lamb, lemon, and soy as causative factors. (Darlington LG. Rheum Dis North Am 1991; 127: 273-285)

A recent study suggested that a diet high in vitamin D such as is found with salmon, tuna, shrimp, sunflower seeds, eggs, and vitamin-D fortified milk may prevent rheumatoid arthritis. (Merlino, LA et al. Arthritis Rheum 2004; 50: 72-77)

The upshot of these studies indicates that perhaps dietary manipulation should be considered as a possible therapeutic intervention. Elimination of all foods believed to be causing symptoms followed by single food reintroductions to determine which foods might be the culprits seems a reasonable course of action. Foods such as corn, wheat, cow’s milk, pork, oranges, oats, rye, eggs, beef, coffee, malt, cheese, grapefruit, lemon, tomato, peanuts, and soy seem to be the most common offenders.

In our office we have found the Immunolab assay (Fort Lauderdale, FL) to be useful in excluding food allergies as a potentially important contributing factor to arthritis symptoms.

Fruit is nature’s wonder food. There is no more perfect example of food fit for man than fruit. The average fruit is the perfect size for a serving, a little smaller than a fist, and contains good amounts of water, nutrients and fiber in the form of cellulose. The skin of a fruit is also nature’s own packaging. Unfortunately, some people have fruit allergies and must avoid some, but not usually all, fruits. The affected may suffer from rashes, nausea, bloating, itching and other symptoms. For an unlucky few, eating the wrong fruit can even result in death.

A not insignificant number of people are affected each year by fruit allergies. If we take food allergies as a whole, nearly one fifth of the population are affected. The diagnosis of fruit allergies is the same as for food allergies in general — usually a particular allergy is identified in childhood when it appears that a reaction or disapproval of particular foods has a pattern to it and is not just a one off event. Sometimes, the offending fruit cannot be identified, and a specialist must be consulted who will conduct a series of tests. Commonly, a skin pin prick test will be utilized to determine the offending allergens.

Fruit Allergies Often Appear In Groups

It is quite rare for someone to have fruit allergies for all fruits. Usually, they are restricted to a particular group. For reasons not fully understood, apples are responsible for the most fruit allergies in people. Close behind are types of berry and citrus fruits. As most sufferers of fruit allergies usually only respond badly to a specific group of fruits, they can still obtain their nutrition from the many other fruits that they can obtain.

Fruit allergies are, more often than not, identified in early childhood as a result of some incident, often when eating fruits that are not usually eaten e.g. on vacation. It is worth knowing that fruit allergies, like all allergies, are often hereditary and if both parents have an allergy, you are more likely to also have that allergy than if only one parent has the allergy. As with all allergies, sufferers of fruit allergies should determine exactly what they are allergic to, consider if they are also allergic to other foods and make appropriate modifications to their lifestyle to ensure a healthy life despite their allergies.

Do You Have a Citric Acid Allergy?

There is some debate on the internet about whether such a thing as an allergy to citric acid is a known medical condition or not. Some people, including many M.D.s and other doctors (such as naturopaths) suggest that there is no such thing as an allergy to citric acid, instead calling it a “food sensitivity”, a “food intolerance” or even a “non-allergic food hypersensitivity”.

Regardless of the terms currently used, the fact is that some of us have adverse reactions when we eat citric acid, and sometimes when we put it on our skin.

Citric acid is frequently made from corn, and I believe that often a reaction to corn is actually a reaction to the citric acid that is in the corn. Citric acid is found in MANY foods naturally, and not just citrus fruits and most people think.

It is also used as a cleaner and descaler in concentrations around 6% to remove hard water stains from surfaces, and it is also used to slow the rate at which concrete sets, so you can see it has many industrial and household uses.

In food, citric acid frequently used as a preservative, and many vegetable and fruits are washed in a mild citric acid solution to prevent them going brown (and looking less appealing to shoppers) by reacting to oxygen in the air (oxidization).

It is also used as a flavoring to make foods taste tart, and is sometimes used in place of lemon juice by food manufacturers. You’ll see it on the ingredients list of many canned drinks, including many colas and root-beers.

How Much in the World?

In 2007 there was an estimated 1,700,000 tons (that’s 3,400,000,000 or three point four BILLION pounds) of citric acid produced, most of it made in China. Where did all this go?

Here is the breakdown:

Half of it was added to drinks, 20% as food additives, another 20% added to cleaners and the last 10% is estimated to be added to cosmetics, like shampoos and soaps.

As you can see, it isn’t just something quite rare tat you find in a few things, but rather is extremely common.

The Difference Between Allergies and Intolerances

So what exactly IS the difference between an allergy and an intolerance? Well, here is what I have managed to gather from my studies.

To be an allergy, technically, your immune system has to be involved. That is, something has made your immune system start to do its job and try to protect you. The problem with allergies is that too often, your immune system seems to start doing its job when it doesn’t need to, because it reacts to things that aren’t really very harmful to you, such as pollen.

A food intolerance (or food sensitivity) on the other hand, is a body’s inability to digest certain compounds in food, but does NOT involve the immune system. The reasons that this happens seems to be caused by several factors, and more research needs to be done to determine what all of these factors are.

Important

It’s vitally important to determine whether or not you do indeed have an allergy or intolerance, and the only way to do this is to see a licensed doctor, preferably an allergist or other specialist in that field.

Allergies can be life threatening (hence me saying it’s VITALLY important) and many people are now prescribed “epi-pens” which are syringes full of epinephrine, which they must administer to themselves (or have others do it for them) if an attack happens when you aren’t near a physician (which is most of the time of course).

Other Food Intolerances

There are several common food intolerances, including the following:

Lactose Intolerance – which means you can’t drink milk or eat milk derived products

Gluten Intolerance – which means you can’t eat breads or any products made with wheat

Carbohydrate Intolerance – which means you can’t eat many vegetables

Citric Acid

I’ve spoken with several doctors and citric acid intolerance (often called citric acid allergy) seems to be new to many of them. While this probably isn’t a life threatening condition, because of its symptoms, it can be very debilitating, and quite often very embarrassing.