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Author Topic: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?  (Read 2683 times)

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"Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« on: April 15, 2005, 09:35:53 AM »
I've got a question guys, for those of you who might suffer from allergies.

I myself have never suffered from allergies, seasonal or otherwise to the best of my knowledge.  That being said, I wonder whether or not I am, in fact, currently coming down with them.  You see?  All my life, I've pretty much lived in the state of Alabama where the pollen count is always pretty high (we all drive green cars due to the pollen dust on them in the spring and summer months).  This has never bothered me before though.

Then, in 2000, my ex-wife and I moved to New Orleans for a year to work with the company I now work for.  We moved back to Huntsville in late December 2001 shortly after 9/11 due to the fact that we really disliked living in a town where it took 1.5 hours to get to and from work every day and of course the desire to be closer to family.

It would seem that ever since, every single morning I wake up with "the sniffles" and clogged sinuses requiring a steady stream of kleenex for at least a couple of hours.  I don't get itchy eyes (he says as he rubs his eyes) or anything else really, just the sinus thing.  Over the counter allergy pills also don't really do anything except wire me up for the day.  While I do remember waking up this way every day since returning home, I don't really recall it happening prior to moving to Nola.

So, my question as per the subject is... Am I developing some sort of lame allergies, or is this pretty much a normal occurrance for other people?

Wayne
 

Offline Cymric

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2005, 10:12:11 AM »
Allergies can develop spontaneously, and the fact that you moved out of the high pollen count area to a lower one, and then moved back again could have triggered your immune system to behave somewhat more powerfully than strictly necessary. To take myself as an example: I used to live in a house with cats and cycled happily to and from work, straight through the open grass fields. When I moved out and got a place of my own, I did not get a cat; and the next year I was sniffling and suffering from itchy eyes every time I cycled through the fields. In fact, sometimes even returning to the house with the cats could trigger the response, even though I had been living with cats since birth. Skip forward a few years to 'now': you can set the clock on me getting itchy and burning eyes the first few warm and dry days immediately after the winter (when the first trees release pollen en masse), and then again in mid-June when the grass decides to pollute the atmosphere. Thankfully, it stays with these minor reactions.

While this story is quite anecdotal, I suspect that this sudden appearance of mild hay feaver is indeed related to certain changes in my life. And therefore I suspect yours are too. One suggestion is to get a few cats to make sure your immune system is continuously active and does not mind the extra dose of pollen (if it works, let me know ;-)), the other is to find medication containing sodium cromoglycate: I've found the eyedrops containing this compound to be a boon, and I know that at least in the Netherlands, a nose spray is available too. The big advantage is that it doesn't get you wired: although what it does precisely is not known it is thought to 'stabilise' certain cells in your body which produce the histamin you get puffy eyes and a runny nose from.

Good luck!
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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2005, 10:19:51 AM »
Quote
One suggestion is to get a few cats to make sure your immune system is continuously active

I've got three.  Is that a few?

:-)

Thanks for the feedback though, so far it's not really a bother, just a daily annoyance that I deal with and it normally resolves itself within an hour or two of waking.  Oddly enough, I wondered whether I was getting allergic to cats for a while.

Wayne
 

Offline Floid

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2005, 02:41:08 PM »
Quote

Cymric wrote:
[...] the other is to find medication containing sodium cromoglycate: I've found the eyedrops containing this compound to be a boon, and I know that at least in the Netherlands, a nose spray is available too. The big advantage is that it doesn't get you wired: although what it does precisely is not known it is thought to 'stabilise' certain cells in your body which produce the histamin you get puffy eyes and a runny nose from.


I think that's "NasalCrom" over here in the US (never seen eye drops with it, but I haven't really been looking) ... I'll second it to the extent that, if you ever do need a nasal spray without added decongestant and so on, it's a whole heck of a lot less irritating than the "plain" sting-like-hell saline formulations.

Not sure if it was explicitly stated, but exposure to one kind of pollen can rig you up to be susceptible to other kinds, too.  [While IMHO, the sudden change in relative humidity at the end of the heating season doesn't help, but the hygrometer here still says "--%," so maybe I'm just deluding myself.]
 

Offline Doobrey

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2005, 12:11:44 AM »
Quote

Wayne wrote:

It would seem that ever since, every single morning I wake up with "the sniffles" and clogged sinuses requiring a steady stream of kleenex for at least a couple of hours.


 Have you tried different deteregents on your bed/pillow covers? It might sound silly, but it sounds like whatever the allergy/reaction you`re getting it`s not from the outside world.

 I normally get hay fever, but it comes and goes. Some years I`m sneezing so hard my teeth hurt, other times I`m not affected at all.
 
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Offline metalman

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2005, 01:18:11 AM »
Quote

It would seem that ever since, every single morning I wake up with "the sniffles" and clogged sinuses requiring a steady stream of kleenex for at least a couple of hours. I don't get itchy eyes (he says as he rubs his eyes) or anything else really, just the sinus thing.


you probably developed alergic sinitus.

Change the air conditioner filters in your home and see if it makes a difference.

Take something like Tavest-D or Claryton-D (anti-histamine w/ nasal decongestant)

 
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Offline T_Bone

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2005, 11:07:18 PM »
Wierd, I never used to be bothered by this stuff either...

now I'm DYING from it, it's affecting me so bad I even have a slight temperature of 101, and can't get rid of it. This can't be good, I've had this fever for almost a month now.

I'm taking so many allergy medicines I'm surprised my immune system hasn't just shut down altogether. If this keeps up for another day or two, I'm thinking of seeing an allergist.

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Offline Karlos

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2005, 11:19:41 PM »
Infect yourself with a dose of hookworms and never know allergic reactions again.
int p; // A
 

Offline Andy

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2005, 11:44:25 PM »
I used to suffer from hayfever every summer. I was perscribed    a few anti histamin tablets, ( Triludan, Piriton, Hismanal) but they only worked for a couple of months. Now I have been taking Neo-Claratyn and Beconase nasal spray for the past 3 years and have had hayfever free summers.
 
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Offline X-ray

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2005, 08:23:43 AM »
"Infect yourself with a dose of hookworms and never know allergic reactions again."
---------------------------------------------------------

Not a good plan. You run the risk of anaemia and protein deficiency. And the thought of these inside me makes me wanna spew.
 

Offline Karlos

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2005, 10:57:30 AM »
Quote

X-ray wrote:
"Infect yourself with a dose of hookworms and never know allergic reactions again."
---------------------------------------------------------

Not a good plan. You run the risk of anaemia and protein deficiency. And the thought of these inside me makes me wanna spew.


Don't be such a drama queen, it all depends on the quality your diet. They might be unsightly litte buggers but they aren't exactly the most dangerous parasites. As it goes, there have been some astonishing links found recently between intestinal parasites like these and allergies.

Such parasites have been with us since the beginning and our bodies evolved an equilibrium with them. It's true that in a food-insecure environment they are dangerous for the very reasons you mention, but provided you eat sufficient protein , carbohydrate, minerals etc (which of course we should be), they have no ill effects apart from the stigma of knowing the buggers are in there, and the occasional itcy back eye.

In the last century we all but eradicated them from our population, beleiving them to be nothing more than dangerous freeloaders and now we are seeing unusual side effects caused by upsetting the equilibrium. The explosion in allergies in our society can be measured against the demise of hookworm in our systems. There is a surprising correlation between the two.

It has been suggested that they helped keep our immune responses in check. Without their presence, an over zealous immune system attacks us instead when triggered by various allergens.

Research carried out in parts of South America where worming the population is an ongoing process uncovered an interesting observation to support the idea. A large kids that had not yet been wormed were largely free of allergies.  Within weeks of being wormed, half those same children developed an array of allergies that are commonplace in our society. This same observation has been reproduced several times in different countries since.

One of the people researching the effect of these worms (on himself :-o) had an intense allergy to pollen. Within a week of infecting himself, his allergy was gone.

There was a documentary about this not log ago. A whole bunch of people with extreme allergies were basically cured   having ingested a controlled dose of these particular worms.

One lady, in her early 20s had such severe IBS that she faced no choice but having a sizeable section of her colon removed. Her doctor, aware of the above research suggested (after her pleading to find an alternative) that whilst still very much being investigated, she might consider hookworm as a treatment. Her IBS went into total remission within six weeks.

A whole range of common (some highly dangerous) allergies have been shown to be suppressed by the presence of these parasites. The effort now is to find out what it is that these worms do in order to keep the immune system in balance and see if it can be reproduced in less wriggly ways...
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Offline CU_AMiGA

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #11 on: April 17, 2005, 02:12:49 PM »
Hey Yo!

This thread is of interested to me as well. I have the exact same trouble as Wayne has. I wake up with a blocked nose (plus the sneezing). This lasts until around 9.30, by that time i am normally at college. I seem to be worse when i am at home. I am also a hayfever sufferer, which is a pain. I am okay, unless some grass has been cut. That is when it's a pain, and i get the itchey eye problem and the sneezing. I control most of it via hayfever tablets.

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Offline X-ray

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2005, 05:18:16 PM »
@ Karlos

"...Don't be such a drama queen, it all depends on the quality your diet. They might be unsightly litte buggers but they aren't exactly the most dangerous parasites. As it goes, there have been some astonishing links found recently between intestinal parasites like these and allergies..."
--------------------------------------------------------

When the therapeutic administration of hookworm (a known parasite with known health risks) is accepted by a medical organisation of some repute, I will give your comments serious consideration. As it is, I challenge you to show me where it has been proven by an established medical research institution that it is safe to administer hookworms to somebody (even if he has a compensated iron intake), never mind establish direct links between the presence of hookworms and the relief of allergies.

Even in cases where the benefit of a known parasite can be demonstrated, the use of such a parasite is always controlled. An example of this is the use of leeches on tissue flaps where the surgical repair of the venous vessels has not been as successful as the arterial repair and there is a venous drainage insufficiency. Even when leeches are used, they are carefully controlled and removed from the patient immediately after the desired amount of blood has been removed. What I would like you to explain to me is exactly how the hookworms are administered to the patient and how their numbers and activities are controlled, or even monitored. I've tried to Google it, but I haven't found any information on this, most sites are about how to get RID of hookworm, not how to encourage infestation.
The use of leeches for medicinal purposes has been approved, and like a good lad I'll give you the kind of link I expect you to show me with regard to the hookworm:

Leeches as approved medical 'devices'

The closest thing I could find about enteral worms is a trial involving the pig whip worm which is nothing like a hookworm. This trial was conducted at the University of Iowa. Note that even these whip worms have not been accepted (as yet) as safe medical devices and they have been chosen specifically because they can't reproduce and do not survive long in the alimentary tract.
I'm not against parasites and worms per se (I think the use of maggots to clean necrotic wounds has merit) but I don't think it is wise for somebody to advocate the use of a parasite such as a hookworm when there are no medical guidelines on the safe administration of hookworms, and no clearly-proven benefit in the literature.


 

Offline Karlos

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2005, 10:17:48 PM »
@X-Ray

I am not a medic, therefore I don't know what you would classify as reputable and what you wouldn't.

As for finding no web links, I guess you didn't google too hard. Simply entering the words 'hookworm', 'allergy' and 'suppression' into google gave me 544 hits.

Here are just three from the top ten:

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

A PDF article I didn't completely read ;-)

Blackwell Synergy Online Journals : Parasite Immunology

int p; // A
 

Offline X-ray

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Re: "Allergies" or simply a mere cold?
« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2005, 11:25:38 AM »
@ Karlos

Your first link is to do with the findings of paediatric asthma suppression in the presence of parasitic worm infestation. They concentrate mainly on the large arcaris roundworm. They haven't reached a conclusion about hookworm:

"..Similar, although nonsignificant, associations were found for hookworm (adjusted odds ratio, 0.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.2 to 1.8), but there was no suggestion of any relation to Trichuris infection.."

and

"..We conclude that Ascaris and possibly hookworm infection protects against wheeze in young Ethiopian children.."

Okay, you can scratch that link because it doesn't help your case. It neither defines nor promotes the effect of hookworm on an asthma sufferer. In addition to that, take note of their findings as regards the Trichuris infection (my good mate the pig whip worm, which I gave you a link about earlier). It has no effect here on asthma but the researchers at Iowa University have data that supports its effect in suppressing IBS. This to me indicates a parasite may be good for one immunological disorder but not for another. Secondly these are observations in Ethiopian children who already have the infection, unlike the research done in Iowa. Observing a hookworm effect (one that I am not convinced of, mind you) is a far cry to setting up protocols for the deliberate infection of an individual with hookworm. It's not only too-big a jump but is likely to earn anyone who tries it (without depending on formal research) a clip around the earhole from the medical community. Thirdly (and most importantly) any research to do with the effects of hookworm infection in children is a dead-end in terms of rolling out hookworm treatment for adults. This is because hookworm infestation in children is a known danger and can result in death, fancy diet or no. You can get that information out of the very first link I posted in my first response.

The next link you gave me, you say 'A PDF article I didn't completely read.' I don't blame you I also don't want to pay $37.50 for the full article, especially when it is about intestinal parasites in general and has no mention  of hookworm in the abstract. Chances are you would spend $37.50 and have nothing to show for it. Scratch that link then.

Your last link is the Blackwell Synergy one about parasite immunology. Again I don't know if you only read the abstract (because you have to pay for the full article) but I am unimpressed by the abstract. The body's immune response to the hookworm may be interesting to some, but there are no specific benefits outlined in the abstract. Could it be that this is more about the body's resistance to parasites rather than any perceived benefit of the parasite, in this case the hookworm? That is the feeling I got from the abstract.

Lastly, you and I both know that the number of hits in Google is not a statistical tool. If it was, it would be in my favour because when I enter medicinal leeches I get 20,200 hits. By comparison a mere 544 would seem insignificant. (I could argue that they ARE insignificant if they are of the same quality as the links you have already provided)
 Edit: I would be well-entitled to say 'I guess you didn't google too hard' ;-)

Let me conclude with this: since we don't know what allergies our fellow Amigans suffer from, and since there is no medical documentation to support the safe administration of hookworms to allergy sufferers, and also no proof that said administration will alleviate the symptoms, it is not wise to advocate that these people infect themselves with hookworms.