More than 20 years ago, scientists realized that if they could block histamine, they could relieve the symptoms of hay fever. Chemists developed several antihistamines, which relieve the itching and liquid discharge. Nonprescription antihistamines such as Benadryl and ChlorTrimeton are sold for a few cents a pill. “With most antihistamines, since people develop tolerance,” Dr. [...]
A homemaker ate a piece of chocolate cake and a few hours later developed a migraine-type headache. A 10-year old boy began to wheeze while eating in a restaurant; his fork had a tiny trace of egg on it. A girl ordered a seafood casserole in a restaurant and almost immediately after tasting it began [...]
Allergies can not only cause familiar physical symptoms but can also be responsible for a host of so-called mental problems, including some cases of what looks like outright psychoses. Remarkably, the complete avoidance of a particular food or foods sometimes brings relief of such symptoms, while the reintroduction of the incriminating food can bring back [...]
Needless to say, the better filters are more expensive, but a high price is not an unfailing guide to quality, so you need to ask some searching questions: Does it contain silver? (If not, then it is probably dangerous.) Is the filter registered with the EPA? What is the registration number? If not EPA registered, [...]
This is meant to be a very simple, basic diet, in which you consume nothing but your allowed foods. No herbs, no spices, no flavourings, nothing tinned and no packaged foods of any sort. It is not going to be a gastronomic delight, but the diet does not last long and it may make you [...]
None of these preventive measures is foolproof, unfortunately. Some children go on to develop allergies, come what may. So a philosophical outlook is essential – do what you can to protect the child from allergens and irritants but accept that it may sometimes be impossible. Above all, try not to get too anxious. A child [...]
David was very restless as a baby and slept little. By the time he could toddle he was a constant worry to his mother, because he was ‘into everything’ and could not be left alone for a minute. Getting him to bed in the evening was almost impossible, and when he was forced to do [...]
To add to the myths about food, there are some long-standing misconceptions about human digestion that fuel the arguments over food sensitivity. The most important one is that food is broken down into very small molecules before any of it is absorbed. Every school biology student is taught this: that the enzymes in the mouth, [...]