Dogs With Sore Eyes

Allergic conjunctivitis, as well as sneezing and other evidence of allergy, is increasingly common in dogs. This may be related to where they live, or to changes in their immunity due to, for example, diet and exercise.

Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva, a layer of skin over the inner surface of the lids. Allergy occurs when the immune system over-reacts to a stimulus, mistakenly thinking it is an infection or cancer that it needs to fight off.

A dog with allergic conjunctivitis is likely to have redness, swelling and watering of one or both (usually both) eyes. There may be thickening of the conjunctiva, and if the dog is irritated to the extent that it scratches the eyes, there may be corneal abrasions and other eye damage.

No treatment ("watchful waiting") is a valid option if symptoms are very mild. Allergen avoidance is important, as far as it is possible. Bathing the eyes with a cool damp flannel may relieve some of the soreness and itching.

More severe allergic conjunctivitis will be treated with anti-inflammatory or antihistamine eye drops and ointments, and if any secondary bacterial infection is suspected, an antibiotic drop may be added. In severe cases a steroid drop will be used if treatment is otherwise unsuccessful.

Allergen testing may be needed to find the cause of the allergy.

Most holistic therapists and vets will look to the diet for a source of allergy. It is worth trying a hypo-allergenic diet. In addition, allergens are often airborne, so it is worth looking at environmental dust and pollution. Antioxidant supplements can help boost the immunity and reduce allergy.

Herbal Remedies: Burdock, Rosemary and Meadowsweet can all help with allergic conjunctivitis. Burdock (Arctium lappa) helps with detoxifying the tissues; Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, and Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) is another antiseptic and disinfectant. The eyes can be bathed in a decoction of fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare), Eyebright (Euphrasia officinallis) or elder flower (Sambucus nigra) to reduce soreness and inflammation.

Homeopathy: Apis mel can be used to rinse sore eyelids; arsen alb is used for more watery eyes.

Relaxation therapy, spiritual healing and general stress reducing measures will aid recovery from allergic conjunctivitis, as well as other ill-health. Healing work on the Brow chakra will particularly benefit the eyes.

Blue lace agate is useful for eye problems when using a crystal healing.

Flower Remedies: Bach remedies will help an underlying emotional problem which may be contributing to reduced immunity and allergy.

Has Anyone Had The Carroll Food Intolerance Test Done And Think It's Reliable?

I recently responded to a question asked on a website, whether anyone had the Carroll Food Intolerance Testing done and thought it was reliable. They explained how they had been tested but didn't take it seriously, that they were still suffering. They further questioned if maybe they have a wheat sensitivity.

This was my response:

Hello, I find it fascinating that you would go to the effort and expense of being tested and then not follow through, yet doubt the validity of the testing! Over 30 years ago I was evaluated by Dr. Harold Dick using the Carroll Food Intolerance testing method. It saved my life! I referred, and personally took others, to see him, now refer people to his daughter Dr. Letitia Dick (Windrose Naturopathic Clinic, Spokane WA.) and to Dr. Jared Zeff (Salmon Creek Clinic, Vancouver WA.). Countless patients can testify to being cured by these methods when nothing else worked. One acquaintance I know of had schlera derma, she was in incredible pain and the allopathic meds weren't helping. Dr. Dick tested her for food intolerances, she avoided them and not only did the swelling and pain go down but she was able to live without the meds.

The nature doctors know that every dis-ease known to man is created in the digestive system. It doesn't matter what the ailment is. The body is a healing machine if allowed to do what Nature intended it to. IBS is an obvious and immediate condition that points to something being ingested that the body is not able to break down and utilize, thus causing disruption and irritation. Without the proper digestive enzymes to break down the food, it then causes toxic reactions. We are all genetically predisposed to not having one digestive enzyme or another. Hence, the doctors using the Carroll Food Intolerance Test will evaluate the patient for a number of food categories.

I suggest you give it a try before touting that it doesn't work. I suspect you question that yourself, otherwise why bother asking others what results they've had? Aren't you just a little tired of searching for answers? And yet, it's right in front of you!

We have all been exposed to AMA indoctrination, and that of the western medical world. For over a century they have treated and out-rightly called Naturopathic physicians "witch-doctors." They have made fun of us to our faces when we inquired about natural options. Yet, their methods of treatment only address symptoms, not causes. In doing so, the immediate symptoms might be masked, but the body is still sick, and the problem will only arise somewhere else.

My personal food intolerances are potato and a combination of fruit/sugar. There are many derivatives and chemicals created from the different food categories, so it takes a little effort to totally avoid them.

It's worth a try, staying off the foods you've tested intolerant to. What have you got to lose but the pain and discomfort of being sick all the time?

I want to add something to this: It is common to feel sick and show symptoms of other dis-ease as the body goes through the healing process. It must reverse itself from the existing condition, basically going backwards, through the steps of chronic illness, through acute illness, then to wellness. It's possible, if this person was actually refraining from eating their food intolerances, that they may be going through healing crises on their way to reaching well being.

Best wishes. In Health,
Sandra

Contact Dermatitis - Allergy to Nickel Metal

Contact dermatitis can be a response to your body's contact with nickel. Nickel is present in a number of items we use daily and don't think twice about. For example, some cell phone parts, zippers, jewelry, belt buckles and nutritional supplements can all contain it.

Some speculate the body piercings are one of the reasons that nickel allergy reactions are more prevalent today. Keep in mind that the nickel can be not just outside the skin when you have a piercing but also in side your skin. A snap for instance on your pants at top of zipper is outside your skin.

Often for contact dermatitis, cortisone creams are used to ease the inflammation and antihistamines relieve the itching. However, continued contact with the irritating substance or item will still create an allergic skin reaction. To continue to aggravate your skin while you soothe it at the same time doesn't assist your skin in healing.

When your body becomes sensitive to nickel, it often continues to increase. Usually the reaction is localized, but it can also become something that spreads through your whole system. Patch testing is a way to determine what is causing an allergic reaction and if nickel is one of the culprits. Allergists will test foods, check for dust mites and analyze chemicals and other environmental factors that may cause your reactions to get to the bottom of the problem.

Think about what you are in contact with at your office as well as your home to try to find out if you are having a reaction to nickel that is compromising your skin and creating an itchy skin rash. Even paper clips can be a cause so don't overlook items that may seem innocent.

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura - Allergies and Low Platelets

Although most people of the medical community will admit that they don't have a clue about what really causes Idiopathic Thrombopathic Purpura (ITP), there are many astute doctors that have come to believe that the underlying causes of ITP are a combination of genetic and negative environmental factors. It is perplexing, that when exposed to the same toxic environmental stimulus, some people might develop cancer, others might develop Lupus, or asthma and still others may develop ITP disease. Surely this has to point to some sort of genetic predisposition or inherent weakness in the body.

When trying to come to some sort of conclusion as to what might be triggering your ITP, you must seriously consider what outside cause may be the culprit, you can either guess and eliminate potential antagonists bit by bit through trial and error (if you have the time and patience), or you can resort to much more accurate testing data made available through some Naturopathic practitioners, such as hair analysis for heavy metals or DNA testing with equipment such as the Avatar or Bio-tracker. These tests will immediately show what is antagonistic to your being. And then you are able to take immediate action.

If you are able to discern just what has been causing your low blood platelets, either by trial and error or high tech testing, by taking the proper course of action, you may reduce or eliminate completely the need for powerful and potentially dangerous medications, with horrible side effects or even the final insult to the body...spleen removal.

There are several environmental triggers that are known to cause and challenge a chronic immune response. Sad to say, that these factors are very often overlooked when diagnosing and evaluating people who have ITP.

Some of these factors are chronic infections and chronic allergies and food intolerances.

There is a lot to be said about the fact that allergic reactions to foreign substances cause an immediate immune response and that if left unchecked, soon will over load the immune system and cause it to go haywire, as in the case of itp, or other auto-immune disorders. It is unfortunate that most immune responses to allergens and intolerances to certain substances or foods, usually are not noticeable and is like a fire smoldering within, until the problem becomes so serious that dis-ease develops before the person even has the chance to realize it. That is why it is so important to know about your own body and what substances or foods you may or may not be able to tolerate.

Dog Allergies - Here Is My Own Story

When my Golden Retriever Sunshine first came to join our one dog - one woman household I thought that he was the smallest Golden puppy I had ever met. He wasn`t just small - he seemed to be someone who wasn't thriving.

Right from the start he suffered from a bladder infection and presented occasional outbursts of runny tummy.

Since I feed raw beef, tripe and chicken to my older Golden Sebastian and believe in the benefits of a raw meat diet I gradually changed the pup's food from the kibble his breeder had used to a diet of raw meat, vegetables and rice.

Not long after that the trouble started - his diarrhea became more frequent, he'd have me up mostly at night which did not please me at all!

First I put it down to some sort of infection - you know, those tummy bugs that dogs seem to pick up frequently.

As his motions improved I thought all was well again - only to discover the return of the problem a few days later.

As time went by I suspected some kind of adverse reaction to some of the foods I gave him. Indeed he seemed to be worse off after eating hearty chunks of beef but then again, he would also need to run when without beef.

Things became more and more confusing, not only to me but also to my vet. Sunshine was presenting himself with diarrhea as well as frequent vomiting after supper.

Perhaps there was something wrong with his pancreas? Blood tests did not confirm this suspicion.

In the end I took him to Gie?en University Clinic where they did all sorts of blood tests and x- rayed his stomach and intestines - everything was fine, no parasites, no bugs could be found...

They advised me to put him on a diet of just one source of protein plus one source of carbohydrates for eight weeks and see what the results would be.

This didn't sound like a very good idea to me but it set me off in the right direction - why not have a proper allergy test done?

My vet thought it would be a waste of money since she didn't support the allergy hypothesis and advised me to try the eight weeks restriction diet instead.

Of course we followed through with the test sending a blood sample to a lab I had used before for allergy testing. The results which came back after a few days didn't make me happy at all. Sunshine is allergic to beef, cow's milk and dairy products as well as all grains, to potatoes and rice. He can, however, eat chicken, venison and lamb.

With all those allergy triggers it was no surprise that he reacted with diarrhea to most foods I gave to him in the attempt to cure his upset tummy.

The lamb and rice tins for sensitive dogs had given him the runs because of the rice, the lamb and potato treats had given him runs because of the potatoes, all special diets for upset stomachs contained milk protein and so on.

There would have been no way to end his diarrhea without proper allergy testing.

As the results came back my vet insisted that I should feed him on one source of protein for eight weeks in order to set things straight. I did not do this because from allergy research in humans we know that one may become allergic to foods when he consumes them all the time.

Instead I started feeding Sunshine on a diet of venison, chicken, eggs, bananas and vegetables, avoiding grains and potatoes. The diarrhea vanished and has not returned since, the dog put on the much needed weight and is growing stronger day by day.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson. Next time I own a dog who shows signs of diarrhea on a regular basis, checking him for allergies will be one of the first measures I'll take.

The Danger of the Term Gluten Allergy

While more people than ever before are aware of gluten intolerance and celiac disease, a troubling misunderstanding of the condition persists and even seems to be spreading throughout the Internet. A single term embodies this misunderstanding: gluten allergy. Read on to learn why this term is misleading and relying on it could even be dangerous.

What Happens In A Food Allergy?

When someone experiences an allergic reaction, this reaction involves specific types of antibodies and chemicals in a specific type of reaction. The main antibodies in an allergic reaction are immunoglobulin E (IgE). These antibodies circulate your body with your blood and when triggered by the presence of an antigen create an immediate response.

During this response, chemicals called histamines are released. These histamines create the tangible symptoms we associate with allergic reactions. This entire response to an antigen is immediate and represents a Type 1 Hypersensitivity. A food allergy is a Type 1 Hypersensitivity.

Celiac Disease Is An Autoimmune Disease

Celiac disease is not a Type 1 Hypersensitivity. It does not involve IgE or histamines. It is an autoimmune disease with a delayed autoimmune response. When you have celiac disease, your body modifies the proteins in gluten (gliadin and glutenin) in a way that makes them trigger an over-reaction from your immune system. In this reaction, your body produces the excessive antibodies immunoglobulin A (IgA), anti-transglutaminase antibodies (ATA), and anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA).

These antibodies attack the lining of your small intestine, causing damage and inflammation, in particular resulting in the flattening of the intestinal villi. The villi are tiny finger-like protrusions along the wall of the small intestine that reach out and grab nutrients from the food you're digesting.

By causing an inflammatory response in your body, drawing toxins and undigested proteins into your bloodstream and creating worsening malabsorption, celiac disease wreaks havoc on your entire body over time.

But this entire process can take between hours and months to trigger tangible, identifiable celiac disease symptoms.

How Is the Phrase Gluten Allergy Dangerous?

Think of it this way: left untreated and undiagnosed for long, celiac disease can cause other autoimmune diseases, a litany of troubling symptoms and conditions and even cancer. Yet celiac disease often does not trigger an immediate or obvious reaction.

If you have celiac sprue disease, you may be able to eat a large piece of gluten-dense whole wheat bread and not experience an immediate reaction... or even a reaction within several days. This is counter to how many people (perhaps even most people) understand the disease.

If you use the term gluten allergy, you imply an immediate response to consuming gluten. An allergy is a type 1 hypersensitivity, and most laymen think of an allergy as an immediate reaction to an antigen.

So if you rely on this inaccurate term to encapsulate this concept, you might miss a serious and even deadly case of gluten intolerance simply because you're looking for an immediate and tangible reaction to consuming gluten.

I admit I still use the term gluten allergy because it often conveys the seriousness of the situation to many laymen in casual environments. A waiter might fear an allergic reaction more than "just" an intolerance, and thus he may be more vigilant in addressing your need while taking your order.

The topic of gluten intolerance is complex and evolving. A wheat allergy is a food allergy and you can experience several forms of gluten intolerance without testing positive for celiac disease (like a non-celiac gluten sensitivity). But try to stay clear on the difference between celiac disease and a food allergy and be deliberate and sparing in your use of the term gluten allergy.

Is NAET an Effective Treatment for Allergies?

Millions of people suffer with allergies and there isn't much they can do about them short of avoiding the allergen altogether. Allergies to things like cats and dust can turn a person's life upside down. In the past, people have tried allergy shots with varied success.

Many people with allergies, desperate for a solution, turn to alternative remedies. One particular alternative allergy treatment, called NAET. (short for Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique) has garnered a lot of attention in recent years. Celebrities like Dylan McDermott and Alana Stewart have endorsed it.

So what is it? According to the official website: "NAET is a safe and effective technique in detecting and eliminating or desensitizing all types of allergies. NAET combines Kinesiology (Muscle Responsive Testing), Chiropractic and Oriental Medicine to clear allergic reactions through a reprogramming of the brain ... This technique can successfully desensitize the body in order to achieve an allergy-free state."

What types of allergies do NAET practitioners claim they can treat? The more common allergies such as food allergies, dust, pollen, pet hair, and flowers are often diagnosed and treated first. Then, items in one's environment that one may not have thought of as an allergen are tested: air conditioning, fluoride, plastic, chlorine. NAET practitioners claim that one can be "allergic" to just about anything.

Besides treating allergies, many practitioners practice what they call "emotional clearing." Events from one's past may cause health imbalances that cause allergies and other problems. By clearing the emotional issues, they claim, the health problems will go away.

NAET has also become a popular treatment for autism. Many parents claim their children have improved after treatment. Others claim the treatments brought no results for their children. NAET practitioners claim that some children need more treatment than others.

Given all the things one can be allergic to, NAET treatment can go on for months if the person has a lot of allergies. Treatment often takes place once or twice per week. It can be costly, but for those who have achieved results and rid themsevles of allergies, it may be worth it.

If you suffer from allergies, NAET may be an option. As with all alternative therapies, it is important to read as much as you can before trying them and spending the money. There is a lot of information about NAET available online to help you decide. While some people haven't had much success with the treatment, for others with severe allergies it has been life-changing.