Allergies are a very common health problem in the United States. The percentage of the US population that tests positive to one or more allergens is 55%. The estimated annual cost of allergies to the health care system and businesses in the US is $18 billion. Allergic Rhinitis or hay fever accounts for 15 million doctor visits each year1. The number of work days lost each year as a result of hay fever alone is 4 million. The percentage that a child will develop allergies if one parent has them is 48%. The percentage that a child will develop allergies if both parents have them is 70%. There are 30,000 ER visits in the US each year caused by food allergies2. Penicillin is the most common culprit in drug allergy. Anaphylactic reactions to penicillin cause approximately 400 deaths a year3.
An allergy is a hypersensitivity reaction of the immune system. A substance that normally is harmless occurs when a person’s immune system reacts. Allergic reactions happen when an excessive activation of certain white blood cells called mast cells and basophils become activated by a type of antibody called Immunoglobulin E (IgE). A substance that causes that allergic reaction is called an allergen. These reactions result in an inflammatory response which can range from uncomfortable to life threatening.
Hay fever is very common in humans and can cause such symptoms as red eyes, itchiness, runny nose, eczema, hives or an asthma attack. Asthma is often caused by allergies. Allergies exist from environmental or dietary allergens or to medications. Food allergies and reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees can often cause severe reactions4.
A variety of tests exist to diagnose allergic conditions. These include placing possible allergens on the skin and looking for a reaction such as swelling. Blood tests can also be done to look for an allergen-specific IgE. A RAST test (short for radioallergosorbent test) is a blood test used to determine to what substances a person is allergic. This is different from a skin allergy test, which determines allergy by the reaction of a person’s skin to different substances5.
Biomedicine uses a variety of treatments for allergies include avoiding known allergens, use of medications such as anti-histamines that specifically prevent allergic reactions, steroids that modify the immune system in general, and medications such as decongestants that reduce the symptoms. Many of these medications are orally ingested, though epinephrine which is used to treat anaphylaxis is injected. Immunotherapy uses the actual allergen and injects it to desensitize the body’s reaction to it.
Not only ambient allergens can cause allergic reactions but also allergies can come from insect stings, foods, and medications such as aspirin and antibiotics such as penicillin. Symptoms of food allergies may include abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, vomiting, itchy skin, and swelling of the skin such as in hives6. The prevalence of peanut allergy among children appears to have tripled between 1997 and 20087.
Eliminating Allergies
BioSET™ Allergy Elimination & Desensitization
BioSET™ is a system of allergy elimination and desensitization originated by Ellen Cutler, D.C, and M.D. The acronym BioSET™ stands for bio-energetic sensitivity and enzyme therapy. Dr. Cutler describes it as a “natural holistic health care system to treat chronic and acute illness”. It is based on energetic medicine and meridian therapy to prevent and resolve chronic health conditions. Allergies or poor metabolism of a substance are determined either through the use of computerized testing or through muscles response testing (MRT), known as applied kinesiology. Muscle testing was originated by George J. Goodheart, D.C. in 1971. It is the practice of using manual muscle-strength testing to diagnose and prescribe treatment for patients.
Allergies can be eliminated through BioSET™ Allergy Elimination Technique the allergen is treated by having the patient touch the allergen while receiving an acupuncture or acupressure treatment to balance their organs and treat their symptoms. By balancing the patient’s pulses and therefore their organs in the presence of the allergen, the body will accept the allergen and not react to it 24 hours after the treatment. Many individual who are ill due to food allergies and or environmental allergies may become allergy free as a result of the combination of allergy elimination and acupuncture. Eliminating allergies strengthens patients’ immune systems and creates a better quality of life.
1 http://www.achooallergy.com/allergy-statistics.asp
2 WebMD Allergy Statistics and Facts 2010 http://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergy-statistics
3 http://www.achooallergy.com/allergy-statistics.asp
4 Kay AB (2000). “Overview of ‘allergy and allergic diseases: with a view to the future'”. Br. Med. Bull. 56 (4): 843–64. DOI: 10.1258/0007142001903481:PMID11359624.
5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAST_test
6 Rusznak C, Davies RJ (1998). “ABC of allergies”. Diagnosing allergy”. BMJ 316 (7132): 686–9. PMC 1112683. PMID 9522798. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=11126837 Sicherer SH, Muñoz-Furlong A, Godbold JH, Sampson HA. US prevalence of self-reported peanut, tree nut, and sesame allergy: 11-year follow-up. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAST_test