You know its allergy season
when you walk outside only to find that your car has changed from blue to green
overnight. That yellow patina coating
your paintjob is composed of millions of microgametes (plant sperm cells) that
erupt from plants every spring. While
unsightly, this plant powder is easy enough to hose off your car. If that was the worst that pollen could dish
out then we would all breathe a sigh of relief.
However, therein lays the rub. It
is by breathing in this powder that causes many of us to sniffle and sneeze as
allergy season kicks into overdrive.
Pollen Predates People
While some people have
allergies to pollen, you have to take into consideration that pollen has been
 |
| Pollen from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory Ipomoea purpurea, hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose (Oenothera fruticosa) and castor bean (Ricinus communis). The image is magnified some x500, so the bean shaped grain in the bottom left corner is about 50 μm long. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
around a lot longer than human beings.
In fact, not only have pine trees been around for hundreds of millions
of years (did dinosaurs have allergies?), but the oldest living examples of
trees are bristlecone pines some of which are estimated to be more than 4,600
years old. While certain kinds of
pollen cause people problems every year, this is not what pollen was intended
to do. It all has to do with
reproduction.
So why are some people allergic to pollen while others
are not?
“The real question, according to Susan Waserman, professor of
medicine in the division of clinical immunology and allergy at McMaster
University in Canada, is not "Why pollen?" but "Why allergies at
all?" Humans typically become allergic to things we're frequently exposed
to as children. Pollen is one of those things; in the spring, a cubic meter of
air can contain thousands of pollen grains, so we're inhaling them fairly
constantly. But we're also routinely exposed to food and pet hair as kids, and
we commonly develop allergies to those, too.” http://news.yahoo.com/why-pollen-allergies-common-195446150.html
The main reason that allergic
reactions take place is due to the way our immune systems react to foreign substances. Or, should I say overreact? Designed to defend us from disease, the
body’s immune response isn’t exactly hardwired into our system. It actually learns what is and is not a
threat. This learning process occurs for
the most part when we are children when we are all exposed to a myriad of
bacteria and viruses.
Every time the immune system
detects the presence of an invading organism, it produces antibodies that
transport the attacker to white blood cells which trigger the release of
histamine. This works fine when the
offending organism is a bacteria or virus.
However, if the invader is pollen, the immune system can get carried
away. This is what causes allergies; the
body misinterpreting a harmless organism as an invader. Once your system designates pollen, dust or
cat dander as a marauder, there’s no going back. You’re saddled with the allergy for the rest
of your life.
Some people even later in
life can acquire sometimes life threatening allergic reactions to such things
as certain kinds of food that can cause them to go into anaphylactic shock,
which can block their airways resulting in suffocation.
According to Susan Wasserman, the real reason
that so many people have allergies these days has to do with inadequate
exposure to bacteria and viruses during early childhood. “Thanks to modern hygiene including such things as antibacterial soap,
pasteurized milk and more, kids aren’t exposed to nearly as many microbes as
they once were. As a result, their immune
systems have fewer opportunities to learn how to discriminate between dangerous
pathogens and harmless things like pollen. People whose immune systems are no
longer busy fighting infection can become unregulated and allergic.”
This year in particular has
proven to deliver a particularly heavy dose of pollen. Currently it is pine and
oak pollen that is causing the most problems for allergy sufferers. Later in the
season will come ragweed
pollen. Other than popping
antihistamines and carrying a hefty supply of Kleenex, what else can allergy
sufferers do to cope?
Why Chiropractic Care is Nothing to Sneeze At
While traditional medicine
simply treats the symptoms, chiropractic care is designed specifically to enable the immune system to work more efficiently. One of the reasons that the body can have an
allergic reaction is due to the fact that nerve interference can cause the
immune system to overproduce histamine.
Since the nervous system controls immune response along with virtually
every other reaction in the body, any imbalance can result in miscommunication
between the brain and the body.
While chiropractic treatment
does not treat allergies directly, studies have shown that the nervous system
has a direct link to the functionality of the immune system. Chiropractors work to align the spine which
in turn relieves stress on the nerves.
This in turn allows the immune system to work more efficiently which
makes it easier to fight off infection while recognizing and not overreacting
to allergens.
Antihistamines work by drying
out the mucus membranes. Chiropractic
care works by allowing your body to better identify and deal with
allergens. Besides, long term
antihistamine use can itself prove dangerous.
In a May 1994 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, it was noted
that several antihistamines including Claritin, Hismanal and Atarax had been
proven to cause cancerous tumors in rats to grow faster. And unlike antihistamines whose side effects
can include dry mouth, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and
confusion, chiropractic care have none of the side effects.
So if allergy symptoms have you
sniffing and sneezing, instead of reaching for that bottle of pills talk to
your local chiropractor. Your sinuses
will thank you.
Dr. Steven
Warfield and Dr. Dave Edenfield are part of the team of doctors and
therapists at http://chiropractic-jacksonville-fl.com and http://chiropractor-orange-park-fl.com who
are dedicated to helping you and your family lead
healthier, happier and pain-free lives.
