By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
An allergy is a hypersensitive reaction of the immune system to otherwise harmless substances in the environment. Our immune system is our internal defense system. In other words, they are the armed forces of the body or AFB. This AFB keeps us healthy mainly by recognizing the enemy and then eliminating or immobilizing it. In allergy, the immune system reacts even to essentially harmless substances like dust and pollen. Not only that, the immune system over reacts by producing so much artillery. It would be like one battalion rushing out of the barracks complete with a tank because they sighted one person with tattoo. Good for the battalion of soldiers because the commander can decide to order them back to barracks. But in the case of our body, it has its built-in chain of command so that one reaction automatically sets off another. Our brain can’t order them back. The overproduced artillery will then produce adverse effects to our body that could range from the uncomfortable to the deadly.
What are these adverse effects? In babies, allergy could be manifested in their cheeks as skin rashes. In fat babies, these could be red, weepy rashes in the skin folds of their chubby neck, elbow and wrist. Poor babies. As the baby grows older, allergy could take the form of allergic rhinitis. This is itchiness in nose and/or eyes, runny nose and/or eyes, sneezing, coughing. Or just plain colds and cough. Or if a mosquito bites and a wheal forms around the site instead of just a tiny red spot, then you have an allergic reaction to the mosquito bite. Other forms of allergy are wheezing, asthma, eczema, hives (map-like swelling in the skin), abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting and diarrhea, swelling in the respiratory tract and anaphylactic shock. Anaphylactic shock is a severe form of allergy and is an emergency situation. Here the respiratory tract swells so that breathing is obstructed and blood pressure drops so low, the skin is flushed (red), there may be abdominal cramps or vomitting. Anaphylactic shock is dangerous as blood is not circulated so it should be treated immediately with medicines. Go to the nearest hospital or clinic if there is difficulty of breathing and/or shock.
If you can stand the discomfort of mild allergies, this will wane after some time as your body excretes the excess artillery and heals itself. So drink a lot of water and eat the right foods. For immediate relief of allergy symptoms in the skin such as itchiness, there is madre de cacao ointment which you can rub on the rashes or bites. There are other herbal remedies. There are anti-histamines (anti-allergy) which you can take in for allergic rhinitis and severe skin itching but these can make you drowsy so please don’t drive or operate machinery when you are taking antihistamines. Please take note that a lot of over-the-counter medicines for colds are contain antihistamines.
A substance that triggers a hypersensitive reaction is called an allergen. As mentioned earlier, dust and pollen could be allergens. Other allergens are milk and cheese, eggs, chicken, crustaceans (think shrimp), venom of stinging insects like wasps and bees, some medicines like aspirin and penicillin and some medical solutions. This is why we do skin testing before injecting penicillin, etc. You will note that all the allergens are environmental. That is good news. Because it means, these can be avoided. Ok, ok, you can avoid milk and eggs but you will ask “How can I avoid dust and pollen?” Yes, even a sterile laboratory has dust.
This brings us to the other good news. Allergy is ACQUIRED. Not inherited. It is just like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and all the lifestyle diseases that afflict many people today. Allergy is a disease that develops over the years due to unhealthy lifestyle, especially poor eating habits. We in the Cordillera need not look for foreign researches to be convinced that allergies and its cousins (high blood, etc.) are not indigenous. There are even some people now who are allergic to other people. J Asthma is so dramatic a disease that any lay person will know it when it occurs. But for the curious, please ask your grandparents if there was anybody in their family with asthma. Worldwide, allergies are more common in “developed” countries like USA than in “poor” countries like the Philippines. And studies show rapid increases in allergic disorders in industrialized countries starting the 1960’s and 70’s. This is not observed in non-industrialized countries.
There’s an interesting theory on the development of allergy. This is the hygiene hypothesis. It theorizes that due to “high living standards” and “hygienic conditions”, children in rich countries are exposed to less infections and thus their immune systems do not develop normally. There are more rich kids with allergies than poor kids. This thinking goes well with our macrobiotic theory – living in harmony with nature ensures one’s health and wellness. Nature includes bacteria, viruses and parasites and these “germs” challenge our immune system daily thus keeping it fit.
Consumption of milk and cheese and other dairy products are associated with allergic reactions. Apparently, these foods wreck havoc to our immune system. You can experiment for yourself. If you have an allergy or your baby has an allergy, try avoiding milk , chocolate, cheese and all kinds of dairy. The symptoms will clear up. I had allergic rhinitis when I was in Manila. I underwent all the testing for allergens and desensitization sessions (these were tiny injections in my arm skin) but I would still get the symptoms every time I travelled the Halsema (it was so dusty then.) My daughter also was allergic to some insect stings. One time she was trekking the path from Tamboan to Panabungen and got stung by a bee. Bee stings can produce anaphylactic shock. After some minutes, she experienced itching and hives appeared in her skin and soon was having some difficulty of breathing. Thank God, they were already near Panabungen where there was a clinic with antihistamines and she got treated. Our allergies disappeared when we avoided dairy products for a long time. It takes a little discipline but in the long run, it saves us from a lot of stress and discomfort. I can ride dusty roads, no big deal, and my daughter can trek the mountains.***
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“Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24
