On no account attempt to treat asthma by yourself. You must always seek the guidance of a doctor or other health professional. Use only the skin sensitivity test, RAST test and cytotoxic food test to determine the specific allergens that are causing your asthma. Although you must be off all cortisone and antihistamines for seven days before the tests, you must remain on a Ventolin inhaler and any of the other non-cortisone/non-antihistamine drugs the doctor chooses to put you on. Although you must eat as wide a variety of foods as possible before the tests you are not to eat any of those you suspect would harm you. Write them down instead and give the list to your doctor or naturopath. He or she will take these foods into account while preparing your anti-allergy program.

• Keep warm. In winter always wear woollen crew and polo neck jumpers whether you perspire in them or not. Always wear shoes and socks. Don’t surf or swim in winter even in a wetsuit. In summer, dry off the moment you come out of the water. Sitting wet on the sand allows summer sea breezes to chill you. Many summer colds, ‘flu, and asthma attacks develop this way. If going out at night in winter wear a fleecy lined vest under your shirt or blouse and button it up to the neck. Wear a coat and scarf to and from the function. In summer always carry a crew neck cotton pullover with you. Most southerly busters come through in the late afternoon or early evening. Don’t jog, play tennis or train at sports such as football, karate or judo on cold nights unless you are in an adequately heated building. Study the section on colds and ‘flu and act on the advice therein.

• Start taking draughts seriously. Close all windows and doors at night and through the day if you are sitting around in winter. Maintain an even body temperature. Heat all the rooms in the house. Hop out of bed straight into warm slippers and dressing gown. Don’t hop in and out of a warm car without a pullover. Don’t be fooled by sunny days in winter, they are invariably accompanied by cold winds. Wear a beanie to football matches.

• Regularly spray a section of the carpet with dust mite spray so the kids have a dust free area to play in and the adults a dust free area for exercising. No lying face down on the carpet to read or watch TV.

• Practise daily (for ten to fifteen minutes) the deep breathing exercises described in the chapter on stress. These are imperative if the windpipe spasms are to be permanently overcome.

• I have found that the wearing of magnetic necklaces and sleeping on magnetic pillows (available from most medical supply stores) has helped many of my asthma patients achieve a better night’s sleep and experience a reduced intensity of asthma attacks.

• See your osteopath or chiropractor for heat massage and manipulation to the vertebrae between your shoulderblades. Have this treatment on a regular basis while the programs are taking effect and any time in the future that you feel you are tightening up in that area.

• A good acupuncturist is invaluable for maintenance prevention of asthma when all other healing modalities arc being adhered to. Often it can reduce an acute attack. Sitting reading or watching TV while leaning back against a hot water bottle (between the shoulderblades) is very effective. The heat stimulates acupuncture points on the back that are specifics for asthma. Use the hot water bottle every night for the time you arc on the program.

• I lot water with a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil in it provides an excellent inhalant vapour during acute attacks but must be used in addition to your doctor-prescribed medication, not in place of it and only by those not allergic to salicylates.

• You must give up smoking and live in a smoke free environment if you are to cure yourself of asthma. Other people smoking in the house means you will only experience temporary relief at best. Contrary to popular belief smoking marijuana docs not help asthma, it makes it worse.

• Although asthma is often the result of direct contact with airborne allergens such as moulds, pollens and grasses, the removal of mould and fermented foods as well as grass and pollen foods (Ryvita, porridge, muesli and bread, alfalfa, barley, herbal teas) from the program does much to reduce the sensitivity to direct contact with these substances. The vitamins and minerals taken in supplementary form strengthen the walls of the windpipe raising their resistance to airborne allergens.

• Never blow your nose on paper tissues or wipe your face or hands with paper towels. The chemicals in these products (mainly formaldehyde) are easily inhaled as are the flakes of paper. Both the chemicals and paper flakes are toxic and can perpetuate allergic read ions in the windpipe.

• Do not clean or scrim (particularly mould in the shower recess). The formaldehyde in the cleaning agents could give you an asthma attack. Dusting and vacuuming creates airborne mould and will further exacerbate your asthma. Have someone else do it while you are not in the house.

• Do not have [lowers in the house. The pollen will cause your allergies to flare up.

Remember: Although asthma is not normally a life-threatening disease the imprudent withdrawal of asthma medication can.

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Diet is as important for the treatment of inhalant allergies as it is for food allergies. Diet raises the body’s resistance to allergies by building up the immune system. Make sure that foods pertaining to a given inhalant allergen are not consumed for ninety days. The removal of food correlates speeds the process of desensitisation to inhalant, allergens by helping to reduce overall contact with them.

Common oafs is a grass, the spores of which are frequently in the air during spring and autumn, to which many people have inhalant allergies (sinusitis, hayfever, asthma, conjunctivitis,). Sensitivity to common oats is lowered by removing all oats from the diet, and avoiding all contact with muesli, porridge, Guiness stout, oatmeal soap, oatmeal skin preparations, oat bran and oatmeal. With rye grass sensitivity avoid Ryvita, rye bread and rye flour.

Those with a sensitivity to a number of grasses and pollen do better if they stay off herbal teas, most of which are of grass and pollen origin. Although herbal teas are better for you than ordinary tea and coffee, if you’re allergic to grasses and pollens they can do more harm than tea and coffee. Rosehip and peppermint arc safe herbal leas for the grass allergic.

Sensitivities to airborne moulds, including those that live in air-conditioning systems of large offices (namely alternaria) can be lowered by staying off the foods list. If you’re allergic to the cephlasporium mould that lives in the soil you must wear a dust mask (obtainable along with your dust mile cover and dust mite spray from your chemist) while digging and weeding the garden or repotting the pot plants.

If you’re allergic to grasses, wear long pants to golf and put your dust mask on while driving, chipping, putting and playing out off the rough. Don’t attempt to walk too far with it, as it’ll restrict your breathing and fatigue you. Don’t bushwalk, cut. the lawns or ride a cycle on or near freshly cut lawns or in the bush for ninety days. If you’re an orchardist or commercial flower grower wear the dust mask while sedentary (for example, on the tractor) and try to get someone to do the heavy work for ninety days so that you’re not forced to breathe deeply and inhale airborne allergens.

The best mask to wear is the one the spray painters use. Unfortunately, it can’t be worn if physical activity is engaged in. It’s ideal for wearing around the house while someone else is cutting yours or your neighbour’s lawn. Also while sitting on a tractor, ploughing, sowing, fertilising or spraying. After ninety days of the program and avoidance of the inhalants you should be able to make contact with them again without your symptoms returning.

The best time for grass allergic people to go on the programs is winter when the pollen and spore count is at its lowest and the body is having a seasonal rest from these airborne allergens. By observing over the ninety days of winter, adequate rest, strict adherence to the program and minimal contact with the inhalants, spring should see you symptom free despite walking in the fields, digging the gardens, working in the glasshouse or cutting the lawns. Often the desensitising vaccine is also required to achieve this.

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Because allergies are such whacky and variable things it is impossible to describe a treatment that will work best for everyone. I have talked to people who became desensitised to all their inhalant allergies just by having the skin test and others who were worse on the vaccine.

If after the first week on the vaccine you are no better, stop taking it until you have thoroughly detoxified your body and built yourself up on sound, wholesome food. Then if you still have symptoms begin with the vaccine again. Take it every second day the first week and every day the following week. Be prepared to experiment. I have had patients that responded brilliantly and cleared all their symptoms when they took the vaccine every day for the first week, every second day for the second week, every third day for the third week, then went back to every day for later weeks. Different formulas work for different people. Be patient with yourself, give it time, work it out and you will get better. I have found the best results are achieved if the vaccine is not commenced until at least four to five weeks on the Anti-Allergy Program, if it is needed at all. Taking the vaccine too early in the program seems to put undue strain on the immune system and many people react adversely to it. Being off all allergenic foods for four to six weeks seems to reduce immune system strain and reactions to the vaccine become more favourable.

I have noticed cigarette and marijuana smokers lake much longer to desensitise than non-smokers do, even though they may stick strictly to the diet. Why these two drugs suppress the normal desensitising process is hard to say, but they do. Taking other drugs, including prescription ones, has the same effect.

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