Mary Welling had been noticing skin patches on her daughter Anna. These have shown up from time to time but Ana’s been eating a lot more chicken lately and they wondered if there was a connection. Chicken allergy is the body’s adverse reaction after eating chicken and allergic reactions to chicken meat are rare but they do present themselves with this history.
The pediatrician placed her on antihistamines and it helped bring down the skin splotches but when the medication is stopped the skin reaction recurs. Now the family wondered if Anna would always have to be on antihistamines. They are always responsible and take their children to the doctor for testing but it gets a little frustrating when the only solution is a long course of medications. They consulted a Naturopathic Doctor who explained that, although this allergy is rare, all they have to do is stop feeding her chicken. Sounds silly but that was the solution.
Allergy to chicken as with other food allergies, the symptoms are the result of an immune system response to a protein it mistakenly thinks is harmful. When you eat the chicken, the body releases an antibody called immunoglobulin E in order to neutralize the “invader.” In the process, a lot of chemicals are released, including histamine. Histamine can cause a range of allergic symptoms including hives, rash, nasal congestion, runny nose, itchy or watery eyes, nausea, cramps and vomiting. If you have asthma, your run the risk of setting it off via chicken allergy symptoms.
The medical Doctor’s approach resembles their caduceus or logo, the one with two snakes. It is medicine’s belief that one poison can be neutralized by another poison; so an allergic reaction caused by histamine is treated with an anti-histamine; symptoms handled. However, this doesn’t tell us why the body releases the extra histamine in the first place, just that when it does the anti-poison relieves the symptoms temporarily. In other words, two wrongs make a right!
The Naturopathic Doctor (ND) just looks at this straight on and advises accordingly. The Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) has a different explanation as to why some people have allergic reactions. When the Chiropractor finds a spinal misalignment (vertebral subluxation complex) at the upper thoracic levels of the spine it is noted that patients who have a history of allergies tend to have a significant reduction in their allergy symptoms following spinal adjustments.
Similarly this is observed with Asthma patients who stop having asthma attacks when the upper part of the thoracic spine is treated. This science behind this explanation revolves around how the spinal misalignments somehow irritate the Autonomic Nervous System at that part of the spine causing what is referred to as a somato-visceral response. This means that structural changes in the spine adversely affect the Autonomic Nervous System which at that level innervated the bronchial tubes and the Thymus gland.
The Thymus plays a key role in the development of the immune system in mammals. The gland is a center for maturation of blood cells, which include antibody-producing. Abnormal neurological influences alter the proper functioning of the gland compromising immunity. Sympathetic facilitation is suggested to be at cause of why some people experience allergies. Chiropractors find that there is a correlation between a compromised spine and nerves at that the upper thoracic spine is a causative factor in allergies; therefore resolving the spinal problem enables the body to restore normal immune function and stops the allergy cycle for many patients.
For families like the Wellings that prefer less toxic options, especially for their children, the ND makes practical sense and the DC offers reliable non-medical options as well. Good things to know!
Yours in Health,
docMIKE
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