Posted by admin on March 30, 2009 under Allergies | 
• Coir
• Cotton
• Horsehair
• Jute, Sisal and Hemp
• Kapok
• Linen
•
Ramie
•
Silk
•
Synthetics and Blends
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Viscose and Rayon
•
Wool
Fibres often appear to be the first suspect if you react, say, to your bedding, clothing or furniture, but they are frequently not the prime cause of reactions.
The most common cause of reactions to bedding, for instance, is house dust mites rather than the material of your bedding . If you react to your clothing, the cause may be chemical treatments and finishes, such as resins or dyes, for instance, rather than the fibre itself. If you react to a piece of furniture, the cause can often be house dust mites or chemical treatments.
Your laundry agents may also be the cause of apparent reactions to fibres. Finally, tiny traces of mould spores cling invisibly to even slightly damp fabrics or bedding. If you know you are extremely allergic to moulds, these may be the cause of reactions to fibres.
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Posted by admin on under Allergies |
Chemical sensitivity means adverse reactions to tiny or very low levels of chemicals in the environment, in which the immune system is not demonstrably involved. Susceptible individuals will react when tested with tiny doses under controlled conditions, and they will replicate their symptoms each time they are tested. Like allergy, but unlike irritant reactions, only a tiny amount of chemical is required to trigger a reaction. Reactions usually occur immediately; delayed reactions are rare. They are caused mostly by inhaling chemicals, but also by ingesting them or by absorbing them through the skin or mucosa.
The most commonly reported symptoms of chemical sensitivity are breathing and skin disorders, and mental symptoms very similar to those reported above for toxic and irritant reactions when exposed to high levels of chemicals. Muscle spasm, muscle and joint pains, and nausea and digestive symptoms, are also often reported.
The causes of chemical sensitivity are not known, although a number of factors suggest that some form of enzyme defect or defects may be at work, whereby a susceptible individual simply does not produce the enzymes necessary to detoxify or break down chemicals absorbed into the body. Whereas most individuals can effectively metabolise chemicals at the levels normally encountered in the environment, chemically sensitive people cannot cope with even low levels of chemicals, sometimes even with minute amounts.
Another factor to consider when looking at whether or not chemicals are causing you to react is the so-called ‘load effect’, also known as the ‘cocktail effect’, which comes into play when your system is ‘overloaded’ with chemicals.
Which Chemicals Cause Sensitivity?
There are no hard and fast rules about which chemicals cause sensitivity. Like allergy, almost anything has been known to cause someone somewhere to react at some time, but, like allergy, certain substances are much more troublesome than others and consistently cause problems. For more detailed information and a list of chemicals that commonly cause chemical sensitivity.
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Posted by admin on under Allergies |
Research has shown that a proportion (20 per cent) of cases of hyperactivity are clearly linked to true food allergy – IgE-mediated reactions to food.
Allergy and sensitivity to other substances also play a strong role. From clinical practice, doctors estimate that between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of hyperactive children are allergic or sensitive to other things as well, including pollens, house dust mites, moulds, pets and other animals, common chemicals and food additives. Many hyperactive children have multiple sensitivity.
The role of food additives in hyperactivity has received a great deal of attention, and the Feingold Diet, excluding certain food additives, together with aspirin and naturally occurring salicylates (the active chemical in aspirin), is widely publicised. Some children do extremely well on the Feingold Diet; but only a small proportion of hyperactive children respond that well – most show some but not great improvement. Higher levels of improvement are found when all types of allergens, foods and chemicals (including food additives) causing reactions are identified and avoided.
Food additives (particularly E102, tartrazine, a colouring) do, however, play a significant role in hyperactivity, and, although not the prime cause, need to be considered seriously. Research has shown that hyperactive children seem to be deficient in a specific enzyme – PST-P – the role of which is to detoxify various chemicals produced naturally in the body during metabolism and digestion. Certain food colourings can block or limit the working of this enzyme, and hence be damaging to an individual who is already lacking in adequate levels of the enzyme. Reactions to certain food additives may thus be due to intolerance due to enzyme defects, rather than to true allergic mechanisms.
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Posted by admin on under Allergies |
So where do you start? If the baby has evening colic, one of the most likely causes is thought to be a form of lactose intolerance whereby the baby is able to cope with small frequent feeds, but not the large first morning feed that most babies take. The volume of this can overwhelm the baby’s supply of the enzyme lactase which breaks down the milk sugar lactose. The morning feed reaches the intestines by evening and causes the symptoms at that time.
There are a number of ways in which you can adjust the baby’s feeding pattern to see if it helps evening colic. You can try waking the baby up early to give a very early morning feed, smaller than usual. Giving a little boiled water before the first feed also helps to quench the baby’s thirst and appetite a little, and means he or she takes less milk at the first feed. If you have plenty of milk, giving the whole feed from just one breast seems to improve things, rather than swapping to the other breast after a set interval. Giving shorter, more frequent feeds and using just one breast, thereby reducing the milk supply, also seems to help.
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Posted by admin on under Allergies |
If you use vacuum filters and keep things dry and aired, you may not need to get rid of, or replace any major object. Vacuum thoroughly first, try the avoidance measures for beds and bedding (opposite), and see how you go. Sometimes, though, a piece of furniture, a carpet, or a mattress just sits there looking at you screaming that it really has to go – it is too dusty, too old and it cannot be retrieved. So get rid of what you have to and replace it.
You can buy specially designed anti-dust mite covers for mattresses and pillows. These are cheap, relative to the cost of replacing old mattress and bedding, and can lessen the work required in airing and drying. These covers are reported by users to be very effective and worthwhile. Full details are given in BEDDING. If you are extremely chemically sensitive and do not tolerate synthetic fibres well, you may not be able to use them since they are made of synthetic blends. For most people, however, they are well tolerated and extremely useful.
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