Text VIII

Allergies are blamed on many substances, yet allergens are but one component of the complex immunological response. Allergy specialist C.W.Moorefield (1971) has successfully treated asthmatic patients using hypnosis and behavior therapy:

In asthma a conditioned bronchial spasm is the common pathway for a complexity of physical, allergic, and emotional mechanisms. Most studies have shown that even in the presence of allergic conditions, some emotional overlay usually triggers the attack of asthma. It is known that emotional influences are activated through the autonomic nervous system. It is quite likely that emotions acting via the autonomic nervous system produce local conditions in the mucosa of the bronchial tubes, which would make the respiratory system sensitive both to infections and allergens.

Millions of allergic people receive inoculations that are supposed to desensitize them to irritating substances to which they showed positive reactions in allergy tests. Some people do get better with the program of desensitizing shots. It is recognized that only a small number of people actually will benefit from allergy shots (Norman, 1990). Only when allergy or asthma can be shown to be mediated by immunoglobulin E immunotherapy (shots) is justified. For most people with hay fever, asthma, or allergies, desensitization shots probably are a waste of time and money.

Food intolerance is an allergic reaction to an ingested food. The reaction may be local (restricted to one organ system such as the stomach) or systemic (involving the entire body in reaction). Gastrointestinal reactions are commonly caused by cow’s milk, soy protein, eggs, fish, and rice. Children and infants are the ones most affected but many of them outgrow their food hypersensitivities.

A systemic reaction may that can produce anaphylactic shock and death is most frequently caused by peanuts, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, eggs, and milk. Overall in the population, when people are tested, six foodstuffs account for 90 percent of the allergic reactions: eggs, peanuts, milk, fish, soy, and wheat (Sampson, 1987). Avoidance is the best treatment for food hypersensitivity. If you are suspicious of certain food substances as possible allergens, avoid eating them for several weeks and observe any improvement in your symptoms.

Allergies of all kinds may be caused and cured by a person’s beliefs and by suggestion. The human skin is particularly vulnerable to disturbed emotional and mental states. Millions of people suffer from rashes, eczema, acne, and other skin disorders. The causes are complex and lie as much within us as in what we are exposed to in the environment. A holistic approach to coping with an allergic problem should begin by determining what has upset a person’s mental and emotional tranquility. When mind-body harmony is disturbed, the immune responses are affected, and one of the undesirable responses can be allergic reactions.

30. Read text IX and write out Key-sentences from each passage: