When I was 2 years old my parents discovered I had allergies to dogs. They discovered this when we went over to a friend's home and their dog excitedly greeted me with a tongue to my face. I promptly broke out in hives.
When I was 5, my family moved to a part of California that has a lot of trees and grasses known to cause allergies and after a few years I developed "hay fever". Then finally, when I was about 10, I became allergic to cats. We had a family cat, but by that time she was an outdoor cat (for other reasons). I discovered this allergy because my childhood best friend had many cats, and I quickly found that I became sniffly and my eyes got red and itchy at her house. Finally, one day, I was simply standing in her open front door and I got hives all around my eyes.
From at least the age of 10, I remember regularly taking allergy medicine. I would take Seldane (before they took it off the market), and a few different prescription nasal sprays and some eye drops. These mostly kept things under control, although I would still have mild symptoms even on these medications. I remember one day in high school I didn't have any of my normal medications and my allergies were really acting up, so I took what I had, which was a Benadryl. I could NOT stay awake in class that day!!! Luckily my teacher was very compassionate and simply woke me when it was time to go to my next class :-).
After college, and a move to New York, my allergies got worse, and I ended up going to an allergist. There I was diagnosed with asthma and put on a daily inhaler and prescribed a rescue inhaler. I also was tested for what caused my allergies (a LOT of things) and did a complete course of allergy shots. My allergies might have improved a bit with the shots, but they certainly weren't eliminated.
I this point I was congested most of the time, and regularly had sinus headaches. That was simply normal life for me. I did actually have a cat, I had done my research and discovered that Siberian Forest cats were "hypoallergenic" and I wanted a cat so badly I was willing to deal with it. She definitely caused less allergies, but I would still get really red and itchy eyes if I pet her and then rubbed my eyes. I would also get quite congested if she rubbed my face and if she scratched me I would get a hive-like rash around the scratch. And that's how I expected life to be.
Then I discovered Naturopathic Medicine. I discovered how much my diet could impact my health. I learned how certain foods promote inflammation. I discovered that over time I had developed sensitivities to some foods as well. In the beginning I simply removed those problematic foods from my diet, although I didn't want that to be the long term solution. I also learned how various systems in my body are connected and impact each other. I learned how important physical fitness is to keep the digestive tract healthy. I learned that a leaky gut (unhealthy digestive tract) results in food sensitivities. I learned about vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that would help my body heal. I discovered how much the quantity of water I drank impacted my allergic symptoms. I learned other modalities that also played a role in my healing.
I didn't heal from my allergies all at once, it was a slow process as I learned more about the human body. It took me several years to compile all the things that allow me now to be almost completely allergy free! I say almost because I still react very mildly in a situations that arise 1-2 times a year. The reactions aren't bad enough for me to even consider allergy medications, but are simply handled by removing the exposure (by washing or simply changing environment) or by waiting out the symptomatic process.
If you choose to, you can benefit from my years of learning and healing. I now have a very full toolkit to assist a body in healing from sensitivities and allergies. I have the tools that I find complete most of the healing (all in some), as well as the more advanced and specialized tools that are required in a few of the more intractable cases. So if you're interested in reducing or even eliminating your allergies and sensitivities, check out more on my website and make an appointment for a consultation!
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