If you were not aware, Australia is considered the world capital of allergies reactions including hay fever and storm related asthma.
According to Cenk Suphioglu, Associate Professor of Biomedical Science at Deakin University, environmental factors like Melbourne’s wide-open spaces and changing weather patterns make our city difficult to live in.
The climate is well suited for the growth of grasses such as ryegrass,’ he says. The unusual non-seasonal weather changes, like more rain throughout the later part of 2016, have seen more favourable conditions for the growth of grasses that results in the production of more pollen.
These combined factors have made Melbourne the thunderstorm asthma capital of the world, with four recorded epidemics in 1987, 1989, 2010 and 2016.
Food allergies, pollens and airborne allergens can cause the immune system to become activated in pre-disposed sensitive individuals, creating chronic systemic reactions that can heighten the response to our environment and impact the quality of life and day to day function.
Whilst many people reach for the antihistamines, using this type of medication long term can cause other gut related issues and increased histamine reaction.
Symptoms include nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, itchy nose and eyes, nasal discharge, sinus pain, asthma, brain fog and fatigue. Other systems in the body can also be impacted due to a range of histamine receptions throughout the body. For details on this please check out our face book post this week. Click here to visit our FaceBook page.
How can we better manage seasonal Allergies?
Additional support can be used with the following the remedies.
Bio-Regulatory Medicine to the Rescue
These potent activated medicines are dosed via a nasal spray into the nasal cavity to relieve the symptoms associated with rhinitis and allergic reactions. Ideally, these medicines should be commenced 4 weeks prior to spring but I have had good results when used with the onset of symptoms.
Herbal medicines offer support by supporting and modulating the immune system that helps reduce the allergic reaction. Some of my favourite herbal remedies for managing allergic responses include Guduchi, Perilla, Nigella, Scut Baical and Echinacea. See our attached allergy booklet for more details on mushroom extracts and herbal medicines.
Probiotics - we have a range of targeted probiotics that have been clinically shown to decrease the symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis in sensitive individuals. One main action works on the gut microbiota (everything begins and ends in the gut microbiome) and need to be taken for minimum of 3 months.
Hydration - our mucus membranes are more likely to respond poorly to allergen exposure when they become dry due to lack of hydration. keep up water intake will help support mucosal health and allergic reaction.
Diet - processed food and sugar deplete the body's stores of vitamin C and other essential minerals that aid the immune system and tissue health. I also often recommend our food allergy testing with KMBO Labs for hidden reactivity. Many day-to-day foods can be the cause to an over stimulated immune system that is not addressed by using season allergy reactivity.
Current research has shown that there is no cure for allergy reactions in those predisposed but there is so much we can do to reduce the reaction and symptoms during the Spring Season in Victoria.