Food allergies are currently treated by complete avoidance of the offending food item.  In children with life-threatening food allergies, strict avoidance with the offending food item is a must.  To date, there are no allergy shots for food allergies.  There are a few companies working on a drug to bind the peanut antibody and thereby decrease the number of peanut IgE antibodies, however the trials have been halted because of anaphylaxis on the part of the participants.
Xolair is a new drug that treats asthma similarly by blocking IgE, and is currently available.
Other allergy treatments include epinephrine. Epinephrine is used only when respiratory distress has occurred after accidental ingestion, and when anaphylaxis is occurring. Epinephrine is not a treatment we want to use, however!

Young infants can have severe allergies to the family cat or dog.  Many times this allergy shows up with repeated rounds of bronchitis or asthma.  The treatment for the bronchitis is, of course, antibiotics.  Children benefit most from removing the pet from the house, however, which is a VERY difficult decision to make!

Asthma can be treated with Intal or Advair (for prevention), and Proventil or Albuterol as needed.  In the extreme, inhaled steroids, such as Pulmicort, might be necessary.  It is very important to have lung function tests completed if asthma is suspected. Children die from attacks and unmanaged asthma is more likely to create such an attack.

Repeated rounds of asthma and bronchitis wear down little bodies.  I have seen children who become discipline problems when presented with their allergens.  In other words, they act out their allergy.  Remove the allergen, and their behavior improves dramatically.

There are various antihistamines to use for recurring pollen and environmental allergies: Zyrtec, Benedryl, Hydroxyzene, and Claritin in the USA.  Discuss the specifics of your child’s problem with your allergist.  It might be that a nasal spray is preferable instead of or in addition to the above antihistamines, such as Rhinocort AQ or Nasacort AQ. 

In older children, allergies to pets and different pollens can be treated with allergy shots.  Yet, our allergist has said that allergy shots can exacerbate eczema, and therefore she suggested that we follow this treatment for our son once he got older and got his eczema better managed. As a teenager, I received allergy shots twice a week for allergies to trees, weeds and grass.  The shots were very effective, and I took them for several years.  My allergies did get better; however this was before corticosteroid nasal sprays when even Sudafed was a prescription!

After my daughter was born, I had a resurgence of allergies.  I went back to the allergist who once again suggested allergy shots.  This time the shots weren’t effective.  Not only did they not help my allergies, but also each time I received a shot I got sick.  I quickly quit the shots and found Vancenase nasal spray.  A lifesaver!  Vancenase is no longer available, however Flonase, Rhinocort AQ and Nasacort AQ nasal sprays are. One nasal spray may work, while another may cause symptoms of coughing or nasal irritation. I’ve found it necessary to experiment.

NAET: An Alternative Treatment for Food Allergies

The Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET) is based on curing the pathways of energy in the body using applied kinesiology and acupressure points. It is very far removed from Western Medicine! My son went through an NAET treatment to attempt to eliminate his allergies in 2000. 

The treatment begins with muscle testing for the “basic” allergies, as defined by Dr. Nambudripad: eggs, calcium, Vitamin C, B-Complex, Sugar, iron, Vitamin A, mineral mix, salt, corn and grain mix. When holding a vial of one of these allergens in your hand, your other arm is tested for muscle strength - the practitioner tries to push your arm down. In the case of a small child, skin to skin contact is necessary while a parent uses their muscle strength. If you continue to have muscle strength, no allergy is present. If you become weak and can’t hold your arm up, an allergy is present.

If you do have an allergy, then acupressure points are stimulated while holding the vial of allergen. After that you must hold the vial for 20 minutes. Subsequent to the treatment, you must stay away from all foods that contain the allergen for 25 hours. This is sometimes very difficult, allowing very little food variety. During these 25 hours, your child may experience light-headedness, nausea, lack of energy, or in the case of my daughter feeling flushed and hot. And they may experience nothing.

After the basic allergies are treated, everything and anything else your child is allergic to is treated. This includes dogs, cats, peanuts, shellfish, cotton, immunizations – the list goes on ad infinitum. 

Results of NAET

When my son was treated for a corn allergy, his eczema immediately got better. We had been struggling with cortisone creams for years to no avail. So the allergy may be latent in a child’s body, or may be anaphylactic.

My daughter received treatment for a cat allergy. She always had itchy eyes and a runny nose even visiting a house that had a cat. She didn’t even have to get near the cat. After the NAET treatment for cats, she was able to spend the night at a friend’s “cat house” without any problem whatsoever! Yet, a few months later, she had the cat allergy return so badly that she can’t even go into a house with a cat without being bothered.

Many people have had complete elimination of their allergies using NAET– even to the point of scoring a –0- on a standard skin prick test. 

How to find an NAET practitioner

We obtained our practitioner through word of mouth and recommendations from others who had results. There are many people who have taken NAET course work, however not all practitioners are the same. Chiropractors may know NAET but not practice it on a daily basis, and therefore might not do the technique properly. Therefore they will not achieve the results that Dr. Nambudripad quotes – 80% of patients are helped. Our own practitioner stated she had a higher percentage of success.

After NAET

After receiving NAET for a particular allergen, your child’s allergy should disappear entirely. However in the case of my son’s anaphylactic reaction to peanuts, cashews and shellfish, we were unwilling to test the success of NAET by feeding him one of these foods immediately. We preferred to take the prudent approach and go back to the allergist and have another round of allergy testing performed. We did have another skin prick test completed in December of 2000 and were disappointed that the NAET treatments did not appear to have worked at all. He was still severely allergic to peanuts, cashews and shellfish (all items he had treatments for). 

He did receive a treatment for cats and dogs also. These allergies are also still at the severe level per the skin prick test.

For us, the NAET treatment didn’t prove to be valuable in eliminating my son’s allergies.

My Own Experience with NAET

I have seen another local NAET specialist who uses a slightly different technique. I had tremendous stomach problems since having H Pylori (a bacteria) diagnosed in 2007. It seemed that everything I ate caused stomach upset. I began taking hydrochloric acid with my meals since the H Pylori is notorious for affecting stomach acid. The acid did help, but my diet was still very limited. I felt I had nothing to lose by trying NAET again, and trying to have an open mind!

The practitioner that I chose has a full-time practice of NAET patients. She also has a biophoton mattress that I lay on for 18 minutes after the treatment. This mattress neutralizes the allergens that have just been treated so that if I were to touch one during the subsequent 25 hours, the treatment would not be nullified.

I don’t have any food allergies that test as anaphylactic currently by an IgE testing; however I have several that are high positives on both a blood test and a skin prick testing. I have been using NAET more for stomach and digestive issues than directly for food allergies; however I have received treatments for foods that I’m currently allergic to. I have been treated for digestive enzymes and immune system issues. I did feel some relief for a few days after being treated with digestive enzymes; however this may have been due to adding hydrochloric acid to my diet more than as a result of the NAET treatments.

To date, I haven’t found any real change in my stomach being able to better digest foods by having received NAET treatments. I’ve been disappointed once again with the treatments.

 Chiropractic Care: An Alternative Treatment for Allergies

We have found some relief of allergy symptoms and viruses with specific types of chiropractic care. Like any profession, there are good chiropractors and not-so-good ones.  Get a referral from someone who is currently a patient. Some insurance companies do cover chiropractors. Chiropractic care is supposed to align the spine so that the rest of the neurological system can work properly.

I’ve found that when my children’s sinuses are really plugged up, they frequently have neck pain, probably from swollen lymph nodes. Now when they get a cold, or have bad hay fever, I take them to the chiropractor for an adjustment. Frequently, they feel better instantly. My daughter had a terrible ear infection one spring caused by the flu, and the chiropractor was able to adjust her ear helping the Eustachian tube to drain mucous.

There is a specific type of chiropractic care called Sacro Occipital Technique (SOT). The chiropractor that we visit performs this technique. The idea is to identify the body systems that are causing your specific symptoms. The doctor analyzes your spine, cranium and organ-related issues. Our SOT doctor is very good at working with organ-related problems. When Morgan twice had hives all over his body from an unknown origin, we took him to the SOT doctor after being told he probably had a virus from our ‘regular’ doctor. The SOT determined his polarity had flipped – in other words his energies were working backwards. Once the polarity was properly situated through the technique, he immediately felt better and ceased having hives. Finding a chiropractor who truly understands energy flows in the body – similar to a practitioner understanding acupressure points – is key with this technique.

Many chiropractors also practice nutrition and want to dispense vitamins, herbs and other supplements. We’ve found this to be especially dangerous for a food allergic child. I have yet to find a chiropractor who is well enough versed on nutrition that they understand the exact ingredients in the supplement. I’m sure there may be one out there; however most chiropractors went to school to learn to adjust the spine, and have taken classes after the fact to augment their practice by becoming nutritional practitioners. I’ve had well-meaning practitioners suggest “just a drop” of a supplement under my son’s tongue! I’ve used this as a learning lesson for the doctor, and steered clear of using any supplements unless discussed with our allergist.

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