World Homeopathy Awareness Week
April 10 – 16, 2009 (more, here)
The focus for this year is Homeopathy and Allergies. Many Americans suffer from allergies, which causes much suffering. Homeopathy can help to heal these reactions. Check back here for more information.
World Homeopathy Awareness Week, April 10 – 16, 2009
Researchers Use a Small Amount of the Same Substance to Heal Food Allergies
Researchers Use a Small Amount of the Same Substance to Cure Food Allergies
There truly is nothing new under the sun. At times when I read “medical research,” it is often only resurfaced wisdom. I tend to think it is ‘ego’ at work, to claim your work as “new”. When it is not new. The idea of small doses has been in use that we know of for hundreds of years, it is a cornerstone of homeopathic treatment, homeopathy uses infinitesimally small doses.
Isopathy prescribes a remedy made from the causative agent or products of a disease from the same disease or substance. In this research, to treat the food allergies small substances were used of the allergen are used. Hahnemann spoke of the isopathic method and credits any success due to the simillum, but argues against this approach for various reasons.
Eliminating the Aggravation
This is a brief excerpt as to how tolerance to the allergen is ameliorated.
The starting doses were very small, as little as 1/1000th of a peanut. The doses increased until the children ate the equivalent of up to 15 peanuts a day about 10 months later, and then they stayed on the daily therapy while they were monitored.
The researchers of course suggest that this is a highly refined approach, left to trained professionals. Read the article below and check out the link to learn more about their work.
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Exposure to Peanuts May Build Tolerance to Allergy
The therapy is still experimental, and more research is needed, study says
Doctors may have found an unlikely remedy for some peanut allergies.
Teams at Duke University Medical Center and Arkansas Children’s Hospital gave nearly microscopic pieces of peanut to a group of about 30 children with non-life-threatening peanut allergies daily.
After two years, nine kids were still able to tolerate the treatment, and four appeared to be completely allergy-free.
The researchers say this is the first study to show limited exposure can help someone with a food allergy become tolerant of that food. Read more at arkansasmatters.com.
Research: An Alternative Approach to Asthma
It is estimated that asthma and other allergic diseases affect 20% of the world’s population. The number of sufferers in the United States exceeds 15 million. In the last 20 years, the number of asthma hospitalizations has increased by 50%. In the past ten years the number of asthma death cases has doubled! Dr. Ilan Zamir, one of the pioneers of homeopathy in Israel, has recently reported successful treatment of asthmatic patients with his own homeopathic methods.
Asthma is on the rise. Eight years ago, it was determined that 10% of all new IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) recruits had suffered from asthma at some time in the past, while 6% were current asthma sufferers.
Asthma, shortness of breath and spastic bronchitis are basically the same phenomenon, caused by the sensitivity and super-reaction of the respiratory system, leading to the contraction of the system muscle from any small irritation. In addition, at the time of the spasm of contractions, inflammatory cells are detected in the respiratory system. Some physicians believe that these are responsible for the spasms, coming out in a form of coarseness, whistles, cough and lack of breath – which can lead to death by asphyxia.
Environmental pollution agents, such as household dust, which increase the presence microscopic insects living in bed linen and in other parts of the house, only aggravate the problem, as do the presence of cockroaches, pets, and smoking (including passive smoking). High humidity and sport activities which dry out the respiratory system also serve to aggravate the problem. Mental and psychological stress may also exacerbate asthma symptoms.
Conventional treatment consists of medication to expand the bronchi by means of inhalation or swallowing, imitating the effect of adrenalin in the body. In severe cases, medicines containing steroids are given as preventive treatment to break down the inflammatory process. The generally accepted opinion is, however, that there is no known cure for asthma.
According to Dr. llan Zamir, the basic problem in dealing with asthma is that it almost always starts after an infectious disease, such as ear or throat infections or bronchitis, for which the patient is prescribed antibiotics. (continue)
Peanut Allergies in Children
Peanut allergies can be deathly. Seemingly no one knows why. This may be partly due to a lack of connecting the dots and the partiality of some who do “research”. As food for thought this article (here) provides some possible causes for this hypersensitivity.
FDA Probing Possible Link Between Asthma Drug and Suicide Risk
FDA is investigating a possible association between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) and suicide. Singulair is a medicine in the drug class known as leukotriene receptor antagonists. Singulair is used to treat asthma and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis (sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, itching of the nose) and to prevent exercise-induced asthma.
Over the past year, the maker of Singulair, Merck & Co, Inc., has updated the prescribing information and patient information for Singulair to include the following post-marketing adverse events: tremor (March 2007), depression (April 2007), suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) (October 2007), and anxiousness (February 2008).
In February 2008, FDA and Merck discussed how best to communicate these labeling changes to prescriber’s and patients. Merck plans to highlight the recent changes in the prescribing information in face-to-face interactions with prescriber’s and provide prescriber’s with patient information leaflets about Singulair. The Singulair website includes the most current prescribing information and patient information for Singulair (www.singulair.com).
FDA is working with Merck to further evaluate a possible link between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in response to inquiries received by FDA. FDA has requested that Merck evaluate Singulair study data for more information about suicidality and suicide. FDA is reviewing the postmarketing reports it has received of behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in patients who took Singulair.
Due to the complexity of the analyses, FDA anticipates that it may take up to 9 months to complete the ongoing evaluations. As soon as this review is complete, FDA will communicate the conclusions and recommendations to the public.
Other leukotriene modifying medications include zafirlukast (Accolate), which is also a leukotriene receptor antagonist and zileuton (Zyflo and Zyflo CR), which is a leukotriene synthesis inhibitor. FDA is reviewing postmarketing reports it has received of behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in patients who took Accolate, Zyflo, and Zyflo CR and will assess whether further investigation is warranted.
This early communication is in keeping with FDA’s commitment to inform the public about its ongoing safety reviews of drugs.
The FDA urges both healthcare professionals and patients to report side effects from the use of Singulair, Accolate, Zyflo, and Zyflo CR to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program
Influenza Vaccine in Infants Younger Than 6 Months of Age
This study, see below, assesses the need for infants less than 6 months old to receive influenza vaccine. The study is funded, designed and carried out by a vaccine manufacturer. Bias could be construed in the entire study.
There is on going discussion of how allergic reactions continue to rise in the population. Overuse of antibiotics is seen as a contributing factor (mind you, they were once hailed as ‘wonder drugs’), could the indiscriminate use of vaccines also be a contributing factor? The entire human race has lived without the need of vaccines at birth and throughout life at least since recorded history. Young children used to get sick and there is evidence it made them healthier. Mumps, measles, chicken pox were for the most part lived through. The body developed immunity against the ailment and life went on. Now, it is seen as a constant source of fear and on going threat. Why?
Here is the ‘study’ why healthy infants need influenza vaccine:
Safety and Tolerability of Cold-Adapted Influenza Vaccine, Trivalent, in Infants Younger Than 6 Months of Age
b Wyeth Vaccines Research, Taplow, United Kingdom
c Wyeth Vaccines Research, Pearl River, New York
OBJECTIVE. Young children are at high risk for influenza-related complications. Vaccination of close household contacts is recommended to provide indirect protection to children <6 months of age. Studies have shown that live, cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent, is efficacious in children. To assess the risks associated with inadvertent exposure of infants to vaccine viruses from vaccinated contacts, this study was designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent, administered intranasally to healthy children 6 to <24 weeks of age.
METHODS. Healthy infants aged 6 to <16 weeks and 16 to <24 weeks, respectively, were randomly assigned to receive 2 doses of influenza vaccine, or placebo intranasally 35 ± 7 days apart. Reactogenicity events were monitored for 11 days after each dose. Other adverse events were monitored through 28 to 35 days after dose 2.
RESULTS. Of the infants aged 6 to <16 weeks, 31 received influenza vaccine and 28 received placebo, and of those aged 16 to <24 weeks, 30 received influenza vaccine and 31 received placebo. In the 6- to <16-week cohort, more influenza vaccine, recipients experienced irritability (66.7% vs 35.7%) and runny nose or nasal congestion (63.3% vs 33.3%) after dose 1 but not dose 2. There were no significant increases in any other reactogenicity events or adverse events in the vaccine recipients compared with the placebo group.
CONCLUSIONS. Although there was an increase in mild reactogenicity events in children 6 to <16 weeks of age, cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent, was generally well tolerated in infants 6 to <24 weeks of age. These findings support further evaluation of cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent, in infants <6 months of age.
Immune Systems Under Attack
Experts have seen an alarming rise in immune systems disorders, from allergies, asthma, foods and multiple sclerosis to name a few. Some studies indicate that at least half of the American population has at least one allergy. Find the article here.
In my view there are valid reasons why this may be, of which none are considered in the article. If you or a family member are suffering from allergies perhaps some of the triggers could be:
- Consider that newborn infants are subjected to a multiple vaccines at birth, before the immune system has had a chance to develop.
- Consider, if you eat meat, many animals are raised with a constant diet of anti-biotic drugs. There is a residue of this which is in the meat.
- Consider that many people under age 50, have not been sick in way that fosters natural immunity…those childhood diseases that people seem to be terrified of these days.
- Consider, how often do you interact outdoors? Are you outdoors for thirty to sixty minutes a day? How often?
- Are you on a daily medication?
- There are many, many chemicals that we interact with, which our ancestors did not. Many of these chemicals have not been studied from the perspective of these many multiple reactions.
- Pesticides sprayed on our food crops.
- Much of the cotton, corn and wheat crop in the United States have been modified by gene technology in particular with the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. It is not known how this effects the population.
- Artificial colors, artificial flavors that are in many processed foods.
- There are some that scoff at the need to fast, cleanse or otherwise detox the body, but if you consider that the above list just by itself is rather large and complex as to how the immune system has to process all of these myriad combinations.
Thoughts: When it comes to health care, education is important and a broad, insightful view may come from beyond what the acknowledged “experts” say.