Allergy and Inflammation

When it comes to understanding how allergies cause our bodies to react, we find the “Rain Barrel” metaphor helpful. A rain barrel can hold a certain amount of water before it fills up and the water begins to spill over the top. The body’s relationship to allergens and other environmental stressors works the same way. Each individual has the capacity to comfortably handle only so many allergens before their system reaches capacity and “spills over”, causing symptoms to flare. These allergens include foods, environmental agents, chemicals/toxins and stress.

This “spilling over” is our immune system reacting and causing inflammation – again, typically manifested through sneezing, itchy eyes, asthma, hives, sinus pressure and congestion. But the less obvious symptoms we often see, - digestive problems, migraine headaches, arthritis, eczema, psoriasis, sinus infections, - are not only possible allergic reactions, but can also indicate the presence of related immune and autoimmune conditions like frequent viral/bacterial infections, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. We often find that properly treating the allergy symptoms leads to the successful treatment of these broader conditions.