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Have you heard of "oral allergy syndrome"? I must admit I had not, ‐ until earlier this year when a 16 year old girl (I'll call her Cindy) appeared in my office with her mother. The diagnosis had already been made by an allergist and treatment had been started ‐ antihistamines and avoidance of a long list of foods, mostly raw fruits and vegetables. However the dietary restrictions were severe; Cindy had become "paranoid" about her food; and her mother was concerned that her nutrition was suffering. Indeed, a previously athletic and energetic young woman had lost her spark and needed to take naps after school. A quick internet search taught me that oral allergy syndrome is not rare and is in fact common among those with pollen allergy (up to 70%). The odd thing about it is that allergic symptoms (itching, burning or tingling) are confined to the lips, mouth and throat. Contact with a variety of usually only raw foods is the trigger. Typically symptoms are mild and do not last for more than a few minutes. Cindy had experienced some mild itching in her mouth while eating apples and almonds since age 10. However, three months before her attendance at my office, she had undergone a sudden, severe, anaphylactic reaction when eating raw celery. Her symptoms were reduced by taking an antihistamine, but a few days later she had another severe reaction. Since then she was reacting even to cooked foods and was understandably quite frightened. The questions that formed in my mind were: Why should these relatively mild allergic symptoms have suddenly become so severe? Had a regulatory control gone awry, and if so, where and why? Everyone practicing neural therapy knows that the first step in solving these problems is to question the patient about trauma, illness, surgical procedures, vaccination, dental work or emotional upset occurring in the weeks or months preceding the onset of the illness. In Cindy's case three possible events came up in her story:
Cindy looked well and her general examination was non-contributory. Autonomic response testing showed a "therapy localization" sign (an indication that an important interference field was present somewhere in the body). This turned out to be the liver which was treated by "segmental therapy" (intradermal procaine injections followed by an intravenous bolus). The result was a noticeable improvement in her symptoms for a few days. She was able to eat cooked spinach with only a mild reaction. On her next visit autonomic response testing showed no liver interference field, but rather one in the right tonsillar area, which reacted to a high potency homeopathic of "silberamalgam". (Reaction to this homeopathic usually means a marked sensitivity to mercury - typically from dental amalgam or from a Thimerosal preservative in a vaccine, such as that for hepatitis). The right tonsil was treated with an injection of dilute procaine followed by an intravenous bolus. Blocked regulation persisted, but autonomic response testing then showed an interference field in the large intestine which turned out to be predominately psychosomatic. (See chapter 11 of Neural therapy: Applied neurophysiology and other topics available at http://www.neuraltherapybook.com.) An applied psychoneurobiology technique using coloured glasses and eye movement desensitization as described in this chapter then resulted in open (or "unblocked") regulation. The response was dramatic. Within a few days, Cindy was eating a variety of foods that she had avoided for months. However autonomic response testing showed blocked regulation and a continuing very strong reaction to silberamalgam. As she had no dental amalgam, this reaction suggested that the Thimerosal in the hepatitis vaccine had been a contributor to her exaggerated oral allergy syndrome. She was prescribed a detoxification program to facilitate excretion of mercury, centering mostly on chlorella and vitamin C. Two further follow-up visits revealed continuing improvement although she was still too frightened to try the raw foods that she had not been able to tolerate initially. Cindy is now away studying at university, so it will be some time before we learn how far she progresses. In retrospect, it is likely that a number of factors contributed to her allergy exacerbation: The initial interference field in the liver might have been triggered by the hepatitis vaccine and/or the infectious mononucleosis. The second interference field in the tonsil was likely a residual of the infectious mono. The third (psychogenic) interference field in the bowel possibly reflected her rather "driven" type A personality. (Her long term goal is medical school!) And finally, the mercury from the Thimerosal could well have sensitized her immune system. In any case, this situation demonstrates how immune and autonomic nervous system functioning are intertwined. The autonomic nervous system component in any allergic condition should be searched for and treated if an interference field is found, no matter where in the body. Sincerely, Robert F. Kidd, MD, CM |