--- Bryon Daly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: <snippage> > I went to visit some friends...They...had several > cats, and my allergies went into > overdrive. I felt like total crud the first two > days I was there. Then, I > went out in their boat, where we travelled down a > rather swamp-like > stream/river. I thought I was doomed, but not long > into the boat trip, my > allergies started to clear up, and then they were > almost entirely gone for > the rest of the week. It was like the massive > allergen exposure forced my > body to quit complaining and just get over it.
The whole point of "allergy shots" is to increase exposure to allegens and get the body to produce different antibodies (IgG and/or IgA) which effectively remove/destroy the allergen before it can interact with IgE, which kicks off the whole histamine reaction (OK, that's the general idea, anyway - other factors and pathways may be involved also). Of course, they're supposed to *gradually* expose one to the offending molecules, but I think that what you describe is quite possible (I just don't have a cite) -- although not for a deadly allergic reaction, as in anaphylaxis (like when a terribly peanut-allergic child accidentally eats something cooked in peanut oil; s/he will have severe bronchospasm and vascular dilation -> respiratory failure and circulatory failure -> death if not treated immediately). But you didn't mention if your symptoms returned when you came back from the boat trip and into contact with their cats; if your symptoms returned promptly upon being around the cats again, then most likely your body simply didn't have any cat allergens to react to while in the boat. This probably ties into the so-called Hygiene Hypothesis, which posits that early (toddler years) exposure to various animals and other potential allergens actually reduces the incidence of severe allergies & asthma. Studies have been posted here previously. On a personal note, if I'm away from my cats for a week or more, I notice several days of increased runny nose/cough when I return, then it gets better. So I think that continued exposure is acting as a low-level 'allergy inoculation' via nasal tissue... :) Julia wrote: "I've heard the same thing [that consuming unprocessed local honey will reduce one's allergy symptoms], and had various people swear up and down that it worked for them. "What I want to know, though, is what do you do if your body has problems with honey? (I.e., it does unpleasant things to your digestive system....)" 1) If the person's allergies were to flower pollen, as in ragweed etc., I think this is possible (but unproven); however if it's pine tree or grass pollen, or mold, that's the offending allergen, honey wouldn't have any of those compounds, and so would be very unlikely to help with symptoms. 2) You could try to obtain locally-produced bee pollen capsules, which wouldn't contain so much of the various sugars, and probably less actual chemicals of bee origin as well. ***I would NOT recommend that anyone with severe bee/wasp/hornet sting allergy consume either raw honey or bee pollen capsules!*** (And no Royal Jelly capsules either!) Debbi who is inoculated almost daily with cat saliva ;) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
