6 ms·

I wonder how this would influence approaches to other allergies (a similar 'cure' for hay fever would make a huge difference to my quality of life from May-Sept

I wonder how this would influence approaches to other allergies (a similar 'cure' for hay fever would make a huge difference to my quality of life from May-Sept each year).

haberman 12y ago
Have you ever gotten allergy shots? I've been allergic to cats and dogs all my life. About six months ago I started getting allergy shots and my allergies are already improving!
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  I was once told about shots available to me by my doctor but it didn't sound too promising. She said the improvement wasn't always great and I think I had to take them every few weeks for 6 months and then every x months for several years. My allergies are debilitating for several weeks during the Summer and very difficult the rest of the Summer so if it sounded promising I definitely would have got them. This was about 10 years ago though so it's maybe worth checking out again, thanks.
  - mackey 12y ago
    I am holding out for ToleroMune, which isn't approved yet but is supposed to require only a few shots.
  - colonelxc 12y ago
    They aren't a cure, but they are an improvement. I started taking allergy shots 2 years ago (now just getting them once a month). I used to suffer badly in the spring, even having to go home early from work on occasion (despite taking claratin or zyrtec). I still take a daily allergy pill, but that is now sufficient to curb my allergies. The downsides are the time and the cost over the course of years. The first 6 months or so, I was getting allergy shots 3 times a week (which also requires waiting in the waiting area for 30 mins). I got a lot of reading done, but it is still a lot of time. It's also pretty expensive (or at least mine is, may have to do with the antigen being custom made for my allergies, I've heard some places have generic "grass" or "tree" vials).
  - rogerhoward 12y ago
    I have bad allergies to cat and dog dander, as well as a bunch of other stuff. After getting stabilized by a lineup of drugs that put my grandmother's to shame, I slowly backed off a number of the nastier prescriptions. I opted against the shots based on my allergist's recommendations - essentially she told me that if I couldn't commit to the incredibly frequency (at least once a week) and duration of the treatments (several years), it might not be a good fit... particularly because there's always a chance of a severe reaction to the treatments, and no guarantee it'll help. What has helped, anecdotally, is: - Diet... my diet has changed substantially in the same timeframe. I was a vegetarian with enough soy intake in spite of an apparent (per testing) late-onset soy allergy. After 8 years I started eating meat again. While adding meat back in, I've also cut out essentially all processed foods, most dairy, excessive sugar, and essentially all grains. There were a lot of benefits - I'm not going to lecture anyone on diet, and I'm hardly a model of perfect health, but this has been a good experience for me. I cook almost every meal, and from scratch - no prepackaged meals, everything starts with fresh foods I buy myself. - Exposure... while one of my worst allergies has long been cats, about 18 months ago my now-wife moved in with two cats. Before they moved in I was clearly allergic to them - visiting her apt. meant stocking up on drugs, and fortifying myself. It wasn't overnight, but with the initial assistance of drugs to supress the allergic responses, I'm now able to live with these two cats with very rare, if any, allergic reaction. I still react, though less, to other cats, in other homes. I went from a big lineup of prescriptions to taking a single, OTC pill a day, in spite of more exposure to one of the biggest sources of my allergies. I didn't have the luxury of double blind experiments, or of minimizing the variables - so I can't swear to which, if not all, of these changes had the greatest effect... but I was able to make a huge change in my allergic responses in less than 2 years.
- shocks 12y ago
  I had (have?) a minor cat allergy. Itchy skin/eyes and difficulty breathing (tight chest, wheezing, etc). Unfortunately, I've always been a cat lover. My girlfriend got a cat (big fluffy persian) and the first few months were pretty bad. Even though the cat was never allowed in the bed I had difficulty sleeping (weezing, difficult to breath). I medicated with over the counter allergy tablets. Within a few months my symptoms were gone. It's been two years now and I rarely have problems. If I'm away for more than a week, I'll have a few hours of itchy skin when I'm back, but that's it. I can happily let him roll around on my face and I won't notice any negative effects.
eric_h 12y ago
I've anecdotally heard of a number of people with allergies who's allergic reactions are reduced by repeated exposure. The most common refrain of those I've spoken with (primarily animal allergies), is that (e.g. for those with cat allergies) the allergic reaction was reduced (in some cases to nothing) for a specific cat after repeated exposure to said cat. The most interesting thing was that the effect only applied to encounters with that specific cat.
- adamnemecek 12y ago
  That does not really surprise me since allergen immunotherapy is based on that idea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy
- meric 12y ago
  After moving out of my parent's house for a year, my allergy to my family cat has returned.
justincormack 12y ago
Anecdata, but try moving somewhere else in the world. A few years away may cure it.
simcop2387 12y ago
Might not always work for things like hay fever. I had plenty of early exposure to pollens and everything else that'd cause them and never had allergies for my early life. Then one year around my 17th birthday (springish birthday so not thinking it's time based so much) i got probably the worst attack of allergies i've ever seen. All the sudden my body decided that it had had enough and I've had hayfever and other symptoms since. Moving to a different area has helped tremendously but hasn't eliminated it. Just anecdotal but I wouldn't be surprised if seasonal allergies like that happen through a different mechanism that might not be affected like the peanut one.
- lbearl 12y ago
  Freaky... I had the exact same thing except it was when I was 18. I also ended up moving to another area which has helped my allergies out a lot.
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  The period of early exposure was at least 4 years of continuous exposure (the subjects were at least 11 months old, the 3-days a week feeding was until they were 60 months old). The nature of seasonal allergies tends to be that while early natural exposure is common, early and continuous natural exposure is not. So I wouldn't view natural environmental exposure to seasonal allergens as a valid basisi on which to reject the idea that the kind of early and continuous exposure at issue here might work for seasonal allergens.
bequanna 12y ago
Purely anecdotal, but I used to have terrible allergies (dander, pollen, dust, etc.) for ~25 years. The past few years living with my wife has changed my diet significantly. Very little dairy, way less sugar, no soda, more vegetables, better meat ...and so on. My allergies are now almost nonexistent. I have friends with cats that I couldn't visit because of my allergies. Now, absolutely no problems when I'm in their homes. I don't know what your current diet is like, but it may benefit you to remove certain items for a while (at least several months) and see if that helps.
- pkaye 12y ago
  Another anecdotal is that I used to get allergies due to dander, pollen and dust for the first 20 years of my life. Without changing my diet, things greatly improved for me. I presumed I had been exposed to so much that I eventually built up immunity.
- shocks 12y ago
  Another allergy anecdote - I used to be alergic to cats, then I got a cat, and now I'm not allergic to cats!
  - silencio 12y ago
    My anecdote: similar to you, but still allergic to cats. I have asthma attacks in the middle of the night if she curls up on my pillow, I have antihistamine eyedrops at hand, and not even my ADHD-brain dares to forget to take meds. I've moved and gone on various diets and nothing really did anything. I give myself another year or two before I look into allergy shots (at the moment, trying to get pregnant and my allergist refuses to start them). It's rather frustrating, but oh well.
    - bequanna 12y ago
      When you tried incorporating changes into your diet, can I ask how long you stuck with it? In my experience, it takes more like 6 months to see positive health results from diet changes as opposed to only a few weeks. Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or a dietitian
Shivetya 12y ago
The sad part is that there are many schools were you can be excused from immunization that do not permit you to send your child to school with a peanut butter sandwich. Anecdotal, we have a coworker who developed this late in life and his doctors cannot give him a reason why. This is from a guy who one day after at the yearly family barbeque went to the hospital. His only ideas were that medicines prescribed for other conditions may have contributed. This always makes me wonder if the prevalence of some food allergies is not only because they are identified better but brought on by diet; through fortified foods; and/or medicines.
bullfightonmars 12y ago
There was an article on NPR Morning Edition, this morning about the Hygiene Hypothesis. A study in Sweden found that children in homes without dishwashers had 50% fewer cases of allergies including hay fever. The assertion being that exposure to bacteria and other microbiota early in life mediate sensitivity later in life. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/23/387553285/kids-allergies-and-a-possible-downside-to-squeaky-clean-dishes http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/23/387553285/kids-al... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis
dade_ 12y ago
My experience: I never had allergy issues, but after moving across the country (Alberta to Ontario), I started having a terrible time in spring and summer. I read that eating local honey can help, so I introduced it into my regular diet and since the next year I haven't needed antihistamines since. It could be a placebo effect, but I think it is worth a shot. The experience has made me much more sympathetic of people suffering allergies, I wish you luck finding relief.
- freehunter 12y ago
  I've been meaning to try that. I grew up on a farm and never had any allergies to anything, then last year moved to another state. Dear lord. Someone suggested local honey but I never got around to getting to a store that sells it. I'll have to try it this year.
remarkEon 12y ago
To continue - I had awful allergies of the same type (spring being the absolute worst) growing up and was basically non-functional without Allegra or some other similar drug. I went to Ranger School when I was 22 and we weren't allowed to take any kind of drugs throughout the entire course. So for 3 months I had no access to any kind of my usual meds to ward off the usual misery. For the first 2 weeks it was hell (among other reasons) but then it was like my body just quit being allergic. Haven't needed anything since, though I'm definitely not suggesting Ranger School as a cure for hay fever.
- omegaham 12y ago
  Now I'm picturing your body's immune system yelling at the wayward cells. "I don't know what your major malfunction is, but I'm gonna unfuck you, one way or another." That or it was the Motrin, sock changing, and hydration. Cures everything, dontchaknow.

I wonder how this would influence approaches to other allergies (a similar 'cure' for hay fever would make a huge difference to my quality of life from May-Sept each year).

haberman 12y ago

Have you ever gotten allergy shots? I've been allergic to cats and dogs all my life. About six months ago I started getting allergy shots and my allergies are already improving!

k-mcgrady 12y ago
I was once told about shots available to me by my doctor but it didn't sound too promising. She said the improvement wasn't always great and I think I had to take them every few weeks for 6 months and then every x months for several years. My allergies are debilitating for several weeks during the Summer and very difficult the rest of the Summer so if it sounded promising I definitely would have got them. This was about 10 years ago though so it's maybe worth checking out again, thanks.
- mackey 12y ago
  I am holding out for ToleroMune, which isn't approved yet but is supposed to require only a few shots.
- colonelxc 12y ago
  They aren't a cure, but they are an improvement. I started taking allergy shots 2 years ago (now just getting them once a month). I used to suffer badly in the spring, even having to go home early from work on occasion (despite taking claratin or zyrtec). I still take a daily allergy pill, but that is now sufficient to curb my allergies. The downsides are the time and the cost over the course of years. The first 6 months or so, I was getting allergy shots 3 times a week (which also requires waiting in the waiting area for 30 mins). I got a lot of reading done, but it is still a lot of time. It's also pretty expensive (or at least mine is, may have to do with the antigen being custom made for my allergies, I've heard some places have generic "grass" or "tree" vials).
- rogerhoward 12y ago
  I have bad allergies to cat and dog dander, as well as a bunch of other stuff. After getting stabilized by a lineup of drugs that put my grandmother's to shame, I slowly backed off a number of the nastier prescriptions. I opted against the shots based on my allergist's recommendations - essentially she told me that if I couldn't commit to the incredibly frequency (at least once a week) and duration of the treatments (several years), it might not be a good fit... particularly because there's always a chance of a severe reaction to the treatments, and no guarantee it'll help. What has helped, anecdotally, is: - Diet... my diet has changed substantially in the same timeframe. I was a vegetarian with enough soy intake in spite of an apparent (per testing) late-onset soy allergy. After 8 years I started eating meat again. While adding meat back in, I've also cut out essentially all processed foods, most dairy, excessive sugar, and essentially all grains. There were a lot of benefits - I'm not going to lecture anyone on diet, and I'm hardly a model of perfect health, but this has been a good experience for me. I cook almost every meal, and from scratch - no prepackaged meals, everything starts with fresh foods I buy myself. - Exposure... while one of my worst allergies has long been cats, about 18 months ago my now-wife moved in with two cats. Before they moved in I was clearly allergic to them - visiting her apt. meant stocking up on drugs, and fortifying myself. It wasn't overnight, but with the initial assistance of drugs to supress the allergic responses, I'm now able to live with these two cats with very rare, if any, allergic reaction. I still react, though less, to other cats, in other homes. I went from a big lineup of prescriptions to taking a single, OTC pill a day, in spite of more exposure to one of the biggest sources of my allergies. I didn't have the luxury of double blind experiments, or of minimizing the variables - so I can't swear to which, if not all, of these changes had the greatest effect... but I was able to make a huge change in my allergic responses in less than 2 years.
shocks 12y ago
I had (have?) a minor cat allergy. Itchy skin/eyes and difficulty breathing (tight chest, wheezing, etc). Unfortunately, I've always been a cat lover. My girlfriend got a cat (big fluffy persian) and the first few months were pretty bad. Even though the cat was never allowed in the bed I had difficulty sleeping (weezing, difficult to breath). I medicated with over the counter allergy tablets. Within a few months my symptoms were gone. It's been two years now and I rarely have problems. If I'm away for more than a week, I'll have a few hours of itchy skin when I'm back, but that's it. I can happily let him roll around on my face and I won't notice any negative effects.

eric_h 12y ago

I've anecdotally heard of a number of people with allergies who's allergic reactions are reduced by repeated exposure. The most common refrain of those I've spoken with (primarily animal allergies), is that (e.g. for those with cat allergies) the allergic reaction was reduced (in some cases to nothing) for a specific cat after repeated exposure to said cat. The most interesting thing was that the effect only applied to encounters with that specific cat.

adamnemecek 12y ago
That does not really surprise me since allergen immunotherapy is based on that idea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy
meric 12y ago
After moving out of my parent's house for a year, my allergy to my family cat has returned.

justincormack 12y ago

Anecdata, but try moving somewhere else in the world. A few years away may cure it.

simcop2387 12y ago

Might not always work for things like hay fever. I had plenty of early exposure to pollens and everything else that'd cause them and never had allergies for my early life. Then one year around my 17th birthday (springish birthday so not thinking it's time based so much) i got probably the worst attack of allergies i've ever seen. All the sudden my body decided that it had had enough and I've had hayfever and other symptoms since. Moving to a different area has helped tremendously but hasn't eliminated it. Just anecdotal but I wouldn't be surprised if seasonal allergies like that happen through a different mechanism that might not be affected like the peanut one.

lbearl 12y ago
Freaky... I had the exact same thing except it was when I was 18. I also ended up moving to another area which has helped my allergies out a lot.
dragonwriter 12y ago
The period of early exposure was at least 4 years of continuous exposure (the subjects were at least 11 months old, the 3-days a week feeding was until they were 60 months old). The nature of seasonal allergies tends to be that while early natural exposure is common, early and continuous natural exposure is not. So I wouldn't view natural environmental exposure to seasonal allergens as a valid basisi on which to reject the idea that the kind of early and continuous exposure at issue here might work for seasonal allergens.

bequanna 12y ago

Purely anecdotal, but I used to have terrible allergies (dander, pollen, dust, etc.) for ~25 years. The past few years living with my wife has changed my diet significantly. Very little dairy, way less sugar, no soda, more vegetables, better meat ...and so on. My allergies are now almost nonexistent. I have friends with cats that I couldn't visit because of my allergies. Now, absolutely no problems when I'm in their homes. I don't know what your current diet is like, but it may benefit you to remove certain items for a while (at least several months) and see if that helps.

pkaye 12y ago
Another anecdotal is that I used to get allergies due to dander, pollen and dust for the first 20 years of my life. Without changing my diet, things greatly improved for me. I presumed I had been exposed to so much that I eventually built up immunity.
shocks 12y ago
Another allergy anecdote - I used to be alergic to cats, then I got a cat, and now I'm not allergic to cats!
- silencio 12y ago
  My anecdote: similar to you, but still allergic to cats. I have asthma attacks in the middle of the night if she curls up on my pillow, I have antihistamine eyedrops at hand, and not even my ADHD-brain dares to forget to take meds. I've moved and gone on various diets and nothing really did anything. I give myself another year or two before I look into allergy shots (at the moment, trying to get pregnant and my allergist refuses to start them). It's rather frustrating, but oh well.
  - bequanna 12y ago
    When you tried incorporating changes into your diet, can I ask how long you stuck with it? In my experience, it takes more like 6 months to see positive health results from diet changes as opposed to only a few weeks. Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or a dietitian

Shivetya 12y ago

The sad part is that there are many schools were you can be excused from immunization that do not permit you to send your child to school with a peanut butter sandwich. Anecdotal, we have a coworker who developed this late in life and his doctors cannot give him a reason why. This is from a guy who one day after at the yearly family barbeque went to the hospital. His only ideas were that medicines prescribed for other conditions may have contributed. This always makes me wonder if the prevalence of some food allergies is not only because they are identified better but brought on by diet; through fortified foods; and/or medicines.

bullfightonmars 12y ago

There was an article on NPR Morning Edition, this morning about the Hygiene Hypothesis. A study in Sweden found that children in homes without dishwashers had 50% fewer cases of allergies including hay fever. The assertion being that exposure to bacteria and other microbiota early in life mediate sensitivity later in life. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/23/387553285/kids-allergies-and-a-possible-downside-to-squeaky-clean-dishes http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/23/387553285/kids-al... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis

dade_ 12y ago

My experience: I never had allergy issues, but after moving across the country (Alberta to Ontario), I started having a terrible time in spring and summer. I read that eating local honey can help, so I introduced it into my regular diet and since the next year I haven't needed antihistamines since. It could be a placebo effect, but I think it is worth a shot. The experience has made me much more sympathetic of people suffering allergies, I wish you luck finding relief.

freehunter 12y ago
I've been meaning to try that. I grew up on a farm and never had any allergies to anything, then last year moved to another state. Dear lord. Someone suggested local honey but I never got around to getting to a store that sells it. I'll have to try it this year.

remarkEon 12y ago

To continue - I had awful allergies of the same type (spring being the absolute worst) growing up and was basically non-functional without Allegra or some other similar drug. I went to Ranger School when I was 22 and we weren't allowed to take any kind of drugs throughout the entire course. So for 3 months I had no access to any kind of my usual meds to ward off the usual misery. For the first 2 weeks it was hell (among other reasons) but then it was like my body just quit being allergic. Haven't needed anything since, though I'm definitely not suggesting Ranger School as a cure for hay fever.

omegaham 12y ago
Now I'm picturing your body's immune system yelling at the wayward cells. "I don't know what your major malfunction is, but I'm gonna unfuck you, one way or another." That or it was the Motrin, sock changing, and hydration. Cures everything, dontchaknow.