Let’s be real: 2020 has been a rough year for all of us. I mean, can we just put up our Christmas tree, wrap ourselves in a cozy blanket with a beverage of choice and call it a year? We wish! I pray for better days ahead.

Today, I want to chat with you about something a lot of my patients have struggled with this year: allergies. With extremely high levels of stress, we’ve seen an incredible increase in allergy symptoms. Stress destabilizes us, not only emotionally/mentally, but also physically. It puts a huge toll on our immune system, which helps to mediate the way our body handles any allergic substance.

In a typical year, we see light allergy symptoms through Spring and various other times, but this year it has seemed that allergies have been high non-stop. Symptoms include runny nose, itchy/dry eyes, scratchy throat, sinus pressure, headaches, post nasal drip, congestion, etc. So, what am I doing with my patients to help combat these? Below are just a few tips for combating allergies. This isn’t an all-encompassing list, but it’s a good foundational start.

1. Get adjusted - Your nervous system, which is housed by the joints of your spine, controls every single system of your body including respiratory, lungs, heart, digestion, hormones, etc. Getting an adjustment helps to remove some of the blocks in the communication highways of your body. If your body is trying to relay a message from your brain to your lungs but the signal gets blocked, it’ll put a stress onto that system. This is true not only for physical elements such as muscles and joints but also for things like digestion, hormone secretion, etc. This is done through viscerosomatic innervation. Getting adjusted is huge in helping people feel better.

2. Drink more water - You would be shocked to hear that most people who come into my office are chronically dehydrated. That’s right. We think drinking coffee, teas or other beverages hydrate us, but that’s simply not the case. Your body make up is about 70% water, if you are chronically dehydrated, it interrupts the processes that are supposed to take place. For example, if you are chronically dehydrated your enzymes (little guys who break down your food) won’t be active, so your food will just sit there and give you nice digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, heartburn, etc. The same goes for allergies. If you aren’t flushing out all the toxins from the body, this will stress your immune system and will give you allergy symptoms. Simply drinking more water helps to reduce the histamine reaction which, when high, promotes inflammation and pain and, in this case, upper respiratory symptoms.

3. Eat clean nutrient dense foods - You’re thinking, it’s the pandemic, I need my comfort food. I get it. But if you are experiencing some of these pesky symptoms, it’s time to go easy on that processed sugar and instead opt out for things like healthy grass fed meats which will give you plenty of vitamin B12 to help your body’s detoxification process, reduce mucus producing foods in your diet like dairy, which increase mucus production in your sinuses and upper airways, and eat more green leafy vegetables to help support healthy elimination process in your digestive system as well as giving you plenty of chlorophyll which helps to rebuild the gut. Food is our medicine and when used appropriately will help to either promote or fight disease. Food sensitivities, which are very individualized, make a big difference in the way that your body responds to allergens. Simply removing foods which you are allergic to you can be a huge game changer. In my practice, I muscle test everyone for their specific allergies, while the suggestions above will help everyone to one extent or another, individual testing is the best way to hone into your individual weak spots in order to help you reduce your stressors.

4. Deal with your stress - Stress makes everything worse. It will spike up cortisol (your stress hormone) increase glucose and insulin, predispose us to diabetes, create gut imbalances, sleep issues, immune system issues and frankly any and all chronic diseases. There are wonderful calming herbs and vitamins such as magnesium and chamomile that can help to offset the stress response. However, some practical steps I recommend to patients include going on daily walks or low intensity exercise, which can help to strengthen the body and reduce the cortisol and promote healthy endorphins making us feel better. Meditation has also been shown to rewire our brains positively and teach us practical tools on how to day to day deal with stress. Although some people associate meditation with certain religious practices, it is essentially a breathing exercise to help you achieve a state of calm and stress reduction. There are a lot of fantastic smartphone apps to help guide you in this process. I personally use Headspace (I’m not affiliated with it, I just really love their app). There are other tools, but these are great places to start!

5. Supplements and herbs - There are so many of these that can be helpful. Here’s the first rule of thumb, not everyone needs everything. Just because your next door neighbor is selling the “cure all” product or your mother-in-law thinks that you need X Y or Z does NOT mean that you actually do. I know this sounds silly but I hear this all the time. When dealing with allergies it’s most important to identify WHY you’re having them. Where is the allergy coming from? Is it something you’re eating that’s irritating your body (food sensitivity), is it a particular cleaning product which you’re using that’s the culprit, is it that your detoxification processes in the body are sluggish and you’re not able to get rid of metabolic waste at appropriate levels? Are you regularly exposed to mold, or is it something else? As you can tell, identifying WHERE your allergy is coming from will drive your treatment and will drive what supplements/herbs you may or may not need. Some of my favorite herbs and supplements for allergies can range anywhere from Licorice to Turmeric, to simple things like Vitamin C, D or digestive enzymes, emotional support herbs/supplements and many others. Because you are unique as an individual with individual needs, your supplement/herb regimen should reflect that.

These are some of the foundational things that I address with patients as to support and work through allergy symptoms. If you continue to struggle with allergies after trying everything and not getting anywhere, know that there is hope. Reach out! Let’s get you feeling better!

Dr. V

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If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.