Cough, runny nose and sneeze: Cold alert?
No, allergy alert.
What happens in the body and can allergies be prevented at all?
Naturopath Karl Lingenfelder answered questions.
Fulda - If the body absorbs a foreign substance through the skin, breathing or the gastrointestinal tract, our immune system defends itself against it.
In the case of a cold, it fights the pathogens, and in the case of an allergy too – however, in the case of an allergy it fights supposedly harmless things such as pollen, animal hair or certain foods.
It forms special antibodies and can no longer distinguish between harmful and harmless substances.
Preventing allergies, is that possible?
Naturopath gives tips
If typical allergy symptoms then develop, one speaks of an allergy, according to the German Allergy and Asthma Association.
Anyone who has one can suffer from the following symptoms: runny nose, coughing and sneezing, breathing problems, watery eyes, itching, skin rash, swelling of the mucous membranes or gastrointestinal problems.
With an allergy test - either a skin or blood test - the doctor can check which substances the body has formed antibodies to.
However, the German Allergy and Asthma Association emphasizes that a positive allergy test alone does not mean that you are allergic.
It only shows whether the immune system has formed antibodies to a certain substance.
Only when symptoms actually occur after contact do we speak of an allergy.
If there are no symptoms, there is a silent sensitization.
The immune system has formed antibodies, but there are no symptoms.
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A man with hay fever and a handkerchief in front of his nose is standing next to a flowering bush.
© Angelika Warmuth/dpa/Archive
According to non-medical practitioner Karl Lingenfelder from Fulda, allergies can be prevented with the following methods: "Allergies can be prevented with: microimmunotherapy, homeopathy, vitamin C infusions, autologous blood treatments, bioresonance therapy, fasting or intestinal rehabilitation." Therapeutic fasting is also possible at home, of course there are a few things to keep in mind.
You can also prevent allergies in small children: "In small children there are the same options apart from infusions, autologous blood and fasting.
If the allergy does occur, you can carry out a special modified autohemotherapy with a single blood sample from the fingertip or the earlobe.” According to Lingenfelder, nutrition is also important: “Nutrition plays a major role through cross-allergens and a low-allergen, low-histamine diet. "
The top allergens would include early bloomers such as birch, hazel and alder, grass in summer, animal dander from cats, horses and dogs, but also house dust mites.
"The intestines play a major role, as does the immune system, the genetic load from parents who are allergic, a caesarean section at birth and much more," explains the naturopath in an interview with the Fuldaer Zeitung.
Nowadays more and more people suspect that they suffer from an allergy.
Is that really the case and if so, why is that?
“Allergies are definitely on the rise.
The causes are: stress, chronic silent inflammation ('silent inflammation'), (mal)nutrition, incorrect colonization of the intestine ('dysbioses') or histamine intolerance,” summarizes Lingenfelder.
More and more people are affected: Why are allergies increasing?
He also says: "Electrosmog such as mobile phone radiation or stress in the sleeping area probably also promote allergies." However, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection contradicts this, which has not found any effects of mobile phone radiation on the body that go beyond minimal warming.
According to Lingenfelder, other causes of increasing allergies are a lack of certain micronutrients - above all omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium and zinc.
The climate also plays a certain role in allergies.
"For example, plants are now growing here that we don't actually know and that have a high allergy potential."
You can find more articles on the topic of health in the advice section of the Fuldaer Zeitung. Note: The information given in this article does not replace a visit to a doctor. Only experts can make the right diagnosis and initiate appropriate therapy. The intake of medication or dietary supplements should be discussed with a doctor beforehand.
List of rubrics: © Angelika Warmuth/dpa/Archive
