What is Allergy?

Allergy is a sensitivity to allergens. These cause an allergic disease when eaten or inhaled or by direct contact.

Are There Any Dormant Illnesses Awakened by Allergy?

There are a number of nervous ailments that become more obvious when a person has a basic allergic constitution. These are functional disorders, behavior problems, psychoneuroses, anxiety states, depression, headaches, stomachaches, bladder and visual disturbances, low-grade fever, pallor, fatigue, circles under the eyes, and sweating. The treatment of the allergy must precede the treatment of the nervous illness.

How Many Children Develop Allergies?

The prevalence of allergy among the child population of the United States is about 50 percent, if we consider the word allergy to pertain to atopic disease, contact dermatitis, and drug sensitivity. However, statistics show that only 35 million people in this country are actively sick with hay fever, asthma, or eczema, the main diseases treated by allergists.

Is Allergy a Family Disease?

A child may be born with an allergic tendency which he inherits from his father, his mother, or both. If both parents have allergies, his chances of developing an allergy are about 70 percent; if only one of his parents is allergic, his chances are about 30 percent; and if neither one of his parents is allergic, he still has a 10 percent chance of developing an allergy. Intermarriage has made all the inhabitants of the world potential carriers of the allergy gene to some extent; anyone may develop an allergy if exposed long enough to powerful allergens beyond his tolerance level to them. This level varies from person to person and within the same person from time to time. It is called his “allergic threshold,” and it consists of the combined effects of all the allergic reactions taking place within him at any one time. For example, a child who is slightly allergic to cantaloupe and does not have symptoms when he eats it, may have them in the presence of an animal to which he may also be slightly allergic.

Is There a Pattern to the Development of Allergies?

Although there are many exceptions to this rule, an atopic child usually develops eczema during his first year, allergic rhinitis in the second or third year, asthma and its complications later on.

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One clinic, Reproductive Healthcare in North London, uses a process called a monitored cycle. This involves taking a number of ‘snapshot’ tests over one menstrual cycle to identify the particular point where the cycle is not functioning. Conventionally, tests are all done on different cycles, a 21-day blood test in one month, maybe a laparoscopy another month. But doing it this way makes it hard to get the ‘big picture’ about what is actually happening with your reproductive system. You get more complete information by closely monitoring a single menstrual cycle. The monitored cycle looks at hormonal balance and reproductive function and the way they work together.

Monitored Cycle Using Ultrasound and Blood Tests

At the beginning of the cycle, between days 1 and 3, a blood test is taken to measure oestradiol (from the ovary) and LH and FSH (from the pituitary gland) and to check the egg reserve. This blood test is very useful for older women as it can give an indication of the likelihood of conceiving (ovarian reserve). The blood test also checks the hormone output from the thyroid gland as well as prolactin, both of which are: essential for normal fertility function.

The first ultrasound scan is done between days 6 and 8 of the cycle (day 1 is the first day of the period).

Approximately three serial scans are performed during the cycle. These can show the thickness of the womb lining, and the size, growth and blood flow to the developing follicle in the ovary.

A scan a week after ovulation checks on the functioning of the corpus luteum (which pumps out progesterone, the hormone needed to maintain a pregnancy).The scan at this stage can also determine whether the womb lining is thick enough for a fertilised embryo to be implanted.

A blood test is also performed after ovulation to check on the hormone progesterone.

There is also a test called a hysterosalpingosonogram (HSS) which is usually performed before ovulation to check that there are no blockages in your fallopian tubes. This is an alternative to HSG because it can be done in the first part of the cycle which means that the gynecologist can have a complete set of information by the end of that particular cycle. The HSS does not involve the use of X-rays so there is no radiation risk. A sterile fluid is injected into the uterus and traced with ultrasound as it passes through the fallopian tubes. The scan outlines the uterine cavity and the tubes and shows the spill of fluid around the ovaries.

You can get these monitored cycle investigations done through the NHS. Ask your gynecologist about it. Otherwise you may need to find a private hospital unit or clinic that offers this approach.

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What is it?

A condition characterized by excessive weight. It is generally accepted that the term obesity applies to people who are 30 per cent or more above their ideal weight-allowing for their frame size. About 15 per cent of 16-19-year-olds, and 54 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women aged 60-65, are thought to be overweight. Forty per cent of adult men overall and 32 per cent of adult women overall are overweight, with 6 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women truly obese.

Recent research has found that even being mildly overweight matters-it is not just the truly obese who are at risk. Weight is especially important to those with a family history of diabetes and heart disease and in those who already have high blood pressure. If you or your family have diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure, it is especially important to watch your weight and that of your family.

Smoking is linked to weight too. Smokers tend to be less heavy than non-smokers but they are at greater health risk. Many people give up smoking and promptly put on weight but the hazards of smoking are greater than those of being overweight.

What causes it?

• Eating the wrong foods.

• Bad nutritional habits from the cradle.

• Too little exercise.

• Too much alcohol.

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