STOMACH ISSUES, BREATHING ISSUES... AND HIVES

One of the things that many sufferers may have to deal with is the pain and swelling in their stomachs and its consequences - and can also get hives.

At first I wasn't sure how to deal with this problem - but after a year and a half of it constantly popping up I got to the bottom of it. I read many doctoral research papers, googles of anatomy, and a dictionary later.... I had my answers and a game plan to fix it. (there's always a little trial and error in there)

When you breathe in allergens - Every time you breathe in allergens, that air doesn't only go to your lungs. Those allergens also go down your throat and can make it as far as the top of your stomach and can cause you a LOT of pain and inflammation. So food isn't the ONLY thing triggering your stomach.

It can cause small tears in your stomach from being distended. It can also cause furrowing of your esophagus, and nodes to appear. Meaning the lining in your throat gets so swollen its starts to fold over itself and the nodes are spots that grow from an accumulation of mast cells. In the stomach - the swelling and acid production can get so bad - solid food, if any at all, can be out of the question.

One thing to keep in mind, when you eat or drink something that you're unknowingly allergic too - is to remember its has a lot of organs to go thru. That can cause a lot of problems, in a lot of places - at the same time and make you miserable.

So how do we live with this and make it better....

First off, always avoiding your triggers is foremost. But sometimes its not that simple. Like Spring - and all the flying seasonal allergies. Or stress, hormones, fatigue, weather, temperature, pressure etc.

You're antihistamines (h1, h2, h3) are your best defense against this - but there are also so supplements that can help you cope with the symptoms as well.

First off, Slippery Elm and Marshmallow root: these act like a coating to your espophogus, stomach, intestines and bladder. (can also be a really good hair tangle spray) Its a lot like the meds they give you to drink to deal with stomach acid. You can get it in a tea form (not pleasant tasting) or put it in little gel capsules. The gel capsules help the stomach on down - but doesn't necessarily in the throat. Either way - it does work.

I recently came across a product for leaky gut that has all these good ingredients in it. You can drink it (or i put it in capsules because I don't like spearmint flavor) Another product I've used is the Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolysate. This also helps greatly for healing and rebuilding tissue, helping joints etc.

When trying to eat during these rough times- your best bet is only to have good, clean eating, healthy smoothies - and add some Collagen hydrolysate. It also has 7g of protein in it. Smoothies makes it easier for your body to digest - Technically, a smoothy is pretty much digested already - all your body has to do is drink in the nutrients which helps you to heal without adding an additional amount of stress to your body. Digestion releases even more histamines - so the smoothies help reduce that as well.

It also has wonderful side effects - like great skin, hair and nails. You've probably seen the new fad - bone broth for health. The Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolysate is basically the same thing and came long before the bone broth fad.

If outdoor allergies are doing you in - wear a mask, and a steroid inhaler is a great tool to help with these particular triggers. If you have adrenal issues (like I do) we tend to flee from steroids. An inhaler (per the doc and pharmacist) doesn't have all the side effects the steroid pill has. It also reduces the inflammation or irritation in your throat/lungs etc if you're suffering from breathing in allergens.

You're immune system is in your gut - so you'll need to take good care of it. The better care you take, the less more severe episodes you'll have. I've found the Leaky Gut supplements have been good in helping reduce the number and severity of my episodes.

Remember, if you're having a really bad reaction - anything you use during that time can make you allergic to that item too. So keep things super simple and basic during those times. For Example: Last winter I went to Florida for vacation - Red Tide came in. For those that dont know what it is - its an algae bloom that releases toxic gasses and uses up all the oxygen in the water killing the marine life- which all shows up on the beach. It can also make humans extremely ill even if you never set foot on the beach. You generally can't go outside during Red Tide. Well, while red tide was trying to make its way back out to sea, the pine pollen hit an all time record that year as well. So now I'm also allergic to pine because I was already extremely sick from Red Tide.

FOR MY CHEMO FRIENDS AND FAMILY:

I want to also let folks know that if you've been thru Chemo - the chemo kills the good with the bad and you're gut takes a huge hit. You may find yourself allergic to things you've never been allergic to before - or breaking out in hives.

The Leaky Gut supplements work wonders along with the Great Lakes and help heal your body inside and out while boosting your immune system back to as close as it used to be as possible - if not better! As for probiotics - there is one out there that reduces the histamine levels in your intestines (which causes the hives) and still helps replace what was lost and rebuild. Its one of the things I've noticed to be true for myself as well and all research leads to the gut.

Remember - elimination doesn't heal, nutrition does. High nutrient, low calorie is the best for us.

Good Luck