Its allergy season again… you don’t have to suffer!

Seasonal allergies, or hay fever, are the physical symptoms people can experience during certain times of the year. These symptoms can include coughing, sneezing, and itchy eyes. Frequently, seasonal allergies flare when molds release their spores in order to reproduce, or when plants release pollen grains into the air in order to fertilize other plants. Allergies are indicative of an immune system that is out of balance. Chiropractic care can help you beat seasonal allergies once and for all!

The symptoms and severity of seasonal allergies will depend the individual’s specific immune response to the particular allergens. There are three types of pollen that can cause allergy symptoms. These include trees, grasses, and weeds which means there are three ‘pollen seasons.’ Pollen grains are small particles that help plants reproduce. In some species of plants, self-pollination occurs with pollen from its own flowers, but other types must be cross-pollinated, meaning pollen must be transferred from one plant to another plant of the same species. The types of pollen that most frequently cause allergic reactions are produced by plants that don’t have flowers, so they must produce small, light, and dry grains that are transported by wind.

In Massachusetts, trees begin to pollinate by the end of March to early April, while grass pollinates from May through July and weeds pollinate from August through October. If you struggle with stronger symptoms during one of these periods of the year, your body is indicating that it is struggling with at least one of the types of pollen grains. Mold spores can cause year-round symptoms of allergies, but their activity tends to increase between mid-summer through the fall before it decreases again.

An immune system out of Balance

Seasonal allergies occur when the immune system is out of balance. When a major stress to the body occurs, it can impact the function of the immune system. Many young individuals never develop a normal immune response because of bodily stress, and are thus prone for the rest of their lives to allergic reactions. An immune insult can also throw an adult’s immune system out of wack.

Physical trauma to the upper cervical spine is one common immune insult that can occur from fall, an auto accident, or even poor posture or sleeping habits. This trauma can lead to an upper cervical (neck) subluxation, which puts pressure on the brain stem. Upper cervical subluxations frequently throw the immune system out of balance, which can cause allergic reactions in some people.

Beating seasonal allergies

Frequently, allergies are treated with medications such as antihistamines, inhalers, and anti-inflammatory medications. While these medications temporarily treat the symptoms and provide a period of relief, they don’t fix the root cause of allergies, and are thus they are unable to provide a long-term solution.

Chiropractic care helps by removing upper cervical subluxations in order to restore proper spinal alignment and neurological function to the nervous system. Our chiropractic care includes very specific and gentle adjustments that release the pressure on the brain stem, which can help you beat allergies forever!

Q: I have had allergies since childhood. Several years of allergy shots and thousands of antihistamine doses later, I still find myself in misery when the pollen starts coming out. I also have eczema and asthma symptoms which I think are allergy related. A friend suggested chiropractic — can it help me?

Seasonal allergies can make some of us miserable for months at a time, really decreasing our ability to enjoy the seasons — no fun when you want to be spending time outside! Antihistamines do not address the real issues, which is a challenged immune system.

A: Antihistamines help to dry out mucous membranes and can bring temporary relief of symptoms; however they also cause side effects such as fatigue or even heart problems in some cases, and can be dangerous if combined with alcohol, or some other medications.

Chiropractic is not a treatment for allergies, but it is a way to relieve stress on the nervous system by addressing spinal subluxations – areas of the spine which put stress on the nervous system. By relieving this stress and allowing the nerve flow to function more effectively, it essentially allows the immune system to function more effectively, giving your body a helping hand in doing what it should be doing naturally.

In one study of 360 patients with allergies, skin conditions and asthma (commonly-related conditions) in the group receiving spinal care, 88% showed improvement in skin itching and 72% showed improvement in skin condition. Allergies improved in 70% of the spinal care group. This is just one study – there is documentation that people have experienced fewer allergies after receiving chiropractic care. We’ve seen it in our office.

Your nervous and immune systems are interrelated, and the health of one affects the health of the other. By reducing stresses to the nervous system, chiropractic care also helps your body adapt better to all the stresses in your environment, including those relating to allergies.