ALLERGIES
Myth and Reality

Throughout the years, the study of allergies and conventional pediatrics has focused on the limited range of allergies as the cause of a child's various medical problems. Many now believe, as I do, that allergies have a wider scope and involve not only what is accepted--that is, hayfever, asthma, and eczema--but more significant symptoms that can affect children from head to toe, especially the central nervous system.

What is an allergy?
At the present time, there is an honest difference of opinion between the conventional allergist and the allergist who believes in the concepts recommended by ear, nose and throat and environmental allergists. The strict definition of allergy limits allergic problems to hayfever, asthma and eczema. However, my opinion is that an allergy is actually a malfunction of the immune system and can affect a person's entire body. Often allergies can also affect the gastrointestinal, urinary, musculoskeletal, and most important, the central nervous system. After practicing conventional pediatrics for 15 years, I believe in retrospect that pediatricians are trained in medical school and residency programs to prioritize diseases and treat problems with medication and surgery. A number of medical problems should be treated this way, but very often a preventive approach to illness, one that emphasizes the underlying causes of a problem, is more effective. A preventive approach is particularly helpful in cases of children with recurrent ear infections and sinus infections as well as hyperactive children who have a higher incidence of allergies and/or recurrent infections.

What allergy testing technique should be used?
The allergy testing techniques recommended by conventional allergists do not always keep pace with our current knowledge of allergies. I have seen a vast number of children who have received allergy testing elsewhere with very little correlation to those I conduct in my office. In fact, many children suffer from allergies which conventional testing techniques fail to detect. The allergy testing technique that I advocate is the Provocation/Neutralization method. To determine an allergy, a measured amount of the suspected allergen is injected under the patient's skin. If a positive reaction occurs, weaker dilutions of the suspected allergen are administered to the patient until a negative or neutralizing dose is found. This neutralizing dose becomes the treatment dose and blocks the reaction to various foods, molds and chemicals that have been tested. I believe that this method is more accurate and effective. This point is illustrated by the following case: An eight year-old boy with a history of severe behavioral problems, abdominal pain and headaches in the spring and fall seasons visited by office in August 1994. His mother described his behavior as "a sudden change in behavior and mood and aggressive outbursts and irritability in the spring and fall." The young boy had no typical allergy symptoms involving the ears, nose, throat, eyes or lungs.

Eight months before my evaluation, he was evaluated by a conventional allergist whose testing for pollens, dust mites, molds, and foods was negative. The boy's parents were told that his problems were "completely emotional." Utilizing the Provocation/Neutralization technique, the boy tested positive to all 23 grasses, trees, and dust products, as well as 11 foods. He was started on immunotherapy treatment. Two months after the initial testing in the fall, the boy had no complaints of headaches or abdominal pain, was completing homework assignments and showed no evidence of aggression, anger or depression. In his mother's words, "he was doing beautifully."

How should an allergy be treated?
There is also controversy among conventional allergists and ear, nose and throat and environmental allergists regarding appropriate allergy treatments. The most common and known treatment of allergies is injections. Over the past eight years I have found, however, that sublingual immunotherapy is actually more effective in a vast majority of the cases. Sublingual immunotherapy treatment involves placing several drops of the neutralizing dose solution under the tongue of the patient to block an allergic reaction to that particular substance. This method of treatment can be taken at home and is much more convenient than seeking out the services of a physician for weekly injections. In addition, this is a particularly successful method for children who may be afraid of injections. I believe that sublingual immunotherapy is successful because it's a form of homeopathy, in that "like cures like." Specifically, a homeopath will actually look for what will provoke the problem when attempting to make a diagnosis. The treatment is a weak dilution that tells the immune system not to react. With regard to sublingual immunotherapy, dilutions are given to patients to block various pollens, molds, chemicals and foods that tell the immune system not to react. The emphasis is on treating the cause of the allergy, not the symptom. It is time for the conventional medical community to combine this expertise and academic research with physicians who search for the underlying cause of medical problems in children and design studies that help promote our children's health. For example, this would certainly be more effective than treating recurrent ear infections with multiple courses of antibiotics. The prevention of medical problems and the health and happiness of our children should be our top priority. Richard E. Layton, M.D., practices specialized pediatrics, allergy and preventive medicine and maintains a private practice in Towson. He has over 29 years experience in pediatrics and is president of the Maryland Association of Innovative Health Care Practitioners.