An allergy is more than just a runny nose.  In the practice of Environmental Medicine, allergies are the number one environmentally caused disease or disorder.  Yet many people don’t realize how many different problems can develop because of allergies.


Any organ or system of the body can be the target of an “allergic” or sensitivity reaction. We see patients presenting with multi-system involvement.  Identifying their food, chemical, and inhalant triggers helps resolve such problems as gastro-esophageal reflux, chronic nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bedwetting, frequency and urgency of urination, chronic persistent cough, asthma, and chronic joint pain.  Yet the organ system taking the biggest hit is the nervous system.  Allergy or sensitivity involving the nervous system as the target of reactions can cause learning disabilities, psychosis and schizophrenia, depression, lethargy, fatigue, agoraphobia, panic attacks, sleep apnea, restless legs, and other neurological impairments. 

One of the major causes of disease is autoimmunity: the body literally attacks itself because it no longer recognizes self from non-self.  Such diseases as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and thyroiditis are autoimmune diseases.  They are often caused by microorganisms living in the body that cross-react against specific body tissues.  Cross-reactivity of the organism Group A beta hemolytic streptococcus with heart and kidney tissue is the cause of rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis.  Allergy or sensitivity to even normally occurring microbial flora may trigger autoimmune diseases in susceptible individuals.  Using techniques of hypo-sensitization and neutralization can be beneficial in overcoming cross-reactivity to various organisms and thus helping to control autoimmune diseases.