Using Acupressure to Relieve an Allergy — A Self-Help Approach
Michael Reed Gach, Ph.D., director of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California, has found that allergic reactions can often be relieved through acupressure, the use of fingertips in place of needles to stimulate acupoints. Dr. Gach "As soon as
you begin experiencing an allergic reaction, apply pressure on the point in the center of the webbing of your hand, between your thumb and index finger."
"Gradually apply firm pressure onto the point, angling the pressure toward the bone that connects with the index finger," Dr. Gach instructs. He recommends keeping a constant pressure for at least two minutes while taking slow, deep breaths. Then repeat
the process to the same point on your other hand. "This point works like an antihistamine," Dr. Gach further explains. "I have found that this simple technique can often quickly arrest an allergy
attack, making it a useful self-help remedy that anyone can use."
Environmental Illness and the Sick Building Syndrome
Left untreated, chronic fatigue syndrome can progress to environmental illness, in which the person becomes allergic to almost everything around them. Many sufferers of environmental illness are so reactive that they are forced to barricade themselves
in a home cleared of all chemical products. Until fairly recently, no medical solutions were to be found for this perplexing disorder. Now, however, there are alternative medicine physicians
who, in the course of treating the rising number of patients seeking their help after conventional medicine failed them, have developed effective protocols to reverse environmental illness.
The Meridian Center in Santa Monica, California, is the home of a team of doctors who have had great success in treating not only
environmental illness, but chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, digestive disorders, headaches, infertility, arthritis, and other chronic conditions that baffle conventional doctors. Specializing in reversing the negative health effects of toxic environments, both outside and inside the body, the Center itself was scrupulously
designed and outfitted with environmentally friendly materials so it would not become yet another source of toxicity for clients.
Susan Lange, 0MD., L.Ac., co-founder of the Meridian Center, knows from personal experience how important this is. She spent nearly twelve years figuring out how to recover from environmental illness herself and, in the process, traced its origins to
her exposure to numerous toxins, some of which occurred in buildings where she had worked. Specialists in environmental medicine call it the
"sick building syndrome." This is when the physical environment of a building #151; its construction materials, furnishings, paints, lighting, ventilation directly contributes to the ill health of those
living or working in it.
In Dr. Lange's case, her first exposure to a "sick building" was in England in the early 1980s. The clinic in which she worked had kerosene gas stoves and small cubicles with no ventilation. "This was a major source of petrochemical poisoning for me,"
she notes. In 1985, Dr. Lange did postgraduate acupuncture study in China in a hospital that was rife with mold and fungus. "You could actually see the mold running down the
walls," she recalls.
Electrodermal Screening
Electrodermal screening is a form of computerized information gathering, based on physics, not chemistry. A blunt, non-invasive electric probe is placed at specific points on the patient's hands, face, or feet, corresponding to acupuncture points at the
beginning or end of energy meridians. Minute electrical discharges from these points serve as information signals about the condition of the body's organs and systems,
useful for the physician in evaluation and developing a treatment plan.
Then, in a clinic in Los Angeles where Dr. Lange worked, the air-conditioning filters had not been cleaned or replaced for years, so the system was venting dirty air and microbial contamination. On reflection, Dr. Lange realized that she may have been
carrying petrochemical residues in her system since birth. Dr. Lange's mother lived above a gas station and inhaled diesel fumes every day while she was pregnant
with her. "She was throwing up all the time. It was a toxic womb — my cellular terrain [the biochemical condition and vitality of her cells] was damaged at
an early age," she says.
Dr. Lange's system was further compromised in her early twenties when she picked up intestinal parasites in India. According to one diagnosis at that time, she had amoebic hepatitis. Years of diarrhea, cramps, and pain ensued. Her doctors gave her a battery
of tests, X rays, and conventional drugs such as Flagyl and cortisone, not understanding that what Dr. Lange most needed to start with was a rebalancing of
her intestinal flora with "friendly bacteria," or probiotics.
While the antibiotics were unsuccessful in killing the parasites, they did kill the beneficial microbes, allowing the "unfriendly," pathogenic bacteria to thrive. A friend introduced Dr. Lange to acupuncture and she started receiving treatments. "That
helped me survive, but it didn't clear up," she comments. (However, it did lead her to studying acupuncture and Chinese medicine professionally) Unfortunately
by then her system was too weak to tolerate Chinese herbs.
Allergic to Her Own House
The combination of environmental influences left Dr. Lange "incredibly ill" and her condition worsened over time. She had frequent heart palpitations and her ability to concentrate on her studies began to wane. She was allergic to about 70% of all foods
and many other substancesn — gas fumes and perfume nearly made her faint. "The term 'environmental illness' wasn't in use then," she recalls,
"but when I walked into my own house, I felt like passing out."
Fortunately, Dr. Lange found that her system could handle homeopathy, so she used a series of homeopathic remedies to start detoxifying her system of all its poisons, starting with petrochemicals. According to electrodermal screening, these were the key
toxins. She used Petrochem Antitox and Mercury Antitox, which are both complex homeopathic remedies; she also had the classical homeopathic
remedy, Sulphur, in doses ranging from 6C to 200C, to help drain toxins and chemicals from her organs. (Dr. Lange cautions that these remedies
were prescribed on an individual basis, and may not be appropriate for everyone.)
At the beginning, the most she could handle of the detoxification remedies was one drop daily in water (a normal dosage for Mercury Antitox and Petrochem Antitox is ten drops, three times a day). Any more than that and "my heart and head would pound."
Gradually, Dr. Lange started feeling better and was able to increase the dosages to five drops a day. She also took a complex homeopathic
remedy called Ribes Nigrum, which helps the kidneys to drain their toxins. For this, her dosage was two to three drops a day.
Electrodermal screening also indicated that she was seriously allergic to the mercury in her dental fillings. Complicating this was the fact that, when she was 16, major dental work had misaligned her bite. As she had grown up in Hong Kong and Malaysia,
she had received numerous vaccinations for cholera, smallpox, and other tropical infections. These factors weakened her body's "terrain,"
leaving her vulnerable to illness. "Electrodermal screening enabled me to look back through my health history to see how my immune
system had been damaged," she says. It also showed her the way to restore her health.
Eventually — it took three years to build up her system's vitality sufficiently to handle such a procedure — Dr. Lange had her mercury fillings removed and her dental bite corrected. To rebuild her immune system, she received two daily intravenous
infusions of vitamin C (up to 10 g) combined with B complex (2 cc) and B12 (500 mg). She also took homeopathic Mercury Antitox
to remove the mercury from her tissues. Within three weeks of removing the mercury fillings, her heart palpitations stopped and
the chronic diarrhea began to lessen. "On a misery scale of one to ten, I had been a ten, the highest. After this, I went down
to a two. That's dramatic."
Next to go were the
parasites. Dr. Lange discovered she still had the amoebae from her time in India, along with Helicobacter pylori, bacteria she had picked
up in China and which is associated with
stomach ulcers and chronic gastric pain. A combination of Chinese and other herbs (including artemisia, coptis, phellodendron, isatis, grapefruit seed extract, black
walnut, and garlic) taken longterm, eliminated the bacteria and, finally, the amoebae. After the parasites were gone, Dr. Lange
steadily began to regain her health.
There was one more piece Dr. Lange had to address in order to fully heal and that was the
psychological and emotional component of her illness. Looking back, Dr. Lange comments: "What kept me going was my commitment to getting well, but my biggest
shift came when I faced and let go of the belief I was carrying that the world is dangerous and everything I put in my
body is going to damage me."
An Environmentally Friendly Clinic
A personal, protracted experience with serious illness can be valuable training for a physician. Today, Dr. Lange's patients benefit from her long study of illness from the inside. Dr. Lange put her hard-won knowledge into practice in 1990 when she and
her husband, Julian Lange, O.M.D., L.Ac., designed, outfitted, and launched the Meridian Center. She knew, and
will never forget, that "sick patients require extra-special surroundings because they are so sensitized."
A doctor's office should not make patients feel sicker from spending time there, she says. "Being environmentally ill was a large motivation for me in putting the clinic together the way we did.
Your Carpets Could Be the Culprit
Many people who are sensitive to chemicals, highly allergic, or laid low with chronic fatigue syndrome often tell their physicians that they suspected common household items, including carpets, were somehow poisoning them. Often doctors dismiss these
associations as purely in the patient's head. Now there is substantial scientific data to support the
claims of poisoning. Your carpet may be bad for your health and you may be better off with bare floors.
Rosalind Anderson, Ph.D., of Anderson Laboratories in Dedham, Massachusetts, analyzed the effect of gas emissions on laboratory mice, based on over 300 carpet samples obtained through retail stores, carpet mills, or from patients' homes. All carpets had
been in use from one week to 12 years and none were older than 40 years. To get her disturbing
results, Dr. Anderson performed over 500 different experiments. She found that carpet emissions
decreased the breathing rate of mice immediately on contact, from a norm of 280 times per minute
to a low of 235 after eight minutes of exposure. When the mice were removed from exposure to the
carpet emissions, their respiration rates became normal again. Dr. Anderson next learned that one
or more exposures of the mice to the carpet samples produced a range of alarming symptoms, including
swollen faces, hemorrhaging beneath the skin surface, altered posture, loss of balance, hyperactivity,
tremors, limb paralysis, convulsions, even death. Then she analyzed 125 carpet samples for signs
of neurotoxicity, that is, emissions that harm brain cells or the nervous system. Dr. Anderson
found that 90% produced at least one toxic effect and 60% produced three or more "severe neurotoxic
effects" in at least 25% of the mice.
Over 200 different chemicals have been identified in the typical modern carpet, according to Dr. Anderson, and these can produce "diverse toxic effects" in humans, including flu-like symptoms, muscle pain, fatigue, tremors, headaches (lasting up to 16
weeks after exposure), memory loss, and concentration difficulties. When it comes to negative
health effects from carpets, "this is not a psychological phenomenon," says Dr. Anderson.'
For nonallergenic carpets (100% wool, free of chemicals or synthetic materials, almost completely biodegradable, and billed by their manufacturers as "the lowest toxic carpet available"), contact: Nature's Carpet Environmental Home Center, 1724 Fourth
Avenue South, Seattle, WA 0134; tel. 206-682.7332 or 800.28t.9785: fax: 206 682.8275.
Addrressing The Allergy Connection
Inside the Sick Building Syndrome
In the early 1980s, physicians began using the term "sick building syndrome" (SBS) to refer to a host of symptoms produced by low-grade toxic environmental conditions found in living, work, or office spaces. SBS symptoms are numerous: mucous membrane irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, chest tightness, skin complaints (dryness, itching, abnormal redness), headaches, fatigue, lethargy, coughing, asthma, wheezing, chronic nasal stuffiness, temporary weight loss, infections, and emotional irritability. All of these depress the immune system, rendering the individual susceptible to long-term chronic illness and potentially to a cancer process.
"Indoor air pollution in residences, offices, schools, and other buildings is widely recognized as a serious environmental risk to human health", explains Michael Hodgson, M.D., M.P.H., of the School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. Dr. Hodgson notes that most people in industrialized nations spend more than 90% of their time indoors, that indoor concentrations of pollutants (including toxic chemicals) are often "substantially" higher than found outdoors, and that small children, the elderly, and the infirm are likely to spend all their time indoors, leading to a permanent chronic exposure to low-grade toxic factors.
In most cases, problems with a building's engineering, construction, and ventilation system are the causes.
Now that I am well, I am acutely aware of the quality of energy in a building that is necessary for comfort and optimum health."
During her real life tutorial in illness and healing, Dr. Lange came across
Bau-Biologie, the art and science of the "biological building."
Well-established in Germany, Bau-Biologie is about the impact of building environments on human health and how to use this knowledge to construct environmentally friendly interior spaces that support, not deteriorate, the health of those using them.
The Meridian Center, down to the finest detail, is a perfect demonstration of Bau-Biologie. Carpets are made of hypoallergenic nylon, free of formaldehyde, moth proofing, stain repellents, pesticides, and other toxic materials typically found in carpets.
Formaldehyde, a highly toxic substance, is commonly found in
many building materials and furnishings, from wood to upholstery
fabrics.
Dr. Lange took great care to avoid using any products containing these or other injurious chemicals. Similarly, the Meridian Center was designed to minimize
indoor air pollution, which in many cases can be worse — for its concentration
of hazardous chemicals and toxic emissions from common
household and workplace products — than outdoor smog
and atmospheric pollution.
"All aspects of the clinic's interior — furniture, walls, paints, ceiling tiles, treatment tables, doors, fabrics, lighting, water, electrical installation, gowns, paper and cleaning products, even the plants — were selected for having the lowest
environmental toxicity and for their ability to contribute
to, not detract from, human health," says Dr. Lange.
"Our facility and Bau-Biologie's principles demonstrate that it is possible to use materials that are environ-mentally safe and easily available."
Staff, patients, and visitors enjoy and relish the clinic because "it's so free of the external disturbances experienced in ordinary living environments.
The moment patients walk through the door, the healing process begins," she says. "To support the healing of the patient,
we need facilities that are designed not to damage
the environment, but to bring positive regeneration
to it — facilities that are not sick, but
which are healing places for the body, mind, spirit
and even the planet."
Studies suggest that symptoms occur 50% more frequently in buildings with mechanical ventilation systems. Among 2,000 office workers in Germany with work-related symptoms, there was a 50% higher than average rate of upper respiratory tract infections
that were directly traceable to problems with
mechanically ventilated buildings, reports
Dr. Hodgson. A U.S. study found that 20% of
office workers had job-related SBS symptoms,
including a subjective sense of being less
productive in their work.
Besides ventilation problems, other sources of indoor toxic pollution include volatile organic compounds released from particleboard desks, furniture, carpets, glues, paints, office machine toners, and perfumes. All contribute to "a complex mixture of
very low levels of individual pollutants',
states Dr. Hodgson. Bioaerosols are also
indoor contaminants and originate as biological
agents from mold spores, allergy-producing
microbes, mites, or animal danders; then
they are distributed through an indoor
space by ventilation, heating, or air conditioning
systems.
Of buildings classified as sources of SBS, one study showed that 70% have inadequate flow of fresh outside air. It also found that 50% to 70% of such buildings have poor distribution of air within the occupied space; 60% have poor filtration of outdoor
pollutants; 60% have standing water
that fosters biological growths; and
20% have malfunctioning humidifiers.
A doctor's office should not make patients feel sicker from spending time there, Dr. Lange says. "Being environmentally ill was a large motivation for me in putting the clinic together the way we did. Now that I am well, I am acutely aware of the quality of energy in a building that is necessary for comfort and optimum health."
To contact Susan Lange, 0.M.D., L.Ac
The Meridian Center for Personal
and Environmental Health
www.MeridianHolistic.com
info(at)MeridianHolistic.com
Tel: (310) 395 9525;
fax (310) 395 9022
Santa Monica, CA
For more information about Bau-Biologie, contact: Bau-Biologie and Ecology, P.O. Box 387, Clearwater, FL www.building-biology.net
Contact us from our Contact Page and ask for a free article on "How to Heal Your Digestion in 3 Easy Steps"