Walking Back Hypersensitization

For a really short explanation of what the difference the allergists I’ve run into were too busy telling me I was wrong to even bother to explain, Genova Diagnostics breaks it down:

IgE-Mediated Allergies

• Foods, molds, inhalants
• Immediate onset (minutes to hours)
• Circulating half-life of 1-2 days
• Permanent allergies
• Stimulates histamine release
• Hives, stuffy or itchy nose, sneezing, itchy, teary eyes, vomiting, stomach cramps or diarrhea, angioedema or swelling, shortness of breath or wheezing, anaphylaxis

IgG-Mediated Intolerances

• Foods, spices, vegetarian foods
• Delayed onset (hours to days)
• Circulating half-life of 21 days
• Temporary sensitivities
• Activates complement
• Does not stimulate histamine release
• Gastrointestinal symptoms, headaches, joint aches, rashes, other vague symptoms

So what happens when licensed allergists say there’s “no such thing” as reactions to corn derivatives? That unless there’s immediate arrest in being able to breathe (an IgE-mediated allergy like my daughter has for slippery elm/English ivy)—

–then allergies aren’t an issue, and that panicked reaction, face/neck/throat swelling, patches of bright pink-red that appear on both cheeks and nose and chin, hives, clawing at throat, deep allergic shiner dark circles and yellow band across the nose (IgG-mediated intolerance reaction)…

“Doesn’t count.”

…? Really.

Allergy to car seat?

I felt so lost in January 2020 when my daughter began to vomit, swell up, and look like she had bad hay fever when in her car seat. It was a mixture of contact (rashing when her legs touched it) and airborne (as in off-gassing; “car smells”).

But she HAS to sit in her car seat. There’s nothing for it. Car seats save little lives, and I happily use our Britax with pride.

But think about it. Car seats are suffused with flame retardant, polyester/textiles often contain formaldehyde, and there’s concern for chemicals in the foam of furniture generally.

About that same time in January, she also further sensitized to even bathwater – the very tap water coming out of the bathroom faucets. Everybody uses that… but suddenly I realized that not only were personal bath products a problem (shampoo/conditioner chemicals that I found out she was allergic to after an allergy skin panel on her back showed Balsam of Peru, Fragrance Mix II, and several others), so was the very water. Which, look up any water purification company and see what they say they save people from. All of THAT is in tap water, and she was clearly reacting to it. In addition, being corn intolerant, there are corn derivatives included in the water purification process to consider too.

So… what to do. What is a parent – rather, anybody – supposed to do or think when this is what they’re dealing with?

Car seat safety manuals largely dictate that any additions to the seat will nix their warranty for replacement and/or create a safety hazard. Rather than cover the seat for my daughter, we started putting her in sleeves and pants/long socks with her shorts while in the car seat, and rolling down windows as needed for airflow to minimize off-gassing from the car seat/vehicle chemicals.

Her stroller, on the other hand, we took a safe sheet and my husband tucked it around and tied corners, and made slits for the belt. Works great, and her comfort was greatly increased.

In the case of the car seat, my daughter needed long sleeved shirts and pants to continue to use it, and to minimize off-gassing we rolled down the window a couple inches to halfway as needed. Using zeolite helped reduce sensitivity.

What does hypersensitization look like?

In my daughter Aubby’s case:

• Multiple intolerances related to corn derivatives since she was born
• Apnea and chronic sinus congestion/drainage
• Floppy airway leading to feeding tube since 6 weeks old, and hypotonia that’s looking like being too fatigued to function more than a “muscle problem”
• Scoliosis with ongoing management
• Allergic intussusception that made her have stomach and intestinal bleeds until I figured out why after 4 hospital admittances in a two-month timespan in 2018
• Chronic severe constipation since 1 year old, and chronic severe diarrhea for 9 months of 2019
• Failure to thrive, chronic severe reflux/GERD, and chronic anemia
• Chronic extreme insomnia
• Cognitive delay skill equivalent of 1-2 years of age
• Still nonverbal but for a couple handfuls of words

Most of the above hurdles were expressions of gut dysbiosis that I’ve had to work through layer by layer since 2015.

What I now recognize as hypersensitized is the point at which a person experiences food troubles – bloating, heartburn, intolerances (especially to dairy, wheat, corn).

Common denominators: corn derivatives, heavy metal toxins

For all of those issues, the common denominator was corn derivatives and heavy metal toxins:

• Apnea and much of the chronic sinus congestion/drainage resolved when we rehomed our pets; pets eat corn derivatives (such as maltodextrin), which is then processed within the body and then excreted through urine, stool, and… saliva. Animals have clean themselves with their saliva, which spreads a form of the substance they ate over their fur. If I could redo rehoming our pets by doing the dietary research to try blending their food from scratch using a Vitamix blender. Worth a try.
• Floppy airway and hypotonia are related to corn derivatives and to heavy metals toxicity. Improvements showed when we removed corn derivatives in November 2019 and her neck became strong enough to hold her head up better, and when we started zeolite and she became able to overcome a state of fatigue that she’s tripled her energy.
• Scoliosis remains unresolved, but using a complete electrolyte (“bioplasma”) relieved tension, pain, and helped her straighten. We also manage this with chiropractic care.
• Allergic intussusception turned out to be non celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) since blood testing showed no but the intussusceptions stopped when the gluten did.
• Chronic severe diarrhea and constipation was on account of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
• Chronic severe constipation is even more largely showing itself to be heavy metals dependent.
• Failure to thrive was dependent on figuring out how to get her to take in nutrients, reflux/GERD was hugely improved by upgrading water filtration in our home, and anemia began to resolve when we started live probiotic.
• Chronic extreme insomnia jumped from 2 hours of sleep per night with apnea to 3-4 hours of sleep per night after we rehomed our pets, then to 4-6 hours after live probiotic helped, and finally an increase in full sleeps after starting detoxification supplementation.
• Developmental delays and speech are still pending but starting detoxification supplementation has improved verbalization (though not audibility), attentiveness, expressiveness, and more. Based on the sudden increases in function, I expect there will be additional improvements over time.

It’s been a lot to sift through.

Putting It Together

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Every day forward is a day stronger. Sometimes it’s necessary to push through, as not all healing is comfortable. There will most likely be Herxheimer reactions, rebalancing imbalances, feeling hungry, feeling weak, wanting to give up, feeling even more hopeless because there’s no way to go but to trudge forward… But every day forward is a day stronger because steps have been taken to allow the body to do what it’s built to do: process nutrients and hydration properly, and be able to detox.

At this time, I recognize four steps to plateau and de-escalate hypersensitization:

Eliminate

This step plateaus and then begins the process to empty the bucket in order to regain function as the gut stops being overwhelmed.

• Synthetic corn derivatives – it’s a very big list, but eating for really “real” is everything.
• Polyester and other synthetic materials (e.g, wardrobe, furniture, children’s toys). We used The Futon Shop to replace our beds with clean, quality material.
• Dirty water – get a ProPur shower filter to bathe, and a Zero water filter pitcher, plus electrolyte supplement, to drink.
• Epsom salt baths improve reaction effects, supplement magnesium unobtrusively, and help the body to relax so it can rest. Dr. Teal’s Unscented Plain is a good selection.
• A 6-week to 6-month course of live probiotic may be worth considering now

Rejuvenate

As the gut stops being overwhelmed, it needs support.

• Shop:
  • Farmers Market
  • non-GMO
  • organic
  • spray-free
  • grass-fed only
• Supplement:
  • trace minerals (i.e., Concentrace, OmniBlue)
  • 12-in-1 biochemical cell salts “bioplasma” (i.e., I&E Organics Apothecary online)
  • multivitamin (i.e., Naturelo Prenatal)
  • N-acetyl-cysteine is useful when it seems impossible to get enough water (i.e., Jarrow)
  • George’s aloe (4 oz daily for a digestive break)
  • L-Glutamine and/or glycine (to help repair intestinal lining)

Recover

After basic critical changes are placed, getting the emotional body right helps the healing process. Stress impairs immune system response, so meeting the body halfway is just good sense. The body needs the best diet able to be provided – all improvements are improvements.

• Meditate or walk or find a way to give yourself breathing space.
• When the time is right to begin an active, daily detox process – and that time will be sooner or later for each of us – then natural zeolite becomes so useful, particularly since its nano-sized particles are able to not only cleanse the body of toxins, but helps bind excess histamine! The natural zeolite that my family uses is very gentle. Be prepared to drink extra water.
• Helpful teas include mushroom, echinacea, ginger, ginger-chamomile, peppermint, green
• Sleep as regularly as possible. Being in bed by 10PM gives the body’s internal clock the chance to self-repair the best it can, which happens particularly from 1-3AM.

Boost

After stabilizing hypersensitization and beginning a good detox process, trying other methods to gain health may be of interest. Just go slow, watch how you feel before, during, and after changes to record progress, keep faith in yourself and your body’s ability to heal, and never give up.

Once the work’s been put in to clear the body’s detox pathways (and monitored in order to adjust as necessary), then it’s up to time to rebuild.

A good place to start this entire process, and continue, is to make sure diet and home are clean. Towards this, I’ve compiled Aubby’s Clean Brand Picks list. Take care.