In case you missed it, I would like to highlight a comment left by Dr. Aubrey Ewing on my previous entry on the use of biofeedback machines in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. I feel that the information may be useful particularly for those who are thinking of trying such procedures. He said:

Your readers should be aware that the mainstream health care community and the FDA have serious concerns about the legitimacy of the claims of scientific basis and clinical efficacy made by purveyors of the so called "BAX3000 biofeedback" device. Of particular concern is the questionable use of the term, "biofeedback", which the professional organizations representing legitimate biofeedback define as a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance. Biofeedback uses precise instruments to provide information to the user about physical processes in order to help them learn to make desired changes. The important component in authentic biofeedback is learning. Legitimate biofeedback has evolved as the result of rigorous scientific inquiry, and its practice is evidence-based and utilized by clinicians who employ biofeedback within the scopes of their professional training and licensure. The BAX3000 device appears to be is something else. Caveat emptor!

Indeed. Once again, thank you for your comment, Dr. Ewing.

Stuffed nose due to allergies? Grab a couple of mandarin oranges. Apparently mandarin oranges contain natural decongestants.

The USDA tested mandarins from 10 different micro-climates in Placer County and what they found inside these little fruits, compared to other citrus, 6 to 7 times the amount of synephrine, a naturally occurring decongestant. You can buy these mandarins from stores, online or straight from the growers.

Thanksgiving menu all planned out? It's easy enough to make the turkey itself allergy-free, but it's the trimmings, side-dishes and desserts that might require more inspiration if you're having guests or family with food allergies.

Check out About.com's guide to an allergy-safe thanksgiving menu. From choosing the turkey, appetizers, soups, side dishes, and desserts! Don't miss the Corn-Free Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Ginger - it's free of the top 8 food allergens!

Choosing over-the-counter remedies can be very confusing, considering the range of choice available out there. If you're looking for medication for kids, you need to be doubly careful. Check out WebMD's slideshow on selecting and safe use of OTC medicines for kids- be it for asthma, allergies, or other ailments. You may consider a lot of it as just common sense, but hey, better read it now, than when your baby's sick and already in a panic!

It was at a party where I first heard of a new method of diagnosing allergies using a hybrid of acupuncture and ultrasounds. The woman I was talking to couldn't articulate exactly how it works, but she swears that the technique worked, and unlike conventional allergy tests, it does not involve drawing of blood or any other needle poking.

My interest was piqued, and thought that if it was really as effective as this woman touted it to be, it could be a great option particularly for children. I tried to find more about it, but after several tries with Google, couldn't find a lead and kept telling myself to try to find the woman's contact info.

Until I stumbled upon Science Based Medicine's take on the use of so called "biofeedback" machines and laser for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. I bet this was the same machine that woman I met was talking about.

According to the AllergiCare website:

US Patented technology in computerized biofeedback to screen for sensitivity to over 4000 substances in just a few minutes - withOUT needles of any kind.

The identified sensitivities are then loaded into a digital biofeedback treatment database that is used to eliminate
the patient's reactions through a process of neurological desensitization withOUT needles!

By reducing the underlying neurological sensitivities, most, if not all, allergic reactions can be completely cleared.

All of this is accomplished without drugs, inhalers, or negative side-effects.

Intrigued? I suggest you read Science Based Medicine's entry about it first.

The BAX3000 is a biofeedback machine, approved ONLY for biofeedback by the FDA. The only thing the company has patented is the digital conductance meter. The BAX3000 is just another in a long line of quack electronic diagnostic and treatment devices that started with electroacupuncture according to Voll (EAV) in the 1950s. They basically measure galvanic skin conductance. There are various versions making different claims. In this version they claim to be measuring what a patient is allergic to; then they return the same frequencies back to the acupuncture points as treatment. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch doesn't mince words: he says

"I believe that EAV devices should be confiscated and that practitioners who use them are either delusional, dishonest, or both."

Read the entire entry, do your own research and then decide if it's worth your $$$.

They say to every cloud is a silver lining. Next time you're having a bout of allergy attacks, instead of cursing your overreacting immune system, think of it this way: those sneezing fits could be protecting you from cancer. A new study published in the latest issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology suggests that allergy symptoms may protect our organs against cancer by expelling foreign particles, some of which may be carcinogenic or carry absorbed carcinogens. They think that allergies are like early warning devices that let people know when there are toxic substances in the air that should be avoided.

[snip]... the Cornell team reexamined nearly 650 previous studies from the past five decades. They found that inverse allergy-cancer associations are far more common with cancers of organ systems that come in direct contact with matter from the external environment-the mouth and throat, colon and rectum, skin, cervix, pancreas and glial brain cells. Likewise, only allergies associated with tissues that are directly exposed to environmental assaults-eczema, hives, hay fever and animal and food allergies-had inverse relationships to cancers.

The next question that begs to be asked then is: if they have anti-cancer benefits, should allergic reactions then be suppressed or treated with antihistamines and other allergy medications?