Comments on: No more allergies?!

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 06:48:34 +0000

That is bizarre; it’s like treating a headache by stomping on the sufferer’s foot. Imagine; faking an attack by a bacteria that “is encountered far less today because of modern cleanliness” is the way to eliminate allergic reactions to everyday stuff. I remember reading somewhere that kids that have pets — and less cleanliness at home — have fewer allergy problems.

Like you, I didn’t have any allergies until my late twenties. Now I can’t eat a lot of things I used to enjoy and have severe reactions to pollens and household dust. I can’t function without a morning dose of 12-hour Sudafed.

I had heard from somewhere the bit about giving up dairy, and wondered if that would work for me. Two years is a while to wait though, and a lot of missed ice cream treats for something that might not work. Hmmm.

By: Mangesh

Mangesh — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 17:02:07 +0000

insane… and it really worked for you? I hate allergies, but I love ice cream. Might be a hard trade off!

By: David

David — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 19:52:26 +0000

I used to suffer from serious seasonal allergies, with symptoms exactly like you describe, and had to take all kinds of meds. Then I stopped eating dairy and two years later they all went away.

It’s worth a try, as you wait for the future to become the present… cool news though!

By: Mangesh

Mangesh — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:51:03 +0000

ugh. That’s amazing!

By: Joe K

Joe K — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:41:01 +0000

I saw something similar, perhaps on the Freakonomics blog.

In the spirit of self-experimentation, a person with severe allergies and asthma had been cut off from a prescription plan and was really suffering.

He researched and found reference online to the low incidence of allergies and asthma in under-developed countries. Hypothesized is that there is a parasite that triggers the immune system to such an extent that hay fever like allergies and asthma don’t occur.

Further research led him to the hook worm. His looming drug costs led him to the streets of Cameroon, barefoot and stepping through the feces-infested alleys. And, it worked.

Although the infection by the hookwork is painful and uncomfortable as it moves from skin contact to the lungs, and a terrible bout of coughing for a few hours, all symptoms cleared up. He only needs to keep a supply of worms to re-infect himself every few weeks.