Integrative Health Blog

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, is the infusion of pure oxygen deep into the tissues of the body.

Oxygen is essential for life and can provide many health benefits. There is a growing interest in hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments as athletes and celebrities sometimes use oxygen therapy as a tool to promote healing after an injury. The earlier HBOT is administered, the better the opportunity for recovery. However, HBOT has been shown to resolve tissue swelling even after a lapse of years.

Conditions Where Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Therapy May be Helpful

When I first started practicing at NIHA, I had my own approach to treating allergies by healing “gut permeability”, repopulating the GI tract with good flora, reducing toxic load, and eliminating the allergenic triggers for a minimum of 3 months. This is very similar to the approach I was taught in naturopathic school. Soon after I started at NIHA, I began training with Dr. Barbara Solomon, who utilized oral immunotherapy for not only food allergies, but environmental allergies. When she retired I took over her practice, incorporating oral immunotherapy for allergy treatment into my wheelhouse.

As I began seeing more and more patients, I realized that there was often a disconnection in the nervous system’s communication with the immune system. In some cases, this was a matter of calming the immune system until the nervous system caught up with the use of oral immunotherapy and in other cases it was the nervous system that needed the calming.

Getting to the Root of Allergies

Adult stage deer ticks are the primary vectors for Lyme disease and become active every year after the first frost. They're not killed by freezing temperatures, and while other ticks enter a feeding diapause, or suspended development, as the day-lengths get shorter, deer ticks will be active any winter day that the ground is not snow-covered or frozen. For the winter of 2017, in Washington D.C.  and many other typically snow covered areas, the risk of coming into contact with these nasty disease vectors has been much higher as this February holds the record for the warmest February in D.C. history.

Allergy Symptoms Started in February

Not only is the DC/VA/MD area a hot spot for Lyme transmission, it is also a hot spot for seasonal allergies.

Ragweed, and the Ragweed Family

Fall allergies appear in August as people start sneezing from ragweed and other weeds. A ragweed allergy is also known as hay fever. The drier the weather, the worse the pollen count. Ragweed allergies usually peak in September as one plant can produce one billion grains of pollen!  So, just when you want to enjoy an outdoor hike or plant some mums, ragweed allergy symptoms can make you miserable. The symptoms of allergies include sneezing, itchy eyes/nose/throat, nasal congestion, post nasal drainage, headache, rash, even fatigue or lack of energy.

Some people with a ragweed allergy can also experience problems with certain foods or teas such as echinacea or chamomile.

Many people throughout the world use herbal teas as a method of treating various issues from a common cold to insomnia, but what if they are doing more harm systemically than good?

Many plants that are in the same family can often produce allergic reactions due to overlap in their chemical composition. A very good example of this is the Asteraceae family which includes ragweeds, a cause of roughly 50% of all of the cases of allergic rhinitis in the U.S. Many of the medicinal plants self-prescribed by people across the globe belong to this very same family.

High DHT levels, more than likely. 

Believe it or not, what is believed to cause Male Pattern Baldness is often a cause for hirsutism, or facial hair growth, in women. DHT is a sex steroid and an androgen hormone that is formed from the conversion of testosterone into a more potent form instead of converting into estrogen.  An enzyme, 5α-reductase, synthesizes DHT in the adrenal glands, hair follicles, testes and prostate in men and in the ovaries in women. It is responsible for growth of the prostate in males and the beginning of puberty in females. Excess levels can cause balding (androgenic alopecia) and in women it is likely to cause thinning of the hair on the head and excess hair growth in the pubic region, breast area, or on the face. Excess amounts can also lower libido and cause acne.

The role of hormones

DHEA is the precursor to testosterone and is often high in conjunction with high testosterone or high estrogen, but in some cases neither testosterone nor estrogens are high while DHEA may be elevated. This could indicate that there is an imbalance in the ratio of the two and the body is attempting to correct it.

Fall is beautiful with the crisp, fall mornings and the gorgeous colors of the changing leaves. As the leaves change, it is also often the time that those sensitive to mold will experience allergy symptoms.

Symptoms of Mold Allergies

The symptoms of mold allergies are the same as with any type of respiratory allergy: sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes/nose/throat, nasal congestion, cough or post nasal drainage, headache, rash, even asthma. A mold allergy can be year round or flare up in the fall or when the weather is damp or you are in a damp space.

Health conditions that may be mold related in addition to typical allergic rhinitis are irritable bowel, ulcerative colitis, and interstitial colitis. These conditions may improve after treatment for mold allergies, pollen, dust and food sensitivities.

With bathing suit season quickly approaching, many people are searching for painless ways to shed a few pounds quickly. Adding any or a combination of the ideas listed below may help to get your body ready for the beach in less than a month.

1. Drink Bojenmi Tea.

Bojenmi tea is used mainly for assisting weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. This traditional Chinese medicinal tea is known as Baojianmei Jianfei Cha in Chinese and means "slim and beautiful". It is one of the most popular products of China for slimming and promotion of beauty and health.

The formulation is provided as loose tea or tea bags. Several ingredients are used for this herb formulation, but the main ingredient is the tea leaf from Fujian Province. Reports have revealed that 50 percent of this product contains tea leaf which has been shown to help lower blood lipids. An extract of other herbs, however, are sprayed onto the tea leaf to make the finished beverage product, which is then prepared by steeping in boiled water for 3 to 4 minutes. Up to 6 cups of the tea per day can be consumed to help increase metabolism.

Autumn Frandsen, ND

If you’ve experienced any of the following symptoms, the answer is YES.

Disproportionate fatigue

Migraines/headaches

Excessive weight gain or loss

Emotional issues involving chronic irritability and sudden, irrational mood shifts often moving into depression or anxiety

Neurological issues, including dizziness, difficulty balancing, and peripheral neuropathy affecting nerves outside the central nervous system and resulting in pain, weakness, tingling or numbness in the extremities

Gas, bloating, queasiness, abdominal cramping, constipation, diarrhea, or an alternating combination of both as in IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

Fibromyalgia or any unexplained muscle or joint pain

Late onset seasonal allergies

Rashes or hives

Macrocytic anemia