Inflmmation treatments
Dear Barbara, Your comment of inflammation got me wondering. What do you use to prevent inflammation? The inflammatory pathway starts with cell damage and the arachadonic pathway. This pathway gives rise to cyclooxygenase-I, cyclooxygenase-II, histamine, leukotrienes, and thromboxane, all of which can induce inflammation through their own subsequent pathways. I also have problems with inflammation. I personally inhibit cyclooxygenase-I, and ?II by using a non-specific inhibitor, aspirin. Some Doctors are reluctant to use aspirin, because of its irritation of the stomach. One can bypass the stomach irritation, as I do, by taking enteric-coated aspirin. Enteric-coated aspirin dissolves in the small intestine, rather than the stomach. I inhibit histamines with the prescription medicine ? Allegra, and inhibit leukotrienes with the prescription medicine ? Singulair. Unfortunately, thromboxanes have no pharmaceutical drug for inhibition. Also, one would want to be careful about taking any more than 500 mg per day of naproxen sodium (generic name) or 500 mg per day of ibuprofen (generic name), because both can harm the kidneys and the liver, in excessive doses.
The other item you need to be cognizant of are allergies, especially to food and environmental. They will also induce an inflammatory response in your body. Usually the inflammatory response will end up in the part of your body that is the weakest in function. There are two methods to discern your allergies. First is to go to an Allergist (costly, but safer) and have them run a ?checkerboard? assay. They mark your back and arms with a checkerboard pattern and place a small amount of a substance (antigen) underneath your skin on each box. Then they should have you wait for a least an hour before they let you leave the office. If you have an anaphylactic response to something it will occur within 60 min. The Allergist usually has a ?crash cart? on hand to deal with such emergencies. The antigens used should be those that you normally come into contact with during your daily routine plus extras. They then wait from 1-5 days and look for rashes, whelts or wheels. The stronger the response, the more allergic you are to something. As one would suspect, if you find yourself allergic to something ? stay away from it.
You can also get a shot series to desenthetize yourself to the antigen. I was anaphylactic to bee stings ? something one can not, with 100% absolute certainty, stay away from so I had the shots series ? mine lasted 3.5 years. Now I can get stung up to three times within a 24-hour time period and not worry about anaphylaxis. I just treat the stings, both inside (pill) and outside (cream) with Benedryl, a histamine blocker.
The other method is the basic trial and error method (inexpensive, but potentially dangerous). You would want to stop eating for about 3 days ? except water. Then add one thing back into your ?menu? at a time and see if you get a response (1-3 days). Keep adding items. If you find one that disagrees with your bodily functions, then you are probably allergic to it. There are various forms in which the inflammatory response can manifest themselves, I will give you examples from my own experiences.
Anaphylatic shock (smooth muscle contracts constricting bronchial airways, blood vessels, etc.): for me the culprits are shellfish, such as lobster, shrimp, scallops, mussels, oysters, etc. I have problems with food transfers in restaurants (utensils touching above items without being washed or items fried in the same grease). If you have similar problems, ask first, don?t assume that they follow good sanitary practices, otherwise stay away from the location.
Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (lungs fill up with fluid, need to sleep in an upright sitting position so you don?t drown in your own body fluids): for me any dairy product will elicit the response, such as milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese, whey, etc. One has to be real careful reading the ingredient labels on food products, you wouldn?t believe how many products contain whey. One also needs to be cognizant of food transfer here as well, i.e., ?processed in the same facility that processes milk products?
Celiac Disease (loss of gastrointestinal lining cells, leads to bloating, nausea, flatulations, and explosive diarrhea). It is an allergy to gluten that is found in wheat, oats, barley, and rye. If I have a celiac flare, I usually don?t eat anything, except water for about two weeks during the flare and after the flare ends. My last serious gluten flare lasted six weeks and I dropped 80 pounds in weight. Since the body?s response is to get rid of the offending antigen (gluten) one loses the lining cells of the gastrointestinal system, so one can not ingest food anyway. Another serious problem is that there is no absorption of vitamins and minerals during this time, as well as eliciting a system wide inflammatory response.
Migraine Headaches (light, sound, and smell sensitivity ? localized severe headache pain that can last 24-48 hours): for me any food stuff that alters neurotransmitter release or function will elicit this response. Examples of such foods are monosodium glutamate (found in any food where there is an intense taste response, i.e., asian food is especially high in MSG), aspartame (Nutrasweet), artificial sweeteners (saccharin, sucralose, etc.), and most spices (i.e., thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc.). The only spices that haven?t affected we so far have been salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and garlic. Again, it is necessary to read the label of ingredients very carefully, the items listed are usually in very fine print.
Cluster Headaches (multi-focal severe headache pain that can last up to a week ? longest one so far): for me the culprits are cigarette smoke, chocolate, caffeine, and colas (such as Coke or Pepsi). One person described it as ?having hot pokers stuck in your eyes and then the top of your head being pulled front to back?. For me a cluster headache is like having six migraine headaches happening at the same time.
Rhinitis (runny nose): the usual culprits: cat and dog dander, dust mites, dust, ragweed, and pollen.
Hives, Whelts, Wheels, and Rashes: for me the culprits are insect bites, spider bites, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac. Again, best defense is to just stay away from these items.
Any of the above will perpetuate systemic imflammation, except anaphylactic shock, which will kill in a matter of minutes. If you are prone to anaphylaxis you should carry an Epi-pen on your person at all times. I usually carry two with me and my wife has one in her purse. I have gone into anaphylaxis by walking through the smoke of a grease fire in which they had been frying shrimp, by eating at a buffet restaurant where there was shellfish in some of the bowels (utensil food transfer), and by eating at a restaurant where they served shellfish on the menu (unknown food transfer).
Be very careful with allergies. The wife of a close friend has an allergy to peanuts that is so severe that if a bag of peanuts were opened up on a plane they were travelling on that she would go into anaphylaxis within a minute. They do not fly anywhere. Besides an allergy?s own immediate affect on the body, the allergy can elicit an inflammatory response in other tissues, such as joints, lungs, liver, kidneys, tips of fingers and toes, face, essentially any organ with a microvascular supply. Take care, Dr. Young.