One in three of us is allergic

An informative look at recent Holistic Fitness News

DR KAPLAN'S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

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The Royal College of Physicians came up with some scary news this week. Britain has the highest number of allergy cases per capita in Europe. The article points out that in the last 20 years the number of sufferers from allergies has at least doubled and perhaps trebled.

Most of the allergies we suffer from, like hayfever, are not serious diseases (well not unless it's your quality of life that's affected). However some allergies, such as allergy to bees can be life-threatening illnesses producing anaphylactic shock which needs urgent hospital treatment. The number of people admitted to hospital for this serious condition has increased by seven times in the last ten years.

The report shows conclusively that allergy is increasing alarmingly. Nobody knows why. It may be that we keep so clean that our bodies start to regard any bit of dust and pollen as a 'foreign invader' on which our immune system feels obliged to 'declare war' thereby causing all the symptoms of allergy. Opponents of vaccination point an accusing finger at mass immunization as the cause but they don't have any proof. Environmentalists accuse the huge number of chemicals we're all exposed to these days, but they can't prove their case either. Opponents of pharmaceuticals think it's the unprecedented number of anti-biotics and other drugs taken by the current generation and their parents - as compared to children in the less developed countries who get less drugs and have less allergies. Again a causal relationship cannot be proved.

Smokers Beware: another ban may be on the way:
Smokers may soon be hit with yet another ban. Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, has recommended that smoking be banned in public places as well as the work place. He claims that this is the best way to help reduce the bad effects of inhaling second-hand smoke. Of course, nobody should ever be forced to work or relax in a smoky environment. However, blanket bans can sometimes lead to aggression. It might be a better idea for smokers to have their own restaurants and bars. Then smokers, non-smokers, restauranteurs and publicans can make up their own minds as to what sort of environment they want for themselves. If non-smoking pubs cannot attract sufficient custom, then we need to find out why this is so. Banning may not be the best answer. Prohibition of alcohol, (or even confining imbibing to people's homes) would reduce deaths due to drunk driving, cirrhosis of the liver and many other ill effects of alcohol. It would also have a down side in that bootlegging and associated crime would increase dramatically. Banning harmful substances has it's pros and cons. We need to tread carefully.

Homeopathic Tip

I thought I'd talk about a few natural and homeopathic ways of trying to control some common allergies.

House Dust: It's worth trying an ionizer in your bedroom. This is a simple machine that produces millions of negative ions. These cause the dust particles to settle down. Ionizers are inexpensive and safe.

Pollen: Try the homeopathic remedy, Mixed Grasses and Pollens 30c one tablet daily for two to three weeks.

Chlorinated Swimming Pools: Some people have benefited from taking a single dose of the homeopathic remedy, Chorine 6c before going swimming.

Dr Kaplan's personal website is: www.drkaplan.co.uk and his practice website is www.140harleystreet.co.uk and he can be contacted on (020) 7487 3416