The Health Blog

Is a Change of Climate Beneficial to Allergies?

Children with hay fever may find relief by going to areas of the country where their allergenic pollen or mold is not present. Some asthmatics, especially those whose asthma is caused by or complicated by infection, may benefit from a warm, dry climate.

Are Allergies Contagious?

Allergies are not contagious. A child cannot acquire an allergy as he catches a cold.

Are Allergies Confined to Humans?

No. Dogs, cats, and horses get hay fever, asthma, and eczema.

Are All Racial and National Groups Similarly Allergic?

Variations in the percentage of children afflicted with allergies are mostly caused by heredity, living habits, and environment. Allergies are common in tropical Africa; uncommon in New Guinea; and rare among the Eskimos. It is almost unheard of among American Indians.

Is It Dangerous To Do Nothing About an Allergy?

If untreated, hay fever may lead to asthma; nasal polyps may keep growing; eczema may spread and be complicated by secondary infection; occasional asthmatic episodes may become chronic.

Can a Child Die from an Allergy?

Allergies are seldom fatal. However, it is estimated that approximately 5,000 persons in the United States die each year from asthma because asthmatics become less resistant to infections of the respiratory system and their risk during surgical procedures increases. There are fewer than 100 deaths each year from insect stings. However, some drugs (penicillin and aspirin) and certain foods (nuts and seafood) have proven fatal on occasion.

How Are Emotions Related to Allergic Asthma?

Anxiety, fear, anger, and strong excitement may precipitate asthma attacks or make existing asthma become suddenly worse. However, the physical basis of the allergy provoking the asthma attack is always primary and real. The importance of emotions in asthma is so great at times that it may hide or blur the original allergic condition.

How Are Puberty and Pregnancy Related to Allergy?

Two corticosteroid-producing glands (the pituitary and the suprarenal) become very active during puberty and pregnancy. They cause a temporary remission in allergies (thus the belief that the child has “outgrown’ his allergy).

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Sperm are manufactured in seminiferous tubules (thread-like structures which fill the two testes). It takes at least three months for sperm cells to mature, ready to be ejaculated. That is why it is vital for a preconception programme to be put into place at least three months (preferably four) before trying to conceive. It is also important that, if there are problems with the sperm (e.g. low motility), then the man should follow a preconception programme for at least three months before re-testing because the benefits may not be apparent before then.

The head of the tadpole-like sperm carries the genetic material which will enter the egg and join the female genetic material. The head of the sperm has to be hard enough and contain certain enzymes in order to penetrate the egg.

I have seen a number of couples where the man’s semen analysis was fine and there were no problems with his partner. They had been referred for IVF treatment and at the vital point when the egg and sperm were put in the same dish, no fertilisation took place. This highlights an important limitation of semen analysis. It cannot identify one important reason for failure to conceive – the fact that a partner’s sperm, however fertile it is, cannot get into the egg.

Sometimes sperm heads are not strong enough to penetrate the egg. Sometimes the egg’s outer layer, the zona pellucida, is too tough to be penetrated.

Or it could be a combination of both that is making fertilisation difficult.

In this situation, even though the man has a good semen count, you would probably be advised to have ICSI treatment which involves inserting the sperm directly into the egg and is usually used to treat men with extremely low sperm counts. However, it’s certainly preferable to try other more natural ways of toughening up the sperm head and increasing the chances of conception before contemplating ICSI.

The middle part of the sperm provides the energy needed by the tail to move forward and also contains the mitochondrial DNA which plays a part in the inheritance of genes.

Also inside the testes are the Leydig cells which produce the hormone testosterone. Like oestrogen in the woman, this hormone is responsible for changes that occur around puberty, resulting in body and facial hair and a deep voice. Testosterone is needed for the sex drive and helping to achieve and maintain an erection.

As in a woman, the pituitary gland plays a large part in fertility because it releases the two vital hormones, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH). It is interesting that we tend to think of ‘male’ and ‘female’ hormones and yet both men and women share the same reproductive hormones. The only difference is the proportions of these hormones. Testosterone is often classed as the ‘male hormone’ and yet women also produce testosterone, which is needed for sex drive just as in the man. However, the ratio of testosterone to oestrogen will be different in the man and the woman, resulting in either female or male characteristics, depending on the dominance of one or other of those hormones.

So we come back again to the idea of balancing our hormones, so that they can function efficiently, in the right amounts, and do the job they are supposed to do. This can be achieved by aiming for optimum health through changes in lifestyle and diet, so that the body has the tools to balance itself- so simple really and yet so effective.

Both women and men produce FSH and LH. In the man FSH is responsible for stimulating the cells in the seminiferous tubules to produce sperm, and LH stimulates the Leydig cells to produce testosterone.

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What is it?

A condition in which the bones of the body become less strong-usually as a result of the loss of calcium. As we age our bones become weaker, partly because we put out more calcium in our urine and partly because we absorb less from our diet. Also there is little doubt that old people who eat poorly get too little of both calcium and the vitamin D that is needed for its metabolism in the body. After the menopause women, especially, lose bone strength. This comes about as a result of the reduction in their oestrogen levels after the ovaries cease to provide them.

The problem of osteoporosis is a very real one. The number of hip fractures in elderly women is doubling every ten years and-as well as the suffering involved for the women themselves-the workload for the medical services that this represents is massive. One in four of all women over the age of 60, and half of all those over the age of 70, have osteoporosis severe enough to produce pain, a loss of height and a spinal deformity. One in ten women will break a leg by the age of 80 and a third of these will die of the complications. Half of those who could walk before the fracture will be permanently crippled. On top of all this there will be one third more women over the age of 65 in fifteen years’ time-so it amounts to quite a problem.

Unfortunately, osteoporosis is often diagnosed very late, usually after a fracture has occurred.

What causes it?

• Genetic factors. These undoubtedly play a part, but there is little one can do to prevent them.

• An inadequate diet. As mentioned above, many elderly people simply eat too little of everything and along with this become short of calcium, among other things. Studies in the US have found that the average middle-aged woman takes in only about 500 mg calcium a day. The recommended daily intake is about 800 mg, and many osteoporosis experts think this should be 1,300 mg for such women. Given that women around the menopause lose 3 per cent of their bone mass each year (and in some bones the figure is up to 8 per cent) it is easy to see how vital a plentiful calcium intake is. One cup of milk supplies 300 mg calcium and small, bony fish are good sources too.

• Inadequate vitamin D. As this vitamin is essential for the utilization of calcium in the body it makes sense to supplement the diet with it as well as calcium. Old people are often housebound and so get low on vitamin D which is naturally formed in the skin by the action of sunlight.

• Too little exercise. A four-year study of women aged 37-67 (average age 51) found that vigorous exercise stops bone loss in middle age. A non-exercise control group lost 2.4 per cent of their bone per year over the four-year period. In another study the same researcher was able to increase the bone weight of nursing-home residents (average age 81) by 2.3 per cent just by getting them to do exercises in a chair. A similar group who did not exercise lost 3.3 per cent of their bone mass. Walking on the spot also works wonders-you don’t even have to go out.

• Calcium supplementation should probably be started around the age of 30, according to experts in the field. Dolomite is a good calcium supplement available from health-food shops and chemists, and vitamin D is widely available too. An effervescent calcium drink is also available (Sandocal).

In a study at Kentucky State University, dicalcium phosphate (rather like bone meal) was given together with vitamin D to elderly women for about six months. After this time the bone density of more than half the women had gone up by 25 per cent. To be safe it makes sense to take 1 g of supplemental calcium a day.

Dietary sources of calcium include: dairy produce (but don’t overdo it because most dairy produce is rich in saturated fat); green vegetables; small fish (provided you eat the bones); watercress; and bread and other flour products. Dried skimmed milk is exceptionally high in calcium and low in fat.

• Take more exercise. Even doing arm- and leg-raising exercises three or four times a day for a few minutes in your chair or bed will help. If you are really keen you can attach weights to your ankles and wrists before exercising-use any sensible household object to hold or alternatively strap a can of food to each foot.

• Take sensible precautions generally. Most falls in the elderly occur at home from standing height, often getting in or out of bed or a chair. Half of all such falls occur as a result of the effects of ageing-poor muscle strength, weakness, poor posture, instability when standing, slow reflexes and poor vision. Many old people feel faint when they stand up (because their blood pressure falls quite dramatically) so the answer is to stand up slowly, especially when getting out of a bath or a warm bed. These effects are particularly obvious in diabetics and in those taking tablets for high blood pressure.

There are many hazards to old people around the house that increase the likelihood of their falling over and coming to grief. Many of these can easily be overcome with a little thought. Obviously it makes sense to plan your home so that you don’t fall over rugs, wires, telephone leads, slippery floors or difficult steps. Wear sensible, flat shoes, remove clutter from around the home, and have safety rails installed by the bath, the lavatory and the bed.

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