Stress may aggravate your allergies
I just read a study that must have been one tough sell for researchers to get participants to sign up for. Allergy sufferers were brought into a lab and put under stress — all for the sake of seeing how their allergies would react.
Participants were asked to prepare a talk to be videotaped, and asked to solve math problems without having pen and paper to do the calculations.
I'd be sweating, too. And sneezing.
Most people have no idea how much stress affects their allergies. The fact is, it's not unusual for allergy symptoms to get worse the day after a specific stressor is introduced. And when that's the case, you may as well toss those antihistamines in the trash, because they're not going to do you much good.
It just so happened that at this same conference where the experiment was presented, other docs made a presentation showing how stress is relieved through yoga, prayer and other repetitive exercises. These options offer a substitute for troublesome everyday thoughts that coat your nervous system with stress.
It helps for doctors and patients to be aware of this when discussing a course of treatment for allergies. Maybe a good stretching program is all you need, instead of reaching for a bottle of pills. I have another remedy for allergies I'll be discussing in the upcoming January issue of my newsletter, Health Revelations. Make sure you don't miss it. Go to www.healthrevelations.com and sign up today.
