Heat from infections; Heat from allergies

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Allegies often can be accompanied by Heat symptoms. Infections usually are

accompanied by Heat symptoms.

 

There are different types of Heat. The two related to infectious diseases

are Damp Heat and Heat Toxin patterns. Herbs classified as Clear Heat Toxin

herbs generally work on viruses and bacteria. Herbs classified as Clear

Damp Heat generally work on bacteria and some fungal infections.

 

Damp Heat and Heat Toxin patterns are related to infections; other types of

Heat patterns such as Deficiency Heat and some types of Wind Heat are not.

 

Often it is not easy to tell the difference between the early stages of an

infection and Wind Heat. With Exterior Wind Heat you can experience many of

the same symptoms as those of the early stages of an infectious illness -

sore muscles, headache, sinus congestion and discharge, red and scratchy

throat, sneezing, low fever, etc.

 

So how do you tell if it's the early stages of an infectious illness or Wind

Heat short of blood tests and allergy tests? This is one of those times

when context counts a lot. If it's the spring allergy season and the

allergen report on the local weather report says the allergen count is high,

it's probably Wind Heat. This is especially more likely if the wind is

blowing a lot and the weather is warming up. If the flu or some other

infection is going around, it's probably the early stages of an infectious

illness. If the person has a history of having problems with allergies,

it's probably allergies. If the person has a history of recurrent

infections, it's probably an infection. Please note that there are

exceptions. People do come down with infections during the spring allergy

season, and people can have allergic reactions during flu season. These are

general guidelines.

 

Thanks to Roger Wicke, PhD, of the Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute for this

information. Wicke also lists Dampness (without so much Heat) in addition

to Exterior Wind Heat and Deficiency Heat as possible patterns which can

manifest with allergies or allergic-like symptoms.

 

I want to add some information about allergies. There is disagreement among

allergy specialists as to what constitutes an allergy. The classic allergic

reaction involves Ig-E (Immunoglobulin E), a mast cell, and the release of

histamine. Some allergy specialists reserve the term " allergy " for

Ig-E-mediated reactions. Others say that there may be other mediators in

allergic reactions. At one time Substance P (which also plays a role in

pain) was being looked at as a possible allergy mediator.

 

I want to point out that a person can have allergic-like reactions or food

sensitivities without necessarily registering allergies in allergy testing

or registering very mild allergies on testing even though symptoms may be

somewhat severe. The culprit in these cases may be an excess of " bad "

prostaglandins (PGs). The " bad " PGs are the ones that trigger symptoms like

inflammation, swelling, fever, pain, etc. The " bad " is in quotes because

sometimes a person needs these PGs in order to survive. Also, too many

" good " PGs also can cause problems.

 

One of the things which the omega-3 EFAs (essenitial fatty acids) do is to

tilt the body toward making more " good " than " bad " PGs. There are 4 main

factors which can tilt a person toward making more " bad " than " good " PGs.

These are advancing age, insulin (which can be associated with

hypoglycemia), infection, and hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats.

(Food companies love hydrogenated fats because they prolong shelf life and

increase profits, but they're not good for the body.) Cutting out

hydrogenated fats, getting hypoglycemia under control, and eating more foods

rich in the omega-3 EFAs can go a long way in reducing allergic-like

symptoms in some people.

 

BTW, digestive problems can also cause allergic symptoms without any

involvement of Ig-E. Histamine can be a by-product of incomplete digestion

of protein containing the amino acid histidine.

 

Victoria

 

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