Jeffrey M. Smith
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 Employees take antihistamines daily in order to continue to work there. At a third factory, interviews with six laborers revealed that all had itching problems and two had skin eruptions. They had worked at the factory for two to seven years, but only suffered from the recently introduced Bt cotton.
A local doctor reported that he had seen approximately 150 cases of allergies in 2005 from two villages, and about 100 cases in 2004. The symptoms primarily occurred while the villagers picked cotton and for some, while loading it. |
| Some field laborers take antihistamines daily.
After a farmer hired six people to tie cotton into bundles and load a tractor, he reported, "All the workers suffered from itching on hands and feet. The skin became red and there were rashes and there was lot of itching." He said that an antihistamine (Tab Avil) relieved the symptoms.
Reactions are widespread
According to owners of a cotton gin factory, most of the laborers experienced skin-related problems due to Bt cotton. Symptoms included "itching, redness of eyes, watering of eyes, and cough. |
| Employees at a cotton gin factory take antihistamines everyday.
4. One doctor treated about 250 cotton laborers.
Workers exposed to Bt cotton developed allergies
In India, agricultural workers handle cotton during picking, loading, and weighing, and when separating cotton fiber from the seeds (ginning). In 2004 and 2005, several workers complained of allergies associated with Bt cotton, but not with other varieties. In a preliminary investigation, 23 laborers from six villages in two districts in western Madhya Pradesh who complained of symptoms were interviewed using a questionnaire. |
Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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 The major culprits are antihistamines, diuretics, astringent mouthwashes, antidepressants, and some blood pressure medications.
In some cases, a parched mouth can be a dead giveaway that you're using illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and metham-phetamine. Or it may be a telltale sign that you're drinking too much; alcohol is very dehydrating to the body.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
Realizing that anxiety can stop saliva from flowing, the ancient Chinese invented what may have been the first lie-detector test.To determine if a suspect was spitting out the truth, they put dry rice in his mouth. |
| These include antihistamines, nasal sprays, and bronchodila-tors—especially those containing the muscle relaxant atropine.
If your nose is chronically dry and heavily crusted, you may have a rare condition called empty nose syndrome (ENS). Empty nose syndrome is found primarily in people who have undergone extensive sinus or other nasal surgery for medical or cosmetic reasons. During surgery too many turbinates (see Snoring, above) are mistakenly removed and the nose is literally left empty. Turbinates can also be damaged during radiation therapy or by physical trauma to the nose. |
| Dry eye is a common reaction to certain prescription or over-the-counter medicines such as antihistamines, antidepressants, and antihypertensives. It may also be your body's way of telling you that you're reading too much or putting in too many hours at your computer. The more we concentrate and stare, the less we blink and the less often our eyes are lubricated.
While dry eye is usually not a particularly serious sign, it can be a sign of Graves' or other thyroid disease, as can watery eyes. (See Bulging Eyes, above. |
Marshall Editions
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 Herbs: Several herbs act as antihistamines to open air passages and relieve wheezing. These herbs include anise, ginger, peppermint, and chamomile. You can make a tea of using some or all of the following herbs. Combine 1 tsp each of chamomile flowers, echinacea root, mullein leaves, and passionflower leaves, and Y> tsp each of elecampane root and lemon verbena leaves (if available). Pour 1 quart of boiling water over the herbs in a saucepan, let them steep for 10-15 minutes, and strain the liquid. |
| If such causes are suspected, treating symptoms with antihistamines such as Benadryl®, low-potency steroid creams (hydrocortisone 1%), aloe vera, or calamine lotion is reasonable. If the itchiness resolves within three to five days no further investigation is necessary.
If lesions are present: The causes of itchy skin are extensive and sometimes a more serious illness coexists. Treatment is dependent on the cause. A doctor will first determine whether or not skin lesions are present along with the itchiness to decide what kind of treatment is necessary. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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 Most sleep aids are benzodiazepines, some are antihistamines, and a new one (Rozerem) works on melatonin receptors. Consult a physician well acquainted with the use of these medications.
For anxiety and depression, there are the common SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft), newer SNRIs (Effexor, Cymbalta) and tricyclic antidepressants, and sedatives.
For vasomotor symptoms, a blood pressure med, a seizure drug, SSRIs, SNRIs, and ergots can be prescribed. |
Melody Petersen
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 Other studies have found that barbiturates, opioid pain relievers, and sedating antihistamines hurt drivers'performance. More recent studies have tied motor vehicle accidents to sleeping pills such as Ambien and muscle relaxants like Soma and Miltown. Some medications are worse than alcohol in that they can incapacitate a driver without warning.
A group of physicians in New York reported in 1999 that nine patients taking a certain type of medicine used to treat Parkinson's disease had crashed after falling asleep at the wheel. |
Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith
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 Certain medications, including cimetidine (antiulcer; brand name Tagamet), benzodiazepene-containing drugs (antidepressants and Valium), antihistamines, and oral contraceptives can all hinder phase I detoxification. Other inhibitors include grapefruit, the spice turmeric, capsicum of hot peppers, cloves, toxins from intestinal bacteria—even age can slow down your liver's first detoxification process. Doctors are now diagnosing more and more fatty livers (especially in children), a result of too much sugar and processed foods in the diet. |
Hyla Cass
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 Side effects: They can cause dangerously high blood pressure if taken with decongestants, antihistamines, or foods containing tyramine, such as cheese or red wine.
Nutrients depleted: Phenelzine (Nardil) depletes vitamin B6.
Needed supplements: Vitamin B6 (25-50 mg daily); sufficient amounts may be part of your multivitamin. |
Marshall Editions
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| Oral steroids such as prednisone should be reserved for short-term use and severe cases that do not respond to antihistamines. Doxepin, usually used as an antidepressant, has some beneficial effect on chronic urticaria.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
160
According to traditional Chinese medicine, urticaria is caused by wind with heat, cold, or dampness.
Herbs: These are available from Chinese herbal stores. |
Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman
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 Standard treatment of upper-respiratory allergies includes antihistamines, decongestants, and desensitization shots. Both antihistamines and decongestants directly suppress the body's defenses. Not only do the symptoms come right back as soon as the drugs wear off, but such suppression may force the system to create deeper symptoms to handle the underlying imbalance. antihistamines cause drowsiness and often dryness of the mouth. When decongestants wear off, there is a rebound effect, and the symptoms become worse than before. Avoid these medicines if possible. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 With all of the antihistamines, drowsiness is dose dependent. It is best to start with a low dose and work up.
One of the best-selling allergy medications on the market is deslorata-dine (Clarinex), a newer-generation antihistamine medication that is marketed as a magic bullet for allergies. What most people don't know is that Clarinex is merely an old drug, loratadine (Claritin), that is being marketed by the drug company as new and improved. However, Clarinex doesn't add anything to Claritin (other than more money for the coffers of its manufacturer, since Clarinex is still on patent). |
Peter h. Fraser and Harry Massey
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 You can have an allergy shot or take antihistamines to alleviate your symptoms, but they may not address the root cause of your problem. The cause is found in your body-field, where information is being blocked or distorted and so is affecting the way your body functions at a cellular level.
Everything that happens at a biochemical level in your body?amino acids arranging themselves only into allowable sequences, DNA unzipping itself to be copied, neurotransmitters cascading through your nervous system, electrochemical impulses firing muscle or heart cells?is mediated by information. |
Melody Petersen
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| They found traces of painkillers, antibiotics, antihistamines, and blood pressure medications, all of them lingering remnants of pills swallowed by the residents of cities upstream. The scientists had found striking evidence of just how extensive Iowans' use of prescription drugs had become.
Thirty percent of the water samples were laced with Tagamet, the drug that soothes heartburn and stomach complaints. Twenty percent held traces of codeine, a powerful narcotic. Another 20 percent contained tiny bits of Cardizem, a popular medicine used to control hypertension. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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| These drugs are expensive and have not been shown to be more effective than steroids and antihistamines.
Other new drugs are the mast cell stabilizers like nedocromil (Tilade) and omalizumab (Xolair). Xolair is given by injection every two to four weeks. These meds have only recently been approved by the FDA, and so we have to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. |
Gary Null and Amy McDonald
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 This can lead them to rely on treating symptoms with major tranquilizers, antihistamines, or other nonspecific therapies, rather than treating the source of an individual patient's problems."
Psychoi m m u nology_
Psychoimmunology, also called psychoneuroimmunology, is a discipline that examines how psychological and social factors affect the functioning of the immune system. It is based on the concept that the mind and the body are intricately linked. |
Melody Petersen
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| Led by Claritin, sales of antihistamines soared by 612 percent between 1993 and 1998. The cover story in Medical Marketing £r Media, an industry magazine, in May 1999 praised Schering for creating memorable ads that were like the "edutainment" created by Disney.
Quickly, another new drug, introduced in 1998, took the game to a whole new level.
"Viagra changed pharmaceuticals as a business," J. Patrick Kelly, a top marketing executive at Pfizer, the drug's maker, told a reporter from Advertising Age in 2001. |
| More truly effective drugs were invented between 1935 and 1955 than in all previous human history Penicillin was followed by other antibiotics, new vaccines, synthetic vitamins, antihistamines, tranquilizers, and steroid drugs like cortisone. Some of these new medicines set new standards because they didn't just soothe symptoms of illness. They actually cured or prevented life-threatening diseases. Children and young adults especially benefited. A child cured of tuberculosis by streptomycin could credit the antibiotic for decades of living. |
| Anthony Nicholson, the scientist who was helping Schering, why the company had not focused on comparing the effectiveness of Claritin with other antihistamines.
"We are not actually in the business of saying one drug is better than the other," Dr. Nicholson told Dr. Straus. "We are in the business of saying whether a drug is acceptable in terms of its performance profile."
"But how can you say it is acceptable in terms of its performance profile," Dr. Straus asked, "without comparing it to what else is out there?" "We compare it to placebo," Dr. Nicholson answered. |
| These drugs included Ditropan, a medicine prescribed for incontinence; Elavil, an antidepressant; and antihistamines such as diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in many over-the-counter products, including Benadryl and Tylenol PM.
Dr. Carnahan, who left Iowa in 2004 to teach at the University of Oklahoma, said that on the basis of the group's findings, he feared that medicines had caused the dementia in many of the patients. He said doctors had been told since 1991 that they should not prescribe medicines known to have anticholinergic properties to patients who begin to lose their memory. |
Gary Null and Amy McDonald
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| It was a pretty serious allergic reaction, for which I was treated with antihistamines. Later, I was treated with prednisone. When small doses of prednisone given every other day didn't help, my doctor began increasing the dosage until I was taking 70 milligrams every day. After about six weeks, I started declining physically from taking this tremendous dose. I gained about fifty pounds. I had conjunctivitis in both eyes. I had open sores. I was so weak that I was almost bedridden.
I found another doctor, who slowly weaned me off of the prednisone. But, my immune system had been damaged. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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| You can review your medication list for drugs that can exacerbate BPH, including tricyclic antidepressants, anticholinergic agents, diuretics, narcotics, and first-generation antihistamines and decongestants. Medical conditions that can look like BPH include urinary tract infections, heart failure, prostate cancer, and diabetes.
The Bottom Line
Initially use the wait-and-see approach. Saw palmetto is relatively free of side effects but probably doesn't work. In terms of medical therapy, I recommend starting out with the alpha-blockers. |
Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton
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 Known Chemical Triggers of Hayfever
Chlorine Diesel fuel Newspaper print Perfumes Pesticides Plastics Solvents Synthetic drugs
Toxic metals (mercury, lead, nickel, cadmium, chromium)
To limit your exposure to hayfever-inducing chemicals, it is important to take nutritional supplements to help your body lower its existing load of chemicals (vitamin C and magnesium also act as natural antihistamines), and follow the guidelines in chapter 3 when planning and preparing your meals. You should eat organic foods and wash and prepare them in ways that will reduce your chemical intake. |
| Taking nutrients can also help suppress allergy symptoms in the shorter term since many, such as vitamin C and magnesium, act as natural antihistamines.
Diet
To cleanse your body of unwanted toxins and encourage optimum immune function, follow the diet suggested in this book. It is especially important to eat plenty of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables; drink plenty of water and herbal teas; and eat a lot of protein, particularly vegetable proteins such as beans and seeds, but try to limit dairy proteins. |
Bruce H. Lipton
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 That's why people who take over-the-counter antihistamines may experience allergy relief and also the side effect of feeling drowsy.
A recent example of tragic adverse reactions to drug therapy is the debilitating and life-threatening side effects associated with synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Estrogen's best-known influence is on the function of the female reproductive system. |
Jacky Law
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 A report from the pharma consultancy firm Scott-Levin entitled, 'Physician meeting and event audit' found there were 22,838 physician meetings and events to promote the SSRI-type antidepressants (up 31% over the previous year); 16,650 to promote the statins (up 18%); 13,815 to promote the Cox-2 inhibitors (up 22%); 10,395 on antihistamines (up 25%) and 9,624 (up 71%) on proton pump inhibitors to reduce stomach acid. |
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