All About Hay Fever

By Evangeline Allison

Probably the first thing you should know about hay fever, is that "hay" is not the culprit at hand. This condition gets its particular name because grass usually sheds its pollen at the same time of the year that hay is harvested hence, the name "hay fever". Hay fever is usually caused by an allergic inflammation of your nose because of flower or grass pollen, dust, or animal fur. These particles immediately trigger a huge production of antibody immunoglobulin E that locks onto the mast cells and cause you to sneeze, have itching and watery eyes, swelling and inflammation of your nasal passage because of an increase in mucus production.

The intensity of hay fever symptoms usually varies from person to person. Supposing the person is more sensitive and has a lower immunity it is possible that he may also experience hives or a rash during hay fever. Both heredity and the environment play a big role in just how sever and how often a hay fever may be. Health studies have shown that around the world one in three people will be having an active allergy at any given time of the day, and that at least three individuals out of four are bound to develop an allergic reaction during the course of their lives.

An individual with hay fever may be extra moody, short tempered, and agitated because of the constant sneezing, watery eyes, and runny nose. They may also experience fatigue, insomnia, or irritability. It is important during this time that the person gets ample rest, re-cooperation, and the right medication whether entirely natural or otherwise. The symptoms of hay fever may also include having an itchy throat, and itchy nose, and blocked and runny nose. In more sever cases the individual may experience sweats, loss of smell and taste, headaches, and facial pain because of their blocked sinuses.

Some of the best home remedies for hay fever are mashing grapefruit and boiling it with lemon juice and honey for a three times a day sore throat cure, putting chamomile leaves in hot water and inhaling the steam twice a day for a blocked nose and head pain cure, drinking hot coffee to open your airways for easier breathing, or consuming twice a day a glass of water with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar for overall healing. Garlic is also a powerful healer and is rather effective in treating hay fever if you are bold enough to use it. Including fresh garlic in your diet to be rid of hay fever sooner is definitely one of the best cures. But again, it is only for the bold, because not everyone feels the same way about the smell and taste.

One other cure for a blocked and itchy nose might be to use a Nasal Spray. These handy little items are entirely natural and help to clear out and dispel any dust particles. The nasal spray is a safe product for older children and is also okay for moms to use while pregnant. Another thing you could try is Loratadine. Loratadine is a simple use once a day relief tablet that has an active ingredient of loratadine which helps in preventing the effects of histamines.

Benefits of breast feeding and bursting the false image of artificial supplements for babies

Some facts are as follows

1. Breast milk is the best protection that loving mother can give to her new born. Its can be called as 'the child's first vaccine'.
2. The yellowish milk secreted by mothers soon after delivery is called colostrum. It is rich in anti infection substances like anti-bodies and anti microbial substances, nutrients concentrate, vitamin A, proteins, and much more all these are present in easily absorbable form for infant's underdeveloped gastrointestinal system.
3. Breast feeding (B.F.) is cheaper, safer and more nutritious than artificial supplements.
4. It creates a strong bond between mother and the child.
5. B.F. is also protective to mothers as it reduces the risk of breast cancer
6. delays the process of ovulation in mothers.

Further info:

• B.F. Should be initiated within 1 hour after delivery.
• Exclusive B.F. for a minimum period of 6 months.
• Keep the baby close to mother's body while feeding without obstructing the baby's nose.
• Mother's milk cannot be quantitated. Mother's often worry if their milk will be sufficient for their baby. The physicians have no answer for this, but the baby has !

If the baby is fed sufficiently, then

• The baby will be happy, energetic, and joyful.
• doesn't cry.
• sleeps well for 2-3 hours after every feeding.

Therapy for smoking kills the pleasure of nicotine

Can't kick cigarettes? A vaccine may one day help by preventing nicotine from reaching its target in the brain, according to research published this week.

Most smoking therapies do a poor job of stopping the habit 70% to 80% of smokers who use an approved drug therapy to quit relapse. Scientists say this is because the targets of existing therapies are imperfect, only slightly weakening nicotine's ability to find its target in the brain.

So some scientists have been trying a different approach creation of a vaccine. It would work like this: People would inject the vaccine like a shot, and the vaccine would create nicotine antibodies, molecules that can snatch up nicotine from the bloodstream before it reaches the brain. The vaccine could be used by smokers who want to quit or people who are worried about getting addicted to cigarettes in the future.

Researchers have tried to create vaccines in the past, but the ones they've come up with have not been particularly effective. The authors of the new study say this may be because previous vaccines just didn't create enough antibodies to get rid of all the nicotine.

The new report, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, attempts to solve this problem via gene therapy, in which a new gene is inserted into the body to do a particular job.

First the scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City put a gene that produces a nicotine antibody into mice. The gene was taken into the mice's livers, and the liver started producing the antibody. Once produced, the antibody connected with nicotine, trapping it and preventing it from making its way to the brain, where it would otherwise have caused the pleasurable, addictive effects it is so known for.

Because of this trick, the researchers say that the new vaccine should only have to be injected once, and it will work for life, continuing to produce new antibodies in the liver.

The vaccine was effective: When mice were given nicotine intravenously, ones with the vaccine had a 47-fold drop in levels of nicotine in the blood compared with ones that hadn't received the vaccine. The antibody had successfully captured the nicotine in the bloodstream before it could reach the brain.

The work is still preliminary, and the authors admit the technology is far from ready for human use; it has only been used in rodents so far. But given the results, and the continued public health effect of smoking, it may not be too long before all those boxes of Nicorette are replaced with a single trip to the doctor's office.

By Jon Bardin, Los Angeles Times

Effect of Childhood Vaccines, Immune System

Certain vaccines may not work as well in children who have been exposed to high levels of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), a family of chemicals used to make everything from microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes to carpets and nonstick cookware, new research suggests.

In a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that the higher the level of PFCs in a child's blood, the fewer antibodies the child produced after receiving vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus. In addition, kids with higher PFC exposure were more likely than their peers to have antibody levels too low to provide protection against those infectious diseases.

"The immune system is more sluggish when these kids are vaccinated," says lead author Philippe Grandjean, MD, an adjunct professor of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston. "It doesn't respond as well…and produces less antibodies."

The number of antibodies generated by a vaccine is an indication of overall immune system function, so the findings suggest that PFCs may have negative effects on the immune system that go beyond these two vaccines, the researchers say.

Although experts haven't identified all the ways that PFCs enter the body, contaminated food and drinking water and consumer products containing the chemical are believed to be the main sources of PFC exposure.

Research in animals has already linked PFC exposure to changes in immune function. To determine whether the chemicals might affect the human immune system as well, Grandjean and his team took blood samples from 587 pregnant women between 1999 and 2001 and tested the samples for five common PFCs. Then, when the women's offspring were 5 years old, they repeated the process using blood samples from the kids.

The researchers also measured levels of diphtheria and tetanus antibodies in the children's blood at two time points: at age 5, after the kids had received three doses of the diphtheria and tetanus vaccine; and at age 7, two years after they'd received a booster shot.

Higher prenatal levels of two PFCs were associated with having fewer antibodies at age 5. Likewise, kids whose blood revealed higher PFC exposure at age 5 had fewer antibodies at age 7. A 5-year-old whose PFC exposure was double that of another 5-year-old's could be expected to have roughly half as many antibodies at age 7, the study estimates.

The findings raise the possibility that health officials are overestimating the protection provided by childhood vaccines, Grandjean says. If the percentage of vaccinated children "includes kids who are exposed to PFCs and therefore not responding to the vaccine," he says, the likelihood of an epidemic may be higher than it would appear from vaccination rates.