This is the name given to the major metabolic imbalances caused by excess cortisone. The symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome are:
1. The removal of fat from the arms and legs, which is deposited on the upper back and shoulders (buffalo hump), the torso and the abdomen.
2. The face develops a moon shape, due to the deposition of fat and the retention of fluid.
3. The skin becomes very thin due to the dissolution of the collagen and elastin. It bruises easily and tears, giving rise to stretch marks. Sores appear in the advanced stages.
4. The muscles become thin and weak, due to dissolved collagen.
5. The bones become thin and weak, due to a lack of calcium (osteoporosis).
6. Stomach ulcers develop.
7. Resistance to infections, allergies and cancer is significantly reduced.
8. The ageing process is significantly accelerated.
The sad thing about cortisone drugs is that they only treat the symptoms of allergy, not the cause. By the time you have developed the full-blown symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome you still have your original allergies, only by this time they are usually worse. You are in a double lose situation as you have added a disease that is far more debilitating than your allergies.
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A single-food exclusion diet is also not always helpful if you have no obvious suspects and really do not know where to start. If this applies to you, and you do want to try this approach, rather than a more radical diet from the outset, keeping a Foods Diary for a week to 10 days will help identify possible candidates to test. Note down every time you eat, drink or ingest something (whether it is food, drink, drugs, home medicine or even toothpaste). Note down any change in symptoms, whenever they occur, and see if you can detect any pattern at all.
Watch out for delayed reactions – if you feel worse at night or the morning after eating a particular food, this may be a sign of intolerance, especially with grains and proteins, which the body takes longer to break down. Watch out also for withdrawal or cravings. If you feel unwell until you can consume a drink or particular food in the morning, or until you eat something specific at a snack or meal, then suspect that food or foods.
If you really cannot see an obvious suspect, then pick one of the most common causes of allergy and intolerance, such as wheat, eggs, corn, yeast or cow’s milk, and leave that out totally. Alternatively, you could choose a food that is not such an extensive part of basic diet and hence easier to leave out – such as tea, coffee, chocolate or oranges -and start there.
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You should take medical advice before trying to identify for yourself the cause of symptoms you think are related to an allergic or sensitivity reaction. Many symptoms – such as headache, breathlessness, gut pain and diarrhoea – can be caused by other diseases and you need to be sure that other possible causes have been ruled out.
Some reactions to things you inhale, swallow or touch are entirely normal. The body has normal defence mechanisms to protect it. It is usual for anyone to sneeze or cough, or for your eyes to run, if you encounter a lot of dust and particles. Most people also find that strong household chemicals or DIY materials irritate their breathing passages, give them a sore throat or headache, or make their hands sore. Only if your reactions make you feel very unwell, and affect your system for quite a while afterwards, or if you are affected by minute amounts, should you suspect sensitivity or allergy. If your symptoms are not severe or long-term, they are probably a natural response.
Hyperventilation and withdrawal symptoms often accompany reactions, or follow soon afterwards. The symptoms of these can be confused with true reactions.
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Washing soda (available from supermarkets) is an effective general cleaner for all kinds of uses, but do not use on anything made of aluminium. Dissolve a tablespoonful in a bowl of hot water.
You can use washing soda for washing paintwork; for cleaning baths and tile work; for washing floors; for cleaning windows; for washing cars. It is less effective than detergents or dishwashing liquids at cutting grease, so use in combination with one that you tolerate if you need extra grease-cutting power. Washing soda can damage some oven surfaces.
Amway make a general cleaner, LOC Regular, a concentrated and powerful detergent which is generally well tolerated. Available via Amway agents.
Livos make a range of low-allergen general cleaners. These are new on the market and we have no reports of how well they are tolerated. Livos will send small samples to try before purchase.
Glass and Tile Cleaners
To clean glass and tiles, you can use a general cleaner such as wash¬ing soda or Amway’s LOC Regular. If you tolerate vinegar, you can also mix white vinegar half and half with water. Apply lightly to the surface and polish with a soft cotton cloth.
To clean scum and mould from tiles and grouting, sprinkle Borax or sodium bicarbonate on a nailbrush and scrub thoroughly. Borax and sodium bicarbonate inhibit mould growth.
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After the filling fruit, vegetable and unusual grains, you can then try other fruit and vegetables, such as apples, pears, courgettes, tomato. After nine months, you can try the less allergenic grains -rice, oats, rye and millet. Save the highly allergenic foods – wheat, cow’s milk, eggs, etc. -until babies are at least 12 months old and for as long as you can thereafter.
If your baby runs into problems on the suggested weaning programme, and starts reacting to the less troublesome foods, or else is very hungry, then you may be obliged to bring forward some of the more troublesome foods earlier than you would like. If you do this, then leave foods such as wheat, eggs, cow’s milk, yeast and corn to the very end of those you try. Try lentils, soya, meat, poultry, fish and nuts before the others, and maybe sheep’s milk, unless your doctor advises strongly against it.
Never overload a potentially food-sensitive baby with too many new foods at once, or too many allergenic foods. Keep to a varied, spaced out and simple diet. Babies’ digestions can usually cope better with simple demands.
Most babies are extremely happy on this kind of weaning diet, having known no different, until they are 12-15 months old. You need not worry, provided they are still getting plenty of breastmilk or bottle formula milk, are generally well and healthy, are keeping to their projected height and growth charts, and your doctor has given you any vitamin and mineral supplements that are necessary.
Do not be tempted, if you have very few foods that baby tolerates, or if baby shows a particular liking for something, to allow the baby to eat lots of that food every day. This can pre-dispose a food-sensitive baby to develop allergy or intolerance of that food. Craving and addiction can also be a symptom of food sensitivity. Keep the diet spaced out and varied.
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In your own home, the key ways of reducing moulds are to:
• Keep your environment as dry as you are able
• Remove obvious sources of mould spores
• Keep a constant warmth if possible
If you cannot afford the money or time to keep your whole home free of moulds, then concentrate on one or two rooms, especially your bedroom, and try and confine damp, wet activities (like drying laundry) to certain areas away from where you spend most of your time. The most useful things to do first are the following basic avoidance measures:
Dry laundry outside the home if possible. If you use a tumble dryer, locate it outside the home if you can, or at least away from the living areas, and make sure it is well vented to the outside. Put any damp cloths or towels straight on to a heat source to dry off fast. Do not leave damp towels or cloths lying around.
Dry off any condensation and damp standing on windows, walls or work surfaces – a quick wipe in the morning or after a bath or shower does the trick. Open windows and doors to air for a while – good ventilation for at least a short period each day helps to dry things out, even on damp days. Keep plugs in sinks, basin and bath plugholes –this stops moulds wafting up.
Use extractor fans if you have them when bathing, doing laundry, or cooking, to ventilate and get damp out fast.
Airing beds and keeping them dry is a very effective way of reducing mould levels in bedrooms, and away from where you breathe at night. Humans shed about half a litre (nearly a pint) of fluid in sleep each night, and moulds like damp, warm places.
Fix obvious sources of damp and drips. If you have any persistent problems with rising or penetrating damp, or any leaking taps or pipes, then sort them out. Many millions of mould spores can be generated from small areas of damp.
Using gas fires or paraffin heaters can create condensation and damp problems, since they generate water when they burn. Do not use gas fires or paraffin heaters if you can avoid them. Solid fuel fires generate water, but the damp is usually drawn up the chimney and dried off, so they do not cause damp. Electric heating produces a dry heat and is advantageous. Gas central heating, and other forms of central heating, do not cause water problems. Do not use humidifiers on radiators. They can be a source of moulds and raise humidity.
Gas and paraffin cooking appliances also create damp when used, but, because they are usually not operated as long, nor as intensively, as heaters, they cause less problems with damp. If you use them, always ventilate well to clear the damp they create.
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