Most people think that an allergy reaction is limited to the respiratory tract, but that’s not the case. Other parts of the body can also react. The cells that react to allergens are called mast cells and they have been found in many areas of the body. They have been found in the stomach, on the skin which can cause skin rashes, in the lungs and bronchial tract which can cause asthma, and in the brain which can cause difficulty concentrating. You may already know that when there is an allergic reaction, there is a release of histamine, which is why we take an antihistamine to block the effects. Histamine is a neuro-chemical which can affect the nervous system. It can make you sleepy or it can make you hyperactive or it can make you inattentive. So you see, allergies can impact how we think, feel and act which can explain why children with allergies can have problems learning in school.

In my office, during allergy testing, I have seen dramatic evidence of how allergies affect learning. I use the child's medical history and food preferences to help decide which substances to allergy test. The child is then given one drop of a food or inhalant allergen in the skin by injection with a very small needle. These are given at 10-minute intervals to see if the child reacts. Even children who are initially very scared of getting allergy tested find that the shots hurt very little or not at all. Most children actually enjoy the experience once their initial concerns about getting shots are overcome.

ONE AT A TIME
There are two different ways to do skin testing. One method is to test all the allergens at one time by placing a drop of the allergen under the skin on the arm or the back. With this test, the doctor is looking for the reaction to the allergen on the skin. The skin may turn red or grow a red, irritated skin blister (wheal). The other is to test for one allergen at a time. I prefer the second method. During each 10-minute interval the patient can be monitored for any changes in heart rate, breathing capacity, behavior, concentration and small motor skills, as well as the possibility of a skin reaction. In addition, many children with the symptoms of ADHD have a history of asthma, which can be incited during testing and treated along with the other symptoms.

By testing the allergies one at a time, we can observe which allergens are underlying the asthma symptoms and any attention or behavior symptoms. Typical allergic symptoms like runny nose, watery eyes and headaches can also occur. To look for the different possible reactions to each specific antigen is, in my opinion, very important because each child may react differently. If the testing is done all at once, a finding could be missed. If all of the allergens are placed on the skin at one time and a reaction occurs other than a skin reaction, no one would know which allergen was causing which symptom. When the allergens are causing it. When patients know what type of symptoms an allergen causes, they can decide the best form of treatment.

UNCOVERING LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
During each testing interval, the child is asked to write his/her name and do some concentration work such as reading. One patient, Mike, who was five years old when he was tested, could print his name very well before we started, but as we tested him for apple, there were major changes in his handwriting. His behavior was also changing. (See picture of Mike's writing.) It shows the effect apple has on his handwriting. At the top right of the page you can see Mike's pre-testing signature. What follows is Mike's handwriting samples as they correlate with the testing of different dilutions of the allergen, apple. As you can see, Mike lost control of his ability to write correctly. He began scribbling and writing backwards. Mike's behavior also worsened at the same time. The final dose, a weaker dose of the allergen apple, is the dose that brought Mike's handwriting and his behavior back to normal. Now, Mike's parents know the effect apple has on Mike's behavior and on his ability to write, to concentrate and to learn. Mike's parents can remove apple from his diet or he can take an allergy injection of the dose of the apple allergen that cleared up his handwriting and his behavior symptoms. He can then eat apple without the negative effect.

Recommended Links:

ADHD

Dr. Mary Ann Block treats many other chronic health problems such as, asthma, arthritis, gastrointestinal problems and others. He approach is to look for and treat, whenever possible, the underlying causes instead of covering the symptoms with drugs.