Oy! Here comes the season (or soon ish… depending on when this winter wonderland leaves us?!). The season of sneezes, itchy eyes, runny nose, red splotchy skin, and itch, itch, itch! All of this can lead to disrupted sleep, exacerbating other ailments such as asthma, and just downright discomfort for these Little Ones. Parents are left feeling a wee bit helpless and wondering what the heck to do. Reaching for antihistamine medication at this point makes sense! When we realize this solution is only a band-aid, we seek alternatives. So, listen up!
Why don’t we walk through what is going on inside their little bodies and then walk through what we can do to help! This information will then leave parents feeling well-equipped to help their little ones survive and THRIVE in this season and all the ones to come! Sounds good? Let’s dive in!
What’s Really Goin’ On Inside Their Little Bodies?
When a child is exposed to various environmental factors during this season, their body produces mast cells to the offending allergen, resulting in type one hypersensitivity. Mast cells produced the early symptoms of sneezing and runny nose. These happen right away post-exposure. Mast cells then stimulate a whole cascade of troops to come ‘fight off’ the offender (the environment) including eosinophils. These troops from the immune system cause inflammation and essentially a blockage of the nasal passageway, causing stuffiness, redness, and discomfort. Because so many immune troops have then come to the allergy party, the kiddo’s nose starts reacting to other hypersensitivities like tobacco or cold or dry air. When their little bodies are undergoing an IgE reaction, it produces histamine which causes itching.
And so it goes….
How Can Naturopathic Medicine Help?
To help reduce hypersensitivity, we want to reduce inflammation in the digestive tract, where 85% of our immune system is located. Non-histamine-producing probiotics, proper foods, and reducing inflammatory foods can help balance this out.
To reduce mast cells, we want to ensure that the microbiome is in balance so that those pesky little party starters don’t even come a-knocking! We can use strains of probiotics to maximize the anti-histamine strains in the gut and eat diverse amounts of foods, as this encourages a balanced microbiome in our kiddos.
Encouraging histamine elimination from the body can help reduce symptoms such as itchiness. Four pathways/enzymes help to eliminate histamine from our kiddo’s bodies, and we can encourage these enzymes to work effectively by providing the cofactors to help those enzymes work.
Treatment
Let’s walk through how to set our kiddos up for success heading into the season, and then look to treat the symptoms to reduce discomfort.
Food
Now is the time to help reduce the severity of reactions to come… and it’s not too late! Reducing overall inflammation in the body can be done through foods!
Adding foods into the diet that help to reduce inflammation are as follows:
Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids contain EPA, which can reduce inflammation such as:
- Hemp hearts – easy to add a tablespoon to salad, toast, sandwich, oatmeal in the morning, smoothie or coconut yogurt.
- Salmon – get this into your dinner rotation weekly if you can!
- Nut butters have ‘good fats’ in them – specifically almonds or walnuts
Anti-oxidant-rich foods – prevent the secretion of histamine and white blood cells that cause the inflammatory symptoms.
- Berries, berries, berries! On salad, in smoothies, on toast, plain!
- Veggies veggies veggies – my kids are so over me saying ‘eat your veggies’ lol! I have to stop; except I can’t help myself. They are just so rich in alllllll good things including anti-oxidants!
Foods to help stabilize mast cell production
- Greens (watercress… not normally used, I know, yet use this in a salad at dinner time? Or in a sauce to hide it if they are like ‘ewww no way’.)
- Apple, peaches and Brazil nuts – great combo.
- Never underestimate the addition of spices and herbs – ginger, turmeric, chamomile tea? Yes, please. I love putting fresh ginger in cooking and in smoothies/juicing. Kids will usually say things like that’s ‘picey! They’ll get used to it, especially if you add honey!
- Whole foods that are free of pesticides or additives! Why? Because this is where the nutrient density comes from that nurtures the body. Quite simple, isn’t it?
Eliminating common inflammatory foods are as follows:
- North American cow dairy products – watch milk, yogurt, butter and cheese as they can not only cause inflammation but also not allow the mucous produced to drain from the sinus area. To be clear, this is not referring to only those patients with sensitivities to dairy. Dairy is just a common inflammatory food and eliminating or reducing this may help to reduce general inflammation in the body.
- North American-produced wheat products – watch for gluten-containing products, which include pasta, breads, crackers and some sauces. See if you can get your hands on these products from Europe or replace them with alternative products such as seeds, potatoes, chickpeas, or rice.
By changing just food, see how your little one’s fare heading into the season!
Supporting Histamine Elimination Pathways
Cofactors for the four enzymes that are responsible for eliminating/breaking down histamine in the body include SAMe, vitamin C, B6 (in the form of P5P), vitamin C, B5 (pantothenic acid), zinc, B1, and B3. Using these throughout the later months of winter and into the spring will encourage these elimination pathways to work properly.
Seasonal Support
We want to support the body to reduce the eosinophilic build-up that can cause the nasal tissue to become chronically inflamed. We also want to support the local tissue in the nasopharynx pathway. We can do so with the following?
Nutrient support
- Quercetin can help to reduce histamine production as well as those initial party peeps – the mast cells.
- Vitamin C can help to reduce histamine production as well as help to counteract the rest of the pesky party mates that cause inflammation in the process.
- Bromelain is another one that can reduce inflammation so helps with the subsequent reactions post initial mast cells.
Herbs
- I mentioned cooking with ginger however it’s a great mast stabilizer so use it in a more concentrated form in a tincture.
- Boswellia is a great anti-inflammatory herb you can add to any herbal mixture.
- Nettle – say my name. Add this puppy to reduce histamine production.
Nasal Rinse
Using this two times a day can help local tissue if the nasal congestion is something fierce. I love using tea tree oil in the morning (diluted one drop per cup of saline) and then using a probiotic at night to repopulate. See if this benefits the nasal congestion and itchy nose/sneezing.
Need Extra Allergy Support?
Always ask your healthcare practitioner or see me for the correct dosages and amounts specific to your kiddos.
Supporting these little ones throughout this season will leave you feeling less stressed, have them sleeping better to combat other illnesses, and overall happier little beings!
