Ear Candling and Allergy
Very often, it is simply assumed that everybody "knows" what we mean by the word allergy and that everybody has a fundamental understanding of the principles involved in the disease mechanism. Whether or not that is true, one can decide for oneself after we have clearly put out the markers around the "allergy-terrain". Once we know what it is we are dealing with, we can examine how ear candling can affect the allergic process.What is an Allergy?
Controversies over reactions to food have been inextricably bound up in disputes about terminology. A Viennese paediatrician (Baron Clemens Von Pirquet) first used the term "allergy" in 1906, to mean "altered sensitivity". This basically means any idiosyncratic response of the system to the environment. By 1925, as our knowledge about allergies increased, most of those working in the field of allergy decided to limit the definition, and only reactions in which the immune system was demonstrably altered were classified as allergic. Hence the differentiation between food allergy and food intolerance. Allergy has therefore become a rather narrow science. If a patient does not provide a positive response to a scratch test (a small amount of food is scratched into the skin) or a clear antibody is found in the blood or the intestinal lining in response to exposure to a particular food, then food allergy cannot be the problem to the immunologist's mind. Yet, in a large number of instances where no obvious conventional allergy is present, such as coeliac disease, removal of the offending food results in great improvement for the patient, suggesting that the disease is linked to the food item through some kind of immunological response.The clinical ecologist calls this a food allergy as well, often to the sound of derision from professors of immunology. Perhaps food sensitivity or food intolerance would be a more sensible terminology, as neither the immunologist nor the clinical ecologist need take offence. I feel that much of the debate that surrounds the "allergy" issue has its roots in semantics and concepts that surround the word itself. It seems to mean different things to different people.
What we can agree upon is that an allergic reaction, in the broad sense, is an over-reaction or a "mal-function" of the immune system, whereby the immune system seems to be damaging the body itself. Most dramatically this is observed in an acute reaction, which triggers asthma attacks, violent abdominal cramps and vomiting, or immediate skin reactions and can lead to an anaphylactic shock (loss of consciousness). However, we sometimes see these reactions develop into a chronic disease whereby "food sensitivity" continues to drive the immune system into malfunctioning. Certain types of inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis fall into this category, for instance.
Although conventional medicine has been bogged down in analysing the disease process rather than concentrating on the cause of the disease, it does categorise both the acute form and the chronic condition as autoimmune diseases. Here the body is "unable" to distinguish between self and non-self, so that the system is damaging itself.
From a practical point of view it is quite obvious that an allergic reaction and an over-sensitivity are essentially the same thing in expression and in experience of the individual involved. Even doctors diagnose allergic reactions all the time without doing extensive allergy tests, especially as a lot of these reactions occur occasionally or express themselves in different ways and are quickly dismissed as the patient gets better without any particular long term help. Other proof that the two are very closely related, if not exactly the same, we find in the experimental evidence of great improvement in health status from the moment contact with the offending item is avoided totally. Whatever the intricate bodily mechanism, we can categorically state that there is a direct link between the contact with the substance and the expression of the malfunctioning of the immune system. It is very likely that there are several possible reaction pathways for the body but the essential point is the direct relationship between the substance and the malfunction.
The immune system, for the purpose of the rest of this article, will mean the general "blood" immune system as well as the individual cell defence system.
So, we are talking about a learned response of the immune system to environmental agents that are not intrinsically harmful but that the system has become very afraid of, for whatever reason. If these "trigger-agents" are essentially innocent particles or items, how can we then justify blaming the allergic reaction on the trigger? The key question is, "Why does a substance trigger an allergic reaction in one individual and not another, and why does it do so today if it didn't in the past?"
Understanding Allergies
The great majority of the research into allergies has been done into two aspects of the problem. On the one hand we want to know what causes allergies, and this has been translated into identifying the specific trigger of an allergy. Secondly, in order to understand allergies, scientists have spent many years deciphering the cellular "allergic" reaction in an effort to understand how it works and what causes it. Let's put some thoughts into these two approaches.Knowing how the cells react and what chemicals are produced during an allergic reaction is very interesting. However, as with a car, one does not need to know what happens inside the engine to be able to drive a car. The information gained about the allergic process is of the order of what happens, and how it happens, once the body's defence system makes contact with the allergen, the trigger. It does not answer the question as to why the body does what it does when most of the time, in other people, it reacts totally differently. One of the claims we hear is that all this research is leading towards a better understanding of the genetics behind the allergic disorders. Just remember that all allergies in adults have developed later in life and it would be difficult to "blame" it on a faulty gene, as the question arises: "Why did it become faulty at this stage in life?" The other problem this approach to allergies has caused, as we mentioned right at the beginning, is that it takes the focus away from the disease pattern to concentrate solely on the immune reaction, resulting in a narrow definition of allergy and sensitivity, and an argument about semantics.
Can we truly say that the trigger for the allergy is the cause of the allergy?
It is certainly the cause of the allergic reaction, but is it the real cause of the allergy itself? Can the trigger, the allergen, be blamed for what happens? Similar to: can the gun be blamed for the killing? The fact that almost all identified allergy-triggers cause no such over-reaction in the great majority of people, throws the idea of the trigger being the cause into serious doubt. Equally, we have to accept that one can become allergic to almost anything. We have heard of people who are allergic to water, to air, to virtually all food items. The number of allergies, both in society and within the individual, augments in time. It appears as if the general trend is that one allergy easily will lead to another. In other words, one trigger becomes two, becomes three, and so on. Clearly the problem does not lie with the trigger, i.e. the allergen, but with the individual's reaction to these triggers.An allergy is an over-reaction to some substance that is regarded as hostile. In the context of the body's survival mechanisms this built-in defence reaction is entirely valid. The body's immune system forms antibodies against the allergens and thus corresponds to a bodily defence reaction against hostile invaders which, from the body's point of view, is perfectly reasonable. In those who are allergic, however, this inherently sensible defence reaction is exaggerated out of all proportion. They build up a high level of defences, while extending the "hostile" category to cover an ever-greater area. More and more substances are identified as "enemies" and the defence armoury is therefore increasingly strengthened in order to counter this host of enemies effectively.
And here are two more interesting facts:
- Allergies always need consciousness as a condition for their appearance. There are no allergies under narcosis, and equally, all allergies fade away during psychosis. People suffering from the condition known as Multiple Personality Disorder have certain allergies in one personality that disappear instantly when they take on a different personality.
- Illustrations of the allergen or pictures indicating conditions in which there would be a high exposure to a certain allergen can give rise to attacks in asthmatics. The allergic reaction is totally independent of the allergic substance itself.
What turns a well-working body into an allergic wreck?
Body Nourishment
Our environment - the air we breathe, the food we take, the earth we walk on - is dynamically charged with energy. All is pervaded by an essential life force, which animates each of us and which nourishes us.Each of us stands on the earth and acts as an antenna for the electromagnetic forces of heaven and earth, which charge our bodies. This energy flows through our bodies, being distributed through twelve distinct patterns or meridians. Each meridian is like a river of energy that originates at a specific point in the body and flows downward or upward to another point. These twelve rivers bring the life force to every cell in the body. When the river is blocked, the life force is prevented from getting to a specific area of the body. Cells, tissues and whole organs suffocate from the lack of this energy. They can no longer function normally as they are not "nourished" properly, which leaves them vulnerable as they are unable to do their job properly. This will show itself in the form of symptoms; mild to start with, but as the life force weakens, the symptoms will become more and more pronounced.
Once you understand the meridians, you can learn why the body manifests a symptom in a specific place and how best to heal it. One "symptom" we are particularly interested in here is the "panic reaction" the body manifests during an allergic reaction
Why does the immune system suddenly panic when confronted by a "normal" substance? Why does it manifest the specific reaction in that particular area of the body?
As the answer cannot lie with the allergen, it must be found inside the body of the recipient. It must be the body of the individual that is in a state of disarray, so much so that it feels extremely threatened by the otherwise simple substance, enough to panic out of all proportion. A state of such disorganisation only occurs in a function-breakdown of the tissues and organs, which means that essential repairs have not been carried out.The healing reaction, an on-going process within the body, occurs spontaneously whenever the body is attacked or injured or replaces ageing material. This process is unlikely to occur properly if the body's defences are weak, if the cells are weak and undernourished. Defence is the responsibility of the immune system, equally on a cellular, organ and complete body level. When immunity is crippled, it is easy to see how much of a problem this creates for the healing system. When immunity is weakened in more subtle ways, impairment of healing may be less obvious.
Toxic overload is one of the commonest reasons for a diminished healing response, but this subject is immensely complicated, emotionally charged, and highly political. We take toxins into our body with the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe, as well as in the form of drugs we use, whether we obtain them on medical prescription, buy them over the counter, or use them recreationally. Just as we mentioned earlier, our whole environment influences our every day lives, whether we look at the physical interactions or we simply view the energetic exchanges. Material substances that end up toxins inside the body are not always toxins by themselves (just as allergens are not always allergens!). Many toxins inside the body are a direct result of poor digestion and absorption of what are otherwise known as normal products, or they arise as a result of poor emotional and psychological digestion and absorption of life's experiences. So, starting the process of poisoning by taking on board toxic products will damage the tissues of lungs and intestines (main entry points), which will in turn result in poor breakdown and assimilation of food, producing more and more toxins. And the other way around, a poor mental balance will create read more
