ASTHMA: TRAPS FOR THE UNWARY

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Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for, when you can start playing detective to your own body: innocent heir to generations of genes and perhaps not-so-innocent victim of assaults dating back to childhood.

The Pulse Test

Although it has some shortcomings, the pulse test is a simple screening procedure that may at least provide some insight into the problem to the alert patient and therapist. Unfortunately, some people regard it as a conclusive test rather than a pointer in the right direction.

Muscle and Kinesiology Tests

These can be very useful and accurate, provided the relevant measurements are taken very carefully. The muscle test consists simply of asking someone to hold their arm out and resist any pressure you apply to the arm to force it down. After noting how difficult or easy (if you are much bigger and stronger) it is for you to do this, you place a small amount of the substance to be tested under the patient’s tongue and wait a few seconds. Then you repeat the exercise. If the patient is allergic to the substance, he or she will notice immediately that it is much harder to resist the pressure applied to the arm. Unfortunately the test has some pitfalls and requires very careful administration.

Elimination Testing: Avoidance-Challenge Tests Avoidance-challenge tests are probably the simplest to perform and, if carried out accurately and with the proper preparation, can give a great deal of information. The biggest point in their favour, of course, is that they can be performed by anyone at home without outside assistance.

The Provocative Fasting-Challenge Tests

In the fasting-challenge test, the patient is asked to go home and fast totally for four days. Once again, care must be taken to drink only distilled or purified water and avoid exposure to chemicals such as perfumes, aerosol sprays, gas heaters, tobacco smoke, car-exhaust fumes, polishes and so on, and air-borne inhalants such as dust and mould spores. By this method, your body gets into a pristine state in which its response to an offending substance will be swift and dramatic.

On the fifth day you start to eat, carefully re-introducing, one at a time, each member of the avoided food family until some or all of the original symptoms return.

The Cytotoxic Test

The name ‘cytotoxic’ is taken from the Greek word for cell (cytol), and the test is designed to find if a food may be toxic to the cells in your body. Most experts in allergies and environmental medicine have stopped using this test in all but a few special cases, because the cost is not often justified by the results. Since the procedure is very convenient we still use it occasionally with children or people who are unable to try any sort of diet.

A little blood is collected and parts of it are placed on a slide which is coated with a specific food. Well over 100 different foods, as well as some chemicals, can thus be tested from a single sitting by the patient. A technician then examines the way in which cells are damaged by contact with various foods and the reaction is graded with plus signs (+). One plus signifies a borderline likelihood that the food is toxic, two plusses indicate a slight probability, three a moderate one and four a stronger probability.

This is where the problem begins. First, the results depend heavily on the skills, experience and even the enthusiasm of the technician. The bias of the laboratory promoting the test may also influence the eventual outcome. Here is what a world expert on cytotoxic tests, Dr Robert Pottenger Jr, has to say:

… It is important to choose a reliable, unbiased lab with good, responsible technicians, because if he or she only gives a quick glance to the test preparation, there is a risk in making false positive readings. A careful, time-consuming study is required in equivocal preparations.

The ALCAT Test (Antigen Leucocyte Cellular Antibody Test)

This is the latest and most accurate cytotoxic test, but in my experience it is still not accurate enough to be used as the sole means of identifying food allergies or intolerances without corroborating evidence from challenges.

Conclusion

So, cytotoxic tests are not very useful tools for a definitive diagnosis and even less useful for the implementation of any therapeutic regimen. While the original cytotoxic test is quite unreliable even as a screening method, the ALCAT test appears to be a much more useful screening procedure, especially for children or adults whose time constraints do not permit other, more involved, methods.

Fortunately there are other techniques by which food sensitivities, allergies and intolerances can be measured, and they also provide the method to either desensitise the patient or neutralise the allergy.

The Radio Allergo Sorbent (RAST) Test for Food Allergies

Another blood test sometimes used for food allergies (although it is much more accurate for Candida, inhalants and some chemicals) is the RAST test which measures specific (IgE) antibodies’ responses to food fragments. There is very little chance of this test giving a false positive, although the patient may not be aware of any symptoms associated with ingestion of that particular food.

The Intradermal or Sublingual Challenge Test This is the most accurate of all food and chemical allergies tests. It consists of asking the patient to grade the severity of his or her symptoms. These estimates are then used as a benchmark. Then a concentrated solution of the suspected substance is applied under the tongue. Various physiological responses, such as the pulse rate, can then be measured and, of course, one notes the onset or aggravation of symptoms.

The Cell-Mediated Immunity (CMI) Test

Probably one of the most important tests, the CMI is also known as the ‘Multitest’. It allows the doctor to know if a patient is ‘anergic’ — that is, unable to mount a response/defence against some organism or factor. This is a clear indication that the immune system is in trouble and often most other allergy tests will be negative, in spite of the patient being affected, sometimes dramatically, by ingestion or exposure to the substance in question. It is a negative correlation test; in other words, it is significant when there is a negative or low score.

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ASTHMA: TRAPS FOR THE UNWARYNow for the moment you’ve been waiting for, when you can start playing detective to your own body: innocent heir to generations of genes and perhaps not-so-innocent victim of assaults dating back to childhood.The Pulse TestAlthough it has some shortcomings, the pulse test is a simple screening procedure that may at least provide some insight into the problem to the alert patient and therapist. Unfortunately, some people regard it as a conclusive test rather than a pointer in the right direction.Muscle and Kinesiology TestsThese can be very useful and accurate, provided the relevant measurements are taken very carefully. The muscle test consists simply of asking someone to hold their arm out and resist any pressure you apply to the arm to force it down. After noting how difficult or easy (if you are much bigger and stronger) it is for you to do this, you place a small amount of the substance to be tested under the patient’s tongue and wait a few seconds. Then you repeat the exercise. If the patient is allergic to the substance, he or she will notice immediately that it is much harder to resist the pressure applied to the arm. Unfortunately the test has some pitfalls and requires very careful administration.Elimination Testing: Avoidance-Challenge Tests Avoidance-challenge tests are probably the simplest to perform and, if carried out accurately and with the proper preparation, can give a great deal of information. The biggest point in their favour, of course, is that they can be performed by anyone at home without outside assistance.The Provocative Fasting-Challenge TestsIn the fasting-challenge test, the patient is asked to go home and fast totally for four days. Once again, care must be taken to drink only distilled or purified water and avoid exposure to chemicals such as perfumes, aerosol sprays, gas heaters, tobacco smoke, car-exhaust fumes, polishes and so on, and air-borne inhalants such as dust and mould spores. By this method, your body gets into a pristine state in which its response to an offending substance will be swift and dramatic.On the fifth day you start to eat, carefully re-introducing, one at a time, each member of the avoided food family until some or all of the original symptoms return.The Cytotoxic TestThe name ‘cytotoxic’ is taken from the Greek word for cell (cytol), and the test is designed to find if a food may be toxic to the cells in your body. Most experts in allergies and environmental medicine have stopped using this test in all but a few special cases, because the cost is not often justified by the results. Since the procedure is very convenient we still use it occasionally with children or people who are unable to try any sort of diet.A little blood is collected and parts of it are placed on a slide which is coated with a specific food. Well over 100 different foods, as well as some chemicals, can thus be tested from a single sitting by the patient. A technician then examines the way in which cells are damaged by contact with various foods and the reaction is graded with plus signs (+). One plus signifies a borderline likelihood that the food is toxic, two plusses indicate a slight probability, three a moderate one and four a stronger probability.This is where the problem begins. First, the results depend heavily on the skills, experience and even the enthusiasm of the technician. The bias of the laboratory promoting the test may also influence the eventual outcome. Here is what a world expert on cytotoxic tests, Dr Robert Pottenger Jr, has to say:… It is important to choose a reliable, unbiased lab with good, responsible technicians, because if he or she only gives a quick glance to the test preparation, there is a risk in making false positive readings. A careful, time-consuming study is required in equivocal preparations.The ALCAT Test (Antigen Leucocyte Cellular Antibody Test)This is the latest and most accurate cytotoxic test, but in my experience it is still not accurate enough to be used as the sole means of identifying food allergies or intolerances without corroborating evidence from challenges.ConclusionSo, cytotoxic tests are not very useful tools for a definitive diagnosis and even less useful for the implementation of any therapeutic regimen. While the original cytotoxic test is quite unreliable even as a screening method, the ALCAT test appears to be a much more useful screening procedure, especially for children or adults whose time constraints do not permit other, more involved, methods.Fortunately there are other techniques by which food sensitivities, allergies and intolerances can be measured, and they also provide the method to either desensitise the patient or neutralise the allergy.The Radio Allergo Sorbent (RAST) Test for Food AllergiesAnother blood test sometimes used for food allergies (although it is much more accurate for Candida, inhalants and some chemicals) is the RAST test which measures specific (IgE) antibodies’ responses to food fragments. There is very little chance of this test giving a false positive, although the patient may not be aware of any symptoms associated with ingestion of that particular food.The Intradermal or Sublingual Challenge Test This is the most accurate of all food and chemical allergies tests. It consists of asking the patient to grade the severity of his or her symptoms. These estimates are then used as a benchmark. Then a concentrated solution of the suspected substance is applied under the tongue. Various physiological responses, such as the pulse rate, can then be measured and, of course, one notes the onset or aggravation of symptoms.The Cell-Mediated Immunity (CMI) TestProbably one of the most important tests, the CMI is also known as the ‘Multitest’. It allows the doctor to know if a patient is ‘anergic’ — that is, unable to mount a response/defence against some organism or factor. This is a clear indication that the immune system is in trouble and often most other allergy tests will be negative, in spite of the patient being affected, sometimes dramatically, by ingestion or exposure to the substance in question. It is a negative correlation test; in other words, it is significant when there is a negative or low score.*41\145\2*