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Archive for April 2016

12 Tips to Reduce Allergies in Boise

The dry climate in Boise is about to really take hold and that means allergy season is going to kick into high gear.

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), over half of Americans are allergic to one or more allergens. It’s never more apparent than during spring and summer in Boise, when seasonal allergies are likely to flare up.

Aside from the lousy, cold­like symptoms that allergies provoke (sneezing, congestion, watery/itchy eyes, runny nose, etc.), allergies can cost you days at work and money to seek out solutions. In fact, according to AAAAI, allergies may cost Americans close to $8 billion a year in costs related to direct care and lost work productivity.

If you live in the United States, chances are you have allergies. At least, that’s the finding from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

According to NHANES III, the top four most common allergens include:

  • Dust mites
  • Rye
  • Ragweed
  • Cockroaches

About 25 percent of Americans tested positive to each one. Least common was the peanut, with only 9 percent reacting positively.

As for food allergies, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network says that eight foods account for 90 percent of all food­related allergic reactions:

As pollen, and other allergens peak in Boise this spring, those with allergies should stay indoors as much as possible (or if you can’t resist venturing outside, at least shower and wash your clothing afterward).

Staying indoors when pollen counts are high is one of the best ways to prevent allergy symptoms.

  • Milk
  • Egg
  • Peanut
  • Tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.)
  • Fish
  • Shellfish Soy Wheat

While it would seem that, with so many people suffering from allergies, we would be well prepared as a population to handle them and know their causes, this is not the case. Nearly half (49 percent) of allergy sufferers wait until symptoms occur to take action, rather than using preventative measures. This is unfortunate when it’s so easy to do! Increasing immune function will help reduce or eliminate allergies altogether.

I’ve had dozens of patients over the years tell me their allergies were reduced or eliminated during and after chiropractic care. What’s funny is that no a single person told me they had allergies to start with or wanted treatment for allergies! Boosting the body’s internal ability to heal and function is what chiropractic does and it shows in cases like this.

Minimize your allergies with these 12 tips, however, the best tip is…boost your immune system with wholesome foods and chiropractic care to ensure your body functions at it’s best so you can enjoy life to the fullest:

1. Keep your windows closed to keep pollen out (this is especially important from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. when plants release most of their pollen).

2. Use your air conditioner instead of opening windows, and ideally use an air conditioner that has an allergy­reducing HEPA filter in it.

3. Check the daily pollen and mold counts (AAAAI’s National Allergy Bureau has daily pollen counts for locations across the country). If counts are high, stay indoors as much as possible. Also stay indoors if it’s windy, as dust and pollen will be blown about.

4. Clean your home frequently to reduce pollen, mold, dust and other allergens.

5. Wash your bedding once a week in hot water to help get rid of dust mites and other allergy triggers.

Some people face worse allergy flare­ups in the fall than the spring.

6. Shower before you go to bed. This will help wash away any pollen, mold and other allergens that have accumulated in your hair and on your body.

7. Always wash your clothes after spending time outdoors to remove pollen and other allergens.

8. Have someone else mow your lawn. Cutting the grass will expose you to a host of pollens and molds (the same goes for raking leaves in the fall).

9. Wipe off surfaces you touch often. Surfaces such as computer keyboards, countertops, furniture, door handles and appliances can be loaded with allergens. When you touch these areas, the allergens are transferred to your hands and then likely to your eyes, nose and mouth, potentially worsening your symptoms. Giving these a wipe with a microfiber cloth can keep all types of allergens to a minimum.

11. Resist the temptation to hang your clothes out in the sun to dry. When you bring them inside, they’ll be covered in pollen and mold.

12. Get away for a while. If you can spare a few weeks, great, but even a week­long vacation to a low­pollen area (such as a beach) can be a much­needed reprieve.

Article adapted from Dr. Mancini (see linked article)

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Chiropractic for Professional Athletes and Boise Weekend Warriors Alike!

Chiropractic Care Keeps Minnesota Twins Pitchers Kyle Gibson and Trevor May on Top of Their Game. But they’re not the only ones of course. It’s well known that nearly all professional football, hockey, baseball and basketball teams have chiropractors on staff. You’ve heard many pro golfers and olympians talk about how chiropractic care has kept their performance level high and their injury rates down.

And that’s just it…optimal performance is the most important thing to many people, but when your body is pushed to the limit like professional athletes day in and day out, it’s easier to see weaknesses in performance. Remember, these guys are worth millions of dollars and they have the best doctors on the planet helping them with injury care. They don’t need chiropractors for that. The role of the chiropractor is to keep these athletes performing at the highest level.

So whether your game is gardening on the Boise bench, chasing your kids around a North End park, biking on the Boise Greenbelt, or running a local business down at Saturday Market, chiropractic care will ensure you’re on the top of your game all year long.

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What This Boise Lady Did When She Found Out She Had a Breech Baby Was…

Unorthodox? Unusual? Unique? Well, not really. For decades women right here is Boise, Idaho have been looking for more natural solutions to problems during pregnancy. Since the 1980’s it has fallen out of favor to deliver breech babies, that is, babies who present feet or rear end first at delivery, rather than head first. It used to be common practice to deliver breech babies. Doctors were trained to do what other cultures all over the world have done since the beginning of time. However, as healthcare costs have risen and insurance companies are more and more protective of liability, it has fallen out of favor to even train doctors to deliver breech babies. Now it’s hard to find a doctor who knows how or has ever seen it done when it used to be part of “normal” delivery.

Dr. Larry Webster, a chiropractor with a pediatric specialty and an ingenious thinker, developed a technique to remove constraint on an unborn fetus over 40 years ago. This technique, Webster’s In-Utero Constraint Technique, is often called “Webster’s Breech Turning Technique” because of it’s uncanny correlation with breech babies turning to the proper head down position. In over 800 cases Dr. Webster had only 18 breech babies fail to turn! However, this technique is not specifically for turning breech babies. It removes neurological disturbances and soft tissue constraint that prevents the fetus from moving freely within the uterus.

I can personally attest to these amazing statistics. I’ve seen it first hand in my practice and am certified in Webster’s In-Utero Constraint Technique with nearly 100 percent results in the last 15 years. Now current research is publishing the results. For the healthiest pregnancy possible try chiropractic care, you won’t regret it!

Look at this research just published in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health:

Objective: To describe the chiropractic care of a pregnant patient presenting with hip/pelvic pain and breech presentation.

Clinical Features: A 37-year-old woman in her 35th week of gestation was experiencing right hip and pelvic pain with ultrasound imagining documenting frank breech pregnancy. Vertebral subluxations were identified using Webster Technique.

Intervention and Outcome: The patient received care with the Webster Technique over three visits spanning five days. The patient gave birth vaginally with the baby in the vertex position.

Conclusion: Pregnant patients under chiropractic care may benefit beyond symptomatic care.

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