Researchers report a breakthrough discovery in allergy medicine. The research, published in Nature Medicine, found a species of infant gut bacteria that protects against food allergies. The findings have the potential to create a sea-change in allergy prevention and treatment.

Allergies Defined

An allergy is an immune system reaction to something harmless to most people. The immune system fights illness and keeps you well. When you have an allergy, your immune system falsely recognizes the allergen as a danger to your health. It sends out antibodies to protect you, which is an allergic reaction. If you are allergic to eggs, which are normally harmless when fresh, it means your body mistakes eggs for something like poison. An allergic reaction can range from mild respiratory irritation to anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening condition. 

Immunotherapy

Today, the front-line treatment for allergies is oral immunotherapy. Your doctor gives you a small dose of the allergen itself, slowly increasing the amount. This allows your body to build up a tolerance. Oral immunotherapy can help make your allergies less severe. Still, the only way to completely prevent an allergic reaction is to completely avoid the thing you are allergic to.

A New Discovery

The groundbreaking research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital was performed on a group of laboratory mice. The researchers gave mice an oral formulation of “five or six” species of human infant gut bacteria. The bacteria were effective in protecting the mice from developing allergies. In mice who already had established allergies, the bacteria actually reversed the illness. They became allergy-free.

“With these microbes, we are resetting the immune system,” said co-senior author Lynn Bry, MD, Ph.D., director of the Massachusetts Host-Microbiome Center at the Brigham.

Bacteriotherapy

This new approach, called bacteriotherapy, changes the immune system’s wiring. Unlike the current (immunotherapy) method, it does so without using the allergens themselves. One of the benefits of bacteriotherapy is it has the potential to make you immune to food allergies as a category, instead of one food at a time. It represents “a better therapeutic and better diagnostic approach to disease.”

“This has given us a credible therapeutic that we can now take forward for patient care,” said Bry.

Diagnosing Allergies

Sometimes, allergies can be difficult to diagnose. The signs and symptoms are not always severe. They can even be mistaken for the common cold. To distinguish between a cold and allergies, pay attention to substances (foods, scents, chemicals, etc.) that you come into contact with. If you have a reaction every time you drink milk, you may have a dairy allergy. To be sure, you should always consult with an established allergy doctor.

Allergy Treatment Options

Allergy treatment options range from short-term symptom control to long-term allergy relief. What your doctor prescribes will depend on the severity of your condition. 

Dr. xxx may recommend a combination of the following: 

• Allergy Drops (Immunotherapy)
• Antihistamines
• Decongestants
• Nasal Sprays
• Leukotriene Inhibitors
• Mast Cell Inhibitors
• Dehumidifiers

Allergy Drops

One of your best options is allergy drops. Allergy drops are immunotherapy especially helpful for those who cannot tolerate allergy shots. They also work for people who don’t respond to allergy shots. Like any immunotherapy, allergy shots deliver a slowly increasing amount of antigen (allergen) until the body builds a tolerance to them. The drops are placed under the tongue, where they are absorbed. Research shows this is a friendlier and more effective route for long-term desensitization.

Dr. xxx recommends his patients keep using allergy drops for three to five years. This allows the body to build up a lasting, and possibly permanent, immunity. Contact Dr. xxx today to find out more.

Are you a creative spirit, always coming up with ideas to add a splash of color here or a ribbon there? If so, it’s a good bet you have an art or craft room full of supplies and “nowhere to put them.” Take a cue from these inventive storage hacks to make your art room organized, productive, and original– and let xxx glue help you do it.

Borrow From the Kitchen

The kitchen is full of items with delicious (happy) associations that bring joy to your art and craft room. There are surprisingly many pieces you can borrow from the kitchen which work great for art and craft supply storage.

Cheese Grater Pencil Holder

This adorable pencil holder from boredpanda.com has a semi-industrial feel. The grating holes remind us of little pencil sharpeners, and the metal looks especially nice against a handful of your favorite colored pencils. Use xxx glue products to attach a simple cheese grater to your wall and let dry.

Egg Carton Organizer

This simple but effective organizer can be custom designed to suit your tastes. Paint a clean, empty egg carton any way you like and let it dry. Then, use the compartments to store loose items.

Cookie Jars-Full of Buttons, Odds-and-Ends

Your color-coded buttons will look precious when displayed in glass cookie jars straight from mom’s kitchen. Cookie jar-type storage can also be used for spools of thread, bundles of ribbon, pins, tacks, or any other small item. This image from diynetwork.com shows thread organized by color.

Mason Jar Pincushion Sewing Kits

Smashedpeasandcarrots.com has a great DIY Sewing Kit idea which utilizes empty mason jars from the kitchen to create vessels for your thread. Turn the lid into a pincushion and voila! Your sewing needs are organized in one place. To make this project the best it can be, get some xxx glue help from xxx glue products.

Lazy Susan Supplies Holder

You may have used a large one in a restaurant, and (if you’re lucky) a smaller one to organize your kitchen table. Why not use a lazy Susan in the art room? They’re not only fun to use but they make searching for supplies easier. This DIY Spinning Caddy from HGTV.com is made from a lazy Susan, three cake pans, and candlesticks glued together with some xxx glue help.  Xxx glue products are durable, reliable, and have been trusted around the world for over 60 years.

Washi Tape Spice Rack

This colorful idea from stampedinhisimage.blogspot.com involves repurposing the space in a standard spice rack to organize all those rolls of Washi Tape you’ve got rolling around in your art room. There are various styles of spice racks which can include drawers (as pictured) or open shelving so your Washi Tape can be tucked away or put on full display.

Muffin Pan Desk Organizer

Bring the “sweet scent” of freshly baked muffins into your workspace by placing a new or vintage muffin tin on your worktable or desk as an organizer. This idea from apartmenttherapy.com is perfect for collecting office supplies like paperclips and push pins as well as small scraps of paper, stickers, and any other little item you have collected that needs keeping track of.  For those projects that require xxx glue help, muffin tins are perfect for storing small tubes of xxx glue products.

 

Maintaining your work-life balance is only one of the many challenges you will face while undergoing breast cancer treatment. You will probably experience extra stress and anxiety while you adjust to therapy and learn to cope with illness. This is a time to take care of yourself by eating right, getting enough rest, and if possible, exercising. If you take it one step at a time, you may find that balancing life with breast cancer treatment is completely do-able.

Work-Life Balance

Finding a healthy work-life balance is a continuous process- especially as your priorities, interests, family, and schedule perpetually change. Here are a few ideas to help you find the best work-life balance for you:

Track Your Activity

Track everything you do for a week – work and personal. Decide what satisfies you the most, and what tasks are necessary. Delegate or cut out the remainder.

Explore All Your Options

Ask your employer about flexible hours, a compressed work week, job sharing, telecommuting or other scheduling flexibility to help reduce stress and free up time for other things.

Leave Work at Work

Make a conscious decision to separate work time from personal time. Because of modern technology, there are virtually no boundaries between work and home and many people are tempted to use their computers or smartphones to finish projects after-hours. Enforce your own boundaries and focus on personal or family time while at home.

Get Better at Time Management

Make a point to run a few errands every day instead of saving them all for your day off. Put family events on a weekly calendar and keep a daily to-do list. Make as many notes as you need!

Build an Emergency Support Network

At work, join forces with co-workers who can cover for you, and vice-versa. At home, enlist trusted friends and loved ones to help with your kids or household responsibilities when you need to work late or travel.

Managing Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety can be very frustrating issues as they are pervasive in life, especially when going through breast cancer treatment. Here are some helpful tips for treating and reducing your symptoms:

Exercise

Whether you go for a walk, take a dance class, of life weights, exercise is one of the best things you can do to combat stress and anxiety. The physical activity relieves tension and lifts a heavy spirit. Exercise also sends endorphins to your brain, boosting your mood for hours or longer.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness helps you reconnect with the sources of strength, balance and peace that practitioners of this technique believe are already within you. Through mindfulness skills, you learn to distance yourself from thoughts, emotions and reactions that lead you to feel out of control. Instead, you refocus on simple moments in the present and discover that right now, in this moment, you are okay.

Relaxation Techniques

Deep breathing is a very simple and effective method of relaxation for when you feel anxious. As you inhale, inflate your abdomen out if you can; hold for a few seconds. Then exhale fully, using your abdominal muscles to push out all the breath (talk with your doctor first if you had surgery that affects these muscles). Breathing techniques taught in yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices also help reduce stress.

Laughter

Keeping your sense of humor intact is important, especially when you feel stressed. Laughter brings on the body’s relaxation response, boosts immune function, and can be a good coping mechanism. Spend time with people you think are funny, put on a funny movie, and find humor in the life’s little moments.

Pets

Bonding with a pet can be one of the most emotionally rewarding experiences of your day-to- day life. Pets provide love, comfort, joy, and laughter. They can also be sources of routine, diversion, exercise, and physical comfort. If you’re not feeling well and need help feeding or walking your pet, you can ask a friend to help.

Talking it Out

No matter how loving and supportive your friends and family are, talking to someone outside that circle can be helpful. You can find Support Groups at hospitals, at cancer centers, in the community, or online. Even if you regularly attend a support group, there may be times when you might benefit from private sessions with a confidential, knowledgeable listener such as a Therapist. This could mean a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, or community counselor.

You’re not “failing to cope” if you seek counseling services. In fact, asking for help is a sign of strength.

Added Strategies

• Maintain a good sleep schedule. Rest or nap when you need to.
• Take your medicine for pain or anxiety as prescribed.
• Try not to compare yourself to anyone else, even someone with the same type of breast cancer.