Is It Time to “Marie Kondo” Your Immune System?
Drug-Free Help for Allergies and Asthma
There are few things more glorious then the moment we walk outside and have that first slight chill of “fall is coming” feeling. Do you feel it? It’s so close! Us Midwesterners love to complain about the cold, then get sick of the warm, and then start all over complaining about the cold. 😝
The sun is heading to bed early, the mornings are a little chilly but the sun is still warm and glorious! You can’t help but crave every food and drink to be sprinkled with some pumpkin. All free time is spent getting the yard and garage cleaned up to get ready for winter.
But while it’s great to see the garage get cleaner and less cluttered, it seems our family schedule goes the opposite direction - more sports, more concerts, more school events, back to back jam packed holidays and so on! This time of year can certainly add some stress to the already jammed schedules most parents have.
Unfortunately the added stressors to us all are not only in the forms of busy schedules, but weather and seasonal changes too.
As the weather changes, so do focus, behavior, emotional, and sensory challenges. With over a decade experience now caring for kids and families, we definitely notice this can be an extra stressful time where these “perfect storm” challenges try and rear their head with some extra oomph.
Not only are the school year academic and social pressures piling up, but so are the pollen and allergen counts, and the up and downs in temperatures and weather patterns. Yes we aren't quite to the “buried” feeling winter brings, but now the constant change in temps brings extra stress especially to the cohort of kids who don’t like change and variability all that much.
A quick dose of science in this conversation - its important parents know how intimately connected the Nervous System and Immune Systems are. The reason so many ADHD, SPD, ASD, OCD, Anxiety kiddos struggle with immune and respiratory illnesses is because their Nervous System is already taxed and stressed to begin with, so the Immune System gets the short end of the stick and becomes suppressed and weak as well.
Then in fall it works in reverse - with the Immune System having to work overtime to deal with everything in the environment, the Nervous Systems ability to regular emotions, behavior, and focus becomes suppressed and challenged more than usual.
This is why parents you get more behavior reports, homework challenges, and poor grade reports during this season - your child is just flat worn out.
Just think about how well your brain works when you’re sick or congested - not too fun right? Even we as adults get more worn out, cranky, irritated, and have trouble focusing and regulating when we are sick or have allergies flare.
But for some reason this isn’t every kid. Why is that? Don't the kids without behavioral or sensory challenges, and without allergy and asthma related challenges adhere to the same schedules, get the same homework, walk the same halls, and breathe in the same air and allergens? What’s different for them?
Simply put, they adapt better. They have better balanced and more optimally functioning nervous systems, and in turn better working immune systems. So the same seasonal stressors and changes come at them every spring, but they get right through and over them, with little to no struggle or sickness. Maybe a sniffle for a day or two, and that’s it.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were a way to measure and find out how well your child’s nervous system is working? Wouldn’t it be great to know it’s functioning and performing at a healthy level before the seasonal stress starts?
Well, there absolutely is. And it only takes 15 minutes.
Below is a set of scans that measure stress upon the Nervous System, as discussed in this article.The scans on the top are of a child who first started with us suffering from chronic asthma, allergies, and ADHD-related challenges. For 7 years this little guy caught every cold that came around, had multiple ear and sinus infections, croup and chronic cough, and his allergies each spring were awful.
The scans on the bottom are of that same child just a few months later! It’s easy to see he now has far less stress (reds are bad, white is good) on his Nervous System and Immune System, greatly improved drainage, and therefore no longer struggling with chronic congestion, allergies, and breathing challenges.
Mom and Dad are so relieved to not only not see him suffer anymore, but also to not constantly be running back and forth to the pediatrician, allergist, and pharmacy, accruing constant copays and continually putting medications full of side effects into their child. A happy, healthy kiddo is a happy, healthy family!
Give your kiddo a chance this fall to stop suffering, and start thriving by scheduling a visit to PWC. Just a quick 30-minute initial visit may be where you find all the answers and help you’ve been searching for, and that you just know won’t be found in the same pediatrician or allergist office you’ve already been to a dozen times.
You may have already heard about us from a friend or neighbor and we will do our best to live up to our excellent reputation in the community.
Give us a call and we can provide H O P E. H E L P. A N S W E R S.
(815) 455-8213
