Have you tried this for your hay fever?

Natural Allergy Relief with Positive Association Technique (PAT)

When you feel like your body is reacting to something, whether its gut, skin or sinus symptoms, it can be a nightmare to try and figure out what the trigger is.

Constantly cutting out foods, changing skin products, vacuuming daily, popping antihistamines, feeling like you’re finally winning then having a flare - on top of the itch, bloating, sneezing and headaches - it’s enough to drive a person mad.

Have you ever noticed that one day you can be totally fine with a food and the next day you seem to react? Most patients have a ‘threshold’ they can tolerate, meaning a food that seems fine one day can push them over the edge in an accumulative amount, or when in combination with other triggers on a different day, making it incredibly difficult to find the culprit by observation alone.

As naturopaths, our age-old method of identifying triggers is the elimination diet, which involves cutting out a bunch of common triggering foods to get relief and then slowly introducing them to identify the culprits. This works wonderfully, however, as you’re probably already imagining, it requires quite a bit of effort, especially if you’re a parent cooking for multiple mouths, let alone fussy ones!

In naturopathic consultations we utilise functional testing, supplements, and diet and lifestyle changes to help address the root cause of symptoms, however the symptoms themselves can often worsen health conditions and make recovery difficult. For example, whilst gut conditions can cause food intolerances, food reactions can also contribute to inflammation and irritation, worsening gut conditions.

This is where I like to use Positive Association Technique (PAT) as a great tool to help both identify potential triggers and reduce the impact they have. During a PAT session I test for these food reactions and I often find that sugar (e.g., FODMAPs), gluten, dairy, salicylates, glutamates, or amines can be common causes and helpful treatments to lighten the load, giving your body more opportunity to heal and regulate.

Sugar cravings and reactions are another common symptom I see in clinic, with the sugars and starches PAT treatment being one I use most often. An intolerance to these can present as a large variety of symptoms including skin, respiratory and digestive complaints, as I explored in this article.

Hay fever got you down?

If you live in Melbourne chances are you’ve had a bit of hay fever at some point. A study in 2003 found rates of nasal allergies across cities in 15 countries to be highest in Melbourne, at 46%. More recently, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that 29.8% of Victorians suffer from hay fever and allergic rhinitis, almost 1 in 3 people!

In our Melbourne clinic, I see so many clients experiencing a runny and blocked nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, swollen sinuses, and the heavy fatigue and brain fog that can accompany hay fever. They often need to resort to daily antihistamine use to keep symptoms at a manageable level.

To address seasonal hay fever, I am often performing PAT treatments for pollen and grasses.  The respiratory symptoms that last all year round mostly benefit from treatments for mould, dust & dust mites, cats, or certain food groups like sugar and dairy. 

Whilst PAT can yield great relief for hay fever, I see clients present with a huge variety of symptoms like eczema, headaches, bloating and reflux, or very specific reactions to perfumes or pets.

But what the hay is PAT?

Positive Association Technique (PAT) is a simple, non-invasive method of helping clients relieve symptoms associated with allergies and intolerances.

Using a combination of naturopathy, kinesiology and acupuncture principles, PAT has been performed in Australia since 2003, bringing relief to over 25,000 people.

PAT treatments are very gentle and can be received at any age. I most often see adults and school children, however babies can also respond very well and I have even treated a couple of dogs! Many clients find the treatment enjoyable and relaxing, as it feels like a gentle massage down the back.

What is involved in a PAT session?

A PAT session begins with a brief naturopathic chat about your allergy symptoms. We have a thorough conversation about what symptoms are occurring and how they are affecting you.

We then move onto some muscle testing, a technique used in kinesiology, to monitor the body’s response to a range of common food, airborne and chemical substances. A strong muscle test indicates a non-reaction, whereas muscle weakness shows the body is not tolerating the substance. Clients are often blown away by the strange sensation of losing some control in the muscle when it easily held strong before.

The third part of the session is the treatment itself. I use a chiropractic massage tool called an Acustim to recalibrate the body’s response to the substance, improving tolerance, reducing the need for food elimination, and reducing symptoms. 

The goal is quick, simple and no-fuss relief! In comparison to traditional methods, PAT feels like a shortcut. An easy, non-invasive method of identifying triggers, and also relieving them. My PAT clients often say they wish everyone knew about this.

For more information on PAT, or to make a booking, visit naturalallergytreatment.com.au.