Stress and Allergies

by Tom Ogren

Stress and Allergies

Wisdom from the Vet

When I was in college I took a class in veterinary science that was given by the head veterinarian of the university, Dr. Dale Smith. Our university was known for its school of Agriculture and had a reputation as being a "hands on" college. As a result we had large herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, pigs, horses, foul and so forth. Our vet believed in a holistic approach to animal health.

Dr. Smith had been the university vet for almost thirty years, and his own father had been a vet before him. The first day he told our class, "The most important thing of all for you to be concerned with in animal health is reducing stress. Virtually all the diseases of livestock you will encounter are caused by stress."

He further explained that most genetic diseases had long ago been eliminated with livestock through selective breeding. What you saw instead were animals that were sick because the farmer or rancher wasnt taking care of them properly. They were left outside with no shade in the heat, left with no protection to get out of the wind, stuck in an over-crowded corral, fed a diet too low in nutrients, something that would cause stress.

"The stress causes a breakdown," said the vet, "and then disease of some kind shows up. It could be a pneumonia, cancer, allergies, any number of things, but stress always sets the stage for this disease."

I have long wondered how it was that a veterinarian understood this so clearly and our own doctors didnt seem to pay much attention to it at all. We are animals after all. Stress must affect us just as it does all the other species of animals. I think most of us who have lived with allergies understand that stress can aggravate the allergies. Well never be able to eliminate all stress from our lives. But we can learn ways to reduce it, and we can learn ways to deal with it. Whenever possible it is healthy to try to see some of this stress as a challenge. If we live active lives, we can expect plenty of stress, and thats all right as long as we dont let it get the best of us.

In Allergy-Free Gardening and in Safe Sex in the Garden I explore how plant sex influences human wellness. If we have female rather than male plants, we wont be inhaling all that male pollen and we wont suffer from it. Allergy-friendly yards and gardens are stress busters.

In addition to decreasing the number of allergens, pollen grains, molds, and fungal spores, there are other things we can do to reduce stress in our lives, in our gardens.

Are allergies just a head-trip?

There is a reoccurring problem with stress and allergies. The problem is one of perception. It is well known that stress aggravates allergies. If you did a computer search using the terms "stress, illness, disease," you might well be amazed at the hundreds of thousands of entries youd find. For example, on the website healthdoc.com theres an article, "Stress, the number one cause of disease and Illness."

Even if the role of stress and illness is not as generally well understood, as it ought to be, it is certainly well documented. Stress contributes to heart disease in certain individuals. Stress also contributes to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other cardiac risk factors, and many other negative things as well. Someone with allergies who is under stress will almost certainly experience worse allergies. The problem here is that too many people mix up cause and effect. Allergies are caused by an allergic response to allergens, to perfectly real substances, pollens, molds, dust, dander, allergic plant saps and so forth.

All too often ignorant people will imply that someone has allergies simply because they dont know how to deal with stress. The implication is that you have allergies because you dont really have your head screwed on straight. This isnt true at all, and actually it is rather insulting. The next step in this illogical progression is that you deserve to have allergies since youre bringing it on yourself. The people making these assumptions are, of course, people who dont have allergies themselves. They dont know how lucky they are, nor do they realize how arrogant are their views. Having persistent allergies can become pretty depressing and frustrating and critics are often insensitive to this as well.

Yes, allergies can be aggravated by stress, but then too, so can any other illness be complicated by stress. Allergies are completely for real. A few examples of this: Years ago when I gave my students different flowers to sniff, we quickly found out that a third of the class reacted strongly to bottlebrush pollen. Later, in blind tests with different types of pollen, the same students all again reacted strongly to the bottlebrush pollen. Another example: I have seen people who were very allergic to shrimp. I have seen what happened to them when they ate some food that theyd been told did not have shrimp in it, but that actually did. They immediately became very ill.

When an allergist skin tests someone, often this is done on their back. They cant see the pricks nor do they know which allergen is being tested with each prick of the skin. Their skin will then react with a welt to the ones they are allergic to. If they are re-tested soon afterwards, the results will be the same. Allergic responses are totally for real and this simple fact needs to be respected.

Back to stress. Here are some things we can do to reduce stress in our gardens.

Forget about perfection

We dont need perfect gardens, not at all. Our gardens do not need to conform to some ideal. We should have gardens that please us, and that is whats really important. Think of your garden as your place to feel relaxed, to kick back, to unwind. Good gardens can be great stress reducers.

Garden Design

When you first set up your gardens think about how they will be used. Borrow liberally from good feng shui concepts of energy and harmony. Consider first the function and design gardens that are a pleasure to be in. If you can possibly afford it, get professional advice from a landscape designer or a landscape architect. These people are experts on how to create comfortable, attractive, stress-free gardens. Their advice might in the long run, turn out to be quite a bargain. With some things you do get what you pay for. With a good designer you get a quality design, one that will long keep you pleased.