Are you one of the millions of people who struggle with allergies, asthma, sinus issues, etc? Do you understand why the body reacts the way it does to certain irritants? Listen as Dr. Matt explains the process behind allergies, asthma, flu, and sinus infections, and learn how chiropractic, as well as some natural, non-medication remedies, fight against these issues.
Are you struggling to understand why health is so hard to achieve? Don’t know where to begin or have enough understanding to know what to do?
This podcast, Take Back Your Health, is a great place to start that journey. We discuss the real issues and try to uncover the reasons why most people struggle when it comes to living healthy.
Health can be challenging—it’s a daily effort—but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Dr. Matt Kirkland, the owner of New Directions Chiropractic, is a licensed chiropractor and certified chiropractic extremity practitioner. Tune in to his discussions, along with insights from special guests, as they share practical tips and strategies to help you reclaim control of your health!
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[00:00:02] What you want, when you want it, where you want it.
[00:00:06] This is The MESH.
[00:00:12] Hi everyone, this is Dr. Matt and you're listening to Take Back Your Health
[00:00:16] where we talk about all things health and ways to help you be the best version of you.
[00:00:25] What's going on everybody? This is Dr. Matt and this is Take Back Your Health podcast
[00:00:29] and today I'm going to talk about something that I'm currently dealing with
[00:00:33] and I'm sure many of you are too, which is allergies and any kind of respiratory issue that you can think of.
[00:00:41] But let's just kind of cover some of the bases.
[00:00:44] I'm going to go through some different issues that I usually see in the office
[00:00:49] and kind of give you some information about what they are, what causes them, things like that.
[00:00:54] And then I'll kind of wrap things up, give you some natural remedies that I have found
[00:00:59] that works really well for fighting some of these.
[00:01:02] So let's start with allergies.
[00:01:06] Allergies are a huge issue, especially right here in the Hickory Catawba Valley region.
[00:01:12] That's the reason my voice sounds so lovely today.
[00:01:16] It doesn't normally sound this deep, but every now and then I get the allergy bug comes
[00:01:20] and tries to tickle my nose and make me sound like Barry White.
[00:01:24] But there's about 40, you know, 50 million Americans suffer from allergies every year.
[00:01:31] Allergies, pollen, mold, weed, you name it.
[00:01:34] And that causes different symptoms, obviously.
[00:01:36] Things like stuffy nose, itchy, watery eyes, scratchy throat, etc., etc.
[00:01:41] And that can even lead to, obviously, sinus infection if it's in severe cases.
[00:01:46] But at the core of seasonal allergies is your immune system, obviously.
[00:01:51] But because the air is filled with all this pollen and mold and everything else, and your body's
[00:01:59] allergic to some of those, your immune system goes into high alert and it releases histamine.
[00:02:05] And that histamine gets obviously into your nose, your throat, your lungs, and it causes
[00:02:10] everything to swell.
[00:02:13] And that will obviously lead to the pressure building up, the mucus building up, things
[00:02:19] like that.
[00:02:20] And that's why a lot of us like to reach for the allergy medications, mucinex, things like
[00:02:25] that.
[00:02:26] When in reality, those aren't really helping.
[00:02:29] They're more of just prolonging the issue.
[00:02:32] Because when your body's trying to produce mucus, it's trying to do what it's supposed
[00:02:37] to do.
[00:02:37] It's trying to get rid of those irritants.
[00:02:40] Your body produces mucus in order to help flush your sinus cavities and flush everything
[00:02:45] out and all those toxic materials.
[00:02:49] But when you're taking things like mucinex or antihistamines that are kind of counteracting
[00:02:54] the process, you're actually prolonging the issue, making your body work more.
[00:03:00] So when you're taking these issues, yes, sometimes we take these so that way we're able to work
[00:03:04] and go about our days.
[00:03:06] But in reality, you're just kind of prolonging the issue because you're making your body have
[00:03:12] to work harder because it's now fighting against things that are telling it to not work, which
[00:03:18] is why some people feel like they just their mucus, the body just stops making mucus.
[00:03:22] It's not it won't stop.
[00:03:23] So they have to keep taking it.
[00:03:25] And like I say, it's not really doing what it needs to do.
[00:03:28] But as far as chiropractic and allergies go, chiropractic actually helps to, you know,
[00:03:35] restore proper alignment, obviously, to the spine.
[00:03:38] But that will lead to clear nerve communication between your brain and your body.
[00:03:45] And that's really kind of what helps the immune system, really.
[00:03:49] It helps the immune system to balance out things.
[00:03:52] It helps your body work better.
[00:03:55] And when you're getting a neck adjustment, especially that restores communication to
[00:03:59] your brain, helps open up your sinus passages, drain your ear canals, your station tubes.
[00:04:04] I have patients that tell me all the time, you know, once I adjust their neck, oh, my ears
[00:04:08] just popped or, oh, I just felt all this drainage go down to the back of my throat.
[00:04:12] So, you know, that's part of it.
[00:04:14] That's a natural way to do it.
[00:04:17] And, you know, along obviously with helping the immune system, chiropractic can also control
[00:04:21] the amount of histamine that your body's producing during allergy season, things like that.
[00:04:25] But one thing I also tend to do a lot in the office that some people don't realize you can
[00:04:30] do is I actually do some sinus releases, which I don't do any kind of irrigation, anything
[00:04:37] like that.
[00:04:38] I'm not putting water in your nose like you would normally with like a Navage device.
[00:04:42] Or a saline rinse or something like that.
[00:04:44] But what I usually do is to clear out those congested sinus cavities.
[00:04:50] I'll kind of do a little facial myofascial release around your sinuses, your frontal
[00:04:55] sinuses, around your nose and below your eyes, things like that.
[00:04:58] I'll kind of do a little tap dance.
[00:04:59] I call it with my fingers on your face to kind of break up some of those mucus to relieve
[00:05:04] some of that pressure.
[00:05:05] And then I'll kind of push it into your eustachian tubes.
[00:05:08] And I'll do like a little massage just kind of down your side of your neck to kind of help
[00:05:14] flush everything from your sinuses into your eustachian tubes because that's where they
[00:05:18] are on the side of your neck.
[00:05:19] And people sometimes get confused sometimes with jaw pain and ear pain because they kind
[00:05:25] of are very similar.
[00:05:26] If you have TMJ issues or if you have ear infections, you're going to have that really
[00:05:31] sharp stabbing pain right there below your ear where your jaw is at.
[00:05:37] So sometimes people get confused with whether it's TMJ or whether it's an ear infection.
[00:05:41] But and usually those are pretty tender areas to work on anyway.
[00:05:44] But that helps to flush things down.
[00:05:48] And then when you're moving things down the eustachian tubes, then patients usually start
[00:05:54] to feel that sensation like I got a tickle in my throat.
[00:05:57] I feel like I got to swallow things like that.
[00:05:59] That's just the fluid moving out of the eustachian tubes down into the throat.
[00:06:04] Now, that is the natural way that I try to help patients to kind of open up their sinuses.
[00:06:11] And once I do that, then I open up the airways a little bit with some peppermint oil.
[00:06:17] I put a little bit of peppermint oil, natural peppermint oil on my hand, and I rub it together
[00:06:22] to kind of warm it up a little bit.
[00:06:23] And then I have the patient close their eyes and just kind of take a couple deep breaths.
[00:06:27] And that peppermint will actually help to open up your airways in a natural way that cough drops
[00:06:36] and things like that don't normally do with like the menthol.
[00:06:38] And it helps quite a bit, especially with people with asthma too, because they actually
[00:06:44] have found that peppermint oil can actually be used as an emergency haler for asthma sufferers,
[00:06:50] things like that.
[00:06:51] So other than that, that's kind of how allergies tend to be issues, obviously.
[00:06:56] But let's now that we're talking about asthma, let's kind of jump into asthma because, you
[00:07:00] know, there's about 7 million kids and about 30 million adults that have asthma, suffer
[00:07:06] with asthma.
[00:07:07] But true asthma is just a condition of the lungs that causes inflammation and narrowing
[00:07:13] of the bronchial passageways.
[00:07:16] You know, obviously symptoms of asthma are wheezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, things
[00:07:20] like that.
[00:07:21] The diagnosis of asthma has actually increased by about 60%.
[00:07:25] So that tells you anything about our air quality that we're breathing nowadays is definitely
[00:07:30] not helping.
[00:07:31] But so far, you know, the most common form of asthma management has been the use of an
[00:07:35] inhaler.
[00:07:36] Obviously, you know, those inhalers that you're breathing in, that's you're breathing in chemicals
[00:07:41] to be able to open up your airways, things like that.
[00:07:45] But that's what I'm saying.
[00:07:46] Peppermint oil works pretty well when it comes to, but obviously some people have severe asthma.
[00:07:51] And when it comes to dealing with that, just kind of know the triggers that trigger to
[00:07:56] that, but the respiratory system itself is directly linked to the spinal column because
[00:08:02] that's where the nerves that control the lungs are.
[00:08:06] And those spinal misalignments are most often the root cause of a disruption of your central
[00:08:12] nervous system.
[00:08:12] And that can exacerbate asthma symptoms.
[00:08:16] But, you know, studies have shown that chiropractic itself can actually decrease breathing issues
[00:08:24] by about 40%.
[00:08:25] So in other words, chiropractic care can actually help you breathe better by about 40% more.
[00:08:34] So not only can chiropractic improve asthma, but like I said, it's directly linked to your
[00:08:41] immune system, which helps you from getting sick, things like that.
[00:08:45] So if you're, if you or someone you know struggles with asthma, let them know about chiropractic
[00:08:51] as a valuable option for that without having to go to the doctor, without having to take medication,
[00:08:57] things like that.
[00:08:57] Give them a try because you never really know how that can help.
[00:09:01] So we talked about allergies.
[00:09:03] We talked about asthma.
[00:09:05] Let's kind of jump into cold and flu because cold and flu season is, is almost upon us here.
[00:09:09] And, you know, that's a big one with, you know, fever, headaches, chills, body aches, all
[00:09:14] that kind of stuff that comes along with flu, COVID, all that.
[00:09:16] But there's two things that we as humans are not very good at doing.
[00:09:26] That definitely contributes to, I think how we get sick.
[00:09:30] And one of those being, we don't get enough sleep because the body needs sleep.
[00:09:36] We, I did a whole nother podcast on sleep.
[00:09:39] Sleep is so, so valuable to the body because that's when it's doing a lot of its healing,
[00:09:44] it's repairing, it can't do that if you're actively working.
[00:09:48] So it does a lot of the healing in the sleep.
[00:09:51] And like I say, most people don't get enough sleep.
[00:09:53] And when you don't get enough sleep, you actually wear your body out more.
[00:09:57] It's not able to recover.
[00:09:59] It's not able to fix itself.
[00:10:00] So things start to wear out faster.
[00:10:03] And that obviously weakens your immune system and allows things to enter and obviously
[00:10:09] affect you and make you sick.
[00:10:10] So not getting enough sleep is one.
[00:10:12] And then another big one that we're not good at is washing our hands.
[00:10:16] And like I said, I know with kids, it's even worse.
[00:10:19] But you know, something as simple as just making sure you keep your hands clean, you wash your
[00:10:23] hands often.
[00:10:25] That is the key to staying healthy because you would be surprised if you actually paid
[00:10:31] attention all day long of everything that you touched and how many times you touched your
[00:10:35] mouth, how many times you touched your nose, your eyes, whatever.
[00:10:38] You would be probably disgusted, honestly, at how many times you touched something and then
[00:10:44] just touched your nose and not even thought about it.
[00:10:46] And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how viruses and bacteria get into our system.
[00:10:51] Things like stomach viruses, flus, cold.
[00:10:54] That's how it's transmitted because it's transmitted from touch to mouth, things like that.
[00:10:59] Chiropractic, like I say, can definitely help you avoid cold and flus by making sure your
[00:11:05] lymphatic system is working correctly.
[00:11:07] Now, I know a lot of you probably talk about lymphatic system, know about your lymphatic
[00:11:11] system.
[00:11:12] For those that don't, your lymphatic system is your body's drainage, basically.
[00:11:18] It's your drainage system.
[00:11:19] It's made up of a bunch of different networks of ducts and lymph nodes that filter out bacteria,
[00:11:24] viruses, and other symptoms through lymph, which is just a clear fluid made up of immune
[00:11:30] cells.
[00:11:30] So kind of think of it as your body's, you know, I guess, septic tank, I guess you can call
[00:11:35] it that, or not your septic tank, I'm sorry, your air filter.
[00:11:40] So basically what it's doing is it's just filtering out bacteria, viruses, and other
[00:11:44] substances.
[00:11:46] Sorry, I can't talk today.
[00:11:47] I'm out of your body into the lymph.
[00:11:51] But like I say, when your lymph system gets clogged up or it gets backed up, that can actually
[00:11:58] cause infections and things like that.
[00:12:00] That's why when the doctor feels your throat, they're actually checking for enlarged lymph
[00:12:04] nodes to see if you have possibly some kind of infection or your body's actively fighting
[00:12:10] off something.
[00:12:11] And that's another reason for cancer too.
[00:12:14] Cancer patients, usually if you have a very sore and a movable, squishy lymph node that
[00:12:23] you can feel, that's usually a pretty good sign just to say that your body's just undergoing
[00:12:27] an infection.
[00:12:28] It's fighting something off.
[00:12:29] Uh, but for cancer, cancer is a little different because if you have a lymph node, that's very
[00:12:35] hard, it, it, it's not movable.
[00:12:38] It doesn't hurt.
[00:12:39] Uh, that's more of a sign of a cancer.
[00:12:42] Uh, so it's good to know.
[00:12:44] So if you feel a lymph node and it hurts a little bit, you can move it around.
[00:12:49] It's kind of squishy.
[00:12:50] That just, that's a normal, that just means your body's fighting off something.
[00:12:53] But if you find a lymph node and it's kind of hard, it doesn't hurt.
[00:12:56] It's, it's, it's like a rock almost that you probably want to get a doctor to check out
[00:13:01] because that might be a little bit more, um, of an issue, but things like, you know, chiropractic
[00:13:07] adjustments, uh, of the neck obviously can alleviate pressure on those, uh, lymph nodes
[00:13:14] and allow for better drainage, helping them, uh, flow more freely.
[00:13:18] And, you know, if your lymph node and your drainage system is working properly, um, your
[00:13:23] body is going to be able to fight against it a lot easier.
[00:13:26] Um, or things like a lymphatic massage.
[00:13:28] And we had done a podcast not too long ago about massage and how massage therapy can definitely
[00:13:33] help, uh, with your health.
[00:13:35] And a lymphatic massage is also a really good way to reduce symptoms.
[00:13:39] Specifically, it helps increase the lymph flow and help remove, help your body to remove
[00:13:44] those harmful substances, uh, from your muscle tissue, your, your, uh, body, uh, to increase
[00:13:50] that immune function.
[00:13:51] Uh, so it's like I said, a part of a healthy way to boost your immune system is obviously
[00:13:57] add chiropractic care.
[00:13:58] Uh, but also there's other ways to do that as well.
[00:14:00] And, you know, many people don't realize that chiropractors help with congestion and
[00:14:05] sinus pain.
[00:14:06] And because of that, I'm going to kind of jump in here now to sinus infections.
[00:14:11] And most people don't really understand how their sinuses work, but your sinuses are made
[00:14:16] up of about eight different little hollow spaces in your, in your face.
[00:14:20] You've got some of your forehead, your cheeks and your temples.
[00:14:24] Uh, and then when you're healthy, you know, you, you, your sinuses are lined with a layer
[00:14:28] of mucus that helps to filter out the dust and dirt and things like that.
[00:14:32] Um, but that you inhale.
[00:14:34] So when you're inhaling, you're adding moisture so you don't feel dried out.
[00:14:38] But the problem is, is that with allergies and, and, and sinus infections and things
[00:14:44] get introduced to your system, it produces that histamine and your body starts to produce
[00:14:50] more mucus.
[00:14:51] And then the linings of the sinuses become irritated and inflamed and that tissue will swell up
[00:14:58] and it will fill with mucus and it can't drain.
[00:15:00] And that's where the sinus pressure comes from.
[00:15:03] Sinus pressure is just, just, you have a lot of fluid, a lot of mucus in your sinus
[00:15:08] cavities.
[00:15:08] And that's putting too much pressure.
[00:15:10] It's like filling up a balloon really, really big.
[00:15:12] Um, that pressure is going to cause that sharp pain in your face, in your ears, things
[00:15:18] like that.
[00:15:20] And the stuffiness that you feel you can't breathe out for your nose.
[00:15:23] Most people become mouth breathers if that's the case.
[00:15:25] Uh, but the good news, like I said, chiropractic can help alleviate sinus issues without prescription
[00:15:30] medication because through the neck adjustment and with the sinus work that we can do that can
[00:15:35] actually help to loosen the mucus and help flush it out the ears.
[00:15:39] And then obviously flush it down the throat.
[00:15:42] So that way your body can process it.
[00:15:43] But you know, things like ear infections, you know, 80% of kids are going to have an ear
[00:15:47] infection at least by age three.
[00:15:49] And that's primarily due to the structure of the ear tubes, the eustachian tubes.
[00:15:53] Um, in adults, our tubes are kind of angled down a little bit, kind of like a little bendy
[00:15:59] straw.
[00:15:59] That's kind of how adult ear tubes are.
[00:16:02] We have a little bit of a downward slope so things can drain better, but in kids, they're
[00:16:08] more straight.
[00:16:08] Uh, it's kind of like a pencil.
[00:16:10] So you can imagine if things get blocked up in there, it's not going to drain properly.
[00:16:15] So that is going to cause a buildup of material in the eustachian tubes.
[00:16:21] And that will eventually cause an infection.
[00:16:23] Um, and that's why kids usually get ear infections a lot, but that's how chiropractic can help.
[00:16:28] Is we will sit there and drain the tubes and help the body to process the fluid, uh, more
[00:16:35] naturally.
[00:16:36] So typically, like I say, ear infections occur, uh, when a child has an upper respiratory respiratory,
[00:16:42] an upper respiratory infection, sorry.
[00:16:44] Uh, but most of the time, you know, ear infections clear on their own, things like that.
[00:16:48] The immune system is very good at fighting it, but sometimes for serious infections, obviously
[00:16:52] that's why we want to probably look at antibiotics, um, just to kind of help do that.
[00:16:56] Cause sometimes the body can't fight it off.
[00:16:59] Uh, if it's gone too far, that's what I say.
[00:17:01] And that's why they usually prescribe antibiotics, but antibiotics should not be the first round
[00:17:06] of defense for your body.
[00:17:08] Your body is very intelligent.
[00:17:09] It knows how to fight things off.
[00:17:11] It's just when you ignore your symptoms, ignore your body, uh, and you wait too long to where
[00:17:16] it becomes something like pneumonia or, um, you know, something more serious like that.
[00:17:21] That's when you need to go for the antibiotics because you haven't done the right amount of care
[00:17:27] that you need to do, uh, to help your body fight this on its own.
[00:17:31] Uh, and I say some, so we'll kind of wrap up here real quick.
[00:17:34] I'll talk about some natural remedies that I have found, uh, cause medication, like I say,
[00:17:39] it does help you feel a little bit better as you're going about your day.
[00:17:43] Uh, but the antihistamine, the antibiotics, all they do is just really mess up your system.
[00:17:48] They kind of mess up the natural, uh, flora of your body, your intestines, your gut, things
[00:17:53] like that.
[00:17:54] Antibiotics definitely tear your gut up, things like that.
[00:17:57] Uh, so really the best thing you can do is make sure you stay hydrated, drink plenty of water,
[00:18:03] uh, because your body's producing lots of mucus and lots of things like that.
[00:18:07] And it needs to replace the water that it's lost while it's doing that.
[00:18:11] And most people, when they're sick, they don't drink enough because they're sleeping or they're
[00:18:16] just not thinking about it, things like that.
[00:18:18] So you need to make sure that you stay well hydrated because dehydration leads to pain and
[00:18:23] headaches and muscle aches and things like that.
[00:18:26] And obviously dehydration can lead to an increased infection rate, uh, because if your body's not
[00:18:31] getting enough fluids to help flush everything out, it's going to stay in your system a lot
[00:18:36] longer and that's going to increase the risk of infection.
[00:18:40] And then things like honey, honey is a very good antimicrobial food to eat.
[00:18:49] Um, and it helps with allergies like local, local honey, especially the stuff you buy on
[00:18:54] the little teddy bear.
[00:18:55] That's not honey.
[00:18:56] That's basically just processed crap.
[00:18:58] That's not good for you.
[00:19:00] Need to find the local honey.
[00:19:01] That is the best thing that's going to help you with local allergies because that's kind
[00:19:05] of what it's made from.
[00:19:06] Uh, the, the honeybees, they're, they're taking the pollen around the area and they're using
[00:19:10] it to make honey.
[00:19:10] So that's the best way to kind of help you a little spoonful of honey every day will
[00:19:15] definitely help with your allergies.
[00:19:17] Um, elderberry syrup.
[00:19:18] I know some of you probably talk about elderberry syrup.
[00:19:21] Elderberry syrup is really, really good for cold and flu seasons.
[00:19:26] You know, just one cup of elderberries has about 40% of the daily recommended allowance
[00:19:31] of vitamin C.
[00:19:32] So there you go right there.
[00:19:34] That's why people usually do the, uh, the elderberry syrup and then red bell peppers.
[00:19:40] Believe it or not, red bell peppers have more vitamin C in them than an orange does.
[00:19:45] So that might be why they're a little bit more expensive than the green ones.
[00:19:49] Um, but things like cinnamon and Himalayan pink salt, you know, they both have antibacterial
[00:19:56] properties.
[00:19:57] Uh, that's what I'm saying.
[00:19:58] The salt solution.
[00:19:59] If you go to serenity salt spa, which we did a podcast with them, that's a great way to
[00:20:04] kind of help open up your system for allergy sufferers, asthma suffers, things like that.
[00:20:08] That salt helps to purify naturally and helps to open your airways naturally.
[00:20:14] Cinnamon, like I say, also is a really good antibacterial.
[00:20:17] And then like I say, peppermint eucalyptus oil, peppermint is a natural vasodilator.
[00:20:24] So it actually helps to open up your airways, um, and helps you breathe better.
[00:20:29] And that's why I use it a lot for my sinus, uh, sufferers and things like that when I do
[00:20:32] a sinus release.
[00:20:33] Uh, but that right there is pretty much what all I got for you today.
[00:20:37] Wanted to cover some of those issues.
[00:20:38] Hope I gave you some information to kind of take home and, uh, think about next time you
[00:20:43] have some allergy issues.
[00:20:44] Definitely, definitely call your local chiropractor.
[00:20:46] Next time you're, you're struggling with some asthma allergy issues and we'll see if we
[00:20:50] can, we can help you out.
[00:20:53] If you'd like to learn more about something you just heard or are interested to see how
[00:20:56] chiropractic care can help you, you can visit our website to schedule an appointment at
[00:21:01] newdirectionschiropractic-nc.com.
[00:21:03] Be sure to follow our social media accounts for more tips and information on how to be a
[00:21:08] better year.
[00:21:08] Thanks for listening.
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