This podcast is sponsored by Micro Balance Health Products. Use code AUTOIMMUNEDOC for 15% off your order at www.microbalancehealthproducts.com

Travel is great - you can see the world, see old friends, see new places, have an adventure.....I'm a big fan of all those things. I love traveling, but sometimes it comes at a cost.

I hear stories ALL THE TIME of people flaring during or after traveling, and in this episode I share plenty of those stories. Sometimes that's an autoimmune flare when someone has a known autoimmune disease like Hashimoto's, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, Lupus, or any other diagnosis. Sometimes it's just a symptom flare - you feel more anxious, more inflamed, more foggy, more histamine-y, more bloated, your gut and digestion are thrown off, whatever it may be - you flare.

In this podcast, I talk about flares while traveling in detail. I break it down into 3 sections to make it more digestible and actionable:

1. STORIES - stories of flares that you might relate to - I've heard hundreds! Hearing stories lets you know that it's not just you, and the hope is that you can relate to some of these stories because they are all unique and different.

2. MECHANISMS/REASONS - why would someone flare while traveling? When you know the mechanisms, you can try to get ahead of them. I give my Top 4 Reasons for flares while traveling.

3. SOLUTIONS - what can you do about it? How can you protect yourself? I throw out a handful of ideas, options, and potential solutions to consider to AVOID the next flare and help you ENJOY your travels - whether it's diet and avoidance, traveling with certain supplements, or keeping your air quality clean while away - the options AWAY from home are not always the same as the options at HOME - so it's important to know how you can protect yourself.

Have you even flared while traveling? What do you think caused it? What did you do about it? Send this to someone you know who might value from this episode!

This podcast is sponsored by Micro Balance Health Products. Use code AUTOIMMUNEDOC for 15% off your order at www.microbalancehealthproducts.com

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Histamine Intolerance (HIT), and other mast-cell-mediated pathologies are becoming more and more well-recognized - -partially thanks to COVID and the changes we have seen in the world since 2020, partially thanks to new science and research, partially based on social media and educational platforms like mine - - but there is still a lot of misunderstanding, incorrect information and people suffering, even in the alternative wellness world, so today I wanted to TALK ABOUT IT. (The conventional world is about 10 years behind on this, so best of luck if you are looking for histamine answers there!)

Histamine and mast cell stuff is quite interesting once you learn to recognize and understand it, and in a functional wellness practice that helps complex or multi-system conditions it is RAMPANT - - I actually recorded this podcast earlier today then I started seeing people (I'm now writing these notes after work), and literally SINCE I RECORDED THE AUDIO, I've heard 3-4 more stories that could have easily made it into this episode!!

Mast cells and their expression, activation and release of histamine (and other inflammatory mediators) are associated with autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis), but perhaps more importantly associated with everyday symptoms like congestion, runny nose, vertigo, bloating, abdominal pain, headaches/migraines, insomnia, heart palpitations, lightheadedness, nausea, diarrhea, reflux, brain fog, skin itching, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and more - the things people show up with in a functional practice, and the things that often look "fine" to the specialists, and this can make people feel like they are going crazy.

In this episode, I "talk about" everything I know about histamine. That's A LOT, too much to type it all out in the show notes, that's why I turn the mic on and talk into it, because I'm better at talking than typing, so please listen :)

BUT, in this episode I cover a lot of stuff - my favorite mentors and books that I have learned from, the concept of the "histamine bucket", the basic understanding of mast cells and what they are, where they are (gut, sinus, skin, etc), what histamine is, how histamine is degraded or broken down, the common symptoms, the diagnostic criteria for these diseases, I'm sure I share some personal opinions besides just all the science and facts, and I talk about how I put this into a framework for people who are looking to get well, and WHAT and HOW I USE some of my favorite tools to help people, and some stories that I hear everyday about how these things are working, which is often really well. Check it out, and please leave a rating, a review, and send this episode to a friend!

Anxiety, Mast Cell Activation, and LPS (Youtube video)

Mast Cells in Pain, Neuroinflammation, and Alzheimer's (study review on Youtube)

This podcast is sponsored by Micro Balance Health Products. Use code AUTOIMMUNEDOC for 15% off your order at www.microbalancehealthproducts.com

This podcast is a perfect transition from my last podcast where I interviewed an ENT surgeon, because the people I'm speaking to and referring to in this episode - people with head "fullness", ear "pressure", or "head drainage issues" - have almost ALWAYS been to an ENT, but they are still left with very few answers, and that's the frustrating thing - they are often getting NO ANSWERS or HELP - and that's why they come to me.

I will admit that I'm recording this podcast just to "talk about" these mechanisms and symptoms that often run together, because I see these things really often and many times I'm able to help quite a bit, but no two people have the same story - and there are a lot of moving pieces when we look deeper into the mechanisms involved, root causes, and differential diagnoses - but there are a lot of things that overlap with these cases, and targets that we can look into or begin aiming at.

Very often people present in my office complaining of some combination of:

• Head "fullness" - the head feels "full" or "heavy" or like it "doesn't drain"
• Dizziness, lightheadedness, vertigo, tinnitus, or other vestibular issues with motion, crowds, flashing lights, etc
• Ear "pressure" - there is some unresolving ear pressure, often one-sided, or the feeling that the ears won't "equalize"
• Pressure "changes" - with incoming storm fronts, airplanes, altitude changes, or with no rhyme or reason
• Lymph stagnation or swollen/tender lymph nodes - around the ear, neck, base of skull
• Neck pain - stiff neck, headaches, tight postural muscles, "coat-hanger" pain
• Histamine responses - allergies, sensitivities, or other mast-cell mediated pathologies or symptoms
• Drainage or mucus production - nasal or post-nasal drip, or feel congested
• Anxiety/Panic/Stress Response - this often leads to more "danger signals", fight-or-flight, anxiety, panic, overthinking, etc

Is this mold? Is this biofilms? Is it viral? Is this from gut dysbiosis? Is this toxin accumulation? Is this the glymphatic system in the brain not draining? Is it TMJ or subluxation of the C1 atlas bone? Is this vagus nerve? Or - is this some combination??

In this podcast, I just "talk about" the people I see with these symptoms, the mechanisms that are often involved, the mysteries that are often involved, the tools available and the success that many can have. I talk about the different targets, like lymphatic drainage of the brain and Th2 inflammation, I talk about different strategies, like air quality control, nasal applications, supplements, chiropractic care, lymphatic drainage techniques, and much more. I just like to TALK ABOUT these things, but also give potential action steps, with the hope that it helps somebody out there who might have a similar problem - and I think this episode and the information given will end up helping SOMEONE - so send it to someone that you think needs to hear it!