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Leaky Gut

Susan Denny, MD, MPH

Do You Have Leaky Gut?

If you suffer from a chronic health condition and have been researching how to improve your health, you may have heard of leaky gut.  If that conjures up an unpleasant image of gut materials leaking in to your bloodstream, you are not far off.  Leaky gut happens when contents from the small intestine spill into the sterile bloodstream from a damaged or “leaky” gut wall.   This contamination of the bloodstream by digested foods as well as bacteria, yeast, and other pathogens is often the foundation for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune health disorders. 

Leaky gut is referred to as increased intestinal permeability in scientific research and is increasingly being recognized as a common underlying factor in most inflammatory symptoms and disorders.  As our body’s largest immune organ, the gut powerfully influences the rest of the body. Importantly, this includes the brain. Current scientific studies link intestinal permeability with inflammatory bowel disorders, gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, depression, anxiety, psoriasis, and many other chronic conditions.

Given what we know about the connection between gut health and immunity, it is vital to include a gut repair protocol in the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Repair of leaky gut begins with understanding why it developed in the first place.   Reasons for leaky gut can include over the counter or prescription medications, antibiotic use, toxin exposure, hormonal changes, food intolerances, poor diet and others.  After root causes are identified, a leaky gut protocol can help you improve your health, relieve symptoms, boost energy, make you happier, and clear your brain fog. Ask our office for advice on improving your overall health through a personalized leaky gut evaluation and treatment plan.

Your Partner in Health!

Susan Denny, MD, MPH

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SPRING ALLERGIES ARE HERE!

New Allergy Clinic

Susan D. Denny, MD, MPH

If you are like me, your Spring sneezing and sniffles have begun.  In our area, tree pollen begins in March with grass pollen beginning in April.  A look at the Allergy Season chart for the Southeast reveals that we allergy sufferers can have symptoms anywhere from February through October in North Carolina. 

With the Spring sniffles you may be breaking out your Claritin, Zyrtec, Flonase or Pataday, or maybe all of these!  For some of us, it is hard to imagine enjoying a beautiful Spring day free of sinus congestion, headaches or itchy eyes without the use of some allergy medication.  Fortunately, there is hope for allergy sufferers.  Here are a few simple tips to help you reduce allergy symptoms and allergy medications while still enjoying the beautiful Spring weather.

  • Perform nasal rinses with warm saline water and a neti pot before bed.
    • DON’T open those windows and doors to let in “fresh” air.  This will increase the pollen counts in your indoor air.
    • DO use a high-quality indoor air filter such as IQAir or Austin Air Health Mate Plus to reduce indoor allergens.
    • Shower before bed, including hair rinsing or washing, to reduce nighttime exposure to allergens trapped on skin and hair.

While these steps may help to reduce allergy symptoms, elimination of allergies requires testing and treatment.  After trying and failing allergy shots myself, I am now treating the root cause of my allergies with allergy drops.  Allergy drops are clinically proven to be as effective in reducing and even eliminating allergies as allergy shots.  However, allergy drops do not require weekly visits to the office and are less expensive than weekly allergy shot copays. 

If you are interested in treating the root cause of your allergies and eliminating allergy symptoms for good, consider allergy testing and allergy drop treatment at Carolina Total Wellness.

https://carolinatotalwellness.com/allergy-drops.php

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Allergy Treatments

New Allergy Clinic
New Allergy Clinic

With pollen seasons getting longer and stronger, you may find that allergy symptoms get in the way of fully enjoying your life. You know the symptoms – drippy or stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, nose and throat, or worsened asthma.

We are now offering a simple allergy treatment.

Sublingual immunotherapy, or allergy drops, is a safe, convenient way to treat the cause of your allergies and help you build long-term tolerance to the things that once made you miserable.

  • The patient tailored drops work similar to allergy shots, but are delivered through a liquid drop under the tongue at home or wherever you are.
    • This method makes it easier to stay with your treatment and requires fewer office visits than with other methods.
    • Although most allergy sufferers can benefit from allergy drops, they’re especially ideal for those who can’t tolerate or don’t respond to allergy shots, as well as those who are unable to commit to allergy shot therapy.

Do allergy drops work?

Use of sublingual immunotherapy in the U.S. dates back nearly 100 years, and research has proven allergy drops’ effectiveness.

  • Allergy drops are custom to each patient based on testing, history and exam.
    • Drops can be used safely for a broad range of people including infants and children, those with food allergies, people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, sinusitis, and those with multiple allergies.
    • World Health Organization research has shown the use of allergy drops is an effective alternative to shots.
    • Allergy drops provide you with an opportunity for lasting, and often permanent, benefits.

If you’re interested in more information, please call us at 919-999-0831 or visit our website, www.carolinatotalwellness.com.

We appreciate being part of your care and are pleased to bring you this option.