Page 42 - Retail Pharmacy Assistants September 2020

40 SURVIVING SPRING
COLD, ALLERGY, FLU, VIRUS:
SNIFFING OUT
DIFFERENCES
By Nerine Zoio.
Spring, welcome on so many levels, also brings with
it sniffles, itchy eyes and allergies, with many a pharmacy assistant facing a customer eager for some form of relief.
The hard part now, though, is that when people hear a sniffle, there’s often a knee-jerk reaction into social distancing out of the fear that it must be contagious.
The truth of the matter is that the sniffle, often with an underlying runny nose, coughing, sneezing and congestion, might well be simply a sign of an allergy, rather than something contagious.
Accredited Practising Dietitian Geraldine Georgeou tells Retail Pharmacy Assistants that 90 per cent of the time allergic responses, such as rhinitis (stuffy nose) and allergic rhinitis (hay fever), are seasonal and environmentally triggered.
“Interestingly, though, a person becomes more sensitive if they’re an allergic type with a gut dysbiosis that makes their body produce more histamine,” she said.
“These people can test their gut microbiome to see if
it’s triggering a histamine response – by taking a ‘Microba Insight’ test that provides detailed insights into what is taking place there.”
From there, she says, it’s easy for patients to get a correct diagnosis and further dietary assistance from accredited practising dietitians.
“Often people who suffer more from allergies are actually suffering from hives or eczema,” Ms Georgeou said. “In my book, The Australian Healthy Skin Diet, there’s a section about hives and eczema that’s tied in with histamine responses.
“When this comes up, it’s really beneficial to look at low- chemical foods and other foods that could be triggering a histamine response.”
Ms Georgeou says the issue can also be a non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.
“Some people have a wheat allergy, precipitating airways in rotation and necessitating that the gut microbiome is
supported to reduce the response,” she said.
“But we must be mindful that if a patient presents
with allergic, cold or flu-like symptoms, they could indicate coronavirus, meaning they must get immediate medical advice.”
Health officials in the NSW Riverina region recently requested that anyone experiencing hay fever symptoms should undergo Covid-19 testing, even if they felt they were suffering from an allergy.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District CEO Jill Ludford says the local network was equipped to test more people for Covid-19 if required.
“Coronavirus can have very vague and general symptoms, and it can get out of control if people go out with what they think is hay fever,” she said.
For people who catch colds frequently, Ms Georgeou advises that it’s important for healthcare professionals to consider their immune system and iron and vitamin C levels.
“People can be iron deficient, which can definitely [weaken] their immune system and put their health at risk,” she said.
“Patients should be advised not to chew vitamin C supplements like lollies and wear down their tooth enamel and ruin all that orthodontic work. Iron supplements off retail shelves may not be the solution, as some of my patients have taken these supplements thinking they’re iron deficient when in fact they have an iron overload.
“So, it’s always a good idea to check in with GPs, who should be seen as mechanics who open up the bonnet and find out what’s going on with the engine, and then look to accredited practising dietitians who can help the driver drive the car.”
Mark Webster, owner of Stay Well Pharmacy in Christchurch, New Zealand, tells Retail Pharmacy Assistants he often finds that when patients remove dairy from their diets they suffer less from allergies.
He adds that differentiating between a cold and an allergy “really boils down to taking a patient’s history”.
RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • SEP 2020