Song for Jasmine

Allergies can cause runny noses and rashes, but they can also cause extreme changes in behaviour. Dr.Doris Rapp has known this for many years, and in October 1989 she appeared on the Phil Donahue show to tell America about it. The show received 175,000 letters as a result, and the switchboard was jammed with callers wanting to know more.

Dr.Rapp is a board certified environmental medical specialist and pediatric allergist. She told the audience two things that went against the mainstream medical opinion of the time, and in fact are still not as widely recognised as they should be.

• Allergies can cause changes in behaviour. These can often be severe and uncontrollable, and frequently go unrecognised or are misdiagnosed as psychological problems.
• People can be allergic to a wide variety of things, more than just the usual suspects. Many of the people she examines have been told by doctors that they could not possibly be allergic to things that they have begun to suspect for themselves, only to find that they were right.

The entire TV show is available on YouTube, and I can recommend it to anyone who has 45 minutes spare to watch it. For those of you that don’t, here are some of the highlights I have extracted for you. I should add that I have no medical background, and everything I report here is from watching the video for myself.

The first clip shows Ned. He’s allergic to tomato, milk, and natural gas. He was misdiagnosed as having Tourette’s syndrome, because his allergies cause him to become extremely violent. In this extract you can hear him say that he knows he is being violent but that he can’t help himself.

Jonathon (not shown here) is allergic to tree pollen. He became violent when he went outside to play. He’s also allergic to many processed foods and bananas. Even the smell of bananas provokes a strong reaction from him.

Alicia was classified as a difficult child, with manipulative behaviour and temper tantrums. She becomes giddy and giggly when she eats peas. She also reacts to detergents on peoples clothing, sometimes reacting to someone simply as they walk by.

Marsha spent 57 days in hospital at $750 per day, but was not correctly diagnosed. She becomes sad and withdrawn when she comes into contact with flouride, such as we find in toothpaste and tap water. After she was correctly diagnosed and treated, her IQ went from 56 to 128. Quite a difference.

Daryl became angry and sad and hid under the table when exposed to the air in his school after construction work took place. His pulse was 120 when he sat in the class, but only 100 when he was running around in the playground outside. His IQ rose 19 points when an air purifier was put in the room with him.

Another boy, Brian, became so violent that his family had to move. He is allergic to milk, peanuts, wheat, soy, and corn. Like most of the children on this show, he is also allergic to sugar.

Dr.Rapp proposes a simple way for you to investigate for yourself if you suspect that someone you know has allergies or sensitivities.

• Have the person write something, draw something, or describe how they feel
• Have them eat something
• 20 minutes later, have them write, draw, or describe their feelings again

You can also try this in different rooms in your home, at school, indoors and outdoors, to see if the environment is a factor.

If you suspect a food allergy you can schedule certain foods to be off the menu for 4 days, then back on, and see what changes when you do that. By trial and error, you may be able to identify a source of problems. As Dr.Rapp says, when you see a sudden change in behaviour, mood, or responsiveness, think about what the person ate, smelled, or touched.

One more thing she emphasised on that show. If your doctor tells you that it’s impossible to be allergic to something, they’re probably wrong.