I attended another online conference this past weekend. It was a 3 day conference so instead of being in the office on Friday I instead got to sit in front of my computer and listen to presentations/lectures etc on different topics in medicine. Not sure which I prefer to do but call me crazy, I do like learning new things and putting those that sound healthy and safe into practice.
The conference was hosted by ISEAI, aka or otherwise known today as the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness. I know, that’s a whole lot to unpack in a name, but that is also one of the reasons I like to attend their conferences. ISEAI investigates root cause and functional aspects of treating environmentally acquired illness (EAI) and may include issues such as Lyme and other Tick Borne Disease, Mold, Sick Building syndrome, Heavy Metals and other harmful chemicals, Gut, Brain, Microbiome health, Autoimmune illness, as well as our least favorite topic recently COVID. So if you know me well you know those topics are of interest to me.
The traditional healthscare system does not do much with the above disease processes other than prescribe medications as band aids and then tell you to go on along your way. ISEAI tends to look deeper at improving the health of people suffering from these disease processes in a more whole body holistic fashion. Some of the docs in the group like to say they do this job because others just do not seem to want to. Members of the ISEAI include all types of healthcare professionals, not just physicians so it really is a well rounded group and everyone enjoys learning from each others perspectives. Hmmm, an open mind in healthcare. Who would have thought that could be helpful????
Below are a few of the questions and answers from sessions that may be of interest.
Q: How long does it take from a tick bite for blood tests to show positivity to confirm infection?
Answer: the CDC says 4-6 weeks from the bite until positivity. Treatment should not wait for a test.
Q: When do you see benefit to re-testing for Lyme and co-infections after treatments have been implemented?
Answer: Never really. Antibodies can stay elevated for 20 years post treatment, so I base treatment on symptoms, not on labs.
Q: Are you aware of the strong connection between tinnitus and (electro-magnetic frequency) EMF exposure?
Answer: I recommend starting with basic remediation: Put all phones in the bedroom on airplane mode at night. Never charge a cell phone in the same room with you. Turn off the WiFi at night. Cut the circuit breaker to the bedroom at night. If not helpful, consider a good EMF inspection with a certified building biologist.
((Yes there are in fact “building biologists”))
Q: What is the safest cookware? Pots made of borosilicate glass? I heard even stainless steel can cause some nickel exposure, though we can get 18/0 which doesn't have any (has chromium only).
Answer: Glass is an ideal option, but hard to find and not always easy to cook in. Stainless Steel can have nickel, but I'm not sure, in the scope of ALL the other exposures we have, how significant that is. Well seasoned cast iron is also a great option - good seasoning will limit iron transfer into food.
(( I luv my Lodge Cast Iron pans ))
Q: If a superfund site is cleaned up and something is built on it (in this particular case, a school's sport's complex) is there a concern for continuing exposure of chemicals in some manner?
Answer: "cleaned-up" usually means covered up, I would be suspicious in any former CERCLA (Superfund) Site.
Upper Respiratory Illness symptoms and Allergies
5-10% are due to mold water damage
Keep indoor humidity at 40-60%. If higher can increase mold risk (from humidifiers)
If lower than 40% can increase viral risk.
I thought these statistics were very interesting.
So those were some nuggets that might be helpful.
There were a few other talks that were excellent and I will be re-watching those again soon and looking to implement them into practice. The talk revolved around Metabolic/Gut/Immune/Brain health and how diet and lifestyle changes and perhaps a new supplement can help halt and even reverse neuro-degenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimers. There is the possibility this protocol may help with some other neurologic disease processes (neuropathies) as well.
So stay tuned as more may be coming in the future.
To Good Health!!
Very interesting stuff! This stuff in western medicine gets pushed to the side so the root cause is not addressed! So thankful for Drs like yourself that keep learning to be able to treat people holistically and get to the root cause!
Would be very interested to find out what supplements are good for Parkinson’s. Both of my brothers have been diagnosed and I believe due to handshaking that I may also have it. We grew up on a farm in the 50s and 60s and there were a lot of pesticide and weed chemicals used! From what I understand they are now finding that that can cause Parkinson’s disease.