1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,800 Speaker 1: Guess what, mengo, what's that will? So last year click 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Hold did this ridiculous article that I just found so funny, 3 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: like I do many of their articles, but the title 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:12,320 Speaker 1: of it was security failure. Epipen's database of everyone who's 5 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: allergic to bees has been obtained by Bees. Here's a 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: line from the article. So it was this prepared statement 7 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: from the company's website, the EpiPen company website, and it says, 8 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,080 Speaker 1: we do not know what they planned to do with it, 9 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: but we can confirm that Bees have a list of 10 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: everyone who has ever purchased an EpiPen bees heavier information. 11 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: Now we are very sorry. You know what strange is 12 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,520 Speaker 1: My dad has a severe allergy to fire ants and 13 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: we only realized this when he was in his forties. 14 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: Were in Florida visiting Disney World and Cypress Gardens, and 15 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,279 Speaker 1: this is when we were kids. He got bitten and 16 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: then rushed away. Like my mom said, his face welled 17 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: up like modern shore and pure luck, which is just 18 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: such a dated reference, but that's what she always brings 19 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: up when we talk about this. It is a pretty 20 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: dated reference, but it was also a pretty funny and 21 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: diculous scene. But back to your dad, like I assume 22 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: he was, okay, yeah, I mean my dad being my dad, 23 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: he just played it down the whole time. And it 24 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: actually ended up being a strangely wonderful day for us 25 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: because while my parents were at the hospital, my aunt 26 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: and uncle were with us, and we somehow got to 27 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,279 Speaker 1: pet a baby white tiger like one of the people 28 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: at Cypress Gardens let us do this. So in my 29 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: memory of the tiger cup plays a much much larger 30 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: role in the day than my dad's not being there. 31 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: You were obviously really concerned about your dad great son, 32 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: but you know now my dad just carries his EpiPen 33 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: with him everywhere, which is a literal lifesaver. Well, I 34 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: know we both suffer from allergies at least to some degree, 35 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: and you know what, the pollen count as high as 36 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: it's been today, felt like a good time to do 37 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: a show on what allergies actually are and and think 38 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: about how close we are to finding a cure for 39 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: different types of allergies, and also, of course answering the 40 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: question is putting vassoline up your nose a good life 41 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: hack for stopping pollen? So let's dive in. Hekay their 42 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson 43 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: and as always I'm joined by my good friend manga 44 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: shot Ticketer and on the other side of the soundproof 45 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: glass keeping his allergies at bay by brushing his teeth, 46 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: of all things, that's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Now, Mango, 47 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: I'll admit I thought Tristan had lost his mind yet 48 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: again when he told us that he started treating his 49 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: allergies with toothpaste, But in doing our reading for this week, 50 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: it turns out it's a legitimate treatment, and Mango, you 51 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: can back me up on this, right. Yeah, it's a 52 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: real thing. It's called aller dent and it basically works 53 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: the same way as typical allergy shots, where you, you know, 54 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: inject a tiny amount of an allergen as a way 55 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: to get your body used to it, except in this case, 56 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: the allergen extract is exed into your toothpaste instead of 57 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: loaded into a needle. And it is just such a 58 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: remarkable idea. You know, I have allergies. I often forget 59 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: to take my medication, but I don't forget to brush 60 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: my teeth, and it seems like a simple solution plus 61 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: it feels way less daunting than going in for like 62 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: an expensive shot every single week. Oh definitely. I mean 63 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: the only downside right now is that it can be 64 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: pretty tough to get your hands on the toothpaste at 65 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: the current moment. And and that's because even though allergy 66 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: and extracts are FDA approved, it's only approved for shots 67 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: right now. But my guess is it won't be too 68 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: long before the toothpaste will be pretty easy to access. 69 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: But you know, as we shift from one allergy season 70 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: to another, we thought it might be a good time 71 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: to take a closer look at the world of allergies. 72 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: That's right, So we're gonna explore some unusual ways to 73 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: keep allergies in check, as well as the science behind 74 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: what causes them and even the history of why we 75 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: get them in the first place. But why don't we 76 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: start with what allergies actually are since we tend to 77 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: throw around the term pretty loosely. Like often you'll hear 78 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: people say they're allergic to something when you know they 79 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: might have some kind of intolerance but not an actual allergy. Yeah, 80 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: like somebody might be lactose intolerant, but that's not the 81 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: same thing as being allergic to milk, or they might 82 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: have a sensitivity to gluten, but eating bread doesn't, you know, 83 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: make them break out in hives or anything. But let's 84 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: talk about what the actual distinction is and and first 85 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 1: of all, like what makes an allergy an allergy? So 86 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: the term was coined in nine six by pediatrician in Vienna, 87 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: and he came up with it by joining the words 88 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: for different and reaction, and the idea was basically, if 89 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: someone is allergic to pollen or whatever, they're having a 90 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: different or unusual reaction to something considered harmless. But the 91 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: thing that really defines allergies is their underlying cause. And 92 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,599 Speaker 1: the reason we have such extreme reactions to these otherwise 93 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: harmless substances is because of a hypersensitive immune system. So 94 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: rather than targeting genuine threats like a virus, the immune 95 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: system misidentifies something safe as dangerous and in the process 96 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: our our body takes these defensive measures to try and 97 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: expel the irritant as fast as possible. That's why you 98 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: get like a runny nose or you start sneezing, because 99 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: it's trying to get the stuff out. And that's what 100 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: we associate with allergies. But if you want to get 101 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: a little more scientific about it, these symptoms are the 102 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,359 Speaker 1: result of a chemical called histamine, and when allergenic materials 103 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: bind to antibodies and the blood, the blood responds by 104 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: releasing tons and tons of histamine. The histamine then attaches 105 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: itself to cells in the nose and sinuses. It causes 106 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: all the blood vessels to expand, and it sends the 107 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: mucus production into overdrive, which is why we take and histamines. 108 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: You know, It's obviously one of those terms I think 109 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,599 Speaker 1: we've always heard and we've known to take these things, 110 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: but not really thought about what that actually means. So 111 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: I get the general sense of what allergies are, but 112 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: is a peanut allergy the same thing as a pollen allergy, 113 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: but just like we're reacting to different substances or what 114 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: is it exactly? Yeah, So it kind of helps to 115 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: know that most allergies break down into two different groups, 116 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: and the first is called allergic rhind itis or this 117 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: is hay fever. And this category includes what we call 118 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,119 Speaker 1: seasonal allergies, so things like pollen, mold spores, the stuff 119 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: that crops up in the spring and summer, and it 120 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: also includes perennial allergies that bug people all here, like 121 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: dust mites, cockroaches, and pet dander, all right, So this 122 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: is what most people think of when they think about allergies, 123 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: like the kind of thing that makes you sneeze and 124 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: itch and feel congestion or even be lethargic, I guess exactly. 125 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 1: But things get more serious with the second type of allergy, 126 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: which of those brought on by food and also like 127 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: animal venom medications, even contact with materials like latex. And 128 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: in these cases, the body is still responding to an 129 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: ireritant by pumping out the histamines, but it's at a 130 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,719 Speaker 1: completely different pace. It's doing this way way more aggressively, 131 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: so much so that when someone with an allergy eats 132 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: shellfish or it gets stung by b they just skip 133 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: that itchy I phase we know about, and it goes 134 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: straight into anaphylaxis. And that's the severe situation where your 135 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: air ways close up, you swell, your throat and tongue 136 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: sort of swell as well, and your blood pressure tends 137 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: to drop. All right. So the process is more or 138 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: less the same for all kinds of allergies. It's just 139 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: that some prompt more extreme reactions than others, right, And 140 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: the thing to remember is, in either case, it isn't 141 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: the allergyen that's attacking your body. It's actually your immune 142 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: system overreacting. And even though we understand how the process works, 143 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,280 Speaker 1: we don't really know how people develop allergies in the 144 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: first place. I mean, something is causing our immune system 145 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: to lose it, but we still aren't sure what that is. Yeah, 146 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: that's true, But we do have a couple of promising 147 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: leads on this. I mean, for one thing, we know 148 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: that our genetics play a factor in whether or not 149 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: we develop allergies. Actually, I was looking at this series 150 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: of twins studies that examine both fraternal and identical twins, 151 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: and the results were really interesting. So, first you take 152 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: fraternal twins and when one of them has a peanut allergy, 153 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: the rate of the other having a peanut allergy as 154 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: well was actually only about seven per cent. But you 155 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: look at idea of cool twins who share the same genes, 156 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: both twins were allergic in sixty percent of cases. So 157 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: it's a pretty significant difference, huh. I mean, there's actually 158 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 1: another reason to think of genetics as the root of allergies, 159 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: which is that the tendency to have allergies is actually 160 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: something we inherit from our parents. So you know, well, 161 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: that doesn't mean that like, because your mom has a 162 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: fish allergy, you're definitely gonna have a fish allergy. It 163 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: just means that, you know, you have a higher chance 164 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: of developing an allergy to something. H Well, I mean, 165 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: there's obviously something there, but genetics aren't the only factor. 166 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 1: And who does or doesn't get allergies And another big one, 167 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: not surprisingly is the environment. After all, if you aren't 168 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: exposed to a particular allergy and there's no way to 169 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: develop an allergy to it, Like you know, take somebody 170 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,560 Speaker 1: who lives in the desert, I mean, they're not likely 171 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: to have a pollen allergy since there isn't much plant 172 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: life and pollen to even be exposed to their Yeah, 173 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: I mean the environmental component is interesting because it's sort 174 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,040 Speaker 1: of works both ways. Like, uh, the flip side is 175 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,839 Speaker 1: that being exposed to common allergies can also reduce your 176 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: chances of developing an allergy to them. And the key 177 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: here is really being exposed an early enough age. Like 178 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: we've talked about this before, but a few recent studies 179 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: have shown that children who grew up on a farm 180 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: are less likely to develop allergies than kids who grew 181 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: up in cities. Well, and that's because the farm kids 182 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: were exposed to more allergens early on, right, That's right. 183 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: So a few years back, this science Institute in Belgium 184 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: found that exposure to farm dust actually helps build resistance 185 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: to dust based allergies. And this works because of a 186 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: protective protein called A twenty that's produced in the mucous 187 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: membrane of the lungs. And when kids breathe in farm dust, 188 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: their lungs produce more A twenty and this reduces their 189 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,120 Speaker 1: allergic reaction to other kinds of dust. But, like I said, 190 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: the trick is that this kind of resistance is only 191 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: built up while the lungs are still developing. So I mean, 192 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: if you're like an adult who's allergic to dust bites, 193 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:58,319 Speaker 1: it's a little too late to solve that problem by 194 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: going out and becoming a farmer. Now, man, I guess 195 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: I'll cross that one off the list. But you know, 196 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: it's interesting how much of an impact age has on allergies. 197 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,679 Speaker 1: Like I was reading how adults tend to have fewer 198 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: allergies than children do, especially when it comes to food allergies, 199 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: and it's far fewer allergies actually, But according to the 200 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: Food Allergy Research and Education Organization, one in thirteen kids 201 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: in the US has at least one food allergy. But 202 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: over a quarter of those kids will outgrow the food 203 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: allergies before they even reach adulthood. And research shows that 204 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,680 Speaker 1: the earlier a child has an allergic reaction to food, 205 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: the more likely they are to outgrow it, which is why, 206 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: you know, the consensus has actually shifted in recent years 207 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: about how soon babies should be given allergenic foods, things 208 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: like eggs or peanuts. And you know, we used to 209 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: think it was dangerous to feed infants these foods until 210 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: they were at least a year old. And this, you know, 211 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,559 Speaker 1: hasn't been that long ago. I know, even when our 212 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: oldest child was an infant, they were telling us this. 213 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: But you know, now a bunch of studies have proven 214 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: giving babies these foods when they're four to six months 215 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: old actually reduces the risk of developing allergies by as 216 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: much as I think, like eight. And the author of 217 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,079 Speaker 1: the report puts it this way, you have the potential 218 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: to stop something in its tracks before it develops. There's 219 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,319 Speaker 1: a window of time in which the body is more 220 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: likely to tolerate a food than react to it, and 221 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: if you can educate the body during that window, you're 222 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: at a much lower likelihood of developing an allergy to 223 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: that food, which makes a lot of sense, and it 224 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: also explains why some people continue to develop allergies well 225 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: into adulthood. And I guess that's because that's the time 226 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: when most of us are making big life changes. You know, 227 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: you're moving somewhere new, getting a pet, perhaps living on 228 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 1: the edge, and trying shellfish for the first time, starting 229 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: to get wild at that time, you know. But you know, 230 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,679 Speaker 1: the thing I don't get is why the world's allergies 231 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: seem to be getting worse. You know, we've been reading 232 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: a lot about this, and these food allergist at Mount 233 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 1: Sina who spent the last couple of decades tracking peanut 234 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,719 Speaker 1: allergies among children. And when they started this was back 235 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 1: in they found that one in two hundred and fifty 236 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: American children were allergic to peanuts. Now you fast forward 237 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: to two thousand ten and that number has jumped to 238 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 1: one in seventies, So that rate tripled in just thirteen years. 239 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 1: And well, it's true that food allergies are often misdiagnosed. 240 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,960 Speaker 1: There's been a similariz in peanut allergies in countries like Canada, Australia, 241 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 1: the UK. And that's not even to mention you know, 242 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: the hay fever rise and asthma's on the rise and 243 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: these these same regions. So there's definitely something going on. Yeah, 244 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: some of the specifics might be up for debate still, 245 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,719 Speaker 1: but there's no question that allergies have become a lot 246 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 1: more prevalent in the last thirty years or so. I 247 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: did some reading on why that might be, and one 248 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 1: of the biggest contributing factors seems to be rising global temperatures. 249 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 1: And I didn't want to believe this, but it actually 250 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: makes sense when it was explained to me. You know, 251 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: higher temperatures lead to more plant life, which leads to 252 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: more pollen, and more pollen means more allergic reaction ends. 253 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 1: And in fact, a recent study found that the spring 254 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: pollen count has increased every year since the year two 255 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,680 Speaker 1: thousand and listen to these numbers. By the year twenty 256 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 1: there could be twenty thousand grains of pollen per cubic 257 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: meter compared to just eight thousand grains in the year 258 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: two thousand. Yikes, that's a that's a huge difference. But 259 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: global warming is only counting for the rhinitis cases, right, 260 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: not to mention the more serious ones. So what's causing 261 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: an increase in in things like food allergies or or 262 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,959 Speaker 1: even like bea stings. Yeah, so those keys are a 263 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: little tougher to account for, but the prevailing theory is 264 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: that they're linked to our modern hygiene practices and the 265 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 1: ideas that are modern sterile lifestyles don't provide enough exposure 266 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,200 Speaker 1: to potential allergens, which in turn causes our immune systems 267 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,439 Speaker 1: to get board start lashing out at all the harmless 268 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: stuff like food or cat dender or whatever else. And 269 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,080 Speaker 1: while it's likely that there are other factors behind the 270 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 1: recent rise of allergies, the hygiene theory would explain why 271 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: we mostly see this in predominantly wealthy westerns of id 272 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: s in less developed countries. You know, if your child's 273 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 1: immune system is struggling to deal with parasites from contaminated water, 274 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: then the body isn't wasting time or resources warding off 275 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,840 Speaker 1: things like pollen. So if we go by the hygiene theory, 276 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: you can more or less chalk the whole allergy epidemic 277 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: up as basically first world problems. All Right, So at 278 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: this point, researchers have spent decades looking for a cure 279 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: for allergies, and the best option is still to just 280 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: treat the symptoms rather than cure the actual cause. But 281 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 1: thankfully we've got some pretty great options now, including some 282 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: of the more outside the box approaches, and we should 283 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: talk about those. But before we get to that, let's 284 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: take a quick break. You're listening to Parts and Genius, 285 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: and we're talking about the best ways to track and 286 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: treat your pesky allergies. So well, one of the most 287 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: effective and more obvious options for treating allergies is also 288 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: one of the most basic, and that's plain old avoidance. 289 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: And while that's pretty straightforward when it comes to food 290 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: or latex allergies, since you know, we generally have some 291 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: saying what we eat and wear, it's not as easy 292 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: to avoid things like pollen. And in those cases you 293 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: have to be a little more creative and a lot 294 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: more vigilant. Yeah, when you think about pollen allergies, I mean, 295 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: you really just want to minimize your exposure as much 296 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: as you can. For example, pollen counts tend to peak 297 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: between the hours of five and ten in the morning, 298 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: so if you can avoid the outdoors during that period, 299 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: you know, you might spare yourself some of the sneezing 300 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: and whether obviously plays a big role as well. In 301 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: those pollen counts. You've got the warm and windier days 302 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 1: being the worst and the cool and rainier days being 303 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: the best in in terms of the pollen counts. But 304 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't mean you have to stay inside on those 305 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: nicest days. And one quick tip for braving pollen heavy 306 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: weather is to dab a little bit of assolene inside 307 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: your nostrils, and what happens there is that, you know, 308 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 1: the pollen and hale just get stuck in there before 309 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: it can reach your airways, which is so weird. Like 310 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: someone actually told me to do that with key, which 311 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: is uh Indian clarified butter, and they promised it worked, 312 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 1: and I refuse to do it because it just sounded unbelievable. 313 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: And now I basically feel like I've got to try. 314 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: It's gonna be walking around with some some butter up 315 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: your nose and it's it's kind of like our our 316 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: friends Sean in college whose grandmother had the cure for 317 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: everything was just to like rub some butter on his neck. 318 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: So maybe there's something to this and we should just 319 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: try these things. Well. Another simple move is to check 320 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: the pollen forecast for your area during allergy season. And 321 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: some people don't realize this, but there's actually a National 322 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: Allergy Bureau and it posts the current pollen and mold 323 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: levels for different regions on its website. Yeah, so the 324 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: Weather channel does that as well, and Google even pulls 325 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: up that information automatically, like if you search for pollen 326 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: or allergy information in the area. Um, you can also 327 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: set push notifications on your phone so you will always 328 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: know when the pollen count starts to climb. I mean, 329 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 1: it's pretty amazing. Yeah, and it's definitely handy to have that, 330 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: But I mean, let's be honest, not all of us 331 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: have the option of staying inside whenever pollen is is 332 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,199 Speaker 1: causing big problems, nor you know, do we have the 333 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: courage to face social situations with vasoline smeared up our noses? 334 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,680 Speaker 1: And you know, so in those cases, and allergy sufferer's 335 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: best friend are the antihistamine medications that we talked about earlier, 336 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,359 Speaker 1: and you can obviously find those at your local drug store. 337 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 1: Not The only problem is knowing which option to go with. Now, 338 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,879 Speaker 1: the good news is that there really isn't a huge 339 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: difference between stuff like ben a drill or Zyrtec or clareton. 340 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: I mean, these are all antihistamines that work by binding 341 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: to the histamine receptors in your nose and sinuses. So 342 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:48,200 Speaker 1: instead of histamines activating these receptors and making your nose run, 343 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,640 Speaker 1: the antihistamines muscle them out of the way and actually 344 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: take their spots, which is interesting. But you know what, 345 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,919 Speaker 1: what about the nasal sprays, Like, is one more effect 346 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,040 Speaker 1: have then the other in terms of pills for sprays? Actually, yeah, 347 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:06,880 Speaker 1: I mean those nasal sprays contain corticos steroids that ultimately 348 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: help control symptoms better than their capsule counterparts, And that's 349 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: because the sprays don't prevent histamines from binding to their 350 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: receptors like the pills do. Instead, they actually prevent yourself 351 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: from reacting to the allergen at all, which you know, 352 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: it means there's no chance for them to even produce 353 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: histamines in the first place. Now, the only downside to 354 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: these is that these corticosteroids take longer to become effective, 355 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 1: so those nasal sprays do work best, but only if 356 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: you start taking them a couple of weeks before the 357 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: allergy season actually hits. That way, the steroids will have 358 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: built up in your system, so they'll have an easier 359 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: time controlling that immune response when allergens do crop up. 360 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: So this is particularly fascinating to me because I am 361 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: lazy about using the spray, like I take it when 362 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,160 Speaker 1: I remember, but it's good to know that you sort 363 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: of need to use it regularly to build up your tolerance. Yeah, 364 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: and I was exactly the same way. But now a 365 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: third way to treat allergies is also the closest thing 366 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: we have to a cure for them, and that's immunotherapy. Now, 367 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: the most common examples of this are the allergy shots 368 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:11,960 Speaker 1: we mentioned at the top of the show, and these 369 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,919 Speaker 1: work much like a vaccine would, but you know, a 370 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 1: patient is basically injected with trace amounts of whatever they're 371 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: allergic to, and gradually their body builds a tolerance to 372 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: the substance until the allergic reaction is either severely reduced 373 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: or even eliminated altogether. But of course this approach also 374 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 1: has its drawbacks. I mean, for one thing, the shots 375 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,399 Speaker 1: have to be administered every week, and not only is 376 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: that time consuming, it can also be pretty expensive, and 377 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: you know, especially when you consider that this kind of 378 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: treatment can go on for five years or even longer. Yeah, 379 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: I mean that's what makes that toothfaste so exciting, right, 380 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:48,640 Speaker 1: I mean, like, I love this idea that you might 381 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: be able to treat your allergies with tooth taste, and 382 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 1: that someday we'll be taking sun screen through pills instead 383 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: of having to apply it badly, Like, it's amazing all 384 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: these ways that we're going to be getting medicines. And 385 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: I've read a little bit about that too, in terms 386 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: of the sunscreen and pill form, and it's fascinating. But 387 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:07,400 Speaker 1: all right, well let's go back to the toothpaste show 388 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 1: just for a second, because I'm still a little bit 389 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: unclear on how that works, Like how do the allergens 390 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: even make it into your bloodstream? So I was wondering 391 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: that too, like it must be less effective than a shot, right, 392 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: But it turns out that the mouth is actually a 393 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,439 Speaker 1: perfect place to administer allergy mets, and that's because the 394 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: mucus membrane in the mouth has such a high immune 395 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 1: response level. It's trying to make sure that we don't 396 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: do something stupid like drink a bunch of poison, and 397 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: toothpaste isn't the only way to take advantage of this. 398 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: So for years Europeans have actually used this under the 399 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 1: tongue allergy drop that works the same way. The biggest 400 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,119 Speaker 1: problem was that the drops can aggravate your throat or 401 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 1: stomach if you accidentally swallow them, but thankfully the toothpaste 402 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,479 Speaker 1: approach avoids those side effects altogether. Well, I'm definitely pulling 403 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 1: for this toothpaste and it just seems like such a 404 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: hassle free treatment, and much more so than any others 405 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 1: we've talked about. But you know, for all the parents listening, 406 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: there might actually be a fourth treatment option available not 407 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: to you, but to your kids. And you know, you 408 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: can think of these as preventive options, are ones that 409 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 1: wouldn't require you to just pick up and move to 410 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: the farm belt. But you know, for starters. There's a 411 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 1: study out of the University of Alberta. So it was 412 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:18,719 Speaker 1: a two thousand seventeen report that they put out, and 413 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: the researchers claim that having a pet in the house 414 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: could be a way to help prevent not only childhood allergies, 415 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: but obesity as well. And I feel so guilty now 416 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 1: because my kids have been asking for a dog for 417 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 1: such a long time and we've been slow rolling. But 418 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: they actually, they actually tipped me off and paid me 419 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 1: a few bucks to mention this, just to kind of 420 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,960 Speaker 1: guilt you into the dog. So tell me what, like, 421 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: why is this the case? Like we're we're so used 422 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,720 Speaker 1: to hearing about people with pet allergies that it's hard 423 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 1: to imagine how having one could lead to the opposite result. Well, 424 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: apparently there are two types of bacteria in particular that 425 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 1: have been linked to a lower risk of allergies and 426 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,719 Speaker 1: even obesity and babies, and the studies showed that babies 427 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,879 Speaker 1: who lived with pets had way more of both types 428 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: of these Now, incredibly, these positive results held true even 429 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: in households where pets had passed away before the baby 430 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: was born. So you could have just gotten a really 431 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,639 Speaker 1: old dog, like while Lizzie was pregnant, and maybe that 432 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 1: would have solved everything. But that suggests that that health 433 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 1: booze from these bacteria might even extend into the womb. 434 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,959 Speaker 1: So if it really comes down to just two bacteria, Like, 435 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:28,919 Speaker 1: could we ever just get some kind of pet and 436 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: a pill one day? I mean, uh, you know, so 437 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,439 Speaker 1: you don't have to deal with any of the dog walking, 438 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: but you get all the benefits of their dirtiness. I 439 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 1: love that this is your solution when you're supposed to 440 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: be the dog lover of the two of us. I mean, 441 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: I am I I'd love to have a dog, but 442 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: you know, we've got family that's allergic. I I do 443 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: think our kids biggest fear is that, like now we're 444 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: just going to end up with a fish and call 445 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: it dog. So so you go, so the profits good 446 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,639 Speaker 1: luck to see if that that trick works. Well, here's 447 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: one we don't want to encourage, but it is interesting 448 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,479 Speaker 1: to read about, and that's that kids who bite their 449 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: nails and suck their thumbs actually reduced their risk of 450 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: allergies in the future. This is research that comes out 451 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: of New Zealand and the researchers were looking at this 452 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: long running study on thumb sucking and nail biding behaviors 453 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 1: and more than a thousand kids and so the participants 454 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: were quizzed on their habits at ages five seven, nine eleven, 455 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: and then finally at thirteen and at age thirteen they 456 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,520 Speaker 1: were given their first skin prick test to measure their 457 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: immune responses to different allergens. Now, according to the results 458 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 1: from this, the kids that didn't engage in thumb sucking 459 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: or nail biding had a forty nine percent chance of 460 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,920 Speaker 1: developing allergies. Meanwhile, you look at the kids who either 461 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 1: suck their thumbs or bit their nails, they actually only 462 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: had a forty risk. And what's more, the kids who 463 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: did both actually had the lowest allergy risk of all 464 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,880 Speaker 1: the participants at thirty which is interesting, but it's also 465 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: a pretty solid defense for the hygiene theory, right, Like, 466 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,639 Speaker 1: I mean, if there's a benefit to stick in your 467 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: dirty hands in your mouth, it must have something to 468 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,640 Speaker 1: do with all those germs helping to strengthen your immune system. Definitely. 469 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: But again, these aren't exactly behaviors you want your kids 470 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:13,880 Speaker 1: to take up. So who knows how many people will 471 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,919 Speaker 1: actually reap the benefits from this. But you know, if 472 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 1: pet and a pill ever catches on, maybe there's hope 473 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:23,880 Speaker 1: for dirty fingernails and a pill too. Who knows, well, 474 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,439 Speaker 1: I sure hope not, But to me it all sounds 475 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: like those terrible jelly bean flavors. Oh yeah, definitely good. 476 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: But you know that there's one way of dealing with 477 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: allergies that I want to make sure recover. But before 478 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: we do that, let's take another quick break. All right, Mango, 479 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: So what's this last way to avoid allergies that you 480 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,680 Speaker 1: wanted people to know about. It is super simple. Don't 481 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: move to McAllen, Texas. Okay, all right, so I don't 482 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: have to become a farmer, and I shouldn't move to McAllen, Texas. 483 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: This is a good advice. But all right, so why 484 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: not McAllen, Texas? So it's just not a great place 485 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: if you've got hay fever. And according to the Asthma 486 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,920 Speaker 1: and Allergy Foundation of America the a f A. McAllen 487 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: is the number one worst city in America for allergies. 488 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 1: Well we can we can forget the McAllen Tourism Bureau 489 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,639 Speaker 1: advertising on part time genius now at this point, all right, 490 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: but I'm curious, So what is this based on exactly? 491 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: Is it just the pollen count? So it's actually this 492 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 1: annual ranking that the foundation does and it's based on 493 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,400 Speaker 1: a few different factors. So pollen count is one of them, 494 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: but it's also things like the usage rate of allergy medications, 495 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,360 Speaker 1: the um number of allergy specialists in the area, and 496 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: McAllen has showed up near the bottom of the list 497 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,960 Speaker 1: for a few years now, but in two thousand eighteen 498 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: they finally scored a perfect hundred on this test. And 499 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 1: to put that in perspective, Louisville, Kentucky is in second 500 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:03,360 Speaker 1: and they only scored an eight six eight. Holy Cow, 501 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 1: and that does sound pretty bad. I mean, and I 502 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: know that the South in general can be pretty tough 503 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,119 Speaker 1: for allergy sufferers. I know moving to Atlanta has been 504 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: a little bit rough on you with that. But you know, honestly, 505 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 1: you should be thankful you're not in the allergy capital 506 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: of the world, and that is Islamabad, which is the 507 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 1: capital of Pakistan. So I'd never heard this, Like, how 508 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: bad is it there? It is horrible. I mean, the 509 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: spring pollen season is so bad that many of the 510 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,240 Speaker 1: wealthier citizens just go to the countryside for a few 511 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:34,239 Speaker 1: months just to avoid it entirely. And then those who 512 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: stay behind really trying to stay indoors as much as 513 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:40,160 Speaker 1: they can. But even that is rough. It was one 514 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: reporter who was speaking to a woman who actually slept 515 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: upright in a chair throughout the allergy season because otherwise, 516 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,400 Speaker 1: she explained, she would just stop being able to breathe. 517 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,359 Speaker 1: That is awful. I mean, it does seem like a 518 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,639 Speaker 1: little backwards though, like, like, how do you wind up 519 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: with the city that has more of a pollen count 520 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: than the countryside around it. Well, it actually comes back 521 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,440 Speaker 1: to the city design, and it's bad design. So you 522 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: go back to the nineties sixties, Islamabad was going through 523 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,119 Speaker 1: a period of enormous growth and officials started looking for 524 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: ways to add stretches of green space throughout the city 525 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:18,200 Speaker 1: and this was really just to beautify the city. But unfortunately, 526 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 1: they fell behind on this greenery project and the city 527 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: remained pretty much treeless for the better part of a 528 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 1: decade or so. Then years later, the city planners were 529 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: trying to make up for this lost time and they 530 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: were looking to see the entire city with these fast 531 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: growing paper mulberry trees. So all through the late sixties 532 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: you'd have helicopters flying over is Lamabads scattering these mulberry seeds. 533 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: And to the planners credit, the plan actually did technically 534 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: work and these trees grew quickly. They made the city 535 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: look a whole lot prettier. But the trouble was that 536 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,480 Speaker 1: these paper mulberry trees took a little too well to 537 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,679 Speaker 1: their new home city, and so throughout the seventies, the 538 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: trees came to dominate the landscape and really just started 539 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 1: crowding out all the native plants that were there pretty 540 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: much completely. Yeah. I was gonna say, like, I'm not 541 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,879 Speaker 1: that familiar with Pakistan, but I don't really know about uh, 542 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: mulberry trees being that big a part of the landscape. Yeah, 543 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: that's right, and that they're actually listed as an invasive 544 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:20,119 Speaker 1: species in some US states as well. So, honestly, no 545 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: matter how you slice it, seating a city with these 546 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,959 Speaker 1: things was a terrible idea. And of course the residents 547 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 1: weren't expecting to deal with the pollen output of tens 548 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: of thousands of mulberry trees, so you know, city officials 549 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: effectively doomed a huge chunk of the population to life 550 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,160 Speaker 1: with these seasonal allergies. In fact, the Pakistan Medical Research 551 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: Council later found that about forty five per cent of 552 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: allergic patients and Islamabad were sensitive to the trees pollen, 553 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: and just to give you a sense of it, the 554 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: city's record high pollen count is about four and a 555 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:55,680 Speaker 1: half times the records of most of the U. S cities. 556 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 1: I mean, that sounds miserable, but you know, one thing 557 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: I'm really thing is that we've been pretty tough on 558 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,600 Speaker 1: allergies today. Like we spent like twenty minutes talking about 559 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: how terrible they are and how to rearrange your whole 560 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: life to avoid them. But I came across this weird 561 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 1: connection between allergies and parasites that kind of had me 562 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: questioning whether there might be an upside to allergies. That 563 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: seems like a weird statement to say with two people 564 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: who have allergies, but do explain. Yeah, so think about this. 565 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: Earlier we mentioned that allergic reactions begin with an antibody 566 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 1: overreacting to something harmless. And the antibody that overreacts in 567 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: the case of most allergy attacks is also the same 568 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 1: antibody that defends our bodies from mites and also helmets. Alright, so, 569 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: just to clarify, helmets are things like flat worms and 570 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 1: roundworms and flukes and you know, all kinds of infectious 571 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: creatures that you definitely don't want in your blood strain. 572 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: But I think what you're saying is the same antibody 573 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 1: that fights allergens also, for some reason fights parasites. Yeah, 574 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,840 Speaker 1: so that's what's so strange to me. Like, like, when 575 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: researchers looked into it, they found that most of proteins 576 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: and the things that kickoff allergies are also found in 577 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: the bodies of these parasites. And that means allergies might 578 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 1: just you know, be an unfortunate side effect of our 579 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: immune systems response to parasites because of those shared proteins 580 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: or bodies might not be able to tell the difference 581 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:18,320 Speaker 1: between the harmless dust or pollen and an infectious parasite. 582 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 1: That's interesting, and I guess all told, hay fever isn't 583 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,440 Speaker 1: a terrible price to pay for the ability to fight 584 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: off these parasites. But I'm curious though, Like, does that 585 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 1: also include foods that people are commonly allergic to? It's 586 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: a good question. As far as I could tell, it 587 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: was mostly allergens that were related to hay fever and 588 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 1: insects things, But I did read one theory about how 589 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: food allergens might tie into all of this. According to 590 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: an immunobiologist that Yale, it might be that foods of 591 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: proteins that remind the body not of parasites, but of 592 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: toxic plants and other harmful substances. Okay, see so so 593 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: just like with pollen and parasites, our bodies would recognize 594 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 1: some foreign proteins and then mistakenly lumps something like peanuts 595 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: into that same category. He IS's ay nightshade or something 596 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: which you know, it's interesting to think about, and it 597 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,240 Speaker 1: doesn't make me any You're happier to have allergies, but 598 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: I guess it does less than the annoyance with them 599 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,640 Speaker 1: a little bit. But I mean, if nothing else, it's 600 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: nice to know that they serve some sort of purpose. 601 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 1: Exactly what do you say? We switched gears and kick 602 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 1: off the fact off? All right, let's do it. So 603 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: this feels hard to believe, but I double checked it. 604 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:39,480 Speaker 1: Apparently Clint Eastwood is allergic to horses. What I just uh, 605 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,240 Speaker 1: I can't accept that. That's too ridiculous. We should just 606 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: stop now, all right. Well, here's something interesting. Apparently making 607 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: out will reduce your allergies. And this research comes from 608 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: a doctor Kamana, who oversees an allergy clinic in Osaka, 609 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,480 Speaker 1: and in this study he took sixties subjects with hay 610 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: fever but who claimed not to kiss their partners on 611 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 1: a regular basis. So he took half of them, put 612 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:06,280 Speaker 1: them in a room, piped in romantic music and forced 613 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,520 Speaker 1: them to play seven minutes in heaven but for thirty minutes. 614 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:13,280 Speaker 1: And it had an impact because the allergy sufferers who 615 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: made out showed a decreased reaction to dust mites and 616 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 1: cedar pollen than those who didn't. I love the idea 617 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,000 Speaker 1: of the study where you're like collecting patients for it 618 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:25,400 Speaker 1: or subjects for it, and and you put like, do 619 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 1: you have allergies? Check? Do you make out with your 620 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: partner on a regular basis? No, that's not really You're 621 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,800 Speaker 1: in now go and make out. Did you know that 622 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 1: magnetic poetry is all thanks to allergies? Fairly? This guy 623 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: who invented magnetic poetry was a songwriter and he was 624 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:46,920 Speaker 1: having writer's block, so he started cutting out lyrics from 625 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 1: magazines and just words and started placing them around the 626 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: table to like figure out new ways to write songs. 627 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: And his girlfriend, who had allergies at the time, sneezed 628 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 1: and blew everything away. So the next time he attempted, 629 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:01,960 Speaker 1: he taped the words to these cut up refrigerator magnets, 630 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:05,560 Speaker 1: and that's how this nineties trend was born. That's pretty great. 631 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:08,960 Speaker 1: So well, it's no secret that people can be allergic 632 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,960 Speaker 1: to cats. You know. Bill Clinton, for instance, was allergic 633 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: to socks. Cats can also be allergic to people. According 634 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,320 Speaker 1: to that geo, cats and dogs can both react badly 635 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: to human dander, though the condition is treatable with the 636 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:27,160 Speaker 1: same things that we use, and that's shots and pills. Well, 637 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 1: one thing that got some press recently was the lone 638 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 1: Star tick, which apparently gets its name because it has 639 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 1: a tiny Texas shaped spot of white on its back. 640 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 1: I don't know how how you just see a splotch 641 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:42,120 Speaker 1: and think, oh, that's Texas time. But the reason that 642 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:45,760 Speaker 1: God it's notoriety is that one bite apparently makes people 643 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:50,200 Speaker 1: allergic to meat, and specifically red meat. Apparently there's a 644 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:52,920 Speaker 1: sugar molecule and red meat called alpha gl for short, 645 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 1: and according to Wired magazine, the allergy is particularly unusual 646 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,240 Speaker 1: because quote usually a mix of genes and environment nill 647 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 1: factor is combined to create allergies, but when it comes 648 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,120 Speaker 1: to the Lone Star tike. It doesn't matter if you're 649 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 1: predisposed or not. Basically anyone can be made allergic by 650 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,040 Speaker 1: a bite. Huh. Yeah. I had a cousin who's whose 651 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 1: son was dealing with this as well, and it was 652 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 1: pretty significant. But there are times when I've wondered whether 653 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:19,960 Speaker 1: it was maybe a conspiracy cooked up by the veggie 654 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 1: burger manufacturer. So I'm looking into that. I'll let you 655 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,719 Speaker 1: know when I find out. But all right, well here's 656 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:29,520 Speaker 1: a cool and a French biotech company has come up 657 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,800 Speaker 1: with a peanut allergy patch. Now it's not a cure, 658 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,240 Speaker 1: but the idea is that it gives you these micro 659 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,879 Speaker 1: doses of peanut protein to slowly build your tolerance so 660 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:41,880 Speaker 1: that you know, if you accidentally touch a peanut, for example, 661 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 1: you'll have a less severe reaction to it. That's really encouraging. 662 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: So there's actually this new shot that could change our 663 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,279 Speaker 1: fight with allergies as well. It is developed at Northwestern 664 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 1: and at the University of Michigan together, and and I 665 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:58,800 Speaker 1: read about this in Scientific American. But the injection basically 666 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 1: sends the allergen into the system in this trojan horse. 667 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:06,160 Speaker 1: It's this nanoparticle that envelopes the allergyin and uh it 668 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:09,000 Speaker 1: goes to the liver and spleen where that casing dissolves, 669 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:11,040 Speaker 1: and when things go okay in the body, the immune 670 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 1: system kind of learns from the experience and it realizes 671 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:17,760 Speaker 1: the allergy isn't actually harmful. It's amazing because it's actually 672 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,480 Speaker 1: worked on some nut allergies, and the team is now 673 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: experimenting with things like gluten allergies. So these are big 674 00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: life changing things for people. And I guess it might 675 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:29,040 Speaker 1: be a little while before they tackle my polar an allergy, 676 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: my mild polar an allergy. But I do love that 677 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 1: they're making these sort of advances, you know, thinking about 678 00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:40,240 Speaker 1: today between nanotechnology, thirty minute makeout sessions, you know, cramming 679 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,879 Speaker 1: vassoline up your nostrils. You know, there are a lot 680 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:46,320 Speaker 1: of ways of dealing with allergies, some more appealing than others. 681 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 1: I liked a lot of your facts today, me go, 682 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: but the Clint Eastwood one, I'm still not recovered from that. 683 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 1: I feel like you need to take today's fact off trophy. Yeah, 684 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:59,279 Speaker 1: me and the allergic course I wrote in on Well, 685 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:01,839 Speaker 1: thank you guys are listening today. As always, we love 686 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,239 Speaker 1: hearing facts from you, so please send those to us. 687 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:06,239 Speaker 1: We'd also just love to hear any funny stories you 688 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 1: might have about your allergy experiences. But you can always 689 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:12,279 Speaker 1: send those facts and stories to Part Time Genius and 690 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:14,840 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works dot com or hit us up on 691 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:30,959 Speaker 1: Facebook or Twitter. But thanks so much for listening. Thanks 692 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,319 Speaker 1: again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production of 693 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant 694 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:38,520 Speaker 1: people who do the important things we couldn't even begin 695 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:41,839 Speaker 1: to understand. Christa McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown 696 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 1: made the theme song and does the mixy mixy sound thing. 697 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 1: Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing. Gay blues Yer 698 00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:50,120 Speaker 1: is our lead researcher, with support from the Research Army 699 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:53,120 Speaker 1: including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve 700 00:36:53,239 --> 00:36:55,680 Speaker 1: Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves. 701 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:57,719 Speaker 1: If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, 702 00:36:57,719 --> 00:36:59,520 Speaker 1: and if you really really like what you've heard, maybe 703 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:01,400 Speaker 1: you could leave have a good review for us. Did 704 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 1: we did? We forget Jason Jason, who