What PANS/PANDAS, Long COVID, CIRS, MCAS, Long Lyme and Autism Have in Common
It may surprise you to learn that PANS/PANDAS, long COVID, CIRS, MCAS, long Lyme and coinfections, and autism share key traits: a dysregulated immune function and chronic inflammation. I see dysregulated immune systems and chronic inflammation quite a bit in the clients I work with. Read on for a discussion on the dysregulated immune system, chronic inflammation, why I believe understanding shared traits among health conditions is important, and homeopathic remedies frequently used in my practice to support clients with these conditions.
The immune system is a complex and brilliantly designed system that is an important part of our even more complex and brilliantly designed bodies. Our immune system has developed in harmony with our environment, including bacteria, pathogens, etc., since the dawn of time and we’ve had time to work out the kinks. However, in the last 75 years or so, there’s been a rapid rise in the number of complex and chronic conditions impacting us. Why that’s happening is a topic for another post; the key point is that our environment – lifestyle, medical interventions, farming practices, etc. – has changed quickly and our immune systems are not yet equipped to manage the changes. Our old immune system is functioning in our new reality and a key result is a dysregulated immune system and chronic inflammation, causing high incidence of chronic and complex illness.
So, what is a dysregulated immune system? Let’s start with some immune system basics. Please keep in mind, for the purpose of this blog post, I’m focusing on a small subset of the overall immune system in a highly simplified way. The job of the immune system is to tidy up and houseclean. It protects us from an accumulation of our own cells, if they’re dead or damaged (including cancerous or malignant), and prevents external disease-causing microorganisms from invading and multiplying too much.
Our immune systems use four tools to do this important work: mast cells, histamine, cytokines, and inflammation. Mast cells release histamine and cytokines. Histamine is a chemical messenger that creates allergic reactions and inflammation, and cytokines are chemical messengers focused on regulating and coordinating the body’s inflammatory response, increasing and decreasing inflammation, sending more immune cells, etc. There are hundreds of varieties of cytokines for this precise and coordinated work. Inflammation is the body’s protective response to infection, injury, or harmful stimuli manifesting as redness, swelling, heat and pain. Regulated by cytokines, mast cells and histamine can either promote or suppress inflammation and this inflammatory action.
A dysregulated immune system is a state in which mast cells, histamine, and cytokines fail to maintain a balanced inflammatory response, either excessively promoting, or insufficiently resolving, inflammation.
So, why do immune systems stay in pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory states too long? Here are some causes:
Chronic infections - persistent infections, such as Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr virus, or chronic viral infections can cause cytokines to remain in a pro-inflammatory state for too long. This can happen when an immune system is impaired due to underlying conditions, genetic predispositions, or other factors that weaken a body’s ability to fight off infection. Chronic inflammation from any source can exhaust the immune system, leading to an impaired ability to fight off other infection. Additionally, some infections can become dormant or have other immune evasion strategies.
Chronic environmental toxic exposure – mold, heavy metals, pesticides, air pollution, plastics, carbon monoxide, and many other ongoing toxic particles may keep mast cells activated.
Autoimmune conditions – in a healthy immune system, anti-inflammatory cytokines help resolve inflammation. In autoimmune conditions, there are a few ways that this can be disrupted. First, there can be an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals, which can prevent the resolution of the inflammation. Additionally, molecular mimicry may mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues because certain proteins in the bacteria resemble human proteins, leading to chronic inflammatory states.
Gut microbiome imbalance – disruptions in gut flora due to poor diet, antibiotic use, chemicals in the food chain, or infections can lead to cytokine imbalances and more pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Chronic stress – chronic stress triggers the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which modulates cytokine production and can lead to cytokine dysregulation.
Immune system exhaustion or overreaction – in some cases, notably long covid and CIRS, the immune system gets exhausted after prolonged activation and the body fails to effectively shut off the inflammatory response. This opens the door to a weakened ability to fight off other infections.
Improper cytokine signaling – hyperactive release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, aka cytokine storms, can be caused by pre-existing conditions, infections or other pro-inflammatory states, certain autoimmune disease, certain cancer therapies, genetic predisposition, and pre-existing chronic inflammation conditions can exacerbate pro-inflammatory cytokines. Another improper signal can be the under-signaling of anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Inherited genetic predisposition - a family history of autoimmune disease and/or specific gene mutations related to mitochondrial function, how the immune system responds to infection, and detox capabilities are examples of genetics that play an important role in susceptibility to a dysregulated immune system.
PANS/PANDAS, long COVID, CIRS, MCAS, long Lyme and coinfections, and autism all share the key features of immune dysfunction and chronic inflammation. A broad and deep understanding of these modern conditions and their shared traits is useful because many people with one of these conditions have multiple conditions, and, absent support, are susceptible to more. Understanding what you’re working with is the first step towards improvement.
How can homeopathy help?
Homeopathy shines in supporting conditions that are difficult for modern medicine to resolve. I’ve seen that homeopathy can support the body in improving symptoms of PANS/PANDAS, long COVID, CIRS, MCAS, long Lyme and coinfections, and autism. A thorough understanding of the onset of symptoms, progression of symptoms, full toxilogical history, and current expression of symptoms is critical. Sometimes a good constitutional remedy is all that’s required. Most of the time, for clients with complex and chronic conditions, a more comprehensive plan is needed. An initial plan often incorporates a constitutional remedy, miasmiatic support for inherited susceptibility, support for detox pathways, and remedies that support reducing inflammation and histamine. Once inflammation is down, specific detoxes can be layered on. In other cases, sensitivities to things like EMF or specific sarcode support are indicated. Over time, as vitality improves and the symptom picture is less layered, a good constitutional remedy may be all that is needed.
There are many remedies understood to support and target specific aspects of these conditions. Here are a few that I regularly use in my practice:
Reduce inflammation: Belladonna, Apis, Hyoscyamus, Stramonium, Tarentula, Tuberculinum.
Reduce histamine: Apis, Histiminum, Natrum muriaticum
Support healthy detoxification function: Chelidonium, Berberis, Nux vomica
Reduce sensitivity and proliferation of internal mold: EMF shielding remedies, Mixed Mold, Poly Fungal Plus, Thuja
Support elimination of pathogens and support healthy immune response to future exposures: Strep, EBV, Covid, Spike protein, etc.
Support elimination of other toxic agents: Heavy metal detox, Birth Control detox, Medication detox
Support balanced immune function: Carcinosin, Silica, Phosphorus, Arsenicum album, Ferrum phosphoricum
Support healthy GI immune function: Bowel nosodes, Lycopodium, Nux vomica
Homeopathic remedies are designed to support deep healing, are gentle, safe, and effective. Care takes time and perseverance. Homeopathic support reducing inflammation, the specific trigger, the susceptible organs, immune hyper-sensitivity, and detoxification may all be needed. Healing is possible!
Please reach out to begin your healing journey today.
***Sue McKinley Homeopathy is not a doctor. The information presented here is for informational purposes only. Please consult your physician for concerns about chronic and complex health conditions.***
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