EASTHAMPTON — After developing severe allergies that were affecting daily life, South Hadley resident Elsa Carrier was frustrated by a lack of solutions coming from mainstream health care. That changed when she noticed a quick decline in allergy symptoms after visiting Allergy Relief Care in Easthampton.
“I feel better, it’s a treatment approach that we’re just not used to. It’s not like going to the doctor and getting allergy shots. I stopped that and now I know I feel better,” said Carrier.
After living without any allergies for years, Carrier started getting intense allergic reactions from different foods including nuts and dairy products. The allergies began after getting a COVID-19 booster vaccination, which Carrier feels may have been the cause of her allergies.
“I heard people talking about developing allergies after the COVID shot. I think after I got my second booster, I ate a coconut cookie and I just broke out. My throat got puffy, nose, eyes. It was really crazy,” she said.
Visiting her physician, Carrier began treatment through allergy shots and other methods which helped alleviate symptoms for a short period of time, before they flared up again.
Frustrated with a lack of improvement, she visited Allergy Relief Care and was relieved to see an alternative method that yielded positive results. Since undergoing multiple treatments, her acid reflux has alleviated and Carrier has returned to eating some of the foods she previously enjoyed before developing symptoms.
Having opened earlier this year at 247 Northampton St., Owner Shoshana Wirth wanted to create a harm-free treatment method for her community, including people like Carrier who are struggling to find solutions to their allergy symptoms.
With more than 15 years of experience as a nurse, Wirth expressed similar frustrations to Carrier, disappointed by a lack of results while trying to treat her husband and daughter’s allergies. Looking for different solutions, Wirth found an answer after visiting family members in San Francisco, who had been using the treatment Wirth has now adopted at her own practice. After years of chronic allergies and seeing her husband and daughter go through uncomfortable allergy shots and scratch testing, they started feeling better through the new treatment.
“It was wild,” Wirth said about finding the new treatment and seeing it work. “It was one of those experiences where I thought, ‘why isn’t this available to everyone, everywhere, all the time?’ It’s so simple, straightforward, effective and gentle. There are no needles and scratch testing that is part of most allergy treatment processes.”
The treatment is provided by the company Advanced Allergy Therapeutics (AAT), that aims to provide a discomfort-free approach used by licensed practitioners, without the use of needles, scratching or exposure to substances that cause allergic reactions. AAT treatment is offered by more than 100 practitioners around the country on people of all ages.
For Wirth, it is not a matter of people getting rid of substances that cause reactions such as dairy products, pollen and dust, but rather retraining the body to get used to them, since allergens are considered harmless substances. At its core, the method uses muscle massaging or “acupressure” to help alleviate patients.
According to the AAT website, the treatment analyzes bodily responses to substances through the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). This is done through a AAT-designed “digital signal system” that uses a cuff wrapped around the arm of a patient. The cuff connects to a laptop, where practitioners can access a system that can represent more than 65,000 substances that represent allergens, that are transmitted through the cuff to the patient, providing zero discomfort to patients.
When a signal is perceived as a substance that someone is allergic to, their muscle momentarily freezes. During that brief time, Wirth is able to identify that substance as a stressor to the body and uses acupressure to retrain the body to be more accepting to the substance or stressor. Acupressure involves applying pressure to specific points on the body.
Wirth admits that it sounds complicated, but the results speak for themselves.
“I saw it firsthand with my family getting treated, and (thought) ‘this is a little bit too good to be true.’ But everybody I have worked with so far — about 30 patients — has had some sort of positive improvement and I’ve had a really wide range of problems,” she said.
Wirth treats for a variety of allergies including food, seasonal and animal. She also helps patients with eczema and skin irritations, irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux and more. While it is unlikely the treatment will get rid of symptoms entirely, Wirth said many patients see positive long-term effects. She cautions, however, that there are no guarantees the symptoms won’t return long-term after treatment.
The treatment does have limits, as Wirth does not treat patients for allergens that cause anaphylaxis. Certain patients see results as early as 24 hours after the first session though not every patient will see results.
“She’s (Wirth) really good at explaining your central nervous system, your health and how what you eat affects you,” Carrier explained about the treatment. “Even explaining allergens and how they affect your body and health. Right away I developed this trust in her because she comes across as really compassionate and someone who really knows — she’s a nurse so she has background knowledge — how everything is connected.”
A patient’s first session lasts about 60-90 minutes. Wirth uses this time to get to know the patient and their history with allergies, while completing an initial allergy identification test with the AAT technology. Wirth says she seeks to create a plan and collaborate to figure out what is best for the patient.
After the initial meeting, appointments last about 30-45 minutes and can be scheduled at the will of the patient. During following appointments, Wirth will target allergen “families” to help alleviate symptoms caused by specific substances.
For example, Wirth explained one patient came for three different sessions to address seasonal allergies. One session, she targeted the family of tree pollens and the next session she targeted the family of grass pollens, toward the beginning of the summer. The patient’s symptoms alleviated until recently when they returned for another session as the seasons start to change.
The first session costs $225 and follow-ups, $110. Treatment packages are offered for multiple sessions as well.
With her background in nursing, Wirth credits her work in primary care, population health and care management, with helping her learn how to teach patients the best practices for navigating the health system. She feels her experience has shown her that every patient requires something different and uses that mindset in her current practice.
“The best thing for the person is different for every person I have worked with,” she said. “Every individual is an individual, and has unique needs.”
Wirth emphasized that Allergy Relief Care is not a replacement for primary care, but is an alternative for people looking for another option. She feels there are many positive advances in medical technology occurring that people should have more access to and should be informed about.
