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Investigations

Investigations

Identifying the cause is the first step in understanding why your health has been affected. At The Burghwood Clinic we use a variety of tests, each recommended according to the specific needs of the individual. Some are carried out during the consultation, others requires samples to be sent to specialist laboratories. We use hospital or independent accredited laboratories, who have devised innovative tests that are not yet widely used in daily practice. Some of our tests are currently available only in a few academic centres. In our era, it is possible to see in great detail the inner structure or the membrane of the living cell, yet very little of this information, if any, is generally available to clinicians. The aim is to find the underlying causal factors for the symptoms and with this understanding we can formulate a management with the best chances to address your health problem; this might empower you to take control of your own health and well-being.

Investigations available

  • Allergy tests - specific IgE screens ("RAST") for foods or inhalant allergies, Skin Prick Tests
  • Vitamins, important minerals, essential fatty acids - to assess anti-oxidant defences and cell chemistry; iodine assay (a common but undiagnosed deficiency in the West)
  • Detailed stool analyses - information on healthy bacteria, bacterial (SIBO) or fungal overgrowth, amoebas and inflammatory markers e.g. calprotectin, lysozyme or sIgA
  • Helicobacter and clostridium difficile - associated with multiple pathologies and mental problems
  • Food reactivities - usually involving Th1 & Th2 lymphocytes
  • Test for fructose/sugar intolerance
  • Urine metabolites of infectious agents; assays of heavy metals
  • A range of tests to assess chemical load - from metals, food & environmental chemicals, VOC's or silicones, depending on history
  • Hormone profiles - female, male (oestrogen, DHEA, testosterone, cortisol), thyroid, growth hormone (HGH), adrenal stress
  • Tests to assess mitochondrial performance, ATP, free-radicals attached to DNA ("epigenetic" changes), metal burden, cell defences (Glutathione, SOD-ase), mitochondrial membrane
  • Cardio-vascular risk assessment
  • Virology profiles - mycoplasma, Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme's (borellia), CMV, helpful in many so-called "auto-immune" conditions and their management
  • Mold tests
  • Indoor air-contaminants, water purity

Clients living away from the Clinic can be provided with appropriate containers for various samples collection locally.

Anaphylaxis (Nut Allergy)

Potentially life-threatening allergic reactions.

Angio-Oedema

Acute swelling affecting eyes and lips, maybe linked with urticaria.

Asthma

Often allergy to dust mites, moulds pollens, animals or foods.

Eczema

Not just a simple allergy to dust, house dust mites, pets or moulds.

Hay Fever

Hay Fever symptoms are responsible for ruined exams and the lives of millions in glorious weather.

Oral Allergy Syndrome

Tingling lips and mouth, oral burning, soreness - not a life sentence.

Perennial (allergic) Rhinitis

Can be caused by dust mites, food intolerance or even chemical sensitivity.

Pet Allergy

Itchy eyes, stuffy nose, sneezing and wheezing are treatable symptoms of dog and cat allergy.

Urticaria (hives)

Can be a local or generalised blotchy rash accompanied by skin irritation.

Wasp and Bee Sting Allergy

From localised swelling and redness to life-threatening symptoms, advice and treatment.

Amoebic Parasites: Blastocystis Hominis, Dientamoeba Fragilis, Entamoeba Histolytica

Rarely routinely tested for in the UK. Not only contracted in the tropics but also in the UK.

Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Behavioural problems in children which can be due to changes affecting the functionality of the brain and the immune system.

Babies and Children's Problems

Virus, infection or other cause?

Candida and Fungal Problems

Yeasts are not just harmless micro-organisms causing trivial problems.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS / ME)

Is it all in the mind? Up to 80% of all people with chronic fatigue have a history of classic allergies.

Colitis and Crohn's Disease

Food intolerance is the main cause of Crohn's Disease, which fasting seems to stop.

Depression, Anxiety and Mental Illness

Not in the mind! Pharmaco-active substances and immune reactivities affect the brain cell chemistry. Depression and schizophrenia are now seen as disorders involving the immune system. In turn it reacts to external triggers

Fibromyalgia

Is persistent pain felt at specific points on the body.

Food Intolerance / Non-allergic Food Hypersensitivity

Responsible for many modern day conditions and ill-health.

Gluten & Wheat Intolerance and Coeliac Disease

Gluten Intolerance may not be the whole story, wheat and grains could be the problem.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Other Digestive Problems

Not a "psychosomatic" problem - Reflux, gastritis, gastric ulcers are all caused by infections (Helicobacter and Fungal or Bacterial Overgrowth and/or food reactivities)

Migraine

Is actually an immune phenomenon, its just the head reacting first. Why?

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

From food additives, perfume ingredients, fabrics, paints, petrol, detergents and fire retardants.

Obesity

Obesity is now described as the third epidemic and is linked to cancer and other diseases.

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis

Acute or chronic Inflammation of joints in adults with or without positive blood markers of inflammation

Chelation

Chelation is any form of detoxification from metals, which uses specific chemical agents (orally or intravenously), known to be able to "bind" on metal molecules and dispose them. Common chelating agents used for this purpose include EDTA, DMPS, DMSA and a few others.

Dietary Management

Foods used regularly in a person’s diet often play a big part in the occurrence of specific or generalised symptoms, which modern Medicine fails to consider as diagnostic options due to the absence of highly accurate laboratory tests.

Enzyme Potentiated Desensitisation

An "ultra-low" dose method of immunotherapy for allergies to inhalants, foods or chemicals, when avoidance of the causal agents is not possible. EPD has been found to reduce levels of immunoglobulin E, after repeated booster doses, thereby preventing histamine release.

Intravenous Nutritional Therapy IVNT

A combination of high potency nutrients (vitamins, minerals and others) are used to improve quality of life along with other conventional treatments for problems related to the nervous system, memory/mental faculties, cancer, pain threshold, chronic inflammation and blood circulation.

Low-dose Immunotherapy

A highly customised method of desensitisation, which blocks immune reactions to foods, inhalants or environmental chemicals within a few weeks.

Low-dose Naltrexone

Naltrexone is a medication used to help people overcome addictive substances. Diluted versions of the same medicine are known to modulate the immune system and, as a result, reduce various types of inflammation.

Micro-immunotherapy

This approach to medical problems deploys micro-doses of cytokines (communication signalling proteins produced by immune system cells) to stimulate a more efficient performance of the immune system.

Nutritional Infusions

We are now able to arrange administration of some nutritional infusions at home or in specific clinical locations, for people who travelling difficult or are homebound. This service is currently available in parts of the Midlands and the South East.

Oral Nutritional Supplementation

Vitamins, minerals, essential fats and a host of other nutrients are working together to nurture every cell in the body, detoxify and support its thousands of reactions to optimise health

Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT)

Desensitisation for inhalant allergies, hay fever, cat allergy, dog allergy, house dust mites.

Blood Tests

Tests to identify classic allergies to inhalants and foods; to offer guidance in identifying non-allergic food hypersensitivities and deficiencies of important nutrients; to assess under-performing mitochondria, heavy metal and chemical load and the role of previous contact with infectious agents, which may affect the immune system.

Dietary Tests

Elimination and Challenge is the most effective and scientifically supported method to identify food reactivities and intolerances, if circumstances are appropriate. It is a potent tool in the diagnosis of food re-activities

Other Allergy Tests

Explanation of alternative allergy tests available on the market.

Skin Tests

A variety of tests to identify inhalant and food allergies as well as contact allergies to chemical agents.