# a hynotherapst reckons he can cure my allergy, but can he? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 6, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810 "2015-06-06T19:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/1 "2015-06-06T19:22:45Z")
to wine…ever since I was a child I’ve been extremely allergic to wine, especially red wine. If I have one sip I immediately break out in a rash all over my face, and get a sensation I can only describe as having all the moisture being sucked out of my head. this lasts for hours after, usually, and I end up feeling ill. If I’m sitting at a table and other people are drinking wine I will start to get a rash on my face. Needless to say I avoid wine and anything it’s in like the plague. (the weird thing is I’m not allergic to grapes or any other alcoholic drink however) anyway my mother said she met a hypnotherapist who claimed he could **completely cure my allergy in one session**. I immediately said what a load of rubbish but she’s adamant that he could do it. it can’t be possible can it? just interested in what anyone here might think, I’m not an expert in hypnotherapy but how can he possibly cure an immediate physical reaction with words? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/2 "2015-06-06T19:35:04Z")
There’s a lot we don’t know about how your thoughts and emotions influence bodily reactions. But it does seem incredibly unlikely that–even if your allergy is psychosomatic–it could be resolved in a single session of any kind of therapy. But I’d say if this person claims they can cure you in a single session, offer to pay them three times their regular fee if they will refund it if you fail. That way, you have nothing to lose, and surely being able to enjoy the splendors of red wine will be worth it! ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/3 "2015-06-06T19:50:44Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > There’s a lot we don’t know about how your thoughts and emotions influence bodily reactions. But it does seem incredibly unlikely that–even if your allergy is psychosomatic–it could be resolved in a single session of any kind of therapy. > > But I’d say if this person claims they can cure you in a single session, offer to pay them three times their regular fee if they will refund it if you fail. That way, you have nothing to lose, and surely being able to enjoy the splendors of red wine will be worth it! hah… actually I don’t drink at all now, not because of this issue though, I just gave up. I guess what I’m doing is being stubborn and point-blank refusing to believe this guy could cure me of this with words alone. what’s he going to do, put me in a trance and say “convince yourself you are not allergic to wine” over and over? how can that possibly work. I get that with things like giving up smoking or fear of spiders then it’s a psychological thing and hypno could help, but curing a straight-forward physical reaction type allergy? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/4 "2015-06-06T20:01:00Z")
IMHO-- the claim is 100% Pure Weapons-Grade Baloneyium. Shun Oogie-Boogie. Hie thee to a MD. ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/5 "2015-06-06T20:05:55Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > IMHO-- the claim is **100% Pure Weapons-Grade Baloneyium**. hmm, wasn’t that a frank zappa album? but yes I agree ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/6 "2015-06-06T20:09:23Z")
btw, ideally what I’m looking for is a link to some kind of actual proof that this is nonsense, because it must be. done some googling but can’t find much of use… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/7 "2015-06-06T21:08:39Z")
Speaking as a physician who treats allergies (with more standard therapies like avoidance, 2nd generation antihistamines, leukotriene inhibitors, steroids, and on occasion immunotherapy I’d have to say the chance of success with hypnotherapy is quite low. ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/8 "2015-06-06T22:02:53Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Speaking as a physician who treats allergies (with more standard therapies like avoidance, 2nd generation antihistamines, leukotriene inhibitors, steroids, and on occasion immunotherapy I’d have to say the chance of success with hypnotherapy is quite low. thanks out of interest would you say it was even _possible_, let alone quite low (in your opinion, and I’m talking specifically about what I’ve described in this thread re: my allergy) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/9 "2015-06-06T22:07:42Z")
> [@spymaniac](#): > > thanks > > out of interest would you say it was even _possible_, let alone quite low (in your opinion, and I’m talking specifically about what I’ve described in this thread re: my allergy) Possible? In the way that spontaneous combustion occurring in the shower is possible. So unlikely that it’ll happen maybe once every million years. What you describe really suggests a strong chemical trigger and I don’t see hypnotism changing that. Just like hypnotism won’t stop vinegar and baking soda from fizzing when you mix them. Or mentos and diet coke. ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/10 "2015-06-06T22:18:10Z")
yeah sorry I meant ‘possible’ in the sense of not involving some bizarre 1-in-a million fluke, but I get your point… yes it is a chemical trigger. there’s times where I’ve opened someone’s fridge and physically recoiled, and sure enough found there was an open bottle of wine in there. it’s not something I’ve conditioned myself to react to or something which is connected to some unwanted memory. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/11 "2015-06-06T22:38:39Z")
Try Scientology. \* - Warning: Do not try Scientology. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/12 "2015-06-07T02:52:39Z")
**spymaniac** , the composition of wine includes things which aren’t found in grapes, or concentrations which are very different; from the description, your allergy is to one of the volatiles. Also, the grapes in your supermarket aren’t necessarily the same as those in the wine (how to give an enologist a stroke: suggest that seedless whites are the same as garnacha). Not only would hypnotism not work, but the attempt to check that you’re cured could kill you. That doesn’t seem healthy. I get asthma from certain foods, pollen… this includes instances such as “in the cantina at work, when I leave the dishes to be washed”. What do they have in the kitchen that my nose and throat hate? I don’t know but hypnotism isn’t going to clean it. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/13 "2015-06-07T05:48:25Z")
FWIW, I’ve had some training in hypnosis, and use it some with clients, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a reputable hypnotherapist who would make such a claim. Certainly in none of my trainings were such possibilities ever addressed. ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/14 "2015-06-07T13:52:41Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > - Warning: Do not try Scientology. sound advice… I think I’m allergic to them as well > [@Nava](#): > > Not only would hypnotism not work, but the attempt to check that you’re cured could kill you. That doesn’t seem healthy. yeah this is why I’m reluctant to even try it out ‘just in case’…one small sip of wine puts me in a very bad place, any more and who knows > [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > FWIW, I’ve had some training in hypnosis, and use it some with clients, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a reputable hypnotherapist who would make such a claim. Certainly in none of my trainings were such possibilities ever addressed. that’s useful to know, thanks… my guess is that any hypnotherapist who could cure allergies like mine (similar to peanut allergies in a way) would be world famous by now… cheers folks! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/15 "2015-06-07T15:08:10Z")
> [@spymaniac](#): > > btw, ideally what I’m looking for is a link to some kind of actual proof that this is nonsense, because it must be. done some googling but can’t find much of use… Just because you can’t find any, doesn’t mean it isn’t nonsense. It just means it’s not popular nonsense like (for example) homeopathy. For example, I could tell you that you could cure your allergy by eating a teaspoon of dog shit every full moon, at midnight, while facing north. That’s obviously nonsense (and, like the hypnotherapy idea, potentially quite harmful), but you’ll find zero evidence to refute it on google. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/16 "2015-06-07T18:27:40Z")
My girlfriend’s a hypnotherapist, and when I mentioned the idea in the OP immediately said it would not be possible unless the allergy was psychosomatic, which it certainly doesn’t sound like. In fact I’m also (less severely) allergic to red wine, so would have already have had the treatment (with friends and family discount I’d hope) if this were possible. ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/17 "2015-06-07T18:49:37Z")
> [@The\_Angry\_Badger](#): > > Just because you can’t find any, doesn’t mean it isn’t nonsense. It just means it’s not popular nonsense like (for example) homeopathy. > > For example, I could tell you that you could cure your allergy by eating a teaspoon of dog shit every full moon, at midnight, while facing north. That’s obviously nonsense (and, like the hypnotherapy idea, potentially quite harmful), but you’ll find zero evidence to refute it on google. true, but you know how the internet is eager to debunk anything pseudoscience or that remotely whiffs of BS… thought I might be able to find something at least > [@Staggerlee](#): > > My girlfriend’s a hypnotherapist, and when I mentioned the idea in the OP immediately said it would not be possible unless the allergy was psychosomatic, which it certainly doesn’t sound like. In fact I’m also (less severely) allergic to red wine, so would have already have had the treatment (with friends and family discount I’d hope) if this were possible. excellent thanks, nice to have it straight from a horse’s mouth (excuse the analogy) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/18 "2015-06-09T09:00:29Z")
The immune system is modulated by the brain, but whether hypnotherapy can access that, and whether such access can be used to cure allergies, I have my doubts. You also likely could find a video online of someone offering the same experience for free, if you want to try it. Be sure to listen to the video first, of course. EDIT: Yip. Just a basic search for [allergy hypnosis video](https://www.google.com/search?q=allergy+hypnosis+video). ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/19 "2015-06-09T18:03:37Z")
Is your allergy to money? I’m pretty sure that’s the only one they can cure. On the other hand, I’ve known people with what I’ll generously call psychosomatic allergies. Like a friend who would say things like “I can feel a headache coming on. This house must be infested by mold.” She was, at best, right half the time, so I’m calling BS on any physiological reaction. If there are pretend symptoms, then I see no reason that a pretend treatment can’t fix the problem. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810/20 "2015-06-09T19:05:34Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > FWIW, I’ve had some training in hypnosis, and use it some with clients, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a reputable hypnotherapist who would make such a claim. Certainly in none of my trainings were such possibilities ever addressed. What do you use hypnosis for? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hynotherapst-reckons-he-can-cure-my-allergy-but-can-he/721810.md?page=2)