I learned to drive more than 20 years ago in a mustard yellow VW beetle with my ageing father beside me playing the dual role of instructor and slightly hysterical passenger.  The one catch-cry that he screamed over and over again was, “Where’s the fire?  Where’s the fire?”  In case you require translation, this was his way of indicating that I was almost travelling at 60kmph & essentially meant, ‘unless you are part of the emergency services & on your way to a crisis there is no reason to be travelling this fast!’  I know, it’s a wonder I ever learned to drive!   But I’ve actually come to love that catch-cry, “Where’s the fire?” because for me it has become a pressing question in clinic every day. 

So many pathologies, from osteoporosis to depression, are now being viewed as essentially manifestations of excessive inflammation and as Jeffrey Bland said almost a decade ago, in the future all the specialists will be obsolete except for the inflammologist!  So while integrative health professionals seem to have even a great appreciation of the role of inflammation plays in a wide range of pathology, we are still often left guessing about where the inflammation is specifically coming from and why.  While in acute inflammation it might be enough to simply give herbal & nutritional anti-inflammatories – this is not an adequate or sustainable solution for our chronically inflamed patients – we need to get to the source and put out the fire rather than simply suppressing or fending off the mediators day after day, be that with turmeric or ibuprofen.

Wouldn’t it be good if we had a test that provided us with lots of directions and clues, enabling us to narrow in on the exact location and nature of the ‘fire’? Well guess what we do…and it’s not some exotic functional test that will leave your patients poorer but rather some pretty basic mainstream pathology panels such as the FBE, Immunoglobulin assays as well as the CRP & ESR.  We just have to know how to read them!

For example, do you know which of the inflammatory markers, white cells and globulins are what I call the ‘first on scene’ – there when the fire ignites but quick to drop away when the fire doesn’t extinguish immediately?  These include things like CRP, neutrophils and lymphocytes, but what markers do you look for in the chronically inflamed?  If you’re looking for these guys, they’re long gone!

When I read my patients’ results it’s as if suddenly their ‘fire’ is surrounded now by flashing lights & sirens…impossible to miss and being able to treat with such a clear target makes an enormous difference to my success rate.

I recently presented at the National Osteopathic Conference and spoke with a number of osteopaths there and guess what – they’re wondering about the same things with their patients, ‘Where’s the fire?’…now we can all answer that question.  If you need additional help with the interpretation of these parameters my Advanced Immunology Assessment Audio CD  is now available for purchase online https://rachelarthur.com.au/product/new-advanced-immunology-assessment/

And next time you’re wondering where is this patient’s inflammation coming from – go back to the basic tests to find your answers 🙂