The prevalence of allergic diseases has increased dramatically over recent decades, both in terms of the number of sufferers and the number of allergies. This is a trend that has frequently been referred to as 'the epidemic of the 21st century'. As described in ancient texts, allergies have been known for over 2,000 years, but the term 'allergy' was only coined at the beginning of the 20th century when doctors began to understand their pathophysiological basis. This book presents a detailed and varied historical overview of the field of allergology. Beginning with insights on allergy from antiquity to the 20th century and the development of the associated terminology, it compiles historical reflections on the understanding of the most common allergic diseases. Important milestones in the discovery of mechanisms of allergy are described, followed by historical accounts of the detection of allergens such as pollen, dust mites, peanuts and latex, and of environmental influences such as pollution and the relationship between farmers and their environment. Several chapters illustrate the progress made in allergy management to date. Particular highlights of this book are the personal reflections of and interviews with a number of pioneers of allergy, including F. Austen, J. Bienenstock, K. Blaser, A. de Weck, A.W. Frankland, K. Ishizaka, and many more. Concluding with portrayals of allergy societies and collections, as well as being supplemented by two films, this book represents a veritable treasure trove of fascinating and richly illustrated information. Not only researchers, physicians and medical historians, but also students and even non-scientists will find History of Allergy a scientific adventure well worth reading.

It attacks through foods, animals, and innumerable chemical combinations. It is among the most common and potentially lethal afflictions known. It is the allergy, the subject of Mark Jackson’s fascinating chronicle. Jacksoninvestigates how the allergy became the archetypal “disease of civilization,” as it transformed from a fringe malady of the wealthy into one of the greatest medical disorders of the twentieth century. Jackson also examines the social and economic impact of the allergy, as it catalyzed a new health-conscious culture and created the wealth of some of the largest companies in the world today. Whether cats, crabgrass, or cheese is the source of your daily misery, Jackson’s engaging and in-depth account is an invaluable addition to every bookshelf.

Allergy is the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the United States. More than fifty million Americans suffer from allergies, and they spend an estimated $18 billion coping with them. Yet despite advances in biomedicine and enormous investment in research over the past fifty years, the burden of allergic disease continues to grow. Why have we failed to reverse this trend? Breathing Space offers an intimate portrait of how allergic disease has shaped American culture, landscape, and life. Drawing on environmental, medical, and cultural history and the life stories of people, plants, and insects, Mitman traces how America’s changing environment from the late 1800s to the present day has led to the epidemic growth of allergic disease. We have seen a never-ending stream of solutions to combat allergies, from hay fever resorts, herbicides, and air-conditioned homes to numerous potions and pills. But, as Mitman shows, despite the quest for a magic bullet, none of the attempted solutions has succeeded. Until we address how our changing environment—physical, biological, social, and economic—has helped to create America’s allergic landscape, that hoped-for success will continue to elude us.

To some, food allergies seem like fabricated cries for attention. To others, they pose a dangerous health threat. Food allergies are bound up with so many personal and ideological concerns that it is difficult to determine what is medical and what is myth. Another Person's Poison parses the political, economic, cultural, and genuine health factors of a phenomenon that dominates our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. For most of the twentieth century, food allergies were considered a fad or junk science. While many physicians and clinicians argued that certain foods could cause a range of chronic problems, from asthma and eczema to migraines and hyperactivity, others believed that allergies were psychosomatic. 'This book traces the trajectory of this debate and its effect on public-health policy and the production, manufacture, and consumption of food. Are rising allergy rates purely the result of effective lobbying and a booming industry built on self-diagnosis and expensive remedies? Or should physicians become more flexible in their approach to food allergies and more careful in their diagnoses? Exploring the issue from scientific, political, economic, social, and patient-centered perspectives, this book is the first to engage fully with the history of a major modern affliction, illuminating society's troubled relationship with food, disease, nature, and the creation of medical knowledge.

Essential Reading for Every Parent In the early 1990s, tens of thousands of children with severe peanut and food allergies arrived for kindergarten at schools in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. The phenomenon of a life-threatening allergy in kids in only these countries occurred simultaneously, without warning, and it quickly intensified. The number of peanut allergic children in the United States alone went from virtually none to about two million in just twenty years. As these children have aged, the combined number of American adults and children allergic to peanuts has grown to a total of four million. How and why has this epidemic occurred? In The Peanut Allergy Epidemic, Heather Fraser explains: Precisely when the peanut allergy epidemic began How a child-specific allergy epidemic happened before, at the close of the nineteenth century That in the early twentieth century doctors including the 1913 Nobel Prize in medicine winner identified vaccination as the cause of the first pediatric allergy epidemic impacting 50 percent of children That more than one hundred years of medical literature describes how vaccination creates allergy to what is in the shot, air, or body at the time of injection How changes in US vaccination legislation sparked the allergy epidemic in children Fraser also highlights alternative medicines and explores issues of vaccine safety and other food allergies, making this fully updated second edition a must-read for every parent, teacher, and health professional.

Chad, a young chipmunk, is allergic to tree nuts. Outlines precautions children, their friends and caregivers can take to prevent or treat an allergic reaction: how to order food in restaurants, read food labels, and identify an allergic reaction. Describes the importance of an allergy bracelet and epinephrine kit.

For children with food allergies, eating—one of the basic functions of life—can be a nightmare. Children who suffer or become dangerously ill after eating peanuts, seafood, milk, eggs, wheat, or a host of other foods require constant vigilance from caring, concerned parents, teachers, and friends. In this empathetic and comprehensive guide, Dr. Scott H. Sicherer, a specialist in pediatric food allergies, gives parents the information they need to manage their children’s health and quality of life. He describes why children develop food allergy, the symptoms of food allergy (affecting the skin, the gastrointestinal tract, and the respiratory system), and the role of food allergy in behavioral problems and developmental disabilities. Parents will learn how to recognize emergency situations, how to get the most out of a visit with an allergist, what allergy test results mean, and how to protect their children—at home, at school, at summer camp, and in restaurants. Informative, compassionate, and practical, this guide will be indispensable for parents, physicians, school nurses, teachers, and everyone else who cares for children with food allergies.