WHAT IS AN ALLERGY?
This question is easily answered if we think of an allergy as a hypersensitivity to a certain kind, or variety, of different substances – allergens. This hypersensitivity may cause such drastic reactions that it seems as though the patient has been poisoned. For example, I am acquainted with the son of a pharmacist who becomes ill if only the smallest amount of egg is present in his food. A late friend of mine in New York would react in a similar way to wheat. Whenever he ate a piece of bread or pastry made with wheat flour he became critically ill. Professor Abderhalden once told me of one of his assistants who suffered with head swellings every time he ate white beans. Other people may have allergic reactions to daffodils, primulas, strawberries, rhubarb and even blueberries.
Merely touching certain flowers can cause skin eruptions, urticaria and other skin disorders in people who are allergic to them. Fruits can have the same effect, or they can cause a person to vomit. It is also known that some people are allergic to certain animal proteins and fats. Others I have observed become violently ill when eating seafood, such as crabs, lobster or any other shellfish.
*344/28/1*
