Allergic

<b>Dr. Theresa MacPhail</b> is a medical anthropologist former journalist and associate professor of science and technology studies who researches and writes about global health biomedicine and disease. She holds PhDs from the University of California - Berkeley and University of California San Francisco. Brilliantly comprehensive and highly readable... The first ever book to track both the history of allergies and the state of modern allergy science MacPhail's passion for her subject is evident as she brings to life and personalises a phenomenally complex field Important and deeply researched... MacPhail's compassionate insights into the problem make for engrossing reading An exhaustive exploration of the science of allergies A fascinating account that most of us (sniffle sniffle) will find of compelling interest and also a powerful reminder that what we do to the world around us eventually affects the world inside us <i>Allergic</i> is the definitive biography of allergies. This accessible comprehensive and troubling portrait should be read by all who suffer and those who care about them which as MacPhail so carefully documents is such an astounding number that it includes almost all of us <i>Allergic</i> is just the sort of thoughtful comprehensible and comprehensive book we urgently need to understand how rapidly changing modern environments are interacting with our ancient immune systems to cause a frightening explosion in allergies An astute empathetic and wonderfully informative investigation. Theresa MacPhail makes a persuasive case that cooperation-with each other and with our internal ecosystems-is the key to relief Comprehensively researched deftly told and radiating both intellect and passion <i>Allergic</i><i> </i>is essential reading for anyone interested in our bodies and our world. I am grateful to have this book to share with my allergy patients <p>Hay fever. Peanut allergies. Eczema. Billions of people worldwide have some form of allergy; millions have one severe enough to seriously endanger their health. And over the past decade the number of people diagnosed with allergy has been steadily increasing an ever-growing medical burden on individuals families and our health care system.<br><br>Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail herself an allergy sufferer whose father died of a bee sting set out to understand why. The result is a holistic and deeply researched examination of allergies from their first medical description in 1819 to the mind-bending new treatments that are giving patients hope. MacPhail spent years interviewing hundreds of experts patients and activists in an effort to understand how recent changes in our environment and lifestyle are contributing to the dramatic rise in cases globally. Pollution chemicals antibiotics and increasingly climate change are all making our immune systems become more and more irritated. But as she shows us in <i>Allergic</i> understanding what is irritating us and why will help us to craft better environments in the future-so we can all breathe easier.</p>