Living Allergy Free : How to Create and Maintain an Allergen- and Irritant-Free Environment

In this commonsense book, Dr. Gershwin and Dr. Klingelhofer offer sensible, practical strategies for identifying the substances that cause allergies (allergens), the symptoms they cause, ways exposure to allergens can be avoided or reduced, and ways you can relieve the symptoms. Living Allergy Free also treats some reactions that are commonly assumed to be allergies, but are really sensitivity or irritant reactions, shows how they can be distinguished from true allergies, and tells you what to do about them. If you suffer from allergies-or if you think you do-Living Allergy Free is just what the doctor would order! Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Allergens and Irritants....Pages 3-15 Front Matter....Pages 17-17 What Allergens Are and Why People Have Allergies....Pages 19-27 Irritants and Acquired Defects in Immunity....Pages 29-41 Front Matter....Pages 43-43 Strategies for Locating the Causes of Allergic or Irritant Reactions....Pages 45-63 Strategies for Avoiding Causes of Allergic or Irritant Reactions....Pages 65-75 Front Matter....Pages 77-77 The Food You Eat....Pages 79-98 The Air You Breathe....Pages 99-110 The Water You Drink and Other Liquids....Pages 111-122 The Things You Touch or Are Touched By....Pages 123-135 Front Matter....Pages 137-137 Establishing and Maintaining a Sound, Safe Diet....Pages 139-150 Building a Safe House....Pages 151-172 Inside the Home....Pages 173-192 At Work....Pages 193-204 In Health Care Settings....Pages 205-223 Travel, School, and on the Road....Pages 225-235 Sick Building Syndromes....Pages 237-247 Front Matter....Pages 249-249 Private and Public Sources of Help....Pages 251-263 Back Matter....Pages 265-294