Common Allergy Glossary Terms

GLOSSARY

·         ABSORPTION The process by which food substances are taken in through the intestinal wall and passed into the blood­stream.

·         ACARACIDE    A mite-killing product.

·         ACUPRESSURE The Chinese technique of massaging or putting pressure on specific body points to relieve pain.

·         ACUPUNCTURE The Chinese technique of puncturing specific body points with needles to relieve pain or disease symp­toms.

·         ACUTE Extremely sharp or severe, as in pain; refers to a sud­den intense illness or reaction.

·         ADDITIVES Substances such as preservatives or coloring agents added to foods to enhance appearance, taste, or freshness.

·         ADRENAL GLANDS A pair of glands, one located above each kidney. The outer core produces cortisone; the inner core or medulla produces adrenaline.

·         ADRENALINE A hormone secreted by the inner core of the adre­nal glands. Trademark name: Adrenalin. (See epinephrine.)

·         AFFIRMATION The act of making a positive statement and re­peating it over and over to enhance healing.

·         AIRWAYS    The air passages from nose to lungs.

·         ALLERGEN Any substance that causes an allergic reaction; an antigen, usually a protein of high molecular weight.

·         ALLERGENIC    Causing or producing an allergic reaction.

·         ALLERGIC RHINITIS    Hay fever; seasonal or perennial nasal in­flammation due to allergy.

·         ALLERGY A hypersensitivity to a specific substance that will not produce a reaction in nonallergic persons.

·         ANALGESIC A drug, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, that reduces pain.

·         ANAPHYLAXIS A severe and exceedingly dangerous allergic reaction, characterized by light-headedness, vomiting, cramps, and swollen throat passages that make breathing difficult. Suffocation and death may follow if the reaction is not treated immediately.

·         ANGIOEDEMA An allergic disorder in which large painless swellings, similar to hives, appear on the skin.

·         ANTIBODY A protein molecule the body produces to fight off foreign substances.

·         ANTIGEN Any substance, including toxins, viruses, bacteria, and chemicals, that the body perceives as an invader and that induces antibody formation. Used interchangeably with "allergen." (For the sake of clarity, this book uses only "allergen.")

·         ANTIHISTAMINE A medication that dries mucus and blocks the effects of histamine, a chemical manufactured by certain body cells; used to prevent or stop allergic reactions.

·         ARTHRALGIA    Pain in a joint.

·         ASTHMA A condition, usually allergic, caused by obstructed bronchial tubes. Symptoms include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest constriction.

·         ATOPY An inherited tendency to produce IgE antibodies to allergens.

·         AUTOIMMUNE A condition wherein the body makes antibod­ies against its own tissue or fluids.

·         AVOIDANCE The best way to treat allergies, by clearing away or staying away from known or suspected allergens.

·         BETA-AGONISTS    Drugs that relax bronchial muscles.

·         BETA-BLOCKERS Drugs usually used for high blood pressure and heart disorders; they produce constriction of the air­ways as a side effect and are usually harmful to asthmatics.

·         BINDER A substance added to pills or tablets to help hold them together.

·         BIODEGRADABLE A common claim on cleaning products, meaning that they are readily decomposed by microorgan­isms in water, soil, and septic systems.

·         BIOFEEDBACK The technique of trying to consciously regulate a body function thought to be involuntary, such as brain waves or heartbeat.

·         BRONCHI (Singular: bronchus) The two main branches of the trachea leading to the lungs. Also called bronchial tubes.

·         BRONCHITIS Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes.

·         BRONCHODILATOR    A medicine that opens the airways.

·         BRONCHOSPASM    A narrowing or constriction of the airways.

·         CANDIDA ALBICANS A genus of yeastlike fungi normally found in the body, but which can multiply and possibly cause infections, toxicity, or allergic sensitivity.

·         CANDIDIASIS Yeast disease; an infection caused by an over­growth of the yeastlike fungi that are part of the normal flora of the mouth, skin, intestinal tract, and vagina.

·         CARCINOGEN Any subject or agent that tends to produce a cancer.

·         CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM The brain and spinal cord serv­ing as a command module governing networks of nerves.

·         CEREBRAL ALLERGY Mental dysfunction caused by sensitivity to foods, chemicals, inhalants, or irritants in the environ­ment.

·         CHALLENGE TESTING A method of determining sensitivity by touching, eating, or inhaling a suspected substance and watching for a reaction.

·         CHRONIC Describing a recurrent disease or condition of long duration.

·         CLINICAL Having to do with the treatment of ill people as op­posed to experiments with laboratory animals.

·         CLINICAL ECOLOGY Environmental medicine; a branch of medicine that treats both classic and environmental allergies with diet, immunotherapy, and environmental control, and preferably without the use of drugs.

·         COLONIC IRRIGATION A highly controversial treatment that involves giving an enema to rid the body of toxins.

·         CONJUNCTIVITIS An inflammation of the conjunctiva, the mucous membrane that lines the inner eyelid.

·         CO NT ACT A NT    A substance that touches the skin.

·         CONTACT DERMATITIS A skin rash resulting from touching or rubbing some material.

·         CORTICOSTEROID (CCS) A family of potent hormones used therapeutically to treat inflammatory and allergic diseases; can be produced naturally in the adrenal glands or synthe­sized in a laboratory.

·         CORTISONE A corticosteroid (produced in the adrenal gland or in a laboratory) that helps regulate the immune system.

·         CROMOLYN Cromolyn sodium; a drug used to stabilize mast cells and prevent an allergic reaction.

·         CROUP A viral infection that causes hoarseness and breathing difficulties in children.

·         CUMULATIVE REACTION A reaction caused by an accumula­tion of allergens in the body.

·         CYTOTOXIC TEST A blood test purporting to determine food and chemical allergies by noting the action of an antigen on the patient's white blood cells.

·         DANDER Tiny particles of skin, saliva, or urine of an animal, which frequently cause allergies.

·         DECONGESTANT A drug that shrinks swollen membranes and blood vessels, especially in the sinuses.

·         DERMATITIS Inflammation of the skin due to any of many causes.

·         DERMOGRAPHISM Appearance of hives or red welts on the skin as a result of stroking, rubbing, or pressure.

·         DESENSITIZATION A process to reduce allergy by injecting gradually increasing amounts of the offending allergen. A more accurate term is hyposensitization, because complete de-sensitization is never achieved.

·         DETOXIFICATION The process of removing or neutralizing toxic substances in the body.

·         DIGESTIVE SYSTEM A group of organs, including the mouth, stomach, liver, pancreas, and intestines, that change food into forms the body can absorb or excrete.

·         DOUBLE-BLIND TRIAL A controlled study of a drug in a clini­cal situation in which neither the administrators nor the re­cipients know which patients are getting an active substance and which are receiving a placebo.

·         ECZEMA A dry, itchy, noncontagious skin rash usually caused by allergy.

·         EDEMA    Swelling of body tissue due to excessive fluid.

·         ELIMINATION DIET A diet that temporarily eliminates com­monly allergenic foods and those suspected of causing aller­gic symptoms in a specific patient.

·         EMPHYSEMA    A chronic lung disease.

·         ENDORPHINS Morphinelike chemicals produced by the brain and released after strenuous exercise; said to relieve pain and induce feelings of euphoria and well-being.

·         ENVIRONMENT The total circumstances or surroundings in which an organism exists.

·         ENVIRONMENTAL ILLNESS A complex set of symptoms caused by adverse reactions to substances in the environment.

·         ENZYME A substance, usually a protein formed in living cells, that starts or stops biochemical reactions.

·         EOSINOPHIL A type of white blood cell that, in increased numbers, indicates the presence of allergy or parasitic infection.

·         EPINEPHRINE A powerful adrenal hormone that prepares the body for "fight or flight" by stimulating the heart, raising blood pressure, and constricting blood vessels. It also re­laxes bronchial spasms and is vital to treating anaphylactic shock. Trade name: Adrenalin.

·         EXTRACT The treatment dilution of an allergen used in testing and immunotherapy.

·         FDA The Food and Drug Administration, a government regu­latory agency.

·         FOOD FAMILY A grouping of foods with similar botanical or biological characteristics.

·         FORMALDEHYDE A colorless, irritating gas used chiefly as a disinfectant and preservative.

·         FRAGRANCE Any natural or synthetic substance used solely to impart an odor to a cosmetic product.

·         FRAGRANCE-FREE A frequently misleading term that suggests a product may be nonirritating or nonallergenie.

·         FUNGUS Any of a large group of lower parasitic plants lack­ing chlorophyll, including molds, yeasts, mildews, and mushrooms.

·         GAMETE    A male or female reproductive cell.

·         GASTROINTESTINAL Pertaining to the digestive tract, includ­ing the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum.

·         GENERIC The name of a drug as distinct from the registered brand name of the same chemical preparation.

·         G E N ETIC    Inherited through the parents' genes.

·         GENITOURINARY Genital plus urinary; the body's reproduc­tive and urinary system, including kidneys, urethra, blad­der, and genitals.

·         GLUCOSE A simple sugar that is easily absorbed into body metabolism.

·         GLUTEN A protein in wheat and other grains thought to pro­duce an allergic reaction (usually cramps and diarrhea) in susceptible people.

·         HERBALISM    The practice of treating illness with herbs.

·         HISTAMINE An organic compound released in allergic reac­tions, which causes dilation of capillaries, constriction of the bronchi, and increased gastric secretion.

·         HOLISTIC An approach to medicine that treats the person as a whole and focuses on nutrition, living habits, and a positive emotional outlook.

·         HOMEOPATHY A method of treating disease based on the the­ory that a substance that produces disease in a healthy per­son will also, in minute doses, cure the disease.

·         HORMONE A chemical substance, secreted by a gland, that travels through the blood to another part of the body where it exerts its stimulatory effect.

·         HYDRATION    Combining with water.

·         HYPER-    A prefix meaning more than normal.

·         HYPERSENSITIVITY    The allergic state.

·         HYPERSOMNIA    Excessive sleep or drowsiness.