Allergies in Historical Perspective

"Allergic diseases are often viewed as modern day ailments—in part because there has been an increase in the number of individuals affected, but also because allergy awareness has increased dramatically. Before the 20th century, the symptoms of allergic reactions would come and go, seemingly triggered by invisible causes. Because of the mysterious nature of allergies, ancient people believed that reactions were brought about by evil spirits, curses"

Allergies Historical Perspective

Early Reports of Allergies

"Perhaps the earliest report of allergic disease is that of King Menses of Egypt, who was killed by the sting of a wasp at some time between 3640 and 3300 BC. Another report from ancient history is that of Britannicus, the son of the Roman Emperor Claudius. He was allergic to horses and "would develop a rash and his eyes swelled to the extent that he could not see where he was going". Accordingly, the honour of riding at the head of the young patricians fell to Nero who was Claudius’s adopted son. Nero allegedly threw Christians to the lions and killed Britannicus. Sir Thomas More gives the next authoritative account of allergy: King Richard III used his allergy to strawberries to good effect in arranging the judicial murder of Lord William Hastings. The King surreptitiously ate some strawberries just prior to giving an audience to Hastings and promptly developed acute urticaria. He then accused Hastings of putting a curse on him, an action that demanded the head of Hastings on a plate."

From Auckland Allergy Clinic

Book

Allergy:The History of a Modern Malady
By Mark Jackson

Early Records of Anaphylaxis

"Professor Charles Robert Richet, Nobel Prize Winner for Medicine and Physiology in 1913, for the discovery of anaphylaxis. With his versatile personality he was involved in many different fields. His investigative work included diverse themes such as respiration, digestion, epilepsy and the regulation of body heat. To him we owe three new words, and as such, three new concepts: anaphylaxis, polypnea and zoomotherapy."

From National Libary of Medicine

Clements Von Pirquet

"Allergy is the term coined by Austrian paediatrician Clemens von Pirquet in 1906 in bringing together the Greek word allos meaning altered and ergia meaning reactivity. Allergy has now come to be known as a term defining altered reactivity to specific substances, which are otherwise harmless to people.

llergy is the term coined by Austrian paediatrician Clemens von Pirquet in 1906 in bringing together the Greek word allos meaning altered and ergia meaning reactivity. Allergy has now come to be known as a term defining altered reactivity to specific substances, which are otherwise harmless to people."

From American Academy of Pediatrics

The First Antihistamine

"As early as 1937 Bovet and his research student Anne Marie Staub succeeded in synthesizing the first antihistamine, called thymoxidiethylamine. An antihistamine is a substance that blocks the neurotransmitter histamine. Antihistamines are drugs used for treating allergy reactions caused by the naturally occurring organic compound histamine, which is made from the amino acid histidine. In 1932 it had been established that histamines were the causative agents of allergic reactions .The first antihistamine discovered by Bovet was too toxic to be used so he continued with hundreds of experiments to find a more human body friendly antihistamine. After years of research he succeeded in discovering pyrilamine (mepyramine) a very important histamine. In 1944 it was introduced to the public. It is used to counteract the effect of histamine and is effective against allergic reactions. Bovet’s work on antihistamines laid the foundation of safe and effective synthesis of them. Much work has subsequently been carried out on antihistamine research thanks to his initial and fundamental discoveries."

Daniel Bovet

Origin of the EpiPen

"The Epipen (originally called "ComboPen" while developing the design concept) was designed to supplement the company's AtroPen auto-injector. The Atropen (called AstroPen when used by NASA), could only be used with drugs that could be made stable while in contact with stainless steel, such as Atropine." Calgary Allergy Network

"In 1819, Dr. John Bostock first accurately described hay fever as a disease that affected the upper respiratory tract. Fifty years later, Charles Blakely performed the first skin test by applying pollen through a small break in the skin."

From the Allergy Asthma Center (www.allergydoctors.com)

"In 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his researches on anaphylaxis. He invented this word to designate the sensitivity developed by an organism after it had been given a parenteral injection of a colloid or protein substance or a toxin (1902). Later he demonstrated the facts of passive anaphylaxis and anaphylaxis in vitro. The applications of anaphylaxis to medicine are extremely numerous. "

From nobelprise.org

Early reports of Latex Allergy

"Descriptions of apparent allergic reactions to natural rubber appeared in the medical literature in 1927, and irritant and delayed-contact reactions were reported in 1933. Although irritant and delayed-contact reactions to rubber products were increasingly recognized, immediate-type allergic reactions were not reported again until 1979. However, after 1980, increasing numbers of contact urticarial reactions to latex were reported, and investigations suggested that many of these reactions were IgE-mediated. "

From National Libary of Medicine