Abstract
It has become a common observation that a large percentage of people can be injured by contact with substances that are absolutely innocuous to others. Minute doses of an essentially inert substance have been known to produce violent reactions in a susceptible person. This peculiar reactivity has been referred to as idiosyncrasy, hypersensitiveness, anaphylaxis or allergy. The primary reactions of an allergic individual after contact with an exciting agent are manifested by local symptoms. When the contact is a very intimate one, general reactions result, and death may follow the entrance of a relatively small amount of the allergic substance. The studies of Walker, Goodale, Cooke, Duke, Kessler, Scheppegrell and others have demonstrated the allergic nature of hay-fever, as well as of many cases of asthma, urticaria and eczema. The present conception of the nature of allergic reactions is a development from the observations on serum anaphylaxis in lower animals.
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