ALLERGIC

A holistic study of how allergies continue to bewilder medical science.

As a medical anthropologist, MacPhail’s subject matter is both professional and personal. In 1996, her father died suddenly of anaphylaxis after a bee sting. That event prompted the author to carry an EpiPen and to launch a research project examining the “puzzle of allergies.” In a deft three-part analysis, she probes the biological processes of allergens and the misconceptions surrounding them. She then examines the “confusing maze” of diagnosis and the causative theories on why allergies are proliferating, and she explores possible solutions and the progress medical science has made (outside of antihistamines) treating global allergy issues, including the development of promising new vaccines. MacPhail cites historical information from the early 1800s, when the first allergy was medically documented, and consistently attempts to nail down the ever shifting definitions of what allergies actually are, tackling the vexing question of origin with informed speculation. Whether it be the cumulative effects of environmental changes, industrial development, food additives, or genetic mutations, specific people seem more vulnerable to certain allergens. The author optimistically reflects on modern immunological advancements that have provided relief, and she presents a series of crisply rendered perspectives of people who cited severe allergies to airborne allergens, dust mites, or specific foods—all frustrated by the lack of a definitive cause or the unaffordability/unavailability of longer-term remedies. “In a capitalistic system,” she writes, “a patient is akin to a customer.” While the culprits responsible for the increases in allergic sufferers are debatable moving targets, MacPhail skillfully narrows down the possibilities and some of the solutions, although her contradictory advice on air purifiers may confuse readers seeking solace. Nonetheless, the author’s examination of the science of immunology from a social and cultural perspective will give readers plenty of relevant, thought-provoking information.

An exhaustive and accessible report.