Subject: Re: ancient allergies - msg#00056

Previous Message by Date: click to view message preview

Re: ancient allergies

Do you mean if modern historians/scientists recognise the symptoms of allergies in ancient folks? If so, yes--e.g. asthma, allergic eczema etc. The notable figures include Augustus and Seneca. At 03:38 PM 9/5/2004 -0400, you wrote: Greetings, As I finish off my third box of kleenex today (despite being on prescription strength Reactin ... I think I'm in 'bounceback'), I can't help but wonder whether any ancient types pondered what we would call allergies. Anyone ever come across anything which might be considered 'allergy' in the ancient world? I can't think of anything in Pliny ... regards, dm ................................................................. David Meadows dmeadows-AT-idirect-DOT-com ................................................................. scholarly book reviews -- at rogueclassicism http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism ................................................................. Ling Ouyang http://janusquirinus.org/

Next Message by Date: click to view message preview

Re: ancient allergies

Greetings, Actually, no ... I hadn't thought of that, but that's interesting too (refs?). I was wondering whether ancient commentators/medical types had a concept of illness akin to our 'allergy' model ... regards, dm ................................................................. David Meadows dmeadows-AT-idirect-DOT-com ................................................................. scholarly book reviews -- at rogueclassicism http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism ................................................................. On Sunday, September 5, 2004, multa scribuntur, inter alia: LO> Do you mean if modern historians/scientists recognise the symptoms of LO> allergies in ancient folks? If so, yes--e.g. asthma, allergic eczema etc. LO> The notable figures include Augustus and Seneca. LO> At 03:38 PM 9/5/2004 -0400, you wrote: >>Greetings, >> >> As I finish off my third box of kleenex today (despite being on >> prescription strength Reactin ... I think I'm in 'bounceback'), I >> can't help but wonder whether any ancient types pondered what we >> would call allergies. Anyone ever come across anything which might >> be considered 'allergy' in the ancient world? I can't think of >> anything in Pliny ... >> >>regards, >> >>dm >> >> ................................................................. >>David Meadows dmeadows-AT-idirect-DOT-com >>................................................................. >> scholarly book reviews -- at rogueclassicism >> http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism >>................................................................. LO> Ling Ouyang LO> http://janusquirinus.org/

Previous Message by Thread: click to view message preview

Re: ancient allergies

At 01:04 PM 9/5/2004 -0700, you wrote: I respond not as a classicist, but as one who has avoided allergies through alternative medicine (probiotics). Chinese medicine does not share the alergy paradigm, and generally alternative medical practices reject it. Many of our "allergies" arise from overuse of antibiotics. I'm guessing the whole allergy/athsma model is quite, quite modern. Of course, it is now promoted for profit by the pharmacueticals. I am not so sure. Just because something is not called by its modern name or diagnosed as such does not mean it did not exist. Linda G. On Sunday, September 5, 2004, at 12:38 PM, David Meadows wrote: Greetings, As I finish off my third box of kleenex today (despite being on prescription strength Reactin ... I think I'm in 'bounceback'), I can't help but wonder whether any ancient types pondered what we would call allergies. Anyone ever come across anything which might be considered 'allergy' in the ancient world? I can't think of anything in Pliny ... regards, dm ................................................................. David Meadows dmeadows-AT-idirect-DOT-com ................................................................. scholarly book reviews -- at rogueclassicism http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism ................................................................. Ling Ouyang http://janusquirinus.org/

Next Message by Thread: click to view message preview

Re: ancient allergies

Greetings, But do we know there was a low prevalence in the ancient world? How many anaphylactic reactions, e.g., to some food item or pollen or whatever were interpreted as something else (maybe even poisoning?)?? regards, dm ................................................................. David Meadows dmeadows-AT-idirect-DOT-com ................................................................. scholarly book reviews -- at rogueclassicism http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism ................................................................. On Sunday, September 5, 2004, multa scribuntur, inter alia: RH> Thanks to H.A. Skinner, The Origin of Medical Terms (Williams and Wilkins, RH> Baltimore 1961) for the following information. RH> The word 'allergy' is an early 20th century coinage by Clemens von Pirquet RH> about 1903, first seen in print in Muench. Med. Wochenschr, 24 July 1906. RH> The phenomenon of hypersensitivity was recognised by physicians at least as RH> early as the Renaissance: Cardano (1501-76) took away a feather pillow and a RH> rose ball from the asthmatic Archbishop of St Andrews. Edward Jenner RH> (1749-1823), the discoverer of vaccination with cowpox, described allergy RH> and anaphylaxis, though without using those terms. RH> A widely held theory is that allergies including asthma are caused, or at RH> least encouraged, by an excessively hygienic upbringing, so that the child's RH> immune system is not challenged. Certainly the distribution of allergy in RH> the world today seems to support that -- and the historical examples do not RH> actually disprove it. If there is anything to the theory at all, it neatly RH> accounts for the low prevalence of such conditions in the ancient, and even RH> the medieval, world. RH> Ralph Hancock