This is all well and good, says the conventional skeptic, but the so-called results of the Ecology Unit, and of clinical ecology, are actually based on suggestion. This is the so-called placebo effect (from the Latin “I will please”) in which a totally inert “sugar pill” sometimes has curative properties. In the case of clinical [...]

Some foods contain large amounts of histamine, and this can cause unpleasant symptoms when they are eaten. The histamine has a drug-like (pharmacological) effect on the body. Although this is not false food allergy (according to the definition we are using) it is appropriate to discuss it here – since histamine is also the main [...]

Naturopathic and herbalist therapies rely on various combinations of diet, cleansing the system, and administration of natural or herbal remedies to alleviate symptoms. They, like other complementary therapies, look at the individual in the round, taking into account the person’s temperament, constitution and life situation. Therapies of this kind can be extremely effective against allergies [...]

Decongestants work by shrinking blood vessels, thereby relieving the effects of an allergic reaction, particularly in the mucus membranes of the nose. They can be taken as tablets or as nasal sprays (e.g. Otrivine, Afrazine and Sudafed). They can be effective against hay fever and rhinitis, but their major drawback is that they lose their [...]

Many people with chemical sensitivity find that they can tolerate bottled water better than tapwater. But some bottled waters can upset people, even with minute levels of contamination of chemicals. Particular brands of bottled water are consistently better tolerated by chemically sensitive people and, if you are thinking of switching to bottled water, it is [...]

If you are allergic to moulds or house dust mites, you should take care if buying a car secondhand. If a car appears very dusty and damp, or smells fusty, it will probably have house dust mites and moulds. You may be better buying a new car or one of more recent date. If you [...]

There are three leading brands of peroxide system in the UK: 10/10, Oxysept and Perform. They differ in the neutralising agent used in the second step of the system. In 10/10, the neutraliser contains sodium pyruvate; this is a chemical produced naturally in the body as a byproduct of metabolism and is well tolerated. The [...]

If you are sensitive to many foods, or even to a small number of basic foods, it can be virtually impossible to avoid everything to which you react. If you have come through exclusion dieting and found this to be the case, do not despair. Except for some very rare individuals, it is quite possible [...]

If you are exceptionally sensitive, you may continue to react even to very tiny levels of fumes once things are aired off, and you may have to avoid some chemicals totally, but this is extremely rare. For most people, taking care with specific situations means they can live happily with substances that upset them. If [...]

Pure cotton underwear is relatively easy to find in High Street shops. Cotton jersey vests and pants are commonly sold by all the major clothing chains, as are warmer knitted cotton winter underwear. Flocky knitted cotton underwear can sometimes irritate sensitive skin where cotton jersey (also called cotton interlock) does not. If you are very [...]