The word allergy comes from the Greek word ‘alios’, meaning altered or changed and ‘ergon’ meaning reaction to form the word ‘altered reaction’.
Allergies can range from the mildly irritating to the severe and in some cases they can be life-threatening. The word allergy comes from the Greek word ‘alios’, meaning altered or changed and ‘ergon’ meaning reaction to form the word ‘altered reaction’. In the 1920’s the emphasis was placed on the immune system’s response mechanism and the definition was made more rigorous. The British Medical Association’s ‘Complete Family Health Encyclopaedia defines an allergy as ‘a collection of conditions caused by inappropriate or exaggerated reaction of the immune system to a variety of substances’.