WHAT IS MULTIPLE SENSITIVITY?

If you have an allergy to something specific (a food, chemical or inhalant, for instance), it is common to develop allergies to other substances, especially if you have a high level of exposure to them. This pre-disposition to develop further allergies is well documented and runs in families. Some people with a specific allergy never develop an allergy to anything else, but many do.

People suffering from chemical sensitivity and food intolerance, which are disorders in which your system reacts to chemicals and foods without the involvement of the immune system , also show a marked tendency to develop further sensitivities. Furthermore, there is in some people an apparent link between all three – allergy, chemical sensitivity and food intolerance. These individuals develop very widespread multiple sensitivity to all kinds of things, which seem to aggravate each other. In some cases, people appear to become sensitive to virtually everything around them. This type of reaction has been given various titles, including ‘multiple sensitivity’, ‘multiple allergy syndrome’ and ‘total allergy syndrome’. People who react in this way are sometimes called ‘universal reactors’.

In some cases, this condition can be disabling and severe in its impact. In other cases, even though the person has widespread intolerance and sensitivity, the symptoms can be managed and people can live reasonably normal lives.

Why some people should develop multiple allergies or sensitivity (however widespread or severe) is not fully understood, although it is well observed. One theory, for which there is some supporting evidence, is that the people concerned have enzyme defects as well as the hypersensitivity of the immune system characteristic of true allergy.

This, it is argued, leads to far-reaching intolerance; failure to metabolise many substances eaten, absorbed, or inhaled; and competition for vitamins and minerals which act as catalysts or essential components in the body’s detoxifying systems. Demand for vitamins and minerals can then be further undermined by poor nutrition resulting from a restricted diet, if people have food sensitivity, or from malabsorption. Other theories suggest that some parasite, unresolved virus or infection may contribute, or be the fundamental cause.

*26\117\8*

Share and Enjoy: