Bumps, lumps and hay fever

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33962, 1 October 1975, Page 4

Bumps, lumps and hay fever

Asthma, hay fever, certain lumps, bumps and eczema are all caused by an allergy — a reaction set up by certain antibodies in the bloodstream in response to an invasion by foreign bodies. Such maladies are not caused, as was previously supposed, by emotional factors, but are due to an over-reaction by the body’s defence mechanism: “an allergy is immunity gone wrong.” "The Scientists” looks at different types of allergies: how they affect people, what causes them, the present form of treatment and the hope of future cures. It deals with current research and thinking on a topic which will be relevant to many viewers.

Of particular interest is its notation of research work into the asthma condition and the discovery of minute creatures called house mites.

These are now suspected of aggravating the condition more than the hitherto accepted “emotional disorder” theory. The documentary is narrated by Paul Dunstan and produced by Richard Handford.

“The Scientists: Allergies” screens again on TVI on Sunday afternoon.