Allergic Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World [Audiobook]

An eye-opening exploration of allergies, from their first medical description in 1819 to the cutting-edge science that is illuminating the changes in our environment and lifestyles that are making so many of us sick. Hay fever. Peanut allergies. Eczema. Either you have an allergy or you know someone who does. Billions of people worldwide-an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the global population-have some form of allergy. Even more concerning, over the last decade the number of people diagnosed with an allergy has been steadily increasing, placing an ever-growing medical burden on individuals, families, communities, and healthcare systems. This is the story of allergies: what they are, why we have them, and what that might mean about the fate of humanity in a rapidly changing world.