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Acetaldehyde — An aldehyde found in cigarette smoke, vehicle exhaust and smog. It is a metabolic product of Candida albicans and is synthesized from alcohol in the liver.

Additive — A substance added in small amounts to foods to alter the food in some way.

Adrenalin — Trademark for preparations of epinephrine, which is a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland. It is used sublingually and by injection to stop allergic reactions.

Adsorb — Accumulate (a gas, liquid, or dissolved substance) on a porous surface in a condensed layer.

Air extractor — A mechanical device which exhausts air from an area.

Aldehydes — A class of organic compounds obtained by oxidations of alcohols. formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are members of this class of compounds.

Allergenic — Causing or producing an allergic reaction.

Allergens — Substances that cause adverse symptoms, such as pollens; molds; animal danders; food and drink (often those most liked or disliked); or chemicals found in air, water, or food.

Allergic reaction — Adverse, varied symptoms or a group of symptoms, unique to each person, resulting from the body's response to exposure to allergens.

Allergy — Attacks by the immune system on harmless or even useful things entering the body. Abnormal responses to substances usually well-tolerated by most people.

Anaphylactic shock — Occurs as a result of immediate and simultaneous physiologic changes induced by the eliciting, or shocking, dose of an agent at many sites in the body; an infrequent, extreme, and immediate allergic reaction that can cause difficulty in breathing or even death.

Antibody — A protein molecule produced to protect the body. It is made by B-lymphocytes or plasma cells in response to a perceived foreign or abnormal substance or organism.

Antigen — Any substance recognized by the immune system that causes the body to produce antibodies; also refers to a concentrated solution of an allergen.

Antihistamine — A chemical that blocks the action of histamine that is released during an allergic reaction.

Antioxidant — A substance that slows oxidation. In nutrition, substance that prevents damage from free radicals and results in oxygen sparing.

Autoimmune — A condition resulting when the body makes antibodies against its own tissues or fluid. the immune system attacks the body it inhabits, which causes damage or alteration of cell function.

Biochemical Individuality — A distinct cellular makeup that is basic and unique to each person. This determines cellular needs, responses, and metabolism.

Candida Albicans — A genus of yeast-like fungi normally found in the body. It can multiply and cause infections, allergic responses, or toxicity.

Candidiasis — An overgrowth of Candida organisms, which are part of the normal flora of the mouth, skin, intestines, and vagina.

Cerebral Allergy — Mental dysfunction caused by sensitivity to foods, chemicals, inhalants, or toxins in the environment.

Chronic — Of long duration; refers to constant pain, condition, or illness that has been present for a long time.

Cyclic Allergy — A type of allergy which, with abstinence and/or non-exposure, will disappear and will not reappear unless there is an over-exposure to the substance.

Desensitization — The process of building up body tolerance to allergens by the use of extracts of the allergenic substance.

Desorb — Re-emit chemicals or volatile organic compounds.

Die-off — Uncomfortable symptoms caused when cells or organisms rupture and release toxic metabolic products in the body.

Disorder — A disturbance of regular or normal functions.

Eczema — Dry, itchy, noncontagious skin rash frequently caused by allergy.

Edema — Excess fluid accumulation in tissue spaces. May be local or generalized.

Elimination Diet — A diet in which common allergenic foods and those suspected of causing allergic symptoms have been temporarily eliminated.

End Point — The treatment doses as determined by serial dilution titration.

Environment — A total of circumstances and/or surroundings in which an organism exists. May be a combination of internal or external influences that can affect an individual.

Environmental Insult — An exposure to an environmental agent causing a reaction.

Environmental Medicine — A branch of medicine that treats allergies and environmental sensitivities through diet, environmental control and immuno-therapy techniques.

Environmental Medicine Physician — A physician who specializes in the diagnosis, management, and prevention of the disruption of body homeostasis that results from environmental exposures (foods, inhalants, and chemicals). Treatment may include a combination of environmental control, immunotherapy, nutritional supplements, and rotation diet, with minimal use of drugs.

Environmental Sensitivities — A complex set of symptoms caused by adverse reactions of the body to external and internal environments. See also pages 4 and 5 of this report.

Extract— Treatment dilution of an antigen (allergen) used in immunotherapy, such as a food, chemical, or pollen extract.

Fixed Allergy — See Permanent Allergy.

Food Addiction — Similar to drug addiction; the person becomes "hooked" on a particular allergenic food and must keep eating it regularly in order to prevent withdrawal symptoms.

Food Family — A grouping of foods according to their botanical or biological characteristics.

Heat recovery ventilator — A mechanical device which introduces outside air to replace exhausted air and as a conservation measure recovers heat or cold from the exhausted air.

Heparin — A substance released during allergic reactions. Preparations of heparin, in the proper concentrations and administered sublingually, have an anti-inflammatory action.

Histamine — A body substance released by mast cells and basophils during allergic reactions, which precipitates allergic symptoms.

Holistic — Refers to the view that health and wellness depend on a balance among mind, body, emotions, and spirit.

Homeopathic — Refers to giving minute amounts of remedies that in massive doses would produce effects similar to the condition being treated.

Homeostasis — The balance of functions and chemical composition within an organism that results from the actions of regulatory systems.

Hypersensitivity — An acquired reactivity to an antigen that can result in bodily damage upon subsequent exposure to that particular antigen.

Hypoallergenic — Refers to products formulated to contain the fewest possible allergens. Such products are not necessarily safe for everyone.

Immune System — The body's defence system, composed of specialized cells, organs, and body fluids. It has the ability to locate, neutralize, metabolize, and eliminate unwanted or foreign substances.

Immunocompromised — A person whose immune system has been damaged or stressed and is not functioning properly. May or may not be reversible, depending on the extend of the damage.

Immunity — Inherited, acquired, or induced state of being able to resist a particular antigen by producing antibodies to counteract it; mechanisms that maintain the uniqueness of self.

Inflammation — The reaction of tissues to injury from trauma, infection, or irritating substances. Affected tissue can be hot, reddened, swollen, and/or tender. Oxygen availability may be reduced in these tissues.

Inhalant — Any airborne substance small enough to be inhaled into the lungs; e.g., pollen, dust, mold, and animal danders.

Intolerance — Inability of an organism to endure a substance.

Intradermal — Method of testing in which a measured amount of antigen is injected between the top layers of the skin.

Latent — Concealed or inactive.

Maladaption — An alternative term used to describe sensitivity.

Masking — Suppression of symptoms due to frequent exposure to a substance to which a person is sensitive.

Migraine — A condition marked by recurrent severe headaches on one said of the head, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and light aura. These headaches are frequently attributed to food allergy.

Neurotransmitter — A molecule that transmits electrical and/or chemical messages from nerve cell to nerve cell (neuron) or from nerve cells to muscles secretory, or organ cells.

Neurotransmitter — A molecule that transmits electrical and/or chemical messages from nerve cell to nerve cell (neuron) or from nerve cells to muscles, secretory, or organ cells.

Neutralize — To render an allergic reaction inactive. In chemistry, rendering a substance neither acidic nor alkaline.

Neutralizing Dose — The dilution of a particular antigen that gives relief from or prevents allergic symptoms. This treatment does is determined by provocative-neutralization testing.

Off-gas — Emit volatile organic compounds (gases, etc.).

Organic Foods — Foods grown in soil free of chemical fertilizers, and without pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides.

Outgassing — The releasing of volatile chemicals that evaporate slowly and constantly from seemingly stable materials such as plastics, synthetic fibres, or building materials.

Overload — The overpowering of the immune system due either to massive, concurrent exposure or to low-level continuous exposure caused by many stresses, including allergens.

Oxidation — The chemical process by which a substance combines with oxygen and changes to another form. In chemistry, refers to that portion of a chemical reaction in which an electron is lost by an atom or group of atoms.

Permanent Allergy — An allergy to a substance that always provokes symptoms, even after prolonged abstinence.

Postnasal Drip — The leakage of nasal fluids and mucous down into the back of the throat.

Provocative-neutralization — An allergy test that uses an antigen to provoke a reaction and then neutralizes the reaction with a lower or higher dose of the same antigen.

Rotation Diet — A diet in which a particular food and other foods in the same "family" are eaten only once every four to seven days.

Seal (Sealant) — Apply a coating (sealant, such as Crystal Aire or Last & Last) to reduce the emission of gases from an object.

Sensitivity — An adaptive state in which a person develops a group of adverse symptoms to the environment, either internal or external.

Sensitization — The process that leads to the development of allergic symptoms in persons intolerant to a specific substance.

Stress — Anything that places undue strain upon normal body functions. Stress may be internal in origin (disease, malnutrition, dysfunction of a system, or allergic reaction) or external (environmental factors or interpersonal relations).

Sublingual — Under the tongue; method of testing or treatment in which a measured amount of an antigen or extract is administered under the tongue, behind the teeth. Absorption of material is rapid.

Susceptibility — An alternative term used to describe sensitivity.

Syndrome — A group of symptoms or signs that, occurring together, produce a pattern typical of a particular disorder.

Tolerable — Does not provoke sensitivity reactions.

Tolerance — The capacity of the body to withstand repeated exposures without symptoms.

Tolerated — Does not cause harmful effects.

Tolerated Threshold — The maximum amount of allergens, stress, and exposures that an individual can tolerate without having symptoms.

Toxic — Poisonous.

Universal Reactor — A person who is allergic to or has symptoms from numerous materials.

Urticaria — Allergic hives or welts.

Volatile — Liable to change from a solid or liquid to a gaseous form.

Wheal — A raised bump on the skin surface caused by injection of an antigen between the top layers of skin.

Withdrawal — Short-term, adverse symptoms experienced when a person avoids a substance to which he or she is allergic or addicted.

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