Chemical hypersensitivity and the allergic response.

The widespread chemical contamination of the earth’s air, food, and water with its effects on various biological systems has been described in nearly 5,000 scientific articles. At present, chemical sensitivity can be defined as an adverse reaction to ambient levels of toxic chemicals, which are generally accepted as being "subtoxic," in environmental air (home and public buildings), food, and water.1 The manifestation of adverse reactions depends on the tissues or organs involved, the chemical and pharmacologic nature of the substances involved, the individual susceptibility of the exposed person (nutritional state, genetic make-up, and toxic load at the time of exposure), the length of time, amount, and variety of other body stressors (total load), and the possible synergism among these at the time of reaction.