According to William Crook, M.D., of Jackson, Tennessee, many common symptoms of illness can be caused by allergies or environmental sensitivity. Traditional allergists routinely treat patients with typical allergy complaints such as asthma, eczema, hives, sneezing, nasal congestion, a runny nose, and itching eyes or throat, as well as other symptoms frequently associated with hay fever. Doctors who specialize in environmental medicine do not limit themselves to these conditions, recognizing that other illnesses such as headaches, arthritis, fatigue, colitis, and lupus, can also be the result of, or aggravated by, allergies or chemical sensitivity.

  Environmental sensitivity often can aggravate an illness. Marshall Mandell, M.D., of Norwalk, Connecticut, the father of bioecologic medicine, has discovered that even severe health conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and adult post-polio may be significantly complicated by superimposed allergic reactions, and likewise benefited when those allergies are treated.

  Richard S. Wilkinson, M.D., of Yakima, Washington, an expert in environmental medicine, points out that the following symptoms may be caused by environmental sensitivity or allergies. He groups these responses according to the different systems of the body and categories of illness:

• Cardiovascular system: migraine headaches, vasculitis (inflammation of a blood vessel), thrombophlebitis (inflammation of a vein combined with the formation of a blood clot), high blood pressure, angina, certain arrhythmias, edema (swelling), and fluid retention
• Chronic pediatric disorders: recurrent infections, recurrent ear infections, chronic headaches, stomachaches, muscle aches, bed wetting, and certain types of behavioral and learning disabilities
• Endocrine system: autoimmune thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland), hypoglycemia, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Eye, ear, nose, and throat disorders: hay fever, nasal congestion, sneezing, conjunctivitis, blurring of vision, itchy eyes, tearing, light sensitivity, swelling of the throat, recurrent ear infections, dizziness, loss of balance, ringing in the ears, and sinus headaches
• Gastrointestinal system: canker sores, irritable bowel syndrome, infant colic, gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines), diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, various abdominal pains, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease (a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the colon and/or the small intestine)
• Genitourinary system: bed wetting, recurrent vaginitis, painful intercourse, and chronic cystitis
• Musculoskeletal system: muscle spasm headaches, lupus erythematosus (a chronic inflammatory disease with symptoms including arthritis, fatigue, and skin lesions), rheumatoid arthritis, various muscle pains, and many forms of joint pain
• Nervous system: headaches, epilepsy, and sleep disorders
• Neurobehavioral and psychiatric manifestations: attention deficit disorder (hyperactivity), manic-depressive psychosis, sexual dysfunction, eating disorders, schizophrenia, irritability, anxiety, panic, and chronic fatigue syndrome
• Respiratory system: asthma and chronic bronchitis
• Skin: eczema, hives, and angioedema (a form of swelling)

  In the late 1940s, Theron G. Randolph, M.D., agreed to evaluate Sally, a young woman who had been committed to a mental hospital due to an apparently untreatable psychosis. Dr. Randolph believed that nervous system reactions to certain foods might either be the cause of, or at least a contributing factor to, Sally's psychosis. He thought this could be proved by a test that eliminated those foods from her diet. However, if once the foods were removed, she remained as symptomatic as before, then probably they were not the cause.

  Sally was hospitalized in an allergy-free environment and started on a spring water fast. Enemas were given to speed the complete evacuation of her intestinal tract. By the fourth day, her symptoms had cleared and she felt healthy and sane again. In order to ascertain which food or foods affected her physically or mentally and had triggered her psychosis, Dr. Randolph fed her single-food meals. As she reintroduced the foods one at a time into her diet, Sally was monitored for possible reactions.

  Sally experienced no problems until she ate beet sugar. Within moments, her face began to contort, she lost contact with her surroundings, and she developed a blank, unknowing stare. She looked and acted as she had during her previous psychotic episodes. By subsequently eliminating beet sugar (fortunately her only food allergy) from her diet, Sally regained her mental health and no longer needed to be hospitalized.

• Environmental Medicine
• Causes of Environmental Sensitivities
• Testing for Environmental Illness
• Conditions Benefited by Environmental Medicine