Asthma and allergies are understood as the result of the interaction of multiple factors; there is not just a single cause. To define allergy, it is essential to focus on the underlying biological pathways and the immune system’s basic reaction rather than the triggering factors themselves. While we herbalists are very keen on addressing causative factors, these do not matter when it comes to defining what an allergy is.
If your immune system reacts when exposed to an allergen, then you have an allergy. If you have symptoms similar to those of a food allergy but they are caused by a different system, pathology, or mechanism that is not related to the immune system—then you have an intolerance. If you experience a localized skin reaction to a prick test but do not show any allergic symptoms upon exposure to that allergen, then you have sensitization, not an allergy.
Like Tolstoy’s family, every allergic patient suffers uniquely. An official diagnosis can take years in some cases, and no two cases of allergies are the same.’ – Theresa MacPhail
Asthma and eczema, for example, are classified as allergic disorders because their biological mechanisms are fundamentally similar, whether mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE) or not. What they all share is inflammation. As a herbalist, I see allergies as a syndrome or a collection of symptoms rather than isolated issues. From this perspective, asthma, hay fever, eczema, and food allergies are interconnected rather than separate problems. In reality, we are dealing with a single syndrome that manifests in different parts of the body. Ultimately, the definition of allergy pertains to the basic reaction of our immune system, not just the symptoms or the results of allergy tests.