Foreword<br >THIS VOLUME is a significant improvement over previous guides for<br >those with the problem of chemical susceptibility--commonly referred<br >to as allergy--who wish to improve their lot. Miss Golos is to be com-<br >mended in this endeavor; the book is more precise， detailed， and gen-<br >erally more applicable than previous efforts.<br > One of the most troublesome tasks of practicing clinical ecology is<br >the tremendous time required in the education of patients. The word<br >"education" is used advisedly because more than instruction and ques-<br >tion answering is involved. Patients must be educated in both the phi-<br >losophy and distinctive features of this type of medicine， as well as in<br >the details of applying it. 1 will attempt to discuss the former， inasmuch<br >as Miss Golos has done a good job with the latter.<br > Patients often inquire， shortly after they learn that they have a chem-<br >ical susceptibility problem， "How and why did I suddenly get into this<br >fix?" Although all the answers to this question are not available， some<br >of them are. For instance， it is well known that the tendency to develop<br >allergy or individual susceptibility is inherited， but that this exagger-<br >ated mode of response to one s environment may develop in anyone.<br >The only point to emphasize here is that， from the standpoint of one s<br >heredity， allergy develops more readily and seems to advance more<br >rapidly in some people than in others.<br > The greatest single determinant in the development of this clinical<br >problem concerns the environmental exposures themselves. These fac-<br >tors are best discussed under acute and chronic exposures--both of<br > which are important.<br > Factors which apparently act to break or lower res~stance， inducing<br > acute reactions:<br > (1) Infection， particularly viral infections， will sometimes start the<br > train of events leading to the chemical susceptibility problem. Measles，<br > whooping cough， infectious mononucleosis， and shingles are examples<br > of this factor.<br > (2) Hormone changes may act similarly. Women seem to be espe-<br > cially vulnerable immediately after pregnancy and at the change of life，<br > although there tends to be some increased vulnerability premenstrually<br > each month，<br > (3) A prolonged period of sleep deprivation or exhaustion may pre-<br > cipitate acute reactions.<br >