The author also offers an explanation of the treatments that will be likely, should the reader seek help from an environmental physician. A brief history of that specialty in medicine is also included. This is an immuno-therapy treatment developed by the English physician, Len McEwen MD, in the 1960's. Since this treatment is somewhat more involved than just arriving at a doctor's office for an allergy shot, Dr. Edelson has provided detailed information about the procedure and the restrictions a patient is expected to obey for the treatment to be effective. Anyone curious about, or considering EPD treatment would be wise to read this chapter.
Physical symptoms are only part of the story of environmental illness.
Also looming large, are the difficulties one faces when struck with an illness that is not recognized and often not believed. In short, the support systems that we thought would be there for us in our time of need, have in effect - disappeared. This may include loss of family support, loss of employment, denial of workers compensation and denial of insurance coverage for appropriate medical care, to name just a few. But discussing such negative possibilities can be difficult for the physician and even other chemically sensitive individuals. The authors have ingeniously met the challenge by using five personal profiles to demonstrate, among other things, what some of these obstacles may be and positive ways of coping with them.