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=An Allergy expert Part 1:= =__Interviewer__: So Doctor Lewes, what exactly is an allergy?= =Doctor: That's a very interesting question. Normally our body attacks dangerous things like disease or infection but with an allergy our body attacks those things that are not dangerous at all. = = I__nterviewer__ : Not dangerous? For example?= =__Doctor__: Well, people have allergies to trees and flowers to food like eggs, to cat hair and even to medicines like antibiotics.= =__Interviewer__: And what symptoms do people have?= =__Doctor__: Well, some people get rashes on their skin, others get a headache, others start sneezing and get red eyes, some people get asthma attacks, some people are sick. There are lots of different reactions to allergies.= =__Interviewer__: And do we have more allergies now than 50 years ago?? = = __Doctor__: Yes, about 40% of the population have allergies, in fact it's the main reason why children miss school; over 30% of teenagers in Britain have allergies.= = = =Part II= =__Interviewer:__ And why do more people have allergies now?= =__Doctor__: Well, there are many reasons. One is pollution of the air. People in cities suffer from a lot of allergies and also get asthma.= =__Interviewer__: But there are other reasons?= =__Doctor__: Yes, Believe it or not one of the reasons is because we are too clean!!!= =__Interviewer:__ Too clean??= =__Doctor:__ Yes, now we shower every day and we clean our houses, we kill the bacteria around us. And at the same time we kill our resistance. Also the cleaning products we use contain strong chemicals and these can cause an allergic reaction too. The problem is we don't like being "dirty"?= =__Interviewer__: So in poor countries there are f ewer __allergies?__= =__Doctor:__ Yes, that's right. People in poorer countries and children on farms don't have so many allergies.= =__Interviewer__: So the answer is " Don't wash too much'"= =__Doctor__: Yes it is= =__Interviewer:__ My teenage son will be happy to hear that. Thank you Doctor Lewis=