title: History of allergy in antiquity.
abstract: Allergic diseases are not new. They have been described in the early medical literature in various cultures like Egypt, China, indigenous America and in the Greco-Roman tradition. The terms 'idiosyncrasy', 'asthma' and 'eczema' are still in use today. The most famous allergic individual of antiquity with the whole triad of atopic diseases and a positive family history of atopy probably was Emperor Octavianus Augustus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy Biederstein, Christine Kuehne Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ring
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000266:history / Q000473:pathology; D001633:Bible; D004485:Eczema / Q000266:history / Q000473:pathology; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000266:history / Q000473:pathology; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000266:history* / Q000473:pathology; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000266:history / Q000473:pathology