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Transcription: [00:06:39]

{SPEAKER name="Leone N. Claman"}
and try to develop immunity, you see, the actual specific treatment of allergic disease is really an immunizing treatment. The injections of a small dilute amount of the very substance that causes the symptoms, is really, an immunizing treatment. We don't speak of it anymore of it being desensitization it was an ambiguous word. But when you think of it as building up the resistance of the individual. It's truly an immunizing process.

[00:07:08]

{SPEAKER name="Watson Davis"}
Well some of these immunizing agents are more or less standard and you can get them out of the hospital's laboratory but some of them you really have to make from the agent that you really find is causing the trouble.

[00:07:24]

{SPEAKER name="Leone N. Claman"}
Yes, it's not at all uncommon, in fact, it's quite usual, for the doctor to ask the patient to collect his own house dust, and bring it in, and then have it made into an extract that can be used for treatment.

[00:07:35]

{SPEAKER name="Watson Davis"}
And that also applies to some of the pollens and that sort of thing.

[00:07:40]

{SPEAKER name="Leone N. Claman"}
Those are available, yes. Pollens and animal danders and feathers and kapok and cotton seed and the various things that are used in stuffing or upholstery.

[00:07:52]

{SPEAKER name="Watson Davis"}
Actually, years ago I wrote a story about it wasn't the goldenrod that caused hay fever, but ragweed.

[00:08:00]

{SPEAKER name="Leone N. Claman"}
How very good.

[00:08:01]

{SPEAKER name="Watson Davis"}
And well this was very, this was some years ago and believe it or not, the copy desk of the newspaper I was working on, knew so much better than I did that they changed my story and restored goldenrod to my story. Much to my regret, and much to their regret later on.

[00:08:19]

{SPEAKER name="Leone N. Claman"}
Yes.

{SPEAKER name="Watson Davis"}
But it is true that it is ragweed, in the fall at least, that causes some hay fever.

[00:08:26]

{SPEAKER name="Leone N. Claman"}
Yes. In this part of the country we have a great deal of ragweed and one of the reasons it creates a great many complications and symptoms is that the ragweed pollen is very light. And can travel for over a hundred miles on gust of wind.