Allergy Planet (1 of 29)

Allergy Planet

We are in the grip of an allergy epidemic. 50 years ago one in 30 were affected, but in Britain today it is closer to one in three. Why this should be is one of modern medicine's greatest puzzles.

In search of answers, Horizon travels round the globe, from the remotest inhabited island to the polluted centres of California and the UK. We meet sufferers and the scientists who have dedicated their lives trying to answer the mystery of why we are becoming allergic to our world.

Last broadcast 03 Jan 2009, 03:10 on BBC One.

There is an epidemic sweeping the western world.
It 's an illness that takes many forms.
It can make you sneeze and itch, or it could stop you breathing altogether.
I've seen people who have gone from talking to me to collapse within a matter of minutes.
50 years ago, it barely existed, yet in parts of the Western world it now affects one third of all adults and almost 40% of children.
It is horrible, cos your eyes puff up and you can't see, and you get really panicky, and then you have panic attacks.
This film will take you on a journey to uncover the secrets behind one of the biggest mysteries in modern medicine.
I started to have to go on emergency oxygen because I stopped breathing.
I'm scared for my children and my grandchildren and for everybody's children and grandchildren.
I'm scared for the future of this planet.