A genetic condition that makes your immune system overreact to harmless substances, causing allergies like asthma, hay fever, and eczema.
From Greek atopos 'out of place, strange' (a- 'without' + topos 'place'). Coined in 1923 by allergist Dr. Arthur Coca to describe this unusual allergic tendency.
Atopy is why allergies run in families—if your parents have it, you inherit the tendency, which is why you might sneeze at pollen while your friend eats the same peanut butter worry-free.
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