Allergy

An allergy or Type I hypersensitivity is an immune malfunction whereby a person's body is hypersensitised to react immunologically to typically nonimmunogenic substances. When a person is hypersensitised, these substances are known as allergens. The word allergy derives from the Greek words allos meaning "other" and ergon meaning "reaction" or "reactivity". Type I hypersensitivity is characterised by excessive activation of mast cells by immunoglobulin E resulting in a systemic inflammatory response that can result in symptoms as benign as a runny nose, to life-threatening anaphylactic shock and death.

Common allergens

In addition to foreign proteins found in foreign serum (from blood transfusions) and vaccines, common allergens include:

Related Topics:
Blood transfusion - Vaccine

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• Plant pollens (Hay fever)
• rye grass
• ragweed
• timothy grass
• birch trees
• Mold spores
• Drugs
• penicillins
• sulfonamides
• salicylates (also found naturally in numerous fruits)
• local anaesthetics
• Foods (food allergy)
• nuts
• seafood
• egg (typically albumen, the white)
• peas, beans, peanuts and other legumes
• milk
• wheat
• Insect stings
• beesting venom
• wasp sting venom
• Animal products (animal allergy)
• Animal hair and dander
• cockroach calyx
• dust mite excretion
• Other
• Exercise
• Cold