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An allergen is a nonparasitic antigen
Antigen

An antigen is a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies and can cause an immune response. The word originated from the notion that they can stimulate antibody generation....
 capable of stimulating a type-I hypersensitivity reaction in atopic
Atopy

Atopy or atopic syndrome is an allergic hypersensitivity affecting parts of the body not in direct contact with the allergen....
 individuals.

Most humans mount significant Immunoglobulin E
Immunoglobulin E

In biology, Immunoglobulin E is a class of antibody that has only been found in mammals. It plays an important role in allergy, and is especially associated with type 1 hypersensitivity....
 (IgE) responses only as a defense against parasitic infections. However, some individuals mount an IgE response against common environmental antigen
Antigen

An antigen is a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies and can cause an immune response. The word originated from the notion that they can stimulate antibody generation....
s. This hereditory predisposition is called atopy
Atopy

Atopy or atopic syndrome is an allergic hypersensitivity affecting parts of the body not in direct contact with the allergen....
. In atopic individuals, non-parasitic antigens stimulate inappropriate IgE production, leading to type I hypersensitivity
Type I hypersensitivity

Type I hypersensitivity is an allergic reaction provoked by reexposure to a specific type of antigen referred to as an allergen.Exposure may be by ingestion, inhalation, injection , or direct contact....
.






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Encyclopedia


An allergen is a nonparasitic antigen
Antigen

An antigen is a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies and can cause an immune response. The word originated from the notion that they can stimulate antibody generation....
 capable of stimulating a type-I hypersensitivity reaction in atopic
Atopy

Atopy or atopic syndrome is an allergic hypersensitivity affecting parts of the body not in direct contact with the allergen....
 individuals.

Most humans mount significant Immunoglobulin E
Immunoglobulin E

In biology, Immunoglobulin E is a class of antibody that has only been found in mammals. It plays an important role in allergy, and is especially associated with type 1 hypersensitivity....
 (IgE) responses only as a defense against parasitic infections. However, some individuals mount an IgE response against common environmental antigen
Antigen

An antigen is a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies and can cause an immune response. The word originated from the notion that they can stimulate antibody generation....
s. This hereditory predisposition is called atopy
Atopy

Atopy or atopic syndrome is an allergic hypersensitivity affecting parts of the body not in direct contact with the allergen....
. In atopic individuals, non-parasitic antigens stimulate inappropriate IgE production, leading to type I hypersensitivity
Type I hypersensitivity

Type I hypersensitivity is an allergic reaction provoked by reexposure to a specific type of antigen referred to as an allergen.Exposure may be by ingestion, inhalation, injection , or direct contact....
. Sensitivities vary from one person to another and it is possible to be allergic to an extraordinary range of substances.

Types of allergies

Dust mite excretion, pollen
Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of Gametophyte , which produce the male gametes of spermatophyta. A hard coat covering the pollen grain protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens of the flower to the pistil of the next flower....
 and pet dander
Dander

Dander is material shed from the body of various animals, similar to dandruff or pet pollen. It may contain scales of dried skin and hair, or feathers. It is a frequent cause of allergy in humans....
 are all common allergens, but it is possible to be allergic to anything from chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
 to perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
. Food allergies are not as common as food sensitivity, but some foods such as peanut
Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume Fabaceae native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual plant herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm tall....
s (really a legume
Legume

A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A legume fruit is a Fruit#Simple fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually Dehiscence on two sides....
), nut
Nut (fruit)

Nut is a general term for the large, dry, oily seed or fruit of some plant. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts....
s, seafood
Seafood

Seafood is any aquatic animal that is served as food and eaten by humans. Seafoods include fish and shellfish .The harvesting of seafood is known as fishing and the cultivation and farming of seafood is known as aquaculture, mariculture, or in the case of fish, fish farming....
 and shellfish
Shellfish

Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton bearing aquatic invertebrate used as food, including various species of Molluscas, crustaceans, and echinoderms....
 are the cause of serious allergies in many people.

Officially, the Food and Drug Administration does recognize 8 foods as being common for allergic reactions in a large segment of the sensitive population, which includes, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, shellfish, fish, wheat and their derivatives, soy and their derivatives, and sulphites (chemical based, often found in flavors and colors in foods) at 10ppm and over. See the FDA website for complete details. It should be noted that other countries, due to differences in genetic profiles of its citizens and different levels of exposure to different foods, the "official" allergen list will change. Canada recognizes all eight of the allergens recognized by the US, and also recognizes sesame seeds.

A few people have been recorded to be allergic to certain chemicals found in almost all water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
, and even water itself (see Aquagenic pruritus
Aquagenic pruritus

Aquagenic pruritus is a List of skin diseases characterized by the development of severe, intense, prickling-like Epidermis itching that is without observable skin lesions and that is evoked by contact with water....
).

Another type of allergen is urushiol
Urushiol

Urushiol is an organic oil toxin found in plants of the Linnaean taxonomy Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendron spp. . It causes an allergic skin rash on contact, known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis....
, a resin produced by poison ivy and poison oak
Poison oak

The name Poison oak can refer to either of two species of the genus Toxicodendron that grow in North America:* Toxicodendron diversilobum, Western Poison-oak, , found only on the Pacific Coast of North America, ranging from southern Canada to Baja California...
. It causes the skin rash condition known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis
Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis

Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis is the medical name given to allergy rashes produced by the oil urushiol, which is contained in various plants, including the plants of the genus Toxicodendron , as well as other plants in the family Anacardiaceae , and also unrelated plants such as Ginkgo biloba....
 by changing a skin cell's configuration so that it is no longer recognized by the immune system as part of the body. A little over half of North Americans are known to be allergic to urushiol and repeated exposure can increase one's sensitivity to the allergen.

An allergic reaction can be caused by any form of direct contact with the allergen—eating or drinking a food you are sensitive to (ingestion), breathing in pollen, perfume or pet dander (inhalation), or brushing your body against an allergy-causing plant (direct contact, generally resulting in hives). Other common causes of serious allergy are wasp
WAsP

WAsP is a PC program for predicting wind climates, wind resources, and power productions from wind turbines and wind farms. The predictions are based on wind data measured at stations in the same region....
, fire ant
Fire ant

Fire ants, are stinging ants with over 280 species worldwide. They have several common names including Ginger Ants and Tropical Fire Ants , aka-kami-ari , and Feuerameise ....
 and bee
Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyly lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila....
 stings, penicillin
Penicillin

Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They are Beta-lactam antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms....
, and latex
LaTeX

LaTeX is a document markup language and Word processor for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as ....
. An extremely serious form of an allergic reaction, which can kill in mere minutes, is called anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is an acute Circulatory system and very severe Type I hypersensitivity allergy reaction in humans and other mammals. The term comes from the Greek words a?a ana and f??a??? phylaxis ....
. One form of treatment is the administration of sterile epinephrine
Epinephrine

Epinephrine is a hormone and neurotransmitter.Epinephrine increases the "fight or flight" response of the Sympathetic nervous system of the autonomic nervous system....
 (via "Epi-Pen") to the person experiencing anaphylaxis, which suppresses the body's overreaction to the food ingested, and allows for time to be transported to a medical facility (it does not "cure" the allergic reaction).

Common allergens

Misc Pollen
House Dust Mite
In addition to foreign proteins found in foreign serum (from blood transfusion
Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to Physical trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery....
s) and vaccine
Vaccine

A vaccine is a biological preparation that establishes or improves immunity to a particular disease.Vaccines can be prophylaxis , or Medication ....
s, common allergens include:
  • Animal products
    • Fel d 1
      Fel d 1

      The protein Fel d 1, produced largely by cat saliva and sebaceous glands, is the primary allergen present on cats. The protein is of an unknown function to the animal but causes an IgG or IgE reaction in sensitive humans ....
       (cat allergy)
    • fur
      Fur

      Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
       and dander
      Dander

      Dander is material shed from the body of various animals, similar to dandruff or pet pollen. It may contain scales of dried skin and hair, or feathers. It is a frequent cause of allergy in humans....
    • cockroach
      Cockroach

      Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria. This name derives from the Latin word for "cockroach", blatta.There are about 4,000 species of cockroach, of which 30 species are associated with human habitations and about four species are well known as pest s....
       calyx
    • wool
      Wool

      Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells, called follicles, of animals in the Caprinae family, principally domestic sheep, but the hair of certain species of other Mammalia such as cashmere goat, llamas, rabbits and keeshonds may also be called wool....
    • dust mite excretion
  • Drug
    Drug allergy

    A drug allergy is an allergy to a drug, most commonly a medication. Medical attention should be sought immediately if an allergic reaction is suspected....
    s
    • penicillin
      Penicillin

      Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They are Beta-lactam antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms....
    • sulfonamides


    • salicylates (also found naturally in numerous fruit
      Fruit

      The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
      s)
    • local anaesthetics
  • Food
    Food allergy

    A food allergy is an adverse Immune system to a food protein. Food allergy is distinct from other adverse responses to food, such as food intolerance, pharmacologic reactions, and toxin-mediated reactions....
    s
    • celery
      Celery

      Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten....
       and celeriac
      Celeriac

      Celeriac is also known as 'celery root,' 'turnip-rooted celery' or 'knob celery'. It is a cultivar of celery, grown as a root vegetable for its large and well-developed hypocotyl rather than for its plant stem and leaf....
       
    • corn
      Maize

      Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
       or maize
      Maize

      Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
    • egg
      Egg allergy

      Egg allergy is a type of food allergy. It is a hypersensitivity to diet ary substances from the yolk or whites of Egg , causing an overreaction of the immune system which may lead to severe physical symptoms for millions of people around the world....
      s (typically albumen
      Egg white

      File:Chicken egg01 monovular.jpgEgg white is the common name for the clear liquid contained within an Egg . It is the cytoplasm of the egg, which until fertilization is a single Cell ....
      , the white)
    • fruit
      Fruit allergy

      Fruit allergy is a type of food allergy. Fruit allergy is a relatively rare allergy given that ninety percent of food allergies are caused by other foods....
      • pumpkin
        Pumpkin

        Pumpkin is a gourd-like Squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It is a common name of or can refer to cultivars of any one of the following species: Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata....
    • legume
      Legume

      A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A legume fruit is a Fruit#Simple fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually Dehiscence on two sides....
      s
      • bean
        Bean

        Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genus of the Family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed.The whole young pods of bean plants, if picked before the pods ripen and dry, can be tender enough to eat whole, whether cooked or raw....
        s
      • pea
        Pea

        A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the legume Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Although treated as a vegetable in cooking, it is botanically a fruit....
        s
      • peanut
        Peanut allergy

        Peanut allergy is a type of food allergy distinct from Nut allergy. It is a hypersensitivity to diet ary substances from peanuts causing an overreaction of the immune system which may lead to severe physical symptoms for millions of people....
        s
      • soybean
        Soybean

        The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a Pulse . It is an annual plant that has been used in China for 5,000 years as a food and a component of drugs....
        s
    • milk
      Milk allergy

      Milk allergy is a food allergy immune system allergy to one or more of the proteins in cow's milk....
    • seafood
      Seafood Allergy

      Seafood allergy is a type of food allergy. It is a hypersensitivity to diet ary substances from shellfish, scaly fish, or crustaceans, causing an overreaction of the immune system which may lead to severe physical symptoms for millions of people....
    • sesame
      Sesame

      Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalization in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
    • soy
      Soy allergy

      Soy allergy is a type of food allergy. "Soy allergy" or Soya allergy is one of the most common Food allergy. It is a hypersensitivity to diet ary substances from soy causing an overreaction of the immune system which may lead to severe physical symptoms for millions of people....
    • tree nuts
      • pecan
        Pecan

        The Pecan is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois and Indiana east to western Kentucky, North Carolina and western Tennessee, south through Georgia , Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas ; and in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracr...
        s
      • almond
        Almond

        The Almond is a species of tree of the genus Prunus, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae and native to the Middle East....
        s
    • wheat
      Wheat allergy

      Wheat allergy, also known as wheat hypersensitivity is most commonly a food allergy, but can also be a respiratory or contact allergy resulting from occupational exposure....
  • Insect sting
    Insect sting allergy

    Insect sting allergy is the term commonly given to the Allergy of an animal in response to the bite or sting of an insect. Typically, insects which generate allergic responses are either stinging insects or biting insects ....
    s
    • bee
      Bee

      Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyly lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila....
       sting venom
    • wasp
      WAsP

      WAsP is a PC program for predicting wind climates, wind resources, and power productions from wind turbines and wind farms. The predictions are based on wind data measured at stations in the same region....
       sting venom
    • mosquito
      Mosquito

      Mosquitoes are common flying insects in the family Culicidae that are found around the world. There are about 3,500 species. They have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and six long legs....
       stings
  • Mold spore
    Spore

    In biology, a spore is a reproduction structure that is adapted for biological dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions....
    s
  • Other
    • latex
      Latex allergy

      Latex allergy is a medical term encompassing a range of allergic reactions to natural rubber latex....
    • metal
      Metal

      In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
  • Plant pollen
    Pollen

    Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of Gametophyte , which produce the male gametes of spermatophyta. A hard coat covering the pollen grain protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens of the flower to the pistil of the next flower....
    s (hay fever
    Hay Fever

    Hay Fever is a comic play written by No?l Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Best described as a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play is set in an English country house in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish b...
    )
    • grass
      Grass

      Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
       — ryegrass
      Ryegrass

      Ryegrass is a genus of nine species of tufted grasses, family Poaceae. Also called tares , these plants are native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but are widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere....
      , timothy-grass
      Timothy-grass

      Timothy-grass , is an abundant perennial plant Poaceae native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It grows to 50?150 cm tall, with leaf up to 45 cm long and 1 cm broad....
    • weed
      WEED

      WEED is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA, it serves the area. The station is currently owned by Northstar Broadcasting Corporation....
      s — ragweed
      Ragweed

      Ragweeds , also called bitterweeds and bloodweeds, are a genus of flowering plants from the sunflower family .The scientific name of this genus is sometimes claimed to be derived from the Ancient Greek term for the perfumed nourishment of the gods, ambrosia which would be ironic since the genus is best known for one fact:...
      , plantago
      Plantago

      Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana....
      , nettle
      Nettle

      Nettle is the common name for between 30-45 species of flowering plants of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution though mainly temperate distribution....
      , artemisia vulgaris
      Artemisia vulgaris

      'Artemisia vulgaris' is one of several species in the genus Artemisia with names containing mugwort. It is also occasionally known as Felon Herb, Chrysanthemum Weed, Wild Wormwood, or St....
      , chenopodium album
      Chenopodium album

      Chenopodium album is a fast-growing weedy annual plant in the genus Chenopodium. The standard British name is Fat-hen;, though this is used for other plants also; the unambiguous name is White Goosefoot, and it is also known as lamb's quarters, nickel greens, pigweed or dungweed, or more ambiguously as just goosefoot....
      , sorrel
      Sorrel

      Common Sorrel or Garden Sorrel , often simply called sorrel and also known as Spinach Dock or Narrow-leaved Dock, is a perennial plant Herbaceous plant that is cultivated as a garden herb or leaf vegetable ....
    • tree
      TREE

      TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
      s — birch
      Birch

      Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae....
      , alder
      Alder

      Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of Plant sexuality trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the New World also along the Andes southwards to Argentina....
      , hazel
      Hazel

      The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.Hazel plants prefer a nice warm, mild,moist climate nothing more nothing less....
      , hornbeam
      Hornbeam

      Plants in the genus Carpinus are commonly called Hornbeams. They are relatively small hardwood trees. Many botanists place the hornbeams in the birch family Betulaceae, though some group them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae....
      , aesculus
      Aesculus

      The genus Aesculus, the buckeyes and Horse Chestnuts, comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several Hybrid ....
      , willow
      Willow

      Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere....
      , poplar
      Poplar

      Populus is a genus of between 25?35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere....
      , platanus
      Platanus

      Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole members of the family Platanaceae.They are all large trees to 30?50 m tall, deciduous , and are mostly found in riparian or other wetland habitat in the wild, though proving drought tolerant in cultivation away from streams....
      , tilia
      Tilia

      Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia , Europe and eastern North America; it is not native to western North America....
      , olea
      Olea

      Olea is a genus of about 20 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australasia....
      , Ashe juniper


See also

  • Asthma
    Asthma

    Asthma is a common chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in which the Lung constrict, become inflammation, and are lined with excessive amounts of thickened mucus, often in response to one or more triggers....
  • Bioaerosol
    Bioaerosol

    A bioaerosol is a biological aerosol. These particles are very small and range in size from less than one micrometer to one hundred micrometers ....
  • Eczema
    Eczema

    Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis. The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions....
  • Eggshell skull
    Eggshell skull

    The eggshell skull rule is a legal doctrine used in both tort law and criminal law that holds an individual liable for all consequences resulting from his or her activities leading to an injury to another person, even if the victim suffers an unusually high level of damage ....
  • Hypoallergenic
    Hypoallergenic

    Hypoallergenic is a term coined by advertisers and first used in a cosmetics campaign in 1953. It is used to describe items that cause or are claimed to cause fewer allergy reactions....
  • Toxin
    Toxin

    A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural....
  • Immunodiagnostics
    Immunodiagnostics

    Immunodiagnostics is a diagnostic methodology that uses an antigen-antibody reaction as their primary means of detection. The concept of using immunology as a diagnostic tool was introduced in 1960 as a test for serum insuline....