What Is An Allergy?

The term "allergy" is one which is tossed around frequently these days.  Whenever someone sneezes, has watery eyes or a runny nose, that individual often says that it must be allergies.  But what really is considered to be an allergy as opposed to a cold or some other similar condition?  The following will answer this often asked question and describe the various categories within this medical condition.

Defining an Allergy
In general, an allergy is when the human immune system overreacts to a foreign protein substance, known as an allergen.  This substance can affect the individual by being consumed, breathed in, touched or injected into the body.  The term allergy covers a large array of instances and allergens.  As for the amount of individuals suffering from allergies today, approximately 50 million Americans are affected by this medical condition.  This condition can affect adults or children and is a problem for individuals of varying races, genders and nationalities.  It has also been described as the 5th leading chronic disease throughout the United States.

Categories of Allergies
Allergies can be grouped into different categories.  This helps both individuals who suffer from this condition as well as the doctors who treat them to learn more about the various allergies which one may suffer from, as one who suffers from one type of outdoor allergy may suffer from another one under the same category, for example.

The first category is indoor/outdoor allergies.  This is one of the largest groups of allergies and includes various allergens such as pet dander, tree pollen, grass pollen and dust mites, to name just a few.  This category affects approximately 40 million Americans. Another allergy-related category which individuals may suffer from is skin allergies.  Skin allergies include eczema, hives and dermatitis.  The allergens which may cause this type of problem include various plants such as poison ivy and products such as latex.  About 7% of the individuals who suffer from an allergic condition list skin allergies as their main problem.

Food and drug allergies comprise another large category.  Various foods can elicit bad reactions in those who have food allergies but some of the more common foods include peanuts, fish, milk and wheat.  As for the drug allergies, the most common type of drug which individuals experience allergic reactions to is penicillin.  Almost 6% of the population cites food/drug allergies as their main type of problem.

There are three smaller categories of allergies which individuals may experience.  Although not as common as the previously mentioned ones, these types are just as serious.  These include latex, insect and eye allergies.  For each category, 4% of the population states that they experience these types of allergen issues.