An allergen is any antigen that causes a reaction in susceptible individuals and is not a parasite. It can be almost anything, and allergies can range from mild inconvenience to life-threatening. The FDA identifies eight common food allergens, but other foods, insects, molds, pollens, and animal by-products can also be allergens. Some people may even be allergic to drugs like penicillin.
An allergen is any antigen that causes a reaction in susceptible individuals and is not a parasite. An allergen can be almost anything, as long as it causes an allergic response in a person to something other than a parasite. Generally, the response that occurs when an allergic individual comes into contact with an allergen, the IgE response, is only activated to destroy the parasites that have invaded the body. Allergies are the result of the body identifying a non-parasite as the same type of danger, and then taking the same response to it.
Ultimately, anything can be an allergen and nothing is a truly universal allergen. Some things are seen as common allergens, while others are relatively rare. Similarly, some things that are an allergen pose a life-threatening risk in individuals with a high response, while other allergies can be a mere inconvenience. People whose bodies recognize dust mite excretion as an allergen, for example, will generally only feel itchy or perhaps mildly congested. So while dust mite excretion is present virtually everywhere, even individuals who respond to it are almost never in danger.
On the other hand, many people who are allergic to bee stings can experience anaphylaxis if they are stung. This can kill them if not treated very quickly, requiring these individuals to carry some sort of adrenaline with them, to stop the allergic reaction before it gets out of control. Some people have equally strong responses to common foods and ingredients, which makes consuming processed foods a tough proposition for them.
The Food and Drug Administration in the United States identifies eight common foods that are allergens and must be labeled if they are found in products or if the product is processed on the same machine as the food with any of these ingredients. These ingredients are: wheat, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, sulfites, shellfish and fish. These eight were chosen by the FDA because a relatively large portion of the population has some degree of allergic reaction to these ingredients.
Other foods that people’s bodies may see as allergens include beans, corn, squash, and celery. In addition to bees, many people are also allergic to wasps or mosquitoes. Similarly, many types of molds elicit an allergic response in people, as do pollens from several common plants, including ragweed, birch, timothy timothy, poplar, and nettle. And a number of animal by-products are an allergen, especially dog and cat dander and wool.
Sometimes, the body will even identify a drug meant to be beneficial as an allergen. For example, many people are allergic to penicillin, so they must have an alternative treatment, or else their body will respond negatively to the penicillin injection. The entire class of sulfonamides, usually simply called sulfonamide drugs, are another common allergen. As the consequences of taking these drugs if they are an allergen can be deadly, most of the hospitals and doctors will check to make sure the patient is not allergic to the common drugs and more and more doctors are keeping away from these common allergens if it’s easy to do that.
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