An allergen is something that causes allergies in humans.
Dust, pollen and pet dander are all common allergens. It is possible to be allergic to anything from chlorine to perfume. Food allergies are not as common, but some foods, like peanuts, nuts, seafood and shellfish cause serious allergies in lots of people.
Some common allergens could be:
- Animal products
- Drugs
- penicillin
- sulfonamides
- salicylates (also found naturally in numerous fruits)
- local anaesthetics
- Foods
- Insect stings
- Mold spores
- Other
- Plant pollens (hay fever)
- grass — ryegrass, timothy-grass
- weeds — ragweed, plantago, nettle, artemisia vulgaris, chenopodium album, sorrel
- trees — birch, alder, hazel, hornbeam, aesculus, willow, poplar, platanus, tilia, olea, Ashe juniper