Allergies are the leading chronic health condition for children under 18 years of age.

An allergy is defined as the body’s hyper-response to rid the body of an otherwise normal substance. Common allergies result from exposure to food, medications, latex, pollen, mold, or animal dander but nearly anything can generate an allergic response.

Although often inconvenient and annoying allergies can be life threatening if the response leads to anaphylaxis. Allergies also lead to nearly 2 million days lost from school per year. It is estimated that 18 billion dollars are spent on allergy care including Doctor’s visits, prescription and OTC medications as well as ED visits and hospital admissions.

Allergy vocabulary:

Allergen - a substance that triggers an allergic response. Examples of common allergens are food, medication, pollen, insect stings

Allergic response - the body’s immune system acting to rid the body of the allergen, symptoms can include - runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, itchiness, coughing, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, wheezing, anaphylaxis

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) - an antibody, produced by the body to fight off the allergen

2 common allergic conditions seen at school are food allergies and seasonal allergies. See the subpages for details of each.