Allergies

Allergies involve an immune response in the body to things such as plant pollen, other grasses and weeds, certain foods, rubber latex, insect bites, or certain drugs. Estimates suggest that allergies affect more than 50 million people in the United States. Nearly 10% of American women have pollen allergies. Allergic drug reactions, commonly caused by antibiotics such as penicillin, occur in 2%-3% of hospitalized patients. Severe allergic reaction to insect stings occurs in up to 5% of the population. Although most people have experienced a reaction to something they have eaten, only 1% of the adult population suffers from true immune reactions to food.