What are the different categories of allergies?

There are many different types of allergies. Alkis Togias, MD, Asthma and Inflammation Section Chief at the NIAID, tells us the type of allergy you have depends on where you are, what you eat, and even the drugs you take.

Transcript

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And there is also allergy to insect stings. But that's not as common.

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But it's a very distinct group of allergens, which are being injected by the sting. And they cause the allergy.

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Yeah. I'd like to break them into aeroallergens, meaning those that cause respiratory allergy that we breathe,

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and then food allergens that we eat. There is also allergy to drugs, as you know.

00:38

That's a different category. And not all of it is caused by the same mechanisms as the food and the aeroallergens.

00:48

And there's also allergy to insect stings. But that's not as common.

00:54

But it's a very distinct group of allergens, which are being injected by the sting. And they cause the allergy.

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Now, within the aeroallergen category, we have-- we can split it into indoor and outdoor allergens,

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outdoor being pollen and some molds, indoor being house dust,

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mites, pets, and pests, including cockroaches and mice,

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as well as molds. [AUDIO LOGO]