Allergies
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93 free Allergies trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
50 free allergies trivia questions with answers. Test your knowledge about allergies with our engaging trivia quiz! From common triggers to surprising facts about allergic reactions, discover how much you know about this widespread health condition. Whether you're an allergy sufferer or simply curious, this quiz offers educational fun for everyone.
30 of 93 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which common digestive problem, caused by lacking an enzyme, is often mistaken for a milk allergy?
Lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance is a shortage of the gut enzyme lactase, not an immune reaction, so undigested milk sugar causes bloating and cramps instead of an allergic response.
Q 02What is the most common immediate treatment for a severe allergic reaction?
Epinephrine
Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, and works quickly to reverse symptoms.
Q 03Which antibody is primarily responsible for mediating allergic reactions?
IgE
IgE is thought to have evolved to fight parasitic worms and venoms; in allergy the same antibody raises the alarm over harmless things such as pollen.
Q 04What common environmental allergen comes from trees, grasses, and weeds?
Pollen
Pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds is a widespread outdoor allergen, causing seasonal allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever.
Q 05Hay fever in Japan is caused primarily by pollen from which tree?
Sugi (Japanese cedar)
Sugi, the Japanese cedar, was planted en masse after World War II for timber, and its spring pollen now triggers hay fever in a large share of the country's population.
Q 06What type of cells release histamine during an allergic reaction?
Mast cells
Mast cells live in the skin and in the linings of the airways and gut, packed with granules of histamine, which is why a reaction shows first as hives, sneezing or cramps.
Q 07Which chronic skin condition, often linked with allergies, is marked by itchy, red, dry and inflamed patches?
Eczema
Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, may begin because the skin lacks proteins that keep its barrier watertight; it usually starts in infancy and many people outgrow it.
Q 08Which common food allergen is a legume?
Peanuts
Despite their name, peanuts are botanically legumes, not tree nuts, and are one of the most common and potent food allergens.
Q 09Which food became the ninth mandatory allergen on US food labels in 2023?
Sesame
Sesame joined the list under the FASTER Act of 2021, and labels had to name it from 1 January 2023, though food already on shelves did not have to be relabelled.
Q 10What is the medical name for hay fever, an allergic inflammation of the lining of the nose?
Allergic rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis has a misleading nickname: despite 'hay fever', it typically brings no fever, and the trigger is wind-borne pollen, not hay.
Q 11How do antihistamine medicines relieve allergy symptoms?
Block histamine receptors
Block histamine receptors is all they do: the histamine is still released, but it can no longer deliver its message to cells, so itching, sneezing and a runny nose ease.
Q 12Which condition causes itching or swelling within minutes of eating certain raw fruits or vegetables?
Oral Allergy Syndrome
Oral Allergy Syndrome strikes when proteins in raw produce resemble pollen proteins; heat breaks them down, so an apple that itches raw is usually harmless cooked.
Q 13How do allergies to indoor triggers typically differ from pollen allergies?
Q 21Which microscopic creature, a major indoor allergy trigger, feeds on shed skin in warm, humid bedding and carpets?
Dust mites
Dust mites neither bite nor burrow; the trouble comes from their droppings, which build up in bedding and are breathed in.
Q 22Which chronic condition, in which inflamed and narrowed airways cause wheezing, is often allergic and managed with inhalers?
Asthma
Asthma is often set off by breathing in an allergen, which makes the muscles around the airways tighten and their lining swell.
Q 23What is the term for swelling beneath the skin, often around the eyes or lips, that can accompany hives?
Angioedema
Angioedema is the deeper cousin of hives, swelling the tissue under the skin instead of its surface, and it becomes an emergency if the tongue or throat swells.
Occur year-round
They occur year-round because the triggers live in the house all year, whereas pollen is in the air only while particular plants are in flower.
Q 14Which type of medication is the most effective routine treatment for persistent hay fever, calming inflammation inside the nose?
Corticosteroid sprays
Corticosteroid sprays are the most effective treatment because they calm the inflamed lining itself, and they work best used every day, not only when symptoms flare.
Q 15Which metal, common in cheap jewellery, coins, zips and buttons, causes an itchy contact rash in many people?
Nickel
Nickel causes so many contact rashes that Europe regulates it: what counts is not how much nickel an item contains but how much its surface releases onto the skin.
Q 16Which kind of pollen is the most common trigger of hay fever worldwide?
Grass
Grass pollen, above all from ryegrass and timothy, rides the wind into noses; bright garden flowers are rarely to blame, because insects carry their pollen.
Q 17What is the medical term for hives, an itchy rash characterized by raised, red welts on the skin?
Urticaria
Urticaria comes from the Latin for nettle, since the welts look like a nettle sting; each one usually fades within hours, even as new ones rise elsewhere.
Q 18What preservative compound in some foods and wines can trigger asthma-like symptoms in sensitive people?
Sulfites
Sulfites set off reactions in enough people with asthma that in 1986 the FDA banned their use on fruit and vegetables served or sold raw, such as salad-bar lettuce.
Q 19What type of immunotherapy involves placing drops or tablets under the tongue to treat certain allergies?
Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT)
Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) trains the immune system with small doses of the very thing that sets it off, and many people prefer it because it replaces a course of injections.
Q 20Where should an epinephrine auto-injector such as an EpiPen be injected in an emergency, through clothing if necessary?
Outer thigh
The middle of the outer thigh, over the vastus lateralis muscle, so the drug reaches muscle quickly; it can go straight through clothing.
Q 24What nickname is given to oral anaphylaxis caused by eating flour infested with tiny arachnids?
Pancake syndrome
Pancake syndrome got its name after people fell ill eating pancakes made from flour that had sat in humid storage and filled with mites.
Q 25What is the characteristic habitual upward nose-rub of chronic hay fever sufferers called?
Allergic salute
The allergic salute, an upward swipe of the palm across an itchy nose, can leave a permanent line across the bridge if the habit goes on long enough.
Q 26What type of allergic reaction is triggered by consuming red meat, often linked to a tick bite?
Alpha-gal syndrome
Alpha-gal syndrome is unusual twice over: the trigger is a sugar, not a protein, and symptoms can start 3 to 8 hours after the meal, often in the middle of the night.
Q 27Montelukast treats allergic asthma and hay fever by blocking receptors for which inflammatory mediators?
Leukotrienes
Leukotrienes narrow the airways and inflame them; montelukast blocks their receptors, but mood and sleep side effects mean that for hay fever it is kept for people who cannot be treated with other medicines.
Q 28Which common allergy trigger grows both indoors and outdoors in damp environments?
Mold
Mold, a type of fungus, releases spores that can act as allergens and thrive in damp indoor and outdoor environments, triggering respiratory and skin allergy symptoms.
Q 29Which oily compound in poison ivy sap triggers its itchy, blistering rash?
Urushiol
Urushiol clings to clothing, tools and pet fur, sometimes for years, so people can get the rash without ever touching the plant.
Q 30Which common food allergen is often found in baked goods, pasta, and cereals?
Wheat
Wheat allergy is an immune reaction to wheat proteins and is not the same thing as celiac disease, an autoimmune reaction to gluten that damages the gut lining.