Allergy

Okay, so you know how sometimes your nose gets all runny and your eyes start watering and itching, and maybe you start sneezing a lot? That's called an allergy.

Basically, allergies happen when our body's immune system (which helps us fight off germs and stay healthy) gets confused about something and thinks it's actually a bad thing even though it's harmless. That something is called an allergen.

Lots of things can be allergens, like pollen from plants, dust mites that live in our homes, certain foods like nuts or milk, and even cute and cuddly pets like cats and dogs.

When our body sees an allergen that it thinks is bad, it releases something called histamines to try and get rid of it. But histamines can cause all those uncomfortable symptoms like sneezing, itching, and runny noses that we mentioned before.

So, if you have allergies, it's important to figure out what allergens you're allergic to so that you can try to avoid them or take medicine to help control your symptoms.