From pets, to foods, to metals; anything can be an allergen in today’s world. But what are the people of the UK most allergic to?
I think many people might assume it would be nuts or cow’s milk, so you might be surprised by the results of this recent study.
New research from William Russell has identified the most common allergies in the world’s most populated countries: https://www.william-russell.com/blog/common-allergies-around-world/
The most common allergies in 10 of the world’s highest populated countries:
| Country | Most Common Allergy | Average Number of Searches |
| Philippines | Latex allergy | 78,500 |
| Canada | Penicillin allergy | 35,300 |
| United States | Dog allergy | 33,100 |
| United Kingdom | Penicillin allergy | 8,100 |
| Australia | Penicillin allergy | 2,900 |
| Romania | Cat allergy | 1,290 |
| Brazil | Cat allergy | 1,140 |
| Greece | Water allergy | 1,020 |
| Portugal | Cat allergy | 790 |
| Madagascar | Cat/Mold allergy | 60 |
The top 5 most common allergies across the world:
The most common allergy worldwide is to dogs! Man’s best friend, followed closely by Penicillin. This really surprises me because I’ve only ever met a handful of people with a penicillin allergy and dog allergies don’t seem that common either.
| Rank | Allergy | Global Average Number of Google Searches |
| 1 | Dog allergy | 633,000 |
| 2 | Penicillin allergy | 561,600 |
| 3 | Pollen allergy | 513,900 |
| 4 | Latex allergy | 507,200 |
| 5 | Cat allergy | 419,400 |
According to the research:
- The most common allergy in the UK has been revealed to be the penicillin allergy. It saw an average of 8,100 searches between April 2021 – March 2022. According to the NHS, around 1 in 10 people suffer from an allergic reaction to antibiotics, citing penicillin to be the most common specific drug to cause such a reaction. However, it has been shown that penicillin allergies may be over-reported as they are commonly misdiagnosed when the actual cause is due to the passing side effects of medication.
- Pollen allergies are the most common in 39 out of the 100 most populated countries in the world, followed by latex allergies, which are the most common allergy in 19 of the world’s most populated countries.
- In terms of the most common allergies worldwide, dog allergies top our list, with around 633,000 annual Google searches, followed by penicillin allergies, with 561,600 annual Google searches.
You can see the full research here: https://www.william-russell.com/blog/common-allergies-around-world/
What are you allergic to?
I’d love to hear from all you penicillin allergics out there. Where are you? And are you allergic to something really uncommon and rare? Does your allergy cause anaphylaxis?
Yep, Penicillin and Latex are my worst nightmare. Could be my English genes.
Ha Ha! Yes maybe it is. I too have a latex allergy which is a nightmare, as you say. It’s in so many places, like bike handles, gyms, balloons everywhere! Thanks so much for your comment and you are one of the top people in the UK who has a penicillin allergy! I only know of a few others.